Name: Mr. Sulakshana Parab
Age: Unconfirmed
Location: Mumbai, India.
EJ Statement: I am dedicated to my work raising the standards of settlement housing.
Sulakshana Says: “You must keep your organization strong in the new community; otherwise it will turn into just another slum.”

Background
In a well organised, central committee meeting room, Mr. Sulakshana Parab tells the story of how he came to be the founding member of the Railway Slum Dwellers Federation.  Mr. Parab migrated to Mumbai in the early 1980’s to look for work.  Unlike many of his counterparts, he came to the city and quickly found a secure and well paid job with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).  With a job in hand the next challenge was to find a home for him and his family. 

EJ Activism
The housing situation in Mumbai at the time was desperate so he staked-out a small piece of land and set about constructing a house in what had commonly become known as the ‘squatters settlement’.  When Sulakshana Parab arrived there were no sewer or drainage systems in pace and no piped water connections, which meant no toilets, no running water, no electricity. 

Ironically, if Mr Parab had the opportunity to build on public land, these responsibilities would have belonged to the MCGM, his employer.  As fate had it, the land where Mr Parab was forced to build his home belonging to Indian Rail (IR), the State owned railway company, who turned a blind eyes to the housing settlement that spilt onto their land, and the problems that came with it.  The companies laissez-faire attitude did not last, the first blow from IR came when they denied the settlement communities request for the building permits needed to build and develop water and sanitation services on site.

The second blow came when Indian Rail started collecting rent for the occupation of their land, while still refusing the community the legitimacy of a more permanent housing project.  Their reasoning was simple; the settlements were to be demolished as soon as IR needed the land.  With frustration as his driving force Mr Parab organized a range of meetings in the settlement to discuss ways in which they could oppose the demolitions and get clean water and electricity running in his home.  Initially the community mobilization efforts were criticized, people didn’t believe they could be the drivers of change since their cries for help had for so long gone unnoticed.

The Bigger Picture
Through his community organizing Mr Parab made contact with other organizations pioneering community housing projects, in particular the founder of the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF).  The two soon formed an alliance which then became the Rail Slum Dwellers Federation (RSDF).   The support of the NSDF and the new alliance invigorated community interest in Mr Parab’s plans to protect and develop his settlement, slowly community leaders began to attend meetings held by the leaders of the new movements.  There first large piece of work was the completion of survey that documented the rail settlements residents and the needs of their large community.  It was published under the title, Beyond the Beaten Track: Resettlement Initiatives of Pavement Dwellers and Slum Dwellers in Bombay (1988). 

Advice to New EJ Activists
Thirteen years from the beginning of his struggle, Mr Parab sits in one of the eighteen buildings which were constructed by the government as a result of the RSDF and NSDF alliance.   He has defeated resistance from larger NGOs in the city and won court battles that threatened to demolish settlement for being ‘a sight for sore eyes’.  However, although Mr Parab achievements are immense there are still things that are lacking.  The piped-water connections only run for only 30 minutes a day and the supply has to be supplemented by water-tankers.  Most importantly, the new settlements are isolated from any surrounding businesses, or mixed income housing, where job opportunities and schools would be located. 



For more information on Sulakshana Parab see Beyond the Beaten Track.

For more information on Environmental Justice training or to get involved please contact: ejactivists@capacityglobal.org.uk