This Citizens’ Group Aims To Give The Urban Poor, Slumdwellers A Voice

It was during the Covid-19 pandemic that a large group of youngsters living in the Govandi suburb of Mumbai got together to set up the  Govandi New Sangam Welfare Association under 27-year-old Shaikh Faiyaz Alam.

“We realised that we don't have any voice as a community,” Alam said. “Even to mediate and hold the government machinery accountable, there were a lot of outside people, but nothing from within the community.”

The non-profit group was set up with the intention of empowering and developing the socioeconomic status of the largely slum population in the M East ward. The association now works around issues of sanitation, climate, environment advocacy and other civic issues. 

The M-East ward, one of the 24 administrative divisions of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), is marked by the human development index in the city, with persistent problems of high infant mortality, malnutrition, out-of-school children, poor access to municipal amenities including clean water supply and sanitation. 

A mechanical engineer by education, Alam is currently pursuing a degree in law to be able to better understand and fight issues plaguing the area. 

“Recently, we fought a legal battle for the community to relocate the biomedical waste Incinerator from a residential area near our community to an industrial area,” he said. It was a long-drawn battle and the association filed a public interest litigation to pursue the matter. 

“The bioincinerator was working beyond capacity, affecting the health of the residents, causing respiratory issues, tuberculosis and even cancer.” 

Only in September, the Bombay high court asked the BMC to speed up the process of relocation. “The fight is not over yet, but the legal battle has strengthened us and made us aware,” Alam said. 

From bad roads and potholes to burial grounds and sewer cleaning, the association has taken up several issues, making representations to the local offices of the municipality. They also use social media to post photos and videos of citizens’ grievances, calling attention to corruption and neglect.    

According to Alam, their biggest challenges come from the ego of local political representatives. “Instead of supporting the residents they represent, they create troubles for us. Behind our back, they tell the government officials to not cooperate with us,” he said. “It hurts because it comes from within the community.” 

Alam’s approach is to coax the public and elected representatives to work together, initiate dialogue to build bridges between citizen activists and political leaders.  

“There were severe toxic gases in that region due to the incinerator,”said lawyer Zaman Ali, who represented the association in their public interest litigation. “The group was running from pillar to post, from ward offices to elected representatives, and not much was coming their way. I helped them out in the PIL.” 

Ali said the association is also trying to protect a small open ground that has been encroached upon, keen to stop another open space from being taken over.

Published on: Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 10:20 AM IST