Over the past few weeks, Delhi has witnessed renewed demolition drives in informal settlements, prompted in part by a Delhi High Court order to clear encroachments along major drains. While authorities describe this as essential for monsoon preparedness, it raises pressing concerns about the urban systems shaping our cities.
Over 350 homes were cleared in Jangpura’s Madrasi Camp to restore the Barapullah drain, of which 155 families remain without resettlement. In Batla House, over 100 homes faced eviction. Even though residents claimed that they had not received adequate notice and that rehabilitation plans were unclear, the Supreme Court upheld the action.
Though framed as steps toward a flood-resilient, green city, these actions prompt deeper questions: whose vision of the city is being realised, and what governance gaps fuel the spread of informal settlements?
Systemic gaps
India’s urbanisation is rapid and complex, often outpacing the housing and infrastructure capacities of cities. Informal settlements, home to nearly 17% of the urban population, reflect deeper structural challenges such as housing shortages, rural distress, and lack of affordable formal housing.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs estimated a shortfall of over 18 million housing units for the urban poor.
While unauthorised construction is a concern, responses must be anchored in fairness, predictability, due process, and legal safeguards. Judgments such as Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985) and Sudama Singh v. GNCTD (2010) affirm constitutional protections that mandate surveys, public consultations and rehabilitation plans.
Yet, implementation remains inconsistent. The urban poor often face eviction without alternatives, causing income loss, health insecurity and disrupted education.
Democratic local governance is central to inclusive urban development. Despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment mandating participatory institutions such as ward committees, these remain largely dormant across states, denying communities a voice in decisions that shape their lives.
Without having any influence in planning and design, local bodies cannot address the roots of informality. These institutions must evolve into active forums for participatory planning, embedding equity and the voice of citizens into how our cities grow.
Systemic approaches
India’s cities need more than quick fixes. Bulldozers do not address the systemic roots of informality. Lasting change requires empathetic governance, foresight and institutional coherence. For instance, we at Janaagraha have developed a city-systems framework that calls for planning, finance, governance, and citizen participation to work in tandem towards tackling root causes – not just visible symptoms.
Odisha’s Jaga Mission exemplifies this shift. Since 2017, it has combined tenure security, community engagement, and infrastructure investment to transform informal settlements, granting land titles to over 100,000 households and earning global acclaim.
Similar in-situ efforts in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala show the power of tenure security and inclusive planning in developing resilient, functional neighbourhoods. As India urbanises, it must prioritise systemic reforms that embed justice and dignity at the heart of urban transformation.
Inclusive urban policy
As our cities grow, we need policies that are inclusive and sustainable. First, evictions must follow due process, ensuring formal surveys, tenure verification, advance notice in accessible formats, legal recourse, and clear articulation of rehabilitation plans. These are not just legal mandates – they are essential for public trust.
Second, states must consider in-situ upgradation that links tenure security with improved services. Odisha’s Jaga Mission shows what is possible. Starting with settlements on non-objectionable public land can minimise displacement while leveraging existing infrastructure and fostering coordinated, community-led development.
Third, structural reforms in housing are overdue. Planning authorities must mandate inclusionary zoning, reserve land for housing for people from economically weaker sections and lower income groups, and utilise public land near transit corridors for cooperative or rental housing.
The Model Tenancy Act offers a balanced framework to streamline the rental market. If implemented well with necessary safeguards, it can reduce spread of informal settlements.
Fourth, cities must work to revive ward-level participatory governance institutions. Making ward committees functional, with representation from informal settlement residents and women’s groups, will ensure planning is grounded in lived realities.
Fifth, urban policy must embed migrant worker rights as a core principle, not a peripheral concern. They sustain urban economies and services, and upholding their access to housing, basic services, and mobility, is essential. Portability of entitlements like ration cards and the Ayushman Bharat health scheme should be extended to all essential services.
These measures signal a shift from reactive clearance to proactive inclusion, aligning legal, environmental, and infrastructural goals with equity. Informality and exclusion stems from fragmented planning, weak institutions and opaque governance. These challenges demand a city-systems lens embedding equity in design and decision-making.
Inclusive cities recognise the legitimacy of the urban poor and replace ad-hoc fixes with participatory, durable reforms. India must anchor its urban future in the constitutional promise of welfare, enabled by responsive and coherent institutions.
Karthik Seshan is senior manager of policy and insights at Janaagraha. Views are personal.
