Democracy provides a big opportunity for encouraging the poor to break the laws and oppress the tax-paying residents in collaboration of resporceful law nreakers capable of making law enforcement agencies inactive.. And this is done with the active support of the Law Makers and Protectors of Law. There is no need for the poor to unite and participate in bloody revolution. The Police and the Civic Administration ensures that the poor can oppress the tax paying residents at their will.
One such taxpayer lady recently posted her helplessness against such oppression from immigrant labor occupying the public space for their residence at www.karmayog.org - a platform for social and civic issues:
"100 yards from the Anti Corruption Bureau office on P B Marg, right in front of the sprawling Kamala Mills Compound, diagonally opposite the Hard Rock Cafe, a large group of migrant labourers have taken up residence... with plastic sheets, tiles uprooted from the pavement, railings and bamboos pilfered from a nearby work site, and bits and pieces salvaged from trash heaps. They have even built a makeshift temple very recently out of these scraps where elaborate puja is conducted by the women. The pavement is completely blocked. So they have spilled out on the road. They have set up cooking fires on the road itself and defecateand bathe openly on the road itself. They also use the road itself to make their wares ... garlands and baskets and trinkets and food items which they sell. The children, specially the very young, crawl directly on the road. This road has become a very busy thoroughfare recently, due to all the offices in the neighbourhood. But half the road is taken up by the squatters. Pedestrians inch their way down the middle of the road, trying to dodge buses and cars. Young girls working at the BPOs in adjacent offices, run the gamut of walking through crowds of young men lolling around in their underwear, squatting on the road. At times, violent fights break out between the inmates, spilling out into the opposite lane. At peak hours, huge traffic jams start as the traffic moves forward in a single lane, barely inches away from the cooking fires burning awayon the road. And at night, buses and trucks roaring down the ill lit road are ingrave danger of running down the barely seen huddles of people sleeping directly on the road.
Apart from being filthy, insanitary, a breeding ground for disease, apart from being a traffic hazard and a safety hazard, apart from being a complete transgression of all BMC and RTO rules, it is unthinkable that human beings are being given permission to live like this on such a busy thoroughfare - and they must be given permission by SOMEONE, because they can't just live like that in open sight, breaking all the rules without someone in authority turning a blind eye.
So who is this someone we need to speak to? Who is there in BMC who can help? Or the police? The local police have obviously been looking the other way and it obviously is worth their inattention. So nothing to be gained by complaining.
Any ideas? "
It is fortunate that she was born in India, even as she must be proud of India and Indian democracy. She however has failed to understand that how fortunate we are that the politicians who makes the laws and administer them also enjoy the powers to break the laws and allow others whom they like to break the laws. That is the fundamental principle of democracy. The politicians want the rich and the not-so-poor to give all sorts of taxes for the benefit of the politicians, their employees on the rolls of the Government and the poor at large. They also want that the rich and the not-so-poor share the poverty and poverty-related style of living along with the poor in the neighborhood. That is what the taxpaying residents of PB Marg in Mumbai must willing accept to do and endure. This is a cheaper and safer alternative that the politicians and their administrative employees and policy army offer to the residents. If sharing the neighborhood with immigrant labor wass not accepted, the costs of construction of buildings and projects would go up and there could be revolutions organised by the politicians to force the residents to share their residences with the immigrant labor. The residents must therefore accept what is happening.
Clearly there is no point in complaining to police, municipality or the government or the politicians. Democracy still provides a solution that have a chance of success. The residents must form civil society groups to agitate on the roads and government offices, provided they can mobilize the active support of the electronic and print media along with the active support of a few socially-responsive High Court Lawyers who could file and pursue public interest litigation cases free of cost and fees against such gross negligence of responsibility and obligations of the police, municipal officials and the State Government. There are judges who still like that laws are enforced and not broken with the support of the civic authorities, police, administrators and politicians.
Enjoy also the various interesting responses to the Lady citizens cry for help:
1. "u can complain to the encroachment dept of bmc in vt with a copy to worli police station."
I wish immediate redressal of the problem on complaining as above. It is very surprising, encrachment of public property by illegally by immigrants in a city observed by residents are not known to the Encroachment department and Police Station. The Indian Constitution provides for only right to complaint of law breaking in broad daylight at the same place for days together and no obligations on the Govt. and the Police to act suo motto against continuous, uninterrupted unauthorised misuse of public property.
2."It is definately the job of BMC to remove the encroachments as the pavements and road maintenance comes under the jurisdiction of BMC. For getting the right information you may fill in the Application form for The Right to Information Act 2005 addressed to Asst. Engineer (Bldg. & Factories) Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika whereby you can put in your queries and the queries are addressed withing a period of say 45 days. I would also like to inform you that Government officials are very slow in taking action, but keep writing, you may also visit the BMC, Asst. Municipal Commissioner at your Ward, there is a timing for meeting the AMC, which you may find out at the BMC office pertaining to your ward."
3. "It is sad but true that only monetary loss spurs many public servants into action. Therefore, it is suggested that the salaries of the ward officer and workers be held up for as long as it takes to clear out the enchrachers and a proportion of each higher-up's salary (right up to the Commissioner) be withheld till such time. Maybe this is all wishful thinking since surely, such action will require suitable legislation."
4."The least we can do is to spread this message to as many Mumbaikars as a possible. Some of us will know BMC officials, Maharashtra Govt officials etc. A repetitive and persistent sending of this message will move the right people to act some time at least."
5."Keep Media out, What they do is mere Business, Similarly, Also Keep Legal Help out, At times what one needs is simple help And if Namita cannot write directly to BMC, I can do it,"
6"Even under the existing municipal laws and Police Acts there are ample provisions to deal with such situations. The pavement dwellers have to be mercilessly evacuated but they have to be kept in specially prepared shelters in public spaces. It should not be difficult for the government to provide such shelters which can be taken as modern versions of free Dharamshalas (inns). Encroachments by humans themselves for residence or for trade (like keeping pushcarts for sale of goods, etc. or extending shops on to the pavements or keeping chairs, tables on the pavements as also goods and clothes for display either by shop owners or other sellers, etc.) should not be tolerated and dealt with as expeditiously as possible so that they will have no accrued rights of possession and hence sympathy."
7. "This is the case in almost all cosmopolitan cities and towns. Poor farmers and sgriculture labourers migrate to cities in search of livelyhood or brought to cities with false promises by the labour contractors. These labour contractors are in league with local politicians or their henchmen. No local police dare to look at such problems in right earnest. On the otherside of the facts where else they can live when once they are forced to leave their homes due to accute poverty? Has any government formulated schemes for their welfare? It is better some local NGOs take up the issue with the local authorities and find ways to overcome the problem and at the same time provide shelter to such orphoned people."
8. "Dont complaint to the police constable, Instead meet ACP of that area &Asst Municipal commissioner who is supposed to look after the area. Dont go alone take some members socially committed like you. Go to the officials with photos &writeups. If they dont cooperate politely tell them that you approaching higherofficials Senior officers . I think this may solve this problem."
9. I can understand your frustration at the lack of information as to who is responsible for dereliction of their duty. I would suggest the following: File a written complaint, possible with names and addresses of a few other concerned individuals like yourself, to both the BMC and the traffic police. - Written complaints DO work File an RTI request enquiring who in the BMC is responsible for encroachments for that particular ward.
In this way the authorities cannot claim that they were unaware of the problem and would have acted if they would have known. Once you have the name of the officer, who gets paid by public funds and has decided not to do his job, or look the other way, file a complaint against them requesting departmental action. Involve the local press."
10."...unless the government and civil society breaks the nexus between builders, underworld and politicians, we can never have affordable housing in this city and would continue to see such encroachments growing. You think anyone would want to stay like this on a pavement, with families and kids? I am sorry but I found this comment elitist by this citizen who seem to be insensitive to the core issues faced by this city,....Am sure this sight is nothing uncommon about many areas of Mumbai. Most of these pavement dwellers work in unorganised sectors as labourers. Majority are employed by some mega infrastrcuture projects (metro or flyover or towers) in this city whom all our citizens, like Ms. Namita want to get finished soon, yet they would get so offended by such sights. These pavement dwellers can hardly afford a basic roof over their heads...even in slums, where the rentals are unimaginably high. So what choices do they have? Please find that 'someone' who do not displace them but rehabilitate them in a decent housing!"
11. "Ask the authority to force them to move out. Arrange an alternative place for the residents and suggest them. This may help to prevent agitation and protest."
These are very interesting. Everyone is of the view that complain, complain and complain even if in vain! We have a Democracy by Complaints and of Complaints and for Complaints.
Another respose is:" The real problem is not that your sensibilities are offended and that the middle class would rather that these poor people labor "out of sight", but that the builders/contractors have not provided transit camps, basic sanitation and classrooms for the people which is required under the law. The reaction of people to this issue is really disgusting. Find out which projects they work on, who the builder/contractor is and then find out why they have not provided them with facilities? Or else just use another road."
But the question remains: how did the authorities concerned gave parmission or clearance to construction projects or other projects of private parties or public sector or government department without their showing how they will ensure that the temporary immigrant labor does not affect the civic life of the residents. So, there is a clear connivance of convenience to all - the sposors of the project, the project contractors, the police, the temporary workers to force the tax paying residents to endure the hurt and bear the risk of damage.
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