Dissertation: DIFFERENTIAL CITIZENSHIP IN SPACE-MAKING (case study- Khori Gaon)

DI SSERTATI ON2021 SCHOOLOFPLANNI NG ANDARCHI TECTURE

Aut hor Chanpr eetSi ngh

Gui de Dr .

LeonA. Mor enas

Coor di nat or Pr of .

Dr .

J ayaKumar

Dissertation | SPA Delhi

Differential Citizenship in Space-making

Differential Citizenship in Space-making Urban Practices of Citizenship as in case of Khori Gaon

Dissertation 2021 Academic Draft Research Paper School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

Author Chanpreet Singh (A/3028/2017) Guide & Instructor: Dr. Leon A. Morenas Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Jaya Kumar

Year- 5th | Section- B | Date of Submission - 17th November 2021 | Word Count - 9953

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

DECLARATION The research work embodied in this dissertation titled “Differential Citizenship in Space-making: Urban Practices of Citizenship as in case of Khori Gaon has been carried out by the undersigned as part of the undergraduate Dissertation programme in the Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, under the supervision of Dr. Leon A. Morenas.

The undersigned hereby declares that this is his/her original work and has not been plagiarised in part or full form from any source.

Signature of candidate

Name : Chanpreet Singh Roll No.: A/3028/2017 Year and Section: 5th Year, Section B Date: 17th November 2021

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Having grown up in Delhi, and have lived here for two decades now, I have seen this place change significantly. There have always been questions that have made me interested in the demographics, the social life of Delhi- how life exists here in the most remote and dingy corners, and at the same time at the most prime and luxurious locations. Architecture has provided me with a platform where I could probably see how the morphology of spaces interact with these social structures.

Acknowledgements are usually about thanking people and institutions but I would like to start with these two places to which I owe so much: Khori Gaon- for introducing me to another spectrum of space-making, and School of Planning and Architecture (Delhi) for making me capable to deal and understand such issues that exist in our society.

I am very grateful to my guide Dr. Leon A Morenas, for his constant support, help, and guidance in structuring the framework of my research and in forming a coherent argument throughout this paper.

I would also like to thank the residents of Khori Gaon, and officials at Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan who were kind enough to lend their time and share their invaluable insight and knowledge which helped my understanding of the construct of this paper.

I would also like to acknowledge the constant support of my Co-ordinator Prof. Dr. Jaya Kumar, the college, the staff, and the faculty for providing us students with a platform to showcase our research and knowledge.

Further, I would like to thank my mother- Harneet Kaur, and my friend Uday Pratap Gupta (a student of B. Arch in SPA, Delhi) who have discussed and tried to understand the issue I’m addressing through this dissertation. Not only have they provided constant support but have time and again helped me with valuable insights to improve and strengthen my research. I would also

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

like to thank another friend of mine, Ishita Saraswat (a graduate of B. Plan from SPA, Delhi) who has helped me to understand the basics and essentials of planning and has assisted me in the tools that one requires as a planner. Ansh Sharma and Raghav K. Ramesh (students of B. Arch in SPA, Delhi) are also to be thanked here for giving their inputs and sharing their thoughts on this topic. And at last, I would also like to thank my family members and dear ones for their constant moral support and encouragement.

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

ABSTRACT Delhi, despite being the capital of the nation, has failed to provide an egalitarian environment to all its inhabitants. On one hand, evolution can be observed in the city and the NCR (National Capital Region) in terms of infrastructure. The flyovers, the metro lines, the glazed commercial hubs of Gurgaon and Noida are viewed as a significant success in making a “world-class” city.

However, on the other hand, the fact being ignored is that a lot of this development is done on the graves of protected forest lands and agricultural lands. The unevenness of geographical development perpetuates when these lands are deemed justified in the eyes of the judiciary and local authorities for setting up industries, commercial centers, religious centers, or even for settlement of elite and middle-class residents, but the same land is observed and referred to as polluted and contaminated when the urban poor inhibit them. The NCR region of Faridabad (a place named Khori Gaon) has been undertaken as a case study to interrogate and analyze these points. It talks about how the elite class and the working class have lost a sense of belonging with nature. Further, it even highlights the often ignored player- Religious centers, in all of this “differential citizenship” and talks about their socio-cultural and political influence over the piece of land. Therefore, this ends up in viewing nature not as a space that is an integral part of society, but rather as a “commodity” that would help the ecological encroachers to meet their demands.

Keywords Differential Citizenship, Exclusion, Eviction, Egalitarian, Bourgeois environmentalism, Commodification, Non-place, Production of Space, Economic liberalization

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction: Adulterated Lives and Landscapes………..…………….……….……11 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………...………..….11 1.2 The (In)Visible Khori……………………………………………....………………...13 1.3 The Prime Problem (Research Question).………………………………….………..17 1.4 Equalities, Equities and Unevenness of Geographic Development……………….....17 1.5 Aim and Objectives…………………………………………………………....……..18 1.6 Scope, Limitations……………………………………………………………...……19 1.7 Broad Research Methodology……………………………………..………………...20 2. Manifestation of Social (In)Justice in Urban Context………………………...……...22 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………….…...……..22 2.2 Roots of the Wicked Problem………………………………………………...……...22 2.3 Induced Effect on Khori Gaon……………………………………………….……....25 2.4 Differential Citizenship in Urban Context……………………………………..…….28 3. Understanding Ground Reality………………………………………..……..………..31 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………...……….…..31 3.2 Relation of Wicked Problems with Planners, Architects and Designers………....….31 3.3 Understanding Khori…………………………………………………………….…...33 3.4 Ethical considerations……………………………………………………….……….34 4. Production and Destruction of “Space and Nature”....................................................35 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...……...35 4.2 Disguised Timeline of Khori Gaon…………………………………………….…….36 4.3 Role of players and how they influence ?....................................................................42 4.4 Speculative Relation between Power and Religious Institute………………………..43

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5. Conclusion: Revamping Boundaries, Restating Intangibles, Redressing Obstacles………………………………………………….....……………….…….......47 5.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….…...47 5.2 Structure (Ethnographic and Political) of Ridge……………………………..……..47 5.3 Induced Debilitation on Social Structure…………………………………….……..49 5.4 Permeable Boundaries of the Ridge and ever-growing Urban Context………….....50 5.5 Revamping Boundaries, Redressing Obstacles……………………………….…….52 5.6 Conclusion and Coda………………………………………………………...……..53 Citations/ References

55

Bibliography

57

Appendices

59

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List of Tables Table 1- Housing shortfalls by Masterplans……………………………………………………..23 Table 2- Housing shortfalls within EWS, LIG, MIG and HIG……………….………………….24 Table 3- Material Space………………………………………………………………………….59 Table 4- Conceptualised v/s Lived Spaces……………………………………………………….60

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List of Figures Fig 1- Mapping of various locations from where people migrated to Khori Gaon……………...14 Fig 2- Land-use as per the development plan of Faridabad……………………………………...15 Fig 3- Differential Citizenship across the same land.………………………………………...….16 Fig 4- Demolished houses of Khori Gaon…………………………………………...…………..26 Fig 5- Mapping of Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar with respect to Khori Gaon………………..27 Fig 6- Development Plan of Faridabad 2031, marking land-use of Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar………………………………………………………………………………………...…...28 Fig 7- Conceptual Framework for the research……………………………………….…………34 Fig 8- Comparative timeline of Khori Gaon………………………………………...…………...36 Fig 9- Players involved in Space-making of Khori Gaon…………………………….……….…37 Fig 10- Residents continue to live on-site (Khori Gaon) under temporary shelter.………...……39 Fig 11- Demolished houses of Khori Gaon………………………………………...…………....40 Fig 12- Timeline of Khori Gaon………………………………………………....……………....41 Fig 13- Role and influence of the Players………………………………………………....……..42 Fig 14- Rehabilitation Camp, Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan, Lal Kuan, Faridabad……………44 Fig 15- Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan’s (Religious Institute) presence in the proximity of the ridge………………………………………………………………………………………….......45 Fig 16- Speculative Relation between Power and Religious Institute………………………...…46 Fig 17- Socio-political and socio-cultural demarcation of the physical Ridge ………………….48 Fig 18- Topographical elevation above the sea level (in metres)………………...……………...50 Fig 19- Land Cover Map along with the Ridge as of 2003………………….…………………..51 Fig 20- Land Cover Map along with the Ridge as of 2021…………….………………………..51 Fig 21- Comparison of Ridge as depicted by the State v/s the Actual Ridge available…...…….52

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

Abbreviations CPWD- Central Public Works Department CWG- Common Wealth Games CWP- Civil Writ Petition DDA- Delhi Development Authority DHBVN- Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam EWS- Economically Weaker Section HIG- High Income Group LIG- Low Income Group L&DO- Land and Development Office MCF- Municipal Corporation of Faridabad MHA- Ministry of Home Affairs MIG- Middle Income Group NCR- National Capital Region NDMC- New Delhi Municipal Council NGT- National Green Tribunal PIL- Public Interest Litigation PLPA- Punjab Land Preservation Act RSSB- Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan SAI- Sports Authority of India

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Chapter 01

INTRODUCTION: ADULTERATED LIVES AND LANDSCAPES “दिल्ली जो एक शहर था आलम में इंतिख़ाब रहते थे मत ंु ख़ब ही जहाँ रोज़गार के !! उस को फ़लक ने लट ू के बरबाद कर दिया

हम रहने वाले हैं उसी उजड़े दयार के !!” ~मीर तक़ी मीर

Delhi is a city, whose population is ever-growing, people keep migrating inside the city and the NCR region in search of employment. The government is successful in luring them in the name of “better opportunities and employment”, but at the same time fails miserably in providing them a healthy, safe and secure environment to live and thrive (which in terms of financial commodification can be termed as “affordable housing”).

Hence, these people start settling near their workspaces. They level the land, build social networks and form a neighborhood, and not only establish a space but also establish an identity of themselves. These people choose to call this “Basti”1, whereas the governmental authorities and official documents refer to them as “slums” (Bhan, 2012). However, urban poor, slums, and slum dwellers don't fit in the dreams of the “world-class” city as envisioned by the Government (Baviskar, 2020). Thus, it is often seen and observed that the land inhabited by the urban poor, is evicted forcefully to either be developed by private developers or put into use by local development authorities.

Taking a step back in time and looking at the history of India, we can see that the colonial authorities concentrated on building areas populated by the Whites (a clear indicator of social

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“The Hindustani word “basti” comes from basna which means to settle or inhabit. It is the term used most often by the poor to describe their homes that are often marked by some measure of physical, economic, and infrastructural vulnerability. The basti is often reduced to the slum, a marker of illegal occupation of land and, more broadly, the dysfunctional landscape of the megacities of the global South.” (Bhan, 2012) 11

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demarcation and discrimination) while ignoring the "walled city" and areas populated predominantly by Indians. They were encouraging an "exclusionary city-planning process" by doing so (Crowley, 2020). “The Right to the City” which allows every citizen to shape, contribute and be a part of the city was somehow lacking from the lives of the Indians.

Subjugating Indians and making them more and more vulnerable and miserable via accumulation by dispossession, the colonial government went on expanding their control over the land and at the same time, exploiting the space of the inhabitants.

Hence, the social injustice was manifesting in the city, and even the ecological features of Delhithe Yamuna and the Ridge and surrounding areas, were not able to escape from its clutches. The ridge has undergone a significant transformation under various dynasties. Yet the thing that remains constant till date is the fact that it has continuously been devoid of its geographical value, and viewed only as a land, ready to be exploited for its exchange value (Crowley, 2020).

The elite class (and not-so-elite class) and local development authorities (like the DDA in Delhi) sustained the momentum post-independence, precisely from the point where the Delhi Improvement Trust (established by the British Raj in 1937) left (Baviskar, 2020). Rather than changing policies and principles, what happened next was a mere repetition of the history- where the urban poor (and/or the working class) are now subjugated and have become vulnerable, whereas the authorities and the elite class enjoy the capital accumulation. The Development Authorities (both governmental and private) have been extremely successful over the years in viewing land as a financial commodity and thus, using it merely for its exchange value.

People are not excluded from politics or beyond the reach of the state, but they are also not considered citizens or members of civil society. Rather, they are viewed as creatures that must be managed or cared for. As a result, the general perception of politics is one of being subjected to governmentality as a form of passive and fragmentary politics, rather than one of being citizens.

As a result, governments such as India endeavor to build the fundamental foundations on which they claim to transform populations into citizens (Chatterjee, 2004).

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Differential Citizenship in Space-making

The (In)Visible “Khori” Delhi may be forgetting its history, but the Ridge, the sprawling megacity's green lungs, are living fossils in the building of the city. Khori Gaon is located on the fringes of Delhi and Faridabad near the foothills of the Aravallis. The ground on which the basti lies is a post-quarry terrain.

The settlement's population is made up of migrants from Delhi and neighboring regions. The first settlers were quarry workers who were unable to return to their localities due to "debt bondage" (Chatterjee, 2021). Between 1970 and 1990, they made their home here. Since 2004, there has been a continuous migration of urban poor who have migrated here after selling their land and moving to the city in search of better opportunities. In a survey set of 50 people, it was observed that a lot of people migrated not only from places in Delhi but also from the neighbouring states.

Residents of Khori Gaon migrated from- Etawah (Uttar Pradesh), Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh), Prahladpur (Uttar Pradesh), Lal Kuan (Faridabad), Sangam Vihar (Delhi), Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Tughlakabad (Delhi), Lakkarpur (Faridabad), Lal dora (Delhi), Gurkul (Faridabad), Anangpur (Haryana), Kolkata (West Bengal) and from places in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh as well.

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Fig 1- Mapping of various locations from where people migrated to Khori Gaon Source- Primary Survey as conducted by author until 12th October 2021

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On June 7, the Supreme Court reiterated its February and April 2020 orders to evict the Khori Gaon basti on the Delhi-Haryana border, which is under the authority of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad(MCF). The Court decided that the basti was an infringement on Aravalli forest land and thus ordered the municipal corporation to forcefully evacuate the residents. Over 6,500 homes were to be demolished just before the monsoon began, and not to forget that the world is still amid a pandemic (Menon and Chatterjee, 2021). On the other hand though, on the south-east of the Khori Gaon lies a commercial high-rise, two hospitality buildings and one religious center, which are also constructed on protected forest land (according to the “Development Plan of Faridabad”), yet their existence is not being questioned.

Fig 2- Land-use as per the development plan of Faridabad (North is towards the right, as marked on the plans).

There is a clear indication of settlement (at Khori Gaon) along with Sarovar Portico Hotel, Pinnacle Business Tower, Vivanta Surajkund Hotel, and Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan to the west of the (major) road (depicted by a white line on the map).

Source- [Left] Google Earth image- accessed on 10th September 2021, Post-processed by author; [Right] Development Plan of Faridabad Ballabgarh Control Areas (2011) issued by Deptt. Of Town and Country Plg. Haryana

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The commodification of land is surely a factor that raises concerns here. But along with it, what is even more concerning are the biases of the judiciary and the political parties which are inclined towards the interests of middle and elite class residents. Complementing them is the religious institute right adjacent to the Khori Gaon, which itself is an illegal construction but enjoys the benefit of “differential citizenship” and portrays themselves as a blessing in disguise.

The Urban Poor, on the other hand, encroached and inhibited the land nearly four decades ago (that too because of the inefficiency of the government to provide necessary “right to housing” to these quarry workers). However, these people have once again become victims of “exclusionary planning” and miserable urban policies, which have made them vulnerable to the decisions and powers of the influential class.

Fig 3- Differential Citizenship across the same land.

Source- Author (Image captured on 2nd October 2021)

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The Prime Problem (Research Question) The issue that is being discussed through this dissertation is not whether the encroachment on public lands should be continued or not but instead seeks to interrogate that‘Whether (and how) the urban policies and schemes, the infrastructural development, and visions of the world-class city induce injustice to these “citizens” and make them a victim of “differential citizenship”?’

It is about appealing to people's social consciences to comprehend that poverty does not always imply dependency and meniality. It's about comprehending the hinterland, which compels people to relocate to cities (more developed areas) when opportunities are scarce. At the same time, it is even intended to put forward strong assertions against bourgeois mentalities that have become so hardened, that they regard poverty as a natural occurrence and have blatant contempt for those forced to live in shanties and slums (Baviskar, 2020). The question that arises from this is‘Whether (and how much) urban policies and practices are influenced (or not influenced) by the dominant class? And consequently, does everyone enjoy an equal amount of “the Right to the City”?’

Equalities, Equities and Unevenness of Geographic Development Residents of Khori Gaon have been deprived of their Right to food, water, a decent environment, education, medical care, and shelter. The Neoliberal state has focused on privatizing the land, commodifying it, and extracting money from it in the form of hospitality and office buildings which are built right adjacent to the Khori Gaon.

Along with this a hundred acres of the ridge was flattened to make room for the establishment of a religious center- Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan. Yet at the time of demolishing, it is the urban

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poor who had to face the hardships whereas the rest of the illegalities are left unseen by the authorities. Around 10 km away from Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan at Charmwood, Faridabad lies another religious institution of the same sect just at the opposite side of the ridge. It seems as if the same institute has a major land grab over and around the ridge. Sources confirm that earlier even the Chattarpur land was a part of the ridge and protected forest lands. In the book, Fractured Forest, Quartzite City, author Thomas Crowley states, “Not far from here is an upmarket retreat center owned by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a spiritual organization with deep pockets. It was built after leveling a hill, clear evidence that this was part of the Ridge, but the construction was allowed: it didn’t hurt, the villagers note, that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi at the time was a devotee of the sect.”

The argument doesn’t lie in the fact that a wrong deed (settling of Khori Gaon residents on Forest Lands) is being justified by the existence of another inappropriate activity (construction of hospitality and office buildings) that has happened right there. Rather, the argument focuses on the fact that unevenness of geographical development manifests in an urban scenario and under urban (neoliberal) governance. It further depicts how the State and the local authorities lubricate the process of widening disparities (disparities here signifies the socio-economic gap that persists among the residents of Khori Gaon and stakeholders of the hospitality and office building) between different social groups.

Aim The research would focus on how morphology of spaces is viewed differently within the social structure of the society. Moreover, what are these urban practices (with a case study of Khori Gaon, Faridabad, Delhi NCR) that create an imbalance in the society and how it starts affecting the physical, infrastructural, and ethnological context.

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Objectives Objectives of the research form their basis on the theories presented by Karl Marx, David Harvey, Neil Smith, and Henri Lefebvre.

1. The research would focus on how spaces are “produced” for economical exploitation and are not a product of social processes.

2. The dissertation would highlight the perpetuation of the unevenness of geographical development and how social injustice is manifested via it.

3. It would even help in understanding how “commodification” of nature and space is used as a tool by capitalist society to widen the disparity between the economical classes and serve as an attempt to objectify and control the ecology.

4. It would further help in understanding that judiciary and legislature both play an extremely important role in planning the cities (and thus the spaces inside the city), especially in contemporary times.

Scope The research would help in highlighting factors that would help in understanding the relationship between societal structures and the planning process. Based on epistemology, the author’s understanding, and the relevant case study that is being undertaken, the dissertation would produce and compile data on how social injustice (and justice) and inequality thrive and survive in an urban scenario.

This is a vast topic and caters to a big scale (Harvey describes it as a global scale). As the issue lies at a global scale, hence, it should be combated at that scale too. Therefore, this research would be a small part of the bigger process.

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Limitations There are a variety of ways and several instances each distinct from the other, yet each of them highlighting how the urban scenarios pose disequilibrium for a certain section of society. It would not be possible to highlight all of these issues and all the sections of society that are affected by them.

The urban environment being studied through the course of this dissertation is that of the Delhi and NCR region (as the author is based here). A different urban environment would have different geology, geography, ethnology, history, and politics associated with that area. Hence, understandings and findings of a specific urban scenario may or may not entirely be true for another urban scenario.

There exists a difference between utopia and dystopia. What this research focuses is on a societal structure that is more socially just. The objectives and assertions which this research would present could easily be confused with a utopian concept.

Time would also be a constraint, which might make the process of research quicker.

Broad Research Methodology I started with reading and getting a deeper insight into the case of “Khori Gaon”, via reading the petitions filed by Khori Gaon Kalyan Samiti (CWP 19910/2014) and Khori Gaon Residents Welfare Association (CWP 19148/2010), followed by High Courts order on April 25, 2016 in CWP 19910/2014. Minutes of this case and filed PIL highlighted the issues encountered and situations faced by the inhabitants, which helped me to understand the history of the relation of inhabitants with the area and the assertions made by the State to evict them.

This was followed by talking to people who are directly affected by forceful eviction. This offered an insight into their side of the story. This was done through an informal questionnaire and interaction. Talking to the middle-class residents around the Khori Gaon, the officials at 20

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Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan helped me to put forth their call on the ongoing eviction process.

This led me to question whether (and how much) urban policies and practices are influenced (or not influenced) by the dominant class. Hence, this primary survey answered the crucial question: does all of us enjoy an equal amount of “the Right to the City”?

Further, studying and analyzing the development plan of Faridabad helped to understand the planning of areas in Faridabad and see the illegalities in two-dimensional form.

Other relevant literature, and interactions with researchers who are working on this issue helped me to further strengthen my analysis and inferences, and deepen my knowledge on the same.

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Chapter 02

MANIFESTATION OF SOCIAL (IN)JUSTICE IN URBAN CONTEXT The city of Delhi has a socially flawed landscape. With the introduction and implementation of economic liberalization in the 1990s, the real estate and construction business experienced a boom. Earlier, it was sluggish, yet a state-controlled landscape. The economy of the city started shifting to the service sector, as older manufacturing firms were being shut down (Baviskar, 2020).

The state and authorities in Delhi are so busy with the financial commodification of the state that they have often failed to acknowledge the fact that the ecology of a place should be respected. A development that is not being done while respecting the geography of a place would end up serving just the pockets of the capitalist society and neither would be sustainable and nor would help to strengthen the social structure. The exploitation and objectification of the Ridge and the Yamuna are prime examples of this narrow-sighted approach (which would just add to the capital accumulation of capitalists). Moreover, this is precisely what Lefebvre refers to as “production of space”(Smith and Harvey, 2008).

Root of the Wicked Problem Internal migration played a significant role in the capital's demographic expansion in the post-independence era, though its relative contribution has tended to decline in recent decades.

Net migration accounted for 62 percent of overall population growth in the Delhi National Capital Territory (urban and rural areas combined) from 1961 to 1971, 60 percent from 1971 to 1981, and 50 percent from 1981 to 1991. In 1971, migrants born outside the Capital Territory made up 50% (around 20,32,850 in number) of the population of the Delhi urban agglomeration, 47% (around 29,23,590 in number) in 1981, and 40% (around 37,68,257 in number) in 1991.

Approximately 8,83,500 in-migrants settled in the Delhi Territory in the five years leading up to

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the 1991 Census, with nearly 90% of them settling in the Delhi urban agglomeration (Dupont, Tarlo, and Vidal, 2000).

From the statistical data above, it is quite evident that MPD ‘62, might have thought about the migrant influx, but failed to take into account that construction and infrastructure development would also lure the working-class population to migrate to the city in search of better employment opportunities. Moreover, DDA worsened the situation further. It is responsible for the construction of housing projects and allocation of land in Delhi but is preferred to facilitate the building of middle-class and high-class homes, ignoring the demands of low-income groups.

This led to the emergence of a good number of HIG, MIG, and LIG (High-, Middle- and LowIncome Group respectively) housing, but outstripped the housing provision for EWS (Economically Weaker Section) (Baviskar, 2020). The only option the working-class was left with was to build temporary shelters near their working sites (which grew and formed bastis later on).

The study is concerned with three aspects of the housing shortage: (a) erroneous population predictions and a significant miscalculation of housing demand; (b) the inability to reach even the inadequate housing targets set; and (c) the fact that the poor had the greatest disparity between need and demand, and then demand and supply. Following table depicts Delhi's expected population growth in the first and second plans, as well as current population levels.

These, in turn, are translated into housing shortages (Bhan, 2012).

Population Projections and Actuals in

Housing Shortfalls by Plan

the Master Plans Projected

Actual

MPD ‘62

100,000 dwelling units

MPD ’62 for 1981

4.59mn

6.22 mn

MPD ‘01

300,000 dwelling units

MPD ’01 for 2001

12mn

13.78mn

MPD ‘21

400,000 dwelling units

Source: MPD’ 62, ’01 and ’21; Government of Delhi (2009); Census of India (1981; 1991; 2001)

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Source: MPD ’62, ’01, ‘21

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Table 1- Housing shortfalls by Masterplans

This ‘failure’ was particular: DDA overbuilt middle and higher income housing while substantially under-building housing for what are termed as the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Over 88% of housing shortfall is within the EWS category (Bhan, 2012).

Estimated Shortfalls in Housing

Housing Stock Allocated vs Built

Units

% of Total

Intended %

Actual % of

(mn)

Shortfall

of Total Built

Total Built

Housing

Housing

EWS

21.78

88.10%

EWS

40%

30.32

Low Income

2.89

11.7

Low Income

30

27.99

25

22.94

5

18.76

Group [LIG]

Middle High

Income/

Group [LIG]

0.04

0.2

Income

Group [MIG/HIG]

Middle High

Income/ Income

Group [MIG/HIG]

Self-Financed Schemes/Other

Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty

Sources: (TRIPP 2000; Hazards Centre 2003). Indicates

Alleviation (updated).

housing built on by DDA or DDA-authorized actors including government agencies, co-operative societies.

Does not include privately built housing.

Table 2- Housing shortfalls within EWS, LIG, MIG and HIG

With increasing population, the next thing that was in demand were places of commerce and recreation. Inflation in housing and commercial centers even instigated inflation in the value of 24

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real-estates and further pressurised the DDA and the government authorities to accelerate the process of urban development. The increasing need for urban development (in the form of urban gigantic projects- highways, flyovers, river-front developments, etc) were met by evicting the slum-dwellers and confiscating their lands. Hence, the transformation of Delhi into a world-class city attracted the labor class into the city, but the inefficiency of the State forced them to settle informally (on “illegal” lands), which were later confiscated by the government themselves to legalize and legitimate and to be sold to the economically stronger section of the society.

Induced Effect on Khori Gaon The political drive initially started back in 2010, when the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad tried forcible evictions in Khori Gaon under the guise that it was located on property subject to the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA)2 restrictions and that the basti's buildings were illegal since "they are not approved under forest regulations" (Menon and Choudhary, 2021). Further, the people of basti were issued eviction papers by the state authorities. On April 25, 2016, the high court chastised the state authorities for their deceit, calling it "per se perverse and cryptic."

Even this harsh and unusual criticism from the high court had no impact on the authorities, who continued to seek to examine the residents' land titles through their notices, deceiving residents and the courts along the way (Menon and Choudhary, 2021).

However, conversing with the residents of Khori Gaon helped in finding the missing pieces of this puzzle. While conversing with two female residents, they stated, “Demolition began around 2 months back, and 14th July was the date.” They went on to say that, “We arrived in this place around 20 years back. At that time, only Chungi No. 3 existed. We didn’t had money to pay rent.

We found out that this place had a good surrounding, and as it was an early stage of settlement, this would be a good choice for us to settle down. We know that this is forest land (‘hume maloom hai ye van vibhag ka hissa hai’), but we bought it rightfully by paying a handsome 2

Between the 1990s and 2009, the Supreme Court prohibited mining in the Aravallis and issued a series of orders that granted the Aravallis an extra layer of legal protection. These orders require all lands governed by the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 (PLPA) to be considered as forest land, regardless of ownership. The Indian Forest Act applies to these lands, and no construction can take place without the Forest Conservation Act's consent (Menon and Chatterjee, 2021).

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amount of 10,000 INR (land bought was 50 gaz) to forest land authorities. We even paid bribes to police officers, authorities, etc to construct our homes (‘Vardi me aate the police vale, parishasan aur sb rishvat le kr jaate the’). A person named Rajdeep, who was an employee and a representative of forest land’s authorities, protected our homes and our village and helped us a lot. He passed away 3-4 years back, and soon after that, this all began. We have legal residential proof, but they don’t mean anything to the parishasan now.”

Fig 4- Demolished houses of Khori Gaon Source- Author (images captured on 17th and 18th September 2021)

Writing for the Indian Express, dated 17th July 2021, Sakshi Dayal quotes MCF CommissionerGarima Mittal who in an interview with the Indian Express said, “A camp has been set up in the center (Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan) for people to register for the rehabilitation scheme, as per which they will be allotted EWS flats in Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar.”

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Fig 5- Mapping of Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar with respect to Khori Gaon. The images show that the proposed rehabilitation is quite far away from the Khori Gaon. Settling at a faraway distance from Khori Gaon means that the inhabitants of Khori would have to build their spaces again, and at the same time have to establish their livelihood (means of subsistence) from scratch. This is also another problem that raises apprehensions for the Khori residents.

Source- [Left] Google Earth image- accessed on 20th September 2021, Post-processed by author; [Right] Google Map images- accessed on 20th September 2021, Post-processed by author

Residents are, however, more apprehensive about the rehabilitation on offer. They said they are afraid of being duped again. Moreover, as per the plan, "only those people will be eligible for rehabilitation who have an annual income of up to Rs 3 lakh, and meet one of three conditions – the head of the family must have his name on the voter list for Badkhal assembly constituency as of January 1, 2021; the head of the family must have an identity card issued by the Government of Haryana as of January 1, 2021; or any member of the family must have an electricity connection issued by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (DHBVN)." (Dayal, 2021)

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Fig 6- Development Plan of Faridabad 2031, marks Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar as residential and industrial areas respectively.

Source- Deptt. Of Town and Country Planning, Haryana

An equally paramount player in the whole game is the Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan (covered in much more detail in the next section). It is situated right adjacent to the Khori Gaon on the Ridge itself. However, like the hospitality and office buildings, the existence of this religious center is unquestioned. This raises some serious questions about- how citizenship varies across different social groups residing in the same area? How do the policies identify and classify one set of groups under illegality while the other groups are left unnoticed?

Differential Citizenship in Urban Context On the one hand, there lies- theory, nationalism, unbound serialities, citizens - a homogeneous national space, and civil society; on the other, there is- theory, governmentality, bound serialities, populations, a heterogeneous social space, and political society — Partha Chatterjee, an Indian political scientist, and anthropologist, constructs a binary between two dynamics within the modern state. He claims that the latter is the fabric of modern society. "People can only imagine themselves in an empty homogeneous time; they do not live in it. Empty homogeneous time is the utopian time of capital." Since the French Revolution, nationalism has become the key legitimization of state power through identifying people, nation, and state (Chatterjee, 2004).

However, it is unsustainable because it necessitates a specific type of person and group — the 28

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citizen (rather than the subject) who has a valid and legal place in society, and civil society as the grouping of such people.

In practice, governance is based on population classifications, such as ethnicity, religion, and caste, as well as groups living outside or on the edge of legality, to direct social welfare and control initiatives. Citizens are thus replaced with "populations" in the sphere of practice.

The phrases ‘collective identity,’ ‘populations’, ‘participation,’ and ‘practices of citizenship,’ in a strict sense, are crucial in establishing this hypothesis, as they provide a unique way to describe the changes that occur at key times in social structuring. Being a citizen necessitates a lengthy process of identity building. Citizenship is described as the act of sharing social and cultural experiences that give a person a sense of belonging to a community. This cultural perspective recognizes that the best way to express citizen identity is through solidarity. Citizen identity is concerned with the formation of a social subject, but it goes beyond the conceptual fallacy of thinking that this identity is predetermined or fixed. From a single and compact perspective, we cannot simply explain citizen identity through integration, inclusion, and uniformity. Citizens confront difference, marginalization, and diversity from both the outside and the inside of a common identity (Tamayo, 2019). Different kinds of identity and, as a result, differential citizen actions are defined by this tension.

The community determines the rules of participation in a situation of inequity and tension. This means that societal inequities, a lack of social justice, resource allocation, individual liberty' boundaries, and power struggles all represent different types of citizenship. Citizenship conceptions and allied ideologies, on the other hand, seek equality; achieving it is their goal. In reality, this designation supporting universal rights merely serves to obscure inequities.

Citizenship, as Marx explains—and Marshall later elaborates on—is "simply the skin of a lion": it can hide inequalities between classes, but it can never eliminate them. A soldier, a trader, an entrepreneur, a worker, and/or a student can all be citizens. These positions form a citizen's qualifier, defining the specificity of citizenship activities and experiences. As a result, citizenship is neither unique nor fixed. Instead, different actors interpret it differently, resulting in uneven

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social practices. Citizenship is a fluid concept. It is a tool for changing social relations rather than an end in itself (Tamayo, 2019).

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Chapter 03

UNDERSTANDING GROUND REALITY

In Arjun Appadurai’s article Research as a Human Right, published in the book Globalization, Societies, and Education, he argues that research should be considered as a right of a special kind. He adds how research is a general ability of a human to investigate things that they ought to know or want to know but do not know yet due to certain barriers that have either deprived them of the necessary resources required or did not allow them to grab the appropriate opportunities. He notifies the readers about the general plotting of the theme “research” all across the globe and how over time certain societies and systems have become more conscious of this necessary discipline (which was long being ignored).

Relation of Wicked Problems with Planners, Architects and Designers Manifestation of social justice and injustice in a city is itself a wicked problem. Thus, the case of Khori Gaon is also a part of this wicked problem. Before proceeding and analysing the problem in detail, it is important to understand that there exists a relation of wicked problems and (social) planners, and how both are responsible for each other. It is paramount to identify a set of characteristics that could be used to define these wicked problems and could help planners/designers as well to design a path to negotiate with these difficulties comprehensively.

The wicked problems are extremely subjective and thus, their solutions too are subjective. In a world where people or rather communities hold distinct opinions and beliefs about one thing, it’s really hard to come up with solutions that could satisfy all of them. Moreover, these are certain factors that should restrain us from tagging these solutions as true or false, or right or wrong, instead, they could be called as good or bad. These problems and even their solutions are sorts of associative and inductive, maybe the solution to one problem could lead to arousal of another

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problem, majorly due to the contradiction of opinions. Thus, broadly speaking the solution of these problems has to be a “one shot-operation”, unlike mathematics and science where trial and error may work because the human resource linked with experiments in these fields are negligible. What makes the role of a designer even more crucial is how they generate the problem statement, because the process and how the problem-statement would be presented would even govern the course of deducing solutions for the same problem.

Thorough research- gathering of more information, widening the scope of one's knowledge are a few factors via which designers could reach out to more acceptable and more plausible variants of solutions. Rather than dealing with such large-scale social impacts, planners, architects, and designers should rely upon the axioms of individualism that underlie economic and political theory, deducing, in effect, that the larger-public welfare derives from the summation of individualistic choices.

The critical issue that lay at the heart of this problem, is the inability to articulate what exactly the problem is and then come up with a subsequent solution. The other side of the same coin states that maybe while articulating a problem in one way, we are by its very nature excluding other aspects and issues from consideration. Now, given that, this articulation will always be arbitrary and it’s almost impossible to decisively conclude its territory, therefore the solutions for the same will always be partial, arbitrary, and incomplete.

Society and the community that we live in, work on the principles of induction. Hereknowledge, thoughts, everything is pollinated. Everyone has biased and unbiased opinions based on the information and content they have come-across. When a designer has to entertain such a vast group of thoughts, his/her solution would have a fair chance of getting what can be termed as “binary criticism” that is right or wrong, true or false. However, this is even the point where the paradigm of the profession has to be defined, the audience which usually works on cognitive intuition and lack of experience and opinions could have the right of dealing these situations in a binary manner but for a designer to be true to his profession and ethics, he/she has to widen his/her horizon, go beyond the binary framework, should explore the depth of the problem and the context associated and then should come up with a much competent solution.

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Understanding Khori Research initially started with a few literature reviews on the broader topic involving "social justice, equalities, and equities in space-making" to understand the general concepts and complexities of the subject that the author is addressing.

The topic undertaken is extremely human-centric and thus it called for primary research to observe and analyze how the understandings from the literature read, get manifested, and thus, exist in the (absolute, relational, and relative) space3.

Initial site visits were conducted with unbiased opinions to understand the on-ground reality and determine the scale and the context of the urban wicked problem that we are dealing with. It was observed that “Khori Gaon” was divided into 4 major parts as- Chungi No. 1,2,3 and Khori Gaon. This division was based purely on how the village started to settle and expand. Chungi No. 1 was the first one to show traces of existence while later the whole cluster came to be known as Khori Gaon. Thus, the majority of the early migrants were (to be) found in Chungi No. 1. Hence, to deduce an appropriate, unbiased, and heterogeneous survey set, 12-15 residents from each zone (Chungi No. 1, 2, 3 and new Khori Gaon) were identified. Both adult males and females, along with senior citizens (both males and females) constituted the survey set.

At the same time it was equally important to remain updated- through newspapers and media coverage- with the issues related to Aravalli range and the Ridge and how it affects the social and physical life of people. These issues are closely linked to each other and in a broader scheme of things, they sail in the same boat.

Following is a schematic conceptual framework that was adopted to proceed and understand the case.

3

Refer Appendix to understand usage of “Space” (and absolute, relational, and relative) as a “Key word”.

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Fig 7- Conceptual Framework for the research Source- Author, 7th September 2021

Ethical considerations One of the most essential aspects of the research is the ethical considerations.

Throughout the research, the following points were prioritized: respect for research participants’ dignity was favoured, full consent was obtained from participants prior to the study, protection of research participants' privacy was ensured, any type of communication related to the research was done with honesty and transparency, and any type of misleading information, as well as representation of primary data findings in a biased way was avoided.

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Chapter 04

PRODUCTION AND DESTRUCTION OF “SPACE AND NATURE”

The wider urban context that the author implies through this research is that of “The Ridge”.

Over the years the ridge has shown significant and evolving socio, political, economic and ecological roles (Crowley, 2020). The ridge has undergone a transformation under various dynasties and the initial inhabitants of the ridge.

Delhi has remained the focal point (and in many cases even the stronghold) of many dynasties whether it be Tughlaqs, Mauryans, Chauhans, or the Mughals, or the British empire. Each of them invaded the city with a different strategy and tried to shape it according to their desires (or what the situation demanded). The city of Delhi, thus, has been evolving ever since the 11-12th century. Some of these invaders did understand the geology of the city, the delicacy of the rock formations, and the type of soil Delhi possessed but failed to respect it at times, while others (specifically the Britishers) neither understood the geology of the land nor respected it.

All the fortification, construction work, and infrastructural developments of those times were done via the use of the indigenous rock of Delhi, that is the Quartzite. The ridge was the hub for raw materials. Constant use and even overuse and finally exploitation resulted in the depleting resources at the quartzite mines and the Government decided to stop the quarry work (quarrying also possessed health risks for miners).

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Disguised Timeline of Khori Gaon

Fig 8- Comparative timeline of Khori Gaon Source- Author, as on 25th October, 2021

It was this quarry work that started shaping the spatial-economic, social and ecological landscape of the Ridge. As a result, the Khori Gaon started to settle at the fringes of the Southern Ridge.

In one of the interviews (conducted by the author), the resident of Khori Gaon tells how they were made sure that in the coming few years their basti would be regularised and made a part of the Masterplan. However, a political drive started in 2010, when the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad tried forcible evictions in Khori Gaon under the guise that it was located on property subject to the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) restrictions and that the basti's buildings were illegal since "they are not approved under forest regulations" (Menon and Choudhary, 2021). Further, the people of basti were issued eviction papers by the state authorities. On April 25, 2016, the high court chastised the state authorities for their deceit, calling it "per se perverse and cryptic." Even this harsh and unusual criticism from the high court had no impact on the authorities, who continued to seek to examine the residents' land titles through their notices, deceiving residents and the courts along the way (Menon and Choudhary, 2021).

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Fig 9- Players involved in Space-making of Khori Gaon Source- Author, as on 25th October, 2021

Further, while addressing CWP No. 19148, Khori Gaon Residents Welfare Association (regd.) v/s the State Of Haryana And Others, Hon’ble Justice Paramjeet Singh Dhaliwal highlighted the need for “Right to live” and what all constitutes as its integral part. He stated the following“Right to live guaranteed in any civilised society implies the right to food, water, a decent environment, education, medical care and shelter. These are basic human rights known to any civilised society. All civil, political, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention or under the Constitution of India cannot be exercised without these basic human rights. Shelter for a human being, therefore is not a mere protection of his life and limb. It is a home where he has opportunities to grow physically mentally, intellectually and spiritually. Right to shelter, therefore, includes adequate living space, safe and decent structure, clean and decent surroundings, sufficient light, pure air and water electricity, sanitation and other civic amenities like roads etc. so as to have easy access to his daily avocation.”

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He further states“In sum and substance, the right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India includes the right to livelihood. If a person is evicted from the place where he is residing unauthorizedly and his shanty is demolished, he will certainly lose his livelihood too, for to work he must live somewhere. Perhaps for this reason, the Hon'ble Supreme Court directed that alternative land sites must be allotted to the slum dwellers, not at a too far away distance from their place of work. Otherwise also, it is the duty of the State to look into the needs and necessities of poor people who are not in a position to acquire the minimum three needs of a person i.e. "food, clothing and shelter". These are the basic needs of every human being.”

Despite the High Court stating the importance and significance of “the Right to Live”, as many as 1,700 dwellings were demolished on September 14, 2020 (when the country was still dealing with the first wave). The Khori Gaon Residents Welfare Association wrote to the Faridabad government on February 1, 2021, requesting that a survey be done and residents be rehabilitated in accordance with state policy. However, no communication with the locals was undertaken; instead, 300 homes were reduced to rubble without warning on April 2, 2021 (when the second wave was starting to show an upsurge). A demolition notice was issued on June 9th. The state imposed Section 144 to prevent grassroots mobilization as people and activists demonstrated on the streets. A number of the local officials, as well as one activist, were detained. Khori Gaon's connection to water and electricity was cut off in the days that followed. Movement had been restricted by the installation of barriers along the boundaries of the basti. Additionally, phone network towers within the basti had been removed to prevent inhabitants from communicating with the outside world (Chatterjee, 2021).

Writing for The Indian Express (dated 2nd August 2021), Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli state that using the colonial Punjab Land Presentation Act of 1900, the Haryana state government and judiciary are attempting to establish a "tabula rasa" by brutally eradicating a huge town and restoring forest cover in the Aravallis. The MCF has achieved the terrible feat of evacuating 150 acres of urban land with the densest occupancy of working-class affordable housing. Residents

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of basti have been labeled "forest encroachers" despite the fact that most of them have papers proving that they were sold tiny amounts of property. However, no government body has bothered to review the paperwork and determine under whose patronage a roughly 10,000-house town was built on public land. Such a probe would almost certainly lead to politically unfavorable areas. This could explain the haste with which the basti was demolished.

Fig 10- Residents continue to live on-site (Khori Gaon) under temporary shelter.

Source- Author (image captured on 18th September 2021)

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Fig 11- Demolished houses of Khori Gaon Source- Author (image captured on 18th September 2021)

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Fig 12- Timeline of Khori Gaon Source- Author, as on 25th October 2021

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Role of players and how they influence ?

Space has been conceptualized concerning nature, but the substance of the relationship has been viewed in very different ways. However, under capitalism, space is treated as a ‘physical space’ and thus, as a commodity, for which the physical space implies a certain production of the meaning, concepts, and consciousness of the space as well (Smith and Harvey, 2008). People often confuse the idea of space as a commodity, something as tangible and pre-existing.

Space is rather a socially fundamental concept. Lefebvre adds to it that space is produced by people and it is what people make out of it. How people produce space is contingent upon when they are producing that particular space.

The very thought- of the tangibility of “Khori Gaon” and viewing this space in the absence of “relative” and “relational” aspect, caused each player to look and impact the space differently, yet resulting in a similar consequence.

Fig 13- Role and influence of the Players Source- Author, 20th September 2021

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Lefebvre argued, “Every society- and hence every mode of production, produces a space, its own space”. In the materialistic sense, it is easy to imagine this. But Lefebvre recognized that we do not only produce physical landscapes, but society, in general, procures value from the environment. The relationship between people and nature has a strong influence on the people themselves (Smith and Harvey, 2008). Thus, social relations including varying degrees of exploitation and inequality are also deeply implicated in the production of the space. The challenge is to understand how these relationships work together and in turn affect our perception of space and how this production of space has contributed to the survival of capitalism.

Speculative Relation between Power and Religious Institute The initial speculations began while interviewing and interacting with the residents of the Khori Gaon. In a conversation with a middle aged man, he stated, “Demolition drive began on 14th July 2021. As soon as the drive began, the authorities enforced section 144 (Dhara 144). No media coverage, no internet, no movement was allowed here. No compensation or rehabilitation is provided in any way. Earlier NGOs and all used to come and provide us with food and water, but now even that is not done. For water, we are buying these 20 rupees bisleri bottles and are sustaining ourselves. At max, we can eat twice a day, that too if it doesn’t rain. The authorities are saying that if we’ll submit our forms (along with residential proofs) at the Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan (which is at walking distance from Khori Gaon), then they might be able to help us, but we know these things do not work. They are saying that we’ll be rehabilitated in Dabua Colony. Right now they have set up tarpals at Satsang Bhawan, but there is no security of our belongings if we stay there. The physical conditions of the shelter are more or less the same at both the places.”

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Fig 14Rehabilitation Camp, Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan, Lal Kuan, Faridabad Source- Author (image captured on 18th Sept. 2021)

This raised further questions about the relation of the religious institute (Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan) with the ecological and socio-political connotations associated with the Ridge.

On exploring further, it was noted that the same institute appears to have a major land grab on and around the Ridge area. Three religious institutes of the same sect have been constructed as closely as 10 km apart from each other, that too when the one at Chattarpur, Delhi forms as the major of these institutes, standing at a levelled ridge area worth of 300 acres. In the book, Fractured Forest, Quartzite City, author Thomas Crowley states, “Not far from here is an upmarket retreat center owned by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a spiritual organization with deep pockets. It was built after leveling a hill, clear evidence that this was part of the Ridge, but the construction was allowed: it didn’t hurt, the villagers note, that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi at the time was a devotee of the sect.”

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Fig 15- Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan’s (Religious Institute) presence in the proximity of the ridge.

Source- Base Map and information as obtained from Master Plan of Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad, Location of RSSB as obtained from satellite imagery, Google Earth pro and Google Maps; post-processed by Author as on 8th October 2021

Hence, it is very well visible that there lies some religious and cultural inclination from both the civic/social and political body. This results in a form of isomorphism between the three players and the negative effects are induced on the vulnerable and marginalized urban poor. One of the speculations that arise with it is that to compensate and neutralize the effect of this unevenness of geographical development, or as an attempt to suppress the social injustice, the religious institute offers out help to the residents of the Khori Gaon. But as already mentioned above, that help seems superficial. Moreover, the residents of Khori Gaon are well-aware of the fact that if their bastis are being constructed on forest land, then even this institute (along with the office and hospitality buildings) defy the legalities of the Masterplan. The manifestation and existence of Social Injustice and inequalities lie for these people in the fact- that these institutes go on lending

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help and appear to as “messiah” but at the same time, they are also the ones who are illegal encroachers of the Ridge land.

Fig 16- Speculative Relation between Power and Religious Institute Source- Author, as of 25th October 2021

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Chapter 05

CONCLUSION: REVAMPING BOUNDARIES, RESTATING INTANGIBLES, REDRESSING OBSTACLES

Amita Baviskar in her book Uncivil City: Ecology, Equity and the Commons in Delhi refers to a type of elite environmentalism driven by aesthetic politics and a modernist culture still plagued by colonial concepts of purity, public health, and hygiene as "bourgeois environmentalism" (Baviskar, 2020). Her terms bourgeois and upper class allude to easily identifiable urban, elite, property-owning, white-collar professionals: in other words, the proprietors of material and symbolic capital.

At its most basic level, a city's design is determined by its citizens and their desires. Social structures, on the other hand, determine who has their wishes acknowledged and implemented.

As a result, urban planning, like other forms of ‘state production,' can exclude vulnerable and marginalized communities from both accessing and shaping the city. The poor and underprivileged are not only alienated from environmental action, but they are also frequently subjected to exclusionary and aggressive demolition and cleaning practices. Concurrently, environmental politics are misunderstood as elite discussions, limiting visibility to the disproportionate impact of environmental crises on marginalized people and refusing to include specific issues in environmental debates (Baviskar, 2020).

Structure (Ethnographic and Political) of Ridge The ridge's administrative structure ensures that it will be a victim of these political and religious rivalries and tensions. The DDA, the L&DO, the Forest Department, the Revenue Department, the Army (never far from the Ridge), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Railways, the Central Public 47

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Works Department, and the Sports Authority of India (which controls the Asian Games-era shooting range) continue to administer the Ridge on a daily basis . The Forest Department and the DDA, two entities with very different ideas for the Ridge, are the main owners. Many of these merely control little parts of the Ridge (the MHA, for example, owns only six hectares); the Forest Department and the DDA are the biggest owners (Crowley, 2020).

The settlement procedure has yet to be finished, more than two decades after the sweeping Ridge notices of the mid-1990s; the Ridge's boundaries have not been definitively established, and residents' requests to compensation have not been fully handled.

Fig 17- Socio-political and socio-cultural demarcation of the physical Ridge Source- Author, as on 2nd November 2021

The continuously contentious demarcation of the Ridge demonstrates both the State's might and its vulnerability. Laws like the Indian Forest Act (1927) and the Delhi Land Reform Act (1954), as well as bodies like the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, wield enormous

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power in defining categories that have life-or-death implications for the majority of the population; these agencies define what "public interest" entails (even if it involves mass evictions and dispossession), what land qualifies as a "forest" (even if it has no trees), and what qualifies as "surplus" land (even if it has myriad uses for local populations). However, these classifications are not as precise as their proponents would want. These categories are also broken by the "state's fissures" (Crowley, 2020).

A world-class city's imagination does not allow for the untidy, democratic debate of the streets.

The new city that bourgeois environmentalists want necessitates violence against the city's most marginalized residents, who must be pushed out to make room for the new urban order. Other Indian urbanists, such as Bhan, argue that a city's rights extend beyond its physical space to include having a say in political decisions on the use and equal distribution of urban resources, such as land and infrastructure.

Induced Debilitation on Social Structure Residents of Khori Gaon have been deprived of their Right to food, water, a decent environment, education, medical care, and shelter. The Neoliberal state has focused on privatizing the land, commodifying it, and extracting money from it in the form of hospitality and office buildings which are built right adjacent to the Khori Gaon. The argument isn't based on the notion that an inappropriate deed (the settling of Khori Gaon people on Forest Lands) is being justified because of another inappropriate activity (construction of hospitality and office buildings) that occurred nearby. Rather, the argument focuses on how geographical inequity shows itself in an urban setting and under urban (neoliberal) administration. It also shows how the state and local governments lubricate the process of expanding inequalities (disparities here refer to the socio-economic imbalance that exists between Khori Gaon locals and stakeholders of the hospitality, office, and religious sectors) between different social groups.

For these people (residents of Khori Gaon), the manifestation and existence of social injustice and inequality lie in the fact that these institutes continue to offer assistance and seem like "messiahs," but they are also illegal encroachers on the Ridge territory.

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Permeable Boundaries of the Ridge and ever-growing Urban Context The state sits right at the top of the pyramid

of

the social

structure,

followed by the bureaucrats, and the elite class. officially

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State When

mining was stopped, the working class which was heavily dependent on quarrying started to face hardships and demanded to reopen mines. Even, the State

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demands and opened the mining for it

Source- Base Map and information as obtained

opened up the alluring possibilities for

from https://en-in.topographic-map.com/

the use of the land.

Fast-growing vegetation, generally in the form of Vilayati Keekar (Prosopis juliflora) was grown instead (and at the place) of Desi (Native/Indigenous) Keekar, and places like Badarpur, near the Bhatti mines, were converted to Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, to keep the illegal quarrying work to go on and the same time keeps it well-hidden from the inhabitants of the capital (Crowley,2020).

Crowley tries to highlight that this is mere exploitation of the natural resources available, to meet the ever-growing demands of the city. The geology of the city is a result of a long history (transforming even today), yet neither history nor geography is respected.

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Science treats nature and space in a materialistic way, as external in the sense that the phenomena taking place seems like an abstraction of the social context and scientific activity itself. Human beings treat natural objects as labor to be worked up as “commodities” using mechanical art (Smith and Harvey, 2008). This itself highlights the capitalist nature of the whole point. This external conceptualization is again an objectification of nature in the production process. In the book- “Uneven Development- Nature, Capital, and the Production of Space” Smith constantly points out that throughout the ages, humans have tried to control “nature”, which highlights their capitalist intentions, and thus, it is us who in the first place have initiated this industrial capitalism and we are the ones who’ll have to constantly fight it out.

Maps (Delhi, Gurgaon, and Faridabad) below clearly shows that the dense forest cover has reduced, and more urban spaces have consumed up the tree cover and even some parts of the ridge (sub-urban areas have also consumed the ridge and the tree cover towards the southern side of Delhi).

Fig 19- Land Cover Map along with the Ridge as of 2003 Fig 20- Land Cover Map along with the Ridge as of 2021 Source-

Base

Map

and

information as obtained from Master Plan of Delhi, Gurgaon and

Faridabad and further

post-processed

by

Author.

Land Cover as obtained from the GIS data and satellite imagery; Post processed and compiled

by Author on 1st November 2021

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Fig 21- Comparison of Ridge as depicted by the State v/s the Actual Ridge available Source- Base Map and information as obtained from Master Plan of Delhi, Gurgaon

and

Faridabad

and

further

post-processed by Author. Ridge data (by the State) is obtained from the Master Plans.

Actual Ridge data is obtained from the GIS data and satellite imagery; Post processed and compiled by Author on 1st November 2021

Revamping Boundaries, Redressing Obstacles Under neoliberal capitalism, urban restructuring through (forced) evictions has become more prevalent in cities around the world. In David Harvey’s essay Neo-Liberalism and the restoration of class power, it is well evident that Harvey focuses on several factors that have helped neoliberalism be a move in the favour of the dominant classes. Some of the factors or key features can be listed as the privatization and commodification of hitherto public assets, reducing taxes, encouraging entrepreneurial initiative and creating a favorable business climate to induce a

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strong inflow of foreign investment, the management and manipulation of the debt crises for the benefit of rich countries at the expense of the poor countries (Harvey, 2005).

According to Neil Smith, the production of scale is a "social process," in which "scale is produced in and through a societal activity which in turn produces and is produced by geographical structures of social interaction" (Smith and Harvey, 2008). According to Smith, "the social as much as a geographical contest to establish boundaries between different places, locations, and sites of experience" is reflected in the continuous manufacture and reproduction of scale. This production is one of the government procedures employed by the Courts in eviction case law. The city is the scale at which the "pressing concerns" of public interest must be diagnosed and characterized, according to the judiciary. This is the scale at which interventions, judgments, and solutions must be conceptualized and implemented at the same time. Evictions can be carried out through the courts in PILs due to the peculiarities of the scale's production (Bhan, 2012).

Further, in neoliberalism, rights cluster around two dominant logics of power- that of the territorial state and that of the capital. The point is clear from this cluster of power itself. Both the state and the capital are in a way regulated by the dominant and elite class. In a more logical sense, let us consider we wish our rights to be universal. But are they universal? In an actual sense- not, for they are to be protected by the state governed laws enforced by the state/ political power itself, and without this regulation of rights, the notion of rights becomes empty. The problem is induced by jurisdiction. The people who are not the “citizens” of a state, or are migrants or do not have a domicile, do not have a jurisdiction to look over them, and often these are the people who are exploited by the neoliberal capitalist accumulation.

Therefore, David Harvey asserts that other than various rights which citizens can exercise, the most crucial right that they have and often forget is that of- “The Right to the City”. This is not limited just to an individual’s liberty to access urban resources, rather “it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city” (Harvey, 2009). Moreover, these changes can be brought in by a collective power and a community together rather than an individual, which makes it more of a

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common right. People have often failed to understand that it’s a two-way street, an individual contributes to making a city and at the same time a city contributes to shaping that individual.

“एक मसला है मेरे हिज़र का, इन ऊॅंची ईमारतों, इन काफिर दिलों, इन बेजान चहरों से, कल निकला मैं बाहर सड़कों पर, तो मालम ू हुआ, इस शहर में हाथ नहीं मिलाता कोई गैरों से, मैं अकेला तो नहीं, जिसे इस तौर-ए-जिंदगी से गिला है , कुछ शिकवा तो दरख्तों को भी है इन शहरों से ||” ~ चन

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Citations and References Baviskar, A. (2020) Uncivil City- Ecology, Equity and the Commons in Delhi. SAGE Publications India Pvt Lmt. Bhan, G. (2012) In the Public’s Interest: Evictions, Citizenship and Inequality in Contemporary Delhi. University of California: UC Berkeley. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0nd455cm.

Chatterjee, I. (2021) How Khori Gaon Residents, Now Facing Eviction, Were Forgotten During the Pandemic, The Wire. Available at: https://thewire.in/rights/how-khori-gaon-residents-now-facing-eviction-received-no-help-during-the-pandemic (Accessed: 8 September 2021).

Chatterjee, P. (2004) The Politics of the Governed-Reflections on Popular Politics in Most of the World. The United States of America: Columbia University Press.

Chaturvedi, B. (2010) Finding Delhi- Loss and Renewal in the Megacity. Penguin Rnadom House India Pvt Ltd. Crowley, T. (2020) Fractured Forest, Quartzite City- A History of Delhi and Its Ridge. SAGE Publications India Pvt Lmt. Dayal, S. (2021) ‘Khori demolition: As registration begins for new homes, red flag from UN experts’, The Indian Express, 17 July. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/khori-demolition-as-registration-begins-for-new-homes-red-flag-from-u n-experts-7408616/ (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

Harvey, D. (2005) Spaces of neoliberalization- Towards a theory of uneven geographical development. Franz Steiner Verlag.

Harvey, D. (2007) A Brief History Of Neoliberalism. 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, USA. Harvey, D. (2009) Social Justice and the City. University of Georgia Press.

Menon, M. and Chatterjee, I. (2021) Why the Haryana Govt Must Not Evict One Lakh Residents of Khori Gaon, India Housing Report. Available at: https://indiahousingreport.in/outputs/opinion/why-the-haryana-govt-must-not-evict-one-lakh-residents-of-khori-gao n/ (Accessed: 8 September 2021).

Menon, M. and Choudhary, A.Z.K. (2021) Why Haryana Govt Shouldn’t Evict Khori Gaon Residents Without Rehabilitation, The Wire. Available at: https://thewire.in/urban/why-haryana-govt-cant-evict-khori-gaon-residents-without-rehabilitation (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

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Menon, M. and Kohli, K. (2021) ‘SC order to raze Khori Gaon is a jarring example of coercive environmentalism’, The Indian Express, 2 August. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/khori-gaon-workers-evictions-aravallis-sc-order-7433680/ (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

Nagar, R. (2021) ‘The Unheard Plight Of Khori Residents Living On The Edge – The Second Angle’, 24 June.

Available at: https://thesecondangle.com/unheard-plight-of-khori-residents/ (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

Parikh, A. (2018) ‘Parikh on Bhan, “In the Public’s Interest: Evictions, Citizenship, and Inequality in Contemporary Delhi”’, H-Citizenship [Preprint].

Sharma, T. et al. (2017) ‘Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Delhi’s Green Cover Change using RS & GIS’, p. 8.

Smith, N. and Harvey, D. (2008) Uneven Development- Nature, Capital, and the Production of Space. 3rd edn.

University of Georgia Press.

Tamayo, S. (2019) ‘Spaces of Citizenship’, in Hildebrandt, P. et al. (eds) Performing Citizenship: Bodies, Agencies, Limitations. Cham: Springer International Publishing (Performance Philosophy), pp. 127–145. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97502-3_9.

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Bibliography Baviskar, A. (2020) Uncivil City- Ecology, Equity and the Commons in Delhi. SAGE Publications India Pvt Lmt. Bhan, G. (2012) In the Public’s Interest: Evictions, Citizenship and Inequality in Contemporary Delhi. University of California: UC Berkeley. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0nd455cm.

Chatterjee, I. (2021) How Khori Gaon Residents, Now Facing Eviction, Were Forgotten During the Pandemic, The Wire. Available at: https://thewire.in/rights/how-khori-gaon-residents-now-facing-eviction-received-no-help-during-the-pandemic (Accessed: 8 September 2021).

Chatterjee, P. (2004) The Politics of the Governed-Reflections on Popular Politics in Most of the World. The United States of America: Columbia University Press.

Chaturvedi, B. (2010) Finding Delhi- Loss and Renewal in the Megacity. Penguin Rnadom House India Pvt Ltd. Choudhury, S. (2013) ‘206-year-old hand-drawn map of Delhi from 1807’, Cutting the Chai, 7 June. Available at: https://www.cuttingthechai.com/2013/06/6351/206-year-old-hand-drawn-map-of-delhi-from-1807/ (Accessed: 31 August 2021).

Crowley, T. (2020) Fractured Forest, Quartzite City- A History of Delhi and Its Ridge. SAGE Publications India Pvt Lmt. Dayal, S. (2021) ‘Khori demolition: As registration begins for new homes, red flag from UN experts’, The Indian Express, 17 July. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/khori-demolition-as-registration-begins-for-new-homes-red-flag-from-u n-experts-7408616/ (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

Dubey, G. (2019) A self-evident truth: Delhi needs more public transport. Available at: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/air/a-self-evident-truth-delhi-needs-more-public-transport-65539 (Accessed: 31 August 2021).

Dupont, V., Tarlo, E. and Vidal, D. (2000) Delhi: Urban Space and Human Destinies. Manohar Publishers & Distributors.

Harvey, D. (2005) Spaces of neoliberalization- Towards a theory of uneven geographical development. Franz Steiner Verlag.

Harvey, D. (2007) A Brief History Of Neoliberalism. 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, USA.

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Harvey, D. (2009) Social Justice and the City. University of Georgia Press.

Menon, M. and Chatterjee, I. (2021) Why the Haryana Govt Must Not Evict One Lakh Residents of Khori Gaon, India Housing Report. Available at: https://indiahousingreport.in/outputs/opinion/why-the-haryana-govt-must-not-evict-one-lakh-residents-of-khori-gao n/ (Accessed: 8 September 2021).

Menon, M. and Choudhary, A.Z.K. (2021) Why Haryana Govt Shouldn’t Evict Khori Gaon Residents Without Rehabilitation, The Wire. Available at: https://thewire.in/urban/why-haryana-govt-cant-evict-khori-gaon-residents-without-rehabilitation (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

Menon, M. and Kohli, K. (2021) ‘SC order to raze Khori Gaon is a jarring example of coercive environmentalism’, The Indian Express, 2 August. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/khori-gaon-workers-evictions-aravallis-sc-order-7433680/ (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

Nagar, R. (2021) ‘The Unheard Plight Of Khori Residents Living On The Edge – The Second Angle’, 24 June.

Available at: https://thesecondangle.com/unheard-plight-of-khori-residents/ (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

Parikh, A. (2018) ‘Parikh on Bhan, “In the Public’s Interest: Evictions, Citizenship, and Inequality in Contemporary Delhi”’, H-Citizenship [Preprint].

Sharma, T. et al. (2017) ‘Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Delhi’s Green Cover Change using RS & GIS’, p. 8.

Smith, N. and Harvey, D. (2008) Uneven Development- Nature, Capital, and the Production of Space. 3rd edn.

University of Georgia Press.

Tamayo, S. (2019) ‘Spaces of Citizenship’, in Hildebrandt, P. et al. (eds) Performing Citizenship: Bodies, Agencies, Limitations. Cham: Springer International Publishing (Performance Philosophy), pp. 127–145. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97502-3_9.

Venkatesan, V. (2020) Justice Mishra’s Last Order: Eviction of Slum Dwellers Along Railway Tracks in 3 Months, The Wire. Available at: https://thewire.in/law/justice-arun-mishras-last-order-eviction-jhuggies-railway-tracks (Accessed: 8 September 2021).

YAMUNA FLOOD PLAIN (no date). Available at: http://spaenvis.nic.in/index1.aspx?lid=2284&mid=1&langid=1&linkid=550 (Accessed: 31 August 2021).

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Appendix 1 In the essay Notes towards a theory of uneven geographical development, David Harvey talks about the production of space (a term coined by Lefebvre) under capitalism, with a specific focus on uneven geographical development. He talks about how the laws of accumulation produce uneven development within a predetermined spatial structure.

Later in the essay, Harvey mentions that space shall be viewed as an amalgamation of absolute, relative, and relational space. This very fact that geographers today have just viewed it in two aspects, and have treated it mostly as relational and relative rather than as an absolute framework of the social relations, has allowed capital accumulation to not only create spaces but also create new and different forms of spatiality. According to

Neil Smith, this forms the general

precondition for the construction of any general theory of uneven development.

Material Space (Experienced Space) Absolute Space

walls, bridges, doors, stairways, floors, ceilings, streets, buildings, cities, mountains, continents, bodies of water, territorial markers, physical boundaries and barriers, gated communities...

Relative Space (Time)

circulation and flows of energy, water, air, commodities, peoples, information, money, capital; accelerations and diminutions in the friction of distance...

Relational Space (Time)

electromagnetic energy flows and fields; social relations; rental and economic potential surfaces; pollution concentrations; energy potentials; sounds, odors and sensations wafted on the breeze

Table 3- Material Space Source- Notes towards a theory of uneven geographical development, by David Harvey

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Representation of Spaces

Spaces of Representation (lived spaces)

(conceptualized spaces) cadastral and administrative maps; Euclidean feelings of contentment around the hearth; sense geometry; landscape description; metaphors of

of security or incarceration from enclosure; sense

confinement, open space, location, placement and

of

power

from

ownership, command and

positionality; (command and control relatively domination over space; fear of others "beyond the easy) - Newton and Descartes

pale”

thematic and topological maps (e.g. London tube anxiety at not getting to class on time; thrill of system); non-Euclidean geometries and topology; moving into the unknown; frustration in a traffic perspectival drawings; metaphors of situated

jam; tensions or exhilarations of time-space

knowledges, of motion, mobility, displacement,

compression, of speed, of motion.

acceleration, time-space compression distancian and (command and control difficult requiring sophisticated techniques- Einstein and Riemann surrealism;existentialism;

psychogeographies; visions, fantasies, desires, frustrations, memories,

cyberspace, metaphors of internalization of forces dreams,

phantasms,

psychic

states

(e.g.

and powers; (command and control difficult-chaos agoraphobia, vertigo, claustrophobia) extremely theory, dialectics, internal relations, quantum mathematics) - Leibniz, Whitehead, Deleuze, Benjamin

Table 4- Conceptualised v/s Lived Spaces Source- Notes towards a theory of uneven geographical development, by David Harvey

The chapter revolves around the concept of the circulation of capital. The capital circulates in different scales from territorial regions to states to global scale. The core of the problem lies in the unsmooth circulation of this capital. As this circulation is regulated by those in power or the elite class, the beginning of the problem lies in this circulation itself. The flow of money is directed in such a way that it moves from one developed space to another developed space. With the increasing amount of capital, and production of more surplus, the capitalists now have a

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wider scope to exploit and they start looking for more opportunities that could help them in capital accumulation. This is the point where they turn their focus to the less developed geographical areas, for it is now easy to regulate and control with the use of capital (generated from the surplus). The fact that uneven geographical development is spread unevenly, now hampers the cause of the elite class as well, because even the other developed economies would try to take monopoly over this region to increase their mode of production and capital accumulation. This is precisely the reason which leads to crises and wars, as history has already witnessed.

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Appendix 2 “Space as a Key Word” Harvey stresses the word “space” so much because it has so many different connotations in how it is being used. People from different professions, different backgrounds use it in different ways, often being influenced by the context in which it is being used.

In the essay, Harvey stresses majorly over three types of space that are- absolute, relative, and relational. He refers to space as an index of time, and shall always be studied in relation to time to yield better understanding and analyses. He even focuses on how and why it is important to use them with each other and not independently, for an uneven development can be closest avoided if these three spaces are understood and applied correctly and in harmony with each other. To better understand things, he gives an example of the absolute space of an affluent gated community. Some of the inhabitants of these gated communities move out of these communities into a financial district where they set in motion movements of credits and capitals that not only affect their lives but affects life across the globe and in the same process they even accumulate some money for themselves to sustain their existence back in their privileged gate community where they keep stocking other luxurious demands as well. The point here is that these people are increasingly paranoid about the world around them and thus, invest more and more in their absolute space. In this example, in terms of relative space (material sense), there is still a movement as commodities are moving in and out of the gated communities, credit is flowing, but the fact that social relations, energy potentials which are part of relational space, are being compromised. This, in turn, adds to the unevenness of the geographic development, and once again the main culprit behind the act is the accumulation of capital and accumulation by dispossession; the ideas that floated under neoliberalism.

Thus, it not only becomes important to understand the complex keyword “space” but also understand the “spatiotemporalities” (for space always has a relation with time and it should not

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be ignored) and spatiality (characteristics that define the quality of a space material space, conceptualized space, lived space) associated with it.

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Dissertation 2021 Academic Draft Research Paper School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

Author Chanpreet Singh (A/3028/2017) Guide & Instructor: Dr. Leon A. Morenas Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Jaya Kumar

Year- 5th | Section- B | Date of Submission - 17th November 2021 | Word Count - 9953

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