The Maharashtra government?s decision to regularise all slums that came into existence before early 2000?the earlier cut-off date for regularisation was 1995?-will likely be seen as a crude populist measure to garner important votes in Mumbai just before the assembly elections. However, the move, viewed purely from the perspective of effective slum redevelopment, may not be that bad. With a cut-off date that?s more recent the government makes it easier for builders and slum redevelopers to persuade people to vacate space for the necessary redevelopment in exchange for the promise of a better tenement once the redevelopment is completed. In the absence of any rights, squatters are unlikely to vacate slums and can mobilise fairly effectively to block any process of forcibly evicting them, even though that is what the law mandates the Greater Mumbai municipal corporation to do. In fact, a majority of builders favour doing away with any cut-off date at all. However, that may create a perverse incentive for people to deliberately squat in the hope of getting a better flat in exchange for vacating space. There are rules though which prevent people who are allotted a new flat from selling it for a specified period of time. Such rules are against the basic principles of private property rights?once you own a flat, you should have the right to sell it. As long as there are cut-off dates and background checks on people who are allotted flats in exchange for vacating space, there is no need for provisions to prevent resale.
The problem, however, is that some slum dwellers do not have clearly defined property rights in the first place?though electoral cards have probably made a big difference?which complicates matters, irrespective of the cut-off date chosen. Still, there is little option but to proceed with slum redevelopment, not only in Mumbai but in other cities as well. In Mumbai, the problem of land shortage and high prices is acute and the few spaces which can still be built on are occupied by the slums. Redevelopment would not only give slum dwellers better conditions to live in, but will also help address the important issue of property prices and availability of quality space. The Central government has, in a welcome move, committed resources to a new Rajiv Awaas Yojana for slum dwellers, under which states that assign property rights to slum dwellers will get the Centre?s support. The Union government has, in Parliament, renewed its commitment to a slum-free India in five years. There is much at stake not only for slumdwellers who need better homes and workplaces, but also for our cities, which need more space and urban development very urgently.