Bawana Resettlement Colony Public Hearing on Sanitation 19 March 2008

Sanitation is one of the major issues that Bawana has faced since the eviction of the residents in Keeping in view of the problems, Jagori Mahila Nagrik Hak Nigrani Samiti organised a Public Hearing on the issue of sanitation and how women and children are facing problems due to it.

Venue: Jhanda Chowk, Bawana J.J. Colony,Delhi Slogan: Swach rehen sehen- suraksha hamari Hamari suraksha- prashasan ki jimmedari

Pamphlet distributed for the Public Hearing

Panel Members  Area Councillor  MLA  Representative from MCD

Issues Raised… Water scarcity in Ladies toilets No proper cleaning in the toilets Problem of Paid toilets Closure of toilets at 10pm Unsafe environment for women Problems in accessibility of women/girls to the facilities provided Cleaning of drains Dearth of dustbins in the area Spread of diseases Careless approach of the authorities

 One of the residents of Bawana stated that the government has opened Sulabh toilets in the locality for which each family has to pay 10 to 15 Rupees everyday. He exclaimed that they cannot afford one meal a day, how can they spend on toilets? Hence the people have no option rather than to use the streets for bathing and latrine.  Another person said that there are some empty areas which are allotted for parks but even they are filled with garbage as there are only 5 garbage points of which people only use 3. Also, the garbage is not picked up by the authorities regularly which has led to its overflow.

The area superintendent present in the meeting regretted about the condition and blamed the localites on not co-operating with the MCD officials. He suggested to have another public hearing with the higher officials.

Course of the meeting  Mass participation from the people of Bawana  People came up with problems  There were almost equal number of men and women who came to speak about the issue.  The residents raised many questions during the hearing and asked for redressal from the MCD authorities  MCD representative addressed their problems.  A photo exhibition on sanitation in Bawana was also conducted.

Conclusion The authorities and the people of Bawana came out with certain suggestions to maintain a clean and safe environment in the area. These are:  Establishment of groups in each block so that the problems of each and every individual can be taken care of.  These groups can register complaints if any and also look after the documentation of these complaints for future use.  Some preparatory work should be done for solving these problems. People should participate in the Jagori Nagrik Hak Samiti meeting to discuss these problems.

 The residents should keep a check on the authorities and be in regular contact with the officials.  The localites should keep a check on their surroundings and come together to raise their voices against any injustice committed by the authorities.  To send a letter to the higher officials to raise the number of dustbins and sweepers in the locality.  The localites should co-operate with the authorities and keep their surroundings clean.

Follow-up The Public Hearing provided a platform to the Bawana inhabitant s to meet the authorities on a one to one to basis. It helped them in addressing their problems and find efficient solutions for the same. It was also a podium to recognise their rights and how they can stand for them and fight against any injustices. The sanitation issues have been efficiently taken into consideration by the authorities and effective steps have been taken in this regard. Jagori members also keep a check and take actions if any discrepancy is noticed.