Enumerations, mapping and surveys of slums are critical tools in the process of community mobilisation. The Federation introduces communities to these tools and encourages them to collect all details related to socio-economic conditions such as housing, sanitation, water, income and education at the individual, household and settlement level.

The central idea is that communities themselves must be involved in collecting this information about themselves and then use this information to explore solutions and negotiate with relevant state authorities. Moreover, the actual task of collecting and processing data by and for a community generates an understanding that community problems can be dealt with only through collective effort. Thus, data gathering and analysis are not detached, mechanical exercises done by third-party professionals, rather enumerations are powerful political tools that strengthen bonds within communities.

A very important point is that, most often, nobody, neither the municipality nor state authorities have such detailed information about a slum community. This lack of information often becomes the basis on which allocations are refused to slums and informal settlements. Self-enumerations give communities the ability to speak from a position of knowledge as they have access to information, which no one else has. Consequently, they are in a stronger position to negotiate for their rights with city and state authorities.

For example, in 1999, the Alliance was involved in a resettlement project for settlements living along the railway tracks under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). Under this project, over a thousand households who lived along the railway tracks were illegally demolished in 2000 for the purpose of widening of railway tracks. The situation would have been extremely tragic and chaotic if the Federation had not stepped in, showing detailed maps of the area that had been made, which were able to exactly locate and indicate houses that had been demolished. This resulted in the railways being forced to provide alternate accommodation to all those whose houses were threatened to be demolished under the MUTP.

Please click here to see relevant publications on ennumerations and mobilisation.

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