Assessing Social Impacts of Slum Displacement on Women’s Lives: A Case Study of three Resettlement Colonies in Delhi, India

The mega-cities’ displacement often affects all in different ways but it goes economically, politically and socially beyond words to most vulnerable and marginalized groups of the population. Further, impoverishment and risks associated with resettlement can be felt more intensely on and by certain segments of the displaced population. Such projects have multiple and differential impacts, especially on women, men and children. Nonetheless, regardless of differences in caste, class, religion, or region, women everywhere bear the heavy brunt (in terms of tangible and intangible losses) of the forced move a lot more than the male members of their families. This very paper has projected a detailed study of similar courses on women of three major resettlement colonies of Bawana, Bhalsawa and TikriKhurd in Delhi, India.


Introduction
The pace of Indian urbanization is faster than ever before. Earlier the cities were regarded as engines of growth. They used to act as huge magnets, attracting people from rural areas seeking gainful employment. 'But ever since new agricultural policies have left farmers to the mercy of market forces, more and more peasant families are finding it difficult to survive in rural economies and therefore, seeking better opportunities in the towns and cities'. 1 These opportunities are essential for livelihood and employment but are often accompanied by the task of finding shelter as near the place of work as possible. Since Indian cities are not designed to cater to the demands of migrants, they are forced to squat on whatever vacant piece of land is available nearby, or where there are other people with family or village ties. This creates squatters' settlements or slums. This also provides the municipal authorities and urban local bodies to seek to "resettle" these families in the better-planned colonies with basic minimum civic facilities.
As cities and urban populations have grown rapidly, various initiatives that purport to bring development have forced the relocation of many urban residents over the last fifty years. Numerous individual case studies have shown the negative effects on those forced to move, even when they are re-housed in new neighborhoods. Yet rural relocation, for example, displacement from dam reservoirs or national parks, has received much more systematic synthesis and policy attention than having the problems of urban forced relocation. On the one hand, urban projects often promise significant benefits to the urban poor, who often live in "rights-depriving" circumstances. They often lack at least some of the followings: stable income-earning strategies, acceptable housing, access to clean water and adequate sanitation, access to other public services such as education, political participation, and representation. On the other hand, urban development projects often fail to deliver the valuable benefits that they promise. The following reasons are particularly important: definition of urban relocation and resettlement as a housing issue; lack of adequate attention to livelihoods; lack of recognition of the heterogeneity of poor urban neighborhoods; and insufficient acknowledgment and use of existing forms of participation and activism. The study tries to focus on the above-said issues and problems in the resettled population of Delhi.
Even though the slum relocation constitutes the largest proportion of urban resettlement, there is no uniformed policy that ensures that the displaced people have an access to livelihood, primary health, education, social networks etc. once they are relocated at new sites. The State is not bound by any policy to restore their lost livelihoods, their lost jobs, their lost access to basic infrastructure etc. Thus, there is a need to assess the impacts they have to bear as a result of the displacement, evaluate the site where they are relocated in terms of distance from their previous settlement site, distance from their erstwhile workplace etc. Most importantly, there is a need to point out the lacunae that the policy on slum resettlement possesses and to suggest improvements based on an analysis of different resettlement policies being followed by other countries. These are the tasks that this study has undertaken.

Conceptual Underpinnings of Displacement of Population in Urban Areas
The involuntary resettlement of people is not only in case of large dams, roads or railway projects but also within a city such an impoverishing act of resettlement has almost become a continuous process. The population of Indian cities is increasing at an alarming rate. An alarming fact is that around 70 percent of an increase in urban population in last ten years has occurred in Class I cities (with the population above 1 lakh). 2 This increasing population puts a continual demand for services and infrastructure provision. The problem of urban resettlement becomes more acute because of the increasing population densities; the administration has to constantly undertake a balancing act of creating new infrastructure and improve the existing 2 J. Chadchan & R. Shankar, 'An Analysis of Urban Growth Trends in the Post-Economic Reforms Period in India ', vol. 1, no. 1, International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment p. 36, 2012, p. 37. overloaded one. It is not to forget that the cities are the showcases for the development attained by a country. In order to fulfill this role too, at times, the citizens of these cities have to pay a price in the form of displacement and consequent resettlement. In addition to all this, the increasing population densities create pressure on the segregated land uses of the city. Because of the pressure at times, the land uses are obliterated to suit the changing demands. This often results in the establishment of industries and small household industrial units in residential and other nonconforming areas and slums and squatters on government and private lands.
There is a constant jostle for urban space for fulfilling new infrastructural demands, improving the existing infrastructural status and re-adjusting the obliterated land uses. Sadly, but each of these activities results in displacement of people who happen to reside at or in the vicinity of the project area. Delhi, the capital city of India, is one such metropolis on the verge of becoming a megalopolis.
As stated earlier, abject poverty or incapable rural economies are increasingly unable to provide gainful employment to a large number of people. These people then head towards the cities for livelihood. But, the cities' domestic resources are insufficient to provide them with meaningful opportunities. In addition to this, many services that were traditionally treated as basic needs and therefore considered a direct responsibility of the State-basic nourishment, education, health, transportation, electricity, water, sanitation, and to a significant extent, housing -are now available in greater quantities than ever before but at prices that few of the very poor can afford. Nowhere is this shrinkage of public responsibility more evident than in the field of housing, especially in the cities of low and middle-income countries like India. The gap between working salary and rental price of an adequate dwelling situated in an accessible location increases every day. Then it is no wonder that a large percentage of working people in Indian cities like Delhi are forced to seek or create accommodation in the only ways they can afford. This takes the shapes of informal settlements or Slums. Being informal in nature, these settlements are devoid of all basic attributes of decent habitation like security, comfort, safe drinking water, electricity, drainage, access to health etc. In addition to the violation of their human rights, there is a constant threat of "eviction" and displacement. 'In Delhi, of late, the government led rate of evictions has been dramatically picking up with almost 300,000 jhuggis demolished in just five years'. 3 On one hand the migrant population is forced to live in dilapidated conditions much against the provisions of various human rights treaties that India is a signatory to, on the other hand they are even driven out of their deprived situation to a location much worse off than before through the process of eviction, displacement and the consequent resettlement. Thus, they not only face deprivation two times over, the locations of the resettlement sites are such that they are both socio-economically and geographically too marginalized and thrown on the periphery. At times, in academic literature, such settlements are called the "informal city". This makes their chances of earning a sustainable livelihood and employment more difficult. The term "informal city" is a polite expression, often used to describe a substantial section of the city population living in slums, unauthorized colonies, resettled colonies and urban villages, mostly in sub-human conditions. Importantly, the democratic socio-political structure in the post-independence period allowed the poor to gain entry into the urban centers but they became some kind of "illegal settlers". The political space provided through the competitive politics of elections enabled them to secure a foothold but either on the fringe or low valued land within the city. Importantly, the buildings of cities require labors for running its economy and managing its services. This ensured entry of the poor but they could live there only as temporary squatters or slum dwellers, under perpetual threat of evictions. The case under study is the national capital which grew under the protective umbrella of the State, at least during the first couple of decades after independence. An analysis of the data over the past few decades suggests that the Delhi urban agglomeration and its surrounding towns and villages have experienced rapid population growth. The central city has, however, succeeded although partially, in diverting population growth to geographic or socioeconomic "periphery" of the metropolis. Using instruments such as master plans, environmental legislation, slum clearance/rehabilitation projects etc, the state has off and on pushed out informal settlements to the "periphery".
Rapid urbanization has led to one distinctive feature in Delhi-the proliferation of resettlement colonies. Displacement of people from other parts of the city and their resettlement in these colonies cause widespread psychological and socio-cultural traumatic conditions. These include the dismantling of production systems, a scattering of kinship groups and family systems, disorganization of informal social networks that provide mutual support, weakening of self-management and social control, bearing disruption of trade links between producers and their customers' base and disruption of local labor markets.
What makes the situation particularly alarming is the problems' self-reinforcing nature. Lack of adequate shelter in slums deprives people of decent living conditions. This deprivation, in turn, cripples the ability of the poor, particularly women and children, to fight communicable diseases, conserve food supplies, obtain medical treatment, to be protected against danger, attacks and injury, to access formal employment-in sum, to access the opportunities and safety nets that the city offers to their more fortunate citizens. The "illegality" of the occupied space also creates its own problems and threats of forcibly being evicted to another location. The deprivation of slum residents is always compounded by this threat. Ironically, even when this population is shifted from an 'illegal' location of a squatter settlement to a 'legal' location of a 'resettlement colony', the situation of deprivation does not change but in most cases, it worsens. Since 'resettlement' comes at a cost, which is to be borne by the displaced, it brings an additional burden of indebtedness. Also, the resettlement sites are located on the periphery of the city, thus it increases the cost of travel for the displaced. At times, this distance becomes economically insurmountable and results in loss of livelihood. The peripheral location also creates a void in terms of access to health facilities, education etc. The location also brings the threat of attacks, assaults, and injuries. Thus, the process of 'resettlement' of slums in the present policy provisions creates a vicious cycle of deprivation and is almost self-reinforcing in nature.
With this problem of slum resettlement in Delhi in the foreground, the backdrop of the whole "urban renewal" process also has to be understood. Roy 4 has identified three trends that become apparent when one takes a look at the recent history of urban renewal in Delhi. First, there is a manifest change in the nature of urban economy shifting dangerously from manufacturing to services, resulting in throwing more and more of the urban poor in the unprotected informal sector. In the process, all civic services are being commercialized and privatized. Second, large sections of this urban poor are being displaced from their livelihoods and shelter, and the geographical and occupational space that they occupied is being transferred to larger private corporate entities or wealthier groups, such as commercial complexes and residential layouts. Their geographical, as well as economical space, are systematically being taken away and being transferred to the more advantageous citizens of the city. They are thus doubly deprived and marginalized in the city. Third, while the driving force behind these changes is manifestly the new globalized economy, it is offered on an environmental platter of 'cleanliness' and 'beautification'. A glaring example of this was the evictions of thousands from the Yamuna Pushta area of Delhi in 2004. 5 On one hand a systematic media support was generated through extensive usage of the government machinery in declaring these tenements as 'illegal' and 'eyesores' which were destroying river Yamuna and were the 'hotspots' of criminal activities, on the other hand the drastically changing viewpoint of the Supreme Court terming the slum dwellers as 'encroachers' have not helped the case even a bit. Thus, the judicial, legislative, administrative and commercial apparatuses-including a very pliable media-often provide these evictions and forced displacements with legitimacy and political support.
Slum resettlement in Delhi is the responsibility of the Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). It has undertaken a three-pronged strategy, comprising relocation of slum clusters, in situ upgradation of slum clusters and informal shelters, and the extension of minimum basic civic amenities for community use. 6 The resettlement strategy was adopted with effect from 1990, which means that encroachers on public land prior to 1990 A.D. are not entitled to resettlement at all. According to the 2002 report of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), the three-pronged strategy has so far been a failure. 'The number of JJ clusters had increased from 929 in 1990 to 1,100 in 2001,' 7 the report states. In a study of global slums, the United Nations has stated that the accepted best practice for housing interventions in developing countries is now participatory slum upgrading programmes. 8 Nevertheless, the MCD is pressing ahead with its relocation programme, often without consulting the slum-dwellers. Since 2000 A.D., eleven new resettlement colonies have been created, many of them with thousands of plots waiting to be filled.

The Study Area
The area under study is the national capital, which grew under the protective umbrella of the State, at least during the first couple of decades after independence. The democratic socio-political structure in the post-independence period allowed the poor to gain entry into the urban centers, but they became some kind of "illegal settlers". Large sections of the poor migrants are absorbed either in the hinterlands or in the marginal areas within the agglomeration viz. sides of railway tracks, around factory sites, swampy lands etc. Using various instruments from time to time, such as master plans, environmental legislation, slum clearance/ rehabilitation projects etc, the governments/State has pushed out informal settlements to the "periphery".
After independence, these poor people had come to enjoy a sense of perceived security, due to no major relocation or eviction taking place during the two decades after 1977 A.D. (Emergency period). This had given a boost to the growth of slum population in certain areas within the city. A relaxed attitude of the officials towards wide-scale violation in the Master Plan and bye-laws had also facilitated the process. 9 These people also benefited from the employment and income opportunities in the central city. They have had access to a few of the basic services, due to their proximity to formal colonies or the extension of the services through the latter.
The scene, however, has changed during the last two decades. The exhaustion of political space, which enabled the poor to hold on to their land, is evident from the large-scale relocation or removal of slum dwellers from central parts of Delhi. There have been orders from the High Court and the Supreme Court leading to the eviction of slum colonies and industries. Increased interventions by the judiciary are results of the globalization-driven requirements of cities to be "beautiful and sanitized." These, in turn, have shattered the "perceived security" of tenure of slum dwellers. 10 They have been shifted to the peripheral locations, both geographically and also socio-economically. Undoubtedly, all these have improved the quality of the environment in several high-income residential areas. Nonetheless, the impact on the peripheral areas, where the dislocated slums have been relocated, has never been examined. More importantly, how this dislocation to the periphery has impacted the community of people needs to be understood, both in terms of their interaction within the community and also their assimilation with the larger communities already residing in the area. To understand the impact of this "pushing to the margins" and "peripheralization" of the city's population is the purpose of this study.

Selection of the Resettlement Colonies
Most of the recent resettlements in the last two decades have taken place in the North West district only, thus three resettlement colonies from this district were chosen for the present study. The major resettlement sites in North-West Delhi are Bawana, Narela, and Bhalsawa. Of all the wards in Delhi, those located on the periphery of the city are the poorest in terms of access to basic amenities and facilities including water and sanitation. This is largely due to the concentration of 'informal settlements' and their marginalized location. These wards also carry the burden of the city's pollution agents. In recent years, many polluting industrial units have been shifted from the city's center to the peripheral wards; and the garbage generated by the entire city finds its way to the Sanitary Landfill Sites (SLFs) located in these wards. Out of the existing three Sanitary Landfill Sites, one is located at Bhalsawa in North West Delhi. Thus, Bhalsawa was chosen as the first resettlement colony. The next choice was Bawana, for the following two reasons: first, it is the location of the largest resettlement of people from various city center locations in the recent years. Thus, it provided the opportunity to understand the assimilation of issues emerging from multiple origins of the population residing now in a single settlement. Second, the resettlement colony is located close to the other residential areas. The third site selected was TikriKhurd for the following two reasons: first, it is located closest to Narela -a place where as stated earlier, a large number of industries have been relocated. This resettlement colony is closest to these industries. This gave an opportunity to understand the economic rehabilitation of the resettled population vis. a vis., the industries, the changing occupation patterns of the resettled community and their accompanied social issues.

Methods, Sample, and Tools
The study had a sample size of 350 households. 150 households were selected from Bhalsawa, another 150 were selected from Bawana whereas 50 households were selected from TikriKhurd. After the familiarization process of the entire population, it was understood that the survey should have a representation of the following strata: working men, non-working men, working women, non-working women, women-headed households, unemployed youth, and school dropout children. Then random sampling was used as the method of sampling.

Impacts of Displacement on Women
The displacement in the mega-cities often affects the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in a population economically, politically and socially. However, at an individual and community levels, impoverishment and risks associated with resettlement can be felt more intensely by certain segments of the displaced population. There are obvious groups of 'vulnerable within the vulnerable' community. Resettlement projects have multiple and differential impacts on women, men, and children. An evaluation of social impacts, especially on vulnerable groups, such as poor women, has to go beyond an assessment of monetary loss. In this context, the intangible nature of social impacts, the tendency to emphasize the quantifiable impacts, the relatively poor integration of a qualitative perspective in evaluative exercises and reductionist assumptions of cost-benefit analysis are the lacunae that need to be filled up. 11 Regardless of differences in caste, class, religion, or region, women everywhere bear the brunt of the forced move a lot more than the male members of their families.

Loss of Education
India is a signatory to the World Declaration on Education for All, 1990 A. D. 12 But, nowhere else will we find a more gross violation of this right than during evictions and resettlement of people. Little concern is shown for children and their education while undertaking evictions in the city. Children are amongst the worst sufferers when entire communities are evicted from their homes and lands. While forced evictions affect the entire community, the impacts vary tremendously as individuals and families within communities enjoy unequal access to power and resources. As a result, within a displaced community, women, children, the elderly and the disabled, to name a few, are further marginalized and differentially affected by involuntary displacement and lack of adequate rehabilitation. Children are arguably one of the largest categories of marginalized groups and are an integral part of all communities regardless of caste, class, region, etc.

Out of School Children (5-18 years)
This indicator of education is of immense value because it shows the proportion of children in the age group of 5-18 years and not attending school. These children begin facing deprivation early in life by being deprived of a basic human right of being educated and of leading an informed life. This deprivation faced early in life has a cumulative effect and it multiplies with age, with them being forced to enter the work market at an early age and ultimately being relegated to the most marginalized groups of the society. During the familiarization process, certain visits were undertaken to the three resettlement colonies and there was an unusually large number of children on the streets.
There were about 795 children in the age-group of 5-18 years in the sample. Out of these, 440 were males and 365 were females. Out of 795 children surveyed, 356 children were out of school. Thus, about 45 percent of the children in the age group of 5-18 years were not attending school. TikriKhurd had the highest proportion out of total school children. Here about 47 percent of children in the age group of 5-18 years were not attending school. In Bhalsawa and Bawana, 42 percent and 44 percent of children were not attending school. This was about 13 to 17 percentage points higher than the corresponding figures for Delhi as reported in the Economic Survey 2006-07.

Gender Variations in Out of School Children (5-18 years)
Most of the studies have pointed out that since most resettlement sites lack functioning schools, displaced children are often forced to continue their education by commuting to schools near their original homes but it is no longer a viable option. Girl-children are more likely than boys to drop out due to lack of easy access to schools, and safety concerns. In communities where education for girls is not a priority, and in situations of economic stress, it is usually the girl-child who is pulled out of school first. Many girls are also forced to drop out as the domestic workload increases dramatically due to lack of easy access to water, loss of social networks and support systems, and increased time spent away from the home by adults due to greater distances from their place of work. In the study area, a higher proportion of girls in the age group of 5-18 years are out of school. In the three resettlement colonies, about 42 percent of boys in the age group of 5-18 years are not attending school and 47 percent of girls in the same age group are also not attending school. Out of the three sites surveyed, a higher proportion of both boys and girls are not attending school in TikriKhurd. Here, 45 percent of boys and half (50 percent) of the girls in the age group of 5-18 years are outside the purview of formal education. The lowest proportion of out of school children, both boys and girls are in Bhalsawa, where 41 percent of boys and 45 percent of girls are not attending school. A possible reason for this could be that out of the three sites, Bhalswa was the oldest to be resettled and TikriKhurd is the latest. It is always observed that immediately after relocation and even in the few years the families are not able to cope with the changed scenario, documents are lost, new ones are to be made, social and economic adjustments to the new environment has to be made; and that the biggest loser in all hassles are the children. Forced evictions, which are normally accompanied by lack of adequate rehabilitation, almost always lead to situations of economic and social distress, which often adversely impacts access to healthcare and education.
In the study area also, it was reported that the MCD primary and senior secondary schools were under construction even in the period when resettlement took place. Relocation of people took place first and the provision of schools took more than a year. In the meantime, nearby schools also refused to offer admissions to the new students because of various reasons: since they were allotted to other schools (new), the old existing schools could not admit them. Also, the older schools were saturated with the maximum possible intake of students hence, new students were refused for admissions.
The gender biases are very clear in this aspect too. While 24 percent of boys have dropped out of school because of inability to meet family expenses, more than double of that i.e. 54 percent of girls have dropped out because of very reason. Thus, the girls are the first one to be forced to sacrifice the education in the time of economic stress. About 11 percent of respondents stated that since both the parents are going to work and there are smaller children in the house to be looked after, the elder child has to discontinue the education. Here again, the gender bias against girls is clear as while only around 3 percent boys were pulled out of school because of this reason, as high as 18 percent girls had to forgo their education to help in the house works and to look after the younger siblings. About 6 percent of boys and 4 percent of girls had to drop out of school because the schools at the resettlement sites were almost non-functional. The teachers were absent, the classes were irregular and the sitting arrangements were far from satisfactory. The schools at TikriKhurd were run in tents till recent past.

Loss of Income and Livelihood
Change of locations often has diverse impacts on the livelihood of people. The rural folks come to the cities in search of better livelihood opportunities. They settle in the illegal slums and over a period of time gather access to various services and amenities. But, since they are mostly employed in the informal sector, their "location" assumes great importance. Most of them settle close to their place of work and with their kin relations. Their "effective locations" often help in gaining access to work for their other family members especially women. Evictions and relocations shower the worst effects on their income, livelihood, and access to employment since the distance to workplace increases, the options in the formal sector of employment are few, and wages are often not governed by the government rates. All this increases the "vulnerabilities" of the residents. Evictions can have far-reaching effects on income as well. Over a period of time, many people in squatter settlements start their small enterprises within the settlements and at times provide employment to others also. In these cases, the displacement affected persons not only lose their residences but also their workplace too. Thus, the losses are cumulated in these cases.

Work Participation Rate
There were total 818 persons in the age group of 18-60 years in the study area. Out of these, 486 were males and 402 were females. There were a total of 414 workers (358 men and 56 women). Male workers constituted about 86.47 percent of the total workers employed in economically paid jobs. Whereas, women constituted only 13.5 percent of the workers employed in economically paid occupations. Males have a work participation rate of 73.6 percent i.e., about 73.6 percent of males in the age group of 18-60 years are employed in economically productive occupations. Females have a work participation rate of about 14 percent. i.e., only 14 percent of females in the age group of 18-60 years have an access to economically paid jobs. Out of the three locations, Bawana has the highest work participation rate (76 percent for males and 15 percent for females). TikriKhurd has the lowest work participation rate of 70 percent for males and only 12 percent for females.
In the study area, only 12 to 15 percent women in the age group of 18-60 years have an access to economically productive occupations. The lowest is in TikriKhurd and the highest is in Bawana (about 15 percent) respectively. This is much lower than the national figure of 37.2 percent. This is also much lower than the district's (North-West District) figure of 24.9 percent.

Change in Work Participation Rate (18-60 years)
All the respondents in the age group of 18-60 years, both males and females were asked questions about their works and occupations, both at present and in the previous locations. In all the three locations, there is a sharp fall in the work participation rate, both for males and for females after resettlement to the new locations. In Bawana, about 25 males (10.72 percent) lost their jobs after resettlement to the new location. About 13 percent of women (22 women) have lost their jobs after resettlement to their present locations. Thus, higher proportions of women have faced unemployment after resettlement. Thus, it is clear that intra-city resettlement has adversely affected the livelihood opportunities of the displaced people.
In Bhalsawa, the loss of livelihood is more severe than in Bawana. Here, 39 males have lost their economically productive jobs after resettlement and about 32 women have also lost their jobs after evictions from their previous locations. In the previous locations, almost 93.4 percent of males were employed, whereas now only 72 percent of males are employed in economically productive jobs. In Bhalsawa, around 14 percent of women work in economic occupations, but in their previous locations, around 32.5 percent of women had an access to economically productive occupations. Loss of work has a direct linkage to the standard of living of the family, their social status, their nutritional levels, their access to other vital services like health etc and most importantly their self-esteem.
In TikriKhurd, which is a new resettlement colony as compared to the other two, about 12 males have lost their jobs after resettlement. Around 14 women have also lost their access to an economically productive occupation. In the previous locations, almost 87.3 percent of males were employed, whereas now only 70 percent of males are employed in economically productive jobs. In TikriKhurd, around 12 percent of women work in economic occupations, but in their previous locations, around 34.4 percent of women had an access to economically productive occupations. About 16.90 percent males have lost their jobs after resettlement to the new locations. About 23 percent of women (14 women) have lost their jobs after resettlement to their present locations.
Thus, it is clear that a government intervention of displacing people from one location to other within the same city has grossly undermined their access to work, income, and livelihood. Thus, resettlement in absence of economic rehabilitation has worsened the lives of several people involved in this displacement, whereas the basic worldwide principle of displacement is that the lives should be better off after resettlement and not worse off.

Intangible Impacts on Women (including women heading households)
It is already stated earlier that a large proportion of women lost their access to economically paid jobs after relocation. There has been a certain decline in the levels of employment. For many women, the pursuance of economic occupation became more difficult and the earnings have deteriorated. Because of increased distance to the workplace, the cost of travel to work has increased, savings have deteriorated and almost have become negligible, and in addition, the extra travel time has resulted in lesser time for house-work, thereby increasing the number of working hours for women. The prolonged working hours put extra stress on them.
Based on the discussions with the groups of women in Bawana, Bhalsawa, and TikriKhurd, it was clearly understood that besides incurring monetary losses through loss of employment, relocation has impacted their lives in various intangible ways and those are not easy to put a cost to each such loss but nonetheless women clearly pointed out that they valued those aspects that they had lost after relocation to new sites.

Loss of Location: Feeling of 'marginalization' and 'thrown outside'
All the three resettlement colonies are not just urban but are part of Delhi itself. But, the first striking point in the conversation with women at Bawana, Bhalsawa, and TikriKhurd was their reference to their new locations as "outside Delhi" or "back of beyond". In the course of the entire conversation, women often referred to their erstwhile locations as "Delhi" and their present locations as "outside Delhi". Most of the women observed that they lived "far away from the city". When it was pointed to them that they were still in Delhi, most of them accepted but observed the differences between the locations. One main reason for this is the sense of distance. Now, a visit to the "city" entails a three-hour bus ride, they observed. Earlier, all that the city had to offer was at a stone's throw away distance. The second reason is the lack of a sense of belonging. Women in Bawana and Bhalsawa pointed out that in spite of staying there for the past four-five years, they do not feel comfortable there. They pointed out that even though most of them had arrived in Delhi from other places like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Haryana, Rajasthan etc. and they were staying in their previous locations for a long period of time and had a sense of belonging for that place. But, here the feeling is missing and women feel that as a loss. "This does not feel like home. I am not comfortable here" observed Jamila, in Bawana. The third reason for the detachment from the location was a different sense of space. Women pointed out that in their previous locations, they had access to multiple modes of transportation, shops, means of entertainment etc just stepping out of the colony.
Here, barren lands, village and hostile population are outside the colony. Thus, the idea of personal space has undergone a massive change after relocation.

The dismantling of Extended Families and Kinship Relations
Most, if not all of the families, in the three resettlement colonies, live outside the ambit of formal mechanisms of social security. In itself, this aspect of their predicament is not new; this was their situation in their earlier locations as well. Yet, residents of resettlement colonies experience a heightened vulnerability and helplessness because of the destruction of the web of relationships that provided security and a sense of community in old and established settlements like their previous localities.
Migration to the cities from rural areas is generally through familiar routes, with new migrants relying on kinship ties and village networks for survival and support in the city. Mostly migrants' first introduction to the city is through the relative already staying in a locality. In most cases, this relative introduces the new entrant to various places of work and once that happens then a new residence is searched around the first relative's residence as this has become a familiar territory by then. Here, the relative often acts as a guarantor for the new entrant. Women, who migrate to the city later immediately, have a cushion of relatives surrounding them. Most of the women in the discussions narrated this process of introduction to the city life. Women have already shortlisted their specific localities where they work as a domestic worker. She often introduces new women to the private households and thus a very informal placement mechanism has worked upon. Most of the informal settlements have such very clear patterns of growth. People of the same region, religion, occupation and clan cluster together.
Residents of such settlements rely upon each other for social security and survival in times of need. Women, especially, forge deep relations of dependence in these surrounding. With no means of accessing formal credit, and given the higher interest rates for loans from private money lenders, neighbors and relatives are the only sources of small loans. Women also depend on neighbors for non-cash forms of supportsharing information and advice, sheltering each other in the event of domestic violence, helping each other out during episodes of illnesses or other emergencies.

Break-Up of Close Family Ties
The close-knit communities are broken up after relocation. Plots are assigned randomly to people from different localities and mohallas. The entire community is split up and scattered around the resettlement area. In this new set up, the neighborhoods are mixed and years of cohesive living are broken immediately. The women informed different incidents where residents of the same slum cluster were relocated not at the same time but over a period of time. This resulted in breakup of various extended families. The lack of cohesion and mutuality are very clearly apparent in Bawana, Bhalsawa, where religious segregation is done away while allotting the plots. Women observed that in their previous locations, support was always provided by neighbors especially in the events of domestic violence faced by them from their husbands, sons, and fathers. In previous locations, women could take up long hours of work and children were left alone in the house under the watchful eyes of the women in the neighborhood. But, after relocation, women who worked for their previous employers unanimously stated that children and their care and security are the main problems which have led some women to discontinue working. Some women have to pull their older children, especially girls to look after younger siblings in the home. Clashes between neighbors are frequent and are sparked off by the most trivial of causes. Thefts of food, utensils, and clothes are common.

Communal Use of Open Space for Traditional Occupation
Urban livelihood systems are constituted not only by the productive activities, another key component is the range of activities built around social relationships.
Households are linked to each other in the wider community. Women, in particular, forge social networks that are used to produce goods and services at a lower cost than might have been the case on an individual household basis. There were certain activities whereby the community played a major role. Living close together also allowed collective economic activities and pooling of scarce resources for those in the traditional occupations. Muslim women in Bawana informed that they used to make kites and kite fl ying threads during the kite flying season. Since the thread needed space for preparation, the community space was used for that. Since many members of the community were involved, they were able to do bulk purchases of inputs and could also take up bulk orders. But, after relocation, such self-styled segregation is missing and it has also resulted in a loss of a secondary income that women used to generate earlier. In the previous locations, the kanjar community, which specializes in the making of drums, lived together and used the open spaces for treating of leather and drying. The community had almost defined clientele in ban houses of Darya Ganj and Old Delhi area. But, with the new space allocation in the resettlement colony, the costs of such activities have gone up because of long distance, lack of demand in the nearby areas, and also lack of space for preparation and manufacturing of the drums. The women also informed that they used to help earlier because members of the extended families were involved but now it has become impossible to pursue the traditional occupations. Women of the said community also informed that while working together, they used their occupational space for their cultural exchanges also, like learning traditional songs from each other, at times even marriages were settled there, and consultations about dealing with family problems were often done during the time of preparing the drums only. But, after relocation, the economic activity has become irregular; and many families have tried to search for alternative jobs in shops and factories.
Although males have tried to search for other jobs, the women's loss is irreparable. Most women of the community rued that their professional space was lost and a more important source of cultural and social intermingling was lost forever. The irregularity of job has also resulted in the fact that women were no longer required for the drum making job and thus are often relegated to the household affairs only. Thus, it is not just a loss of a traditional occupation and income, but for women, their social, economic and cultural spaces also have been obliterated and lost forever.

Rearrangement of Space: Loss of Cultural Congregation
Congregation or community celebration of festivals is integral to followers of various religions in India. For women, the festival time is also a time for meeting relatives and entertainment. Women in Bawana, Bhalsawa, and TikriKhurd observed that earlier there used to be large congregations for main functions and even family members used to invite others from different localities located close to each other. But, after relocation, family gatherings have reduced and since members have been scattered all over the city, women have lost contact with other women they used to live together with earlier.
Since the density of the population inside the settlement is high, there is always clamor for more space. Smallest of differences often fuel a big clash in the colony. Women informed that an open space of the colony in Bawana and Bhalsawa was being used by men of the Muslim community to offer prayers. This has become a bone of contention in the relocation colony, often fueled by outsiders. This has resulted in numerous clashes inside the colony and police has often lathi charged and arrested residents of the colony. Thus, relocation without paying impetus to religious and cultural requirements of the community has created a volatile situation for the residents. Women informed that during 'Ramzaan' and 'Navratri', they used to gather and go to the Old Delhi area, Daryaganj and temples to meet other women and celebrate their festivals. But, after relocation such outings are non-existent and they felt a cultural loss.

Loss of Status in the Family and amongst Relatives
Besides the space loss, the other most significant loss that the women in all the three sites reported was the loss of their status in the family. The second income that they used to get to the household was a source of self-esteem for most women contacted during the course of the discussion. The groups of women reported that they used to help each other through small loans in the time of need (mostly the menfolk were not informed). Many women also informed that, in their previous locations, they were able to put money into "committees" run by them and had bought different things like jewelry, gas stoves, fan etc. from that money; but after relocation, this source of money is also lost forever. All women stated that they are impoverished-having the loss of their homes and savings, having the destruction of economic and social relationships built over years, having the loss of identity and self-image, having the lack of work and drop in income and having the lack of access to any civic amenities offered by a city.

Loss of Ties with Family in the Village
Women in Bawana informed during the discussions that earlier they used to visit their villages and native places once in a year and present gifts for relatives and help them in the village in the time of marriages etc. in the family. But, most of them claimed that they have not been able to visit the family back home after shifting to Bawana. They informed that they were not able to generate enough money to take any gifts for the relatives and hence are embarrassed to visit them. Thus, relocation has not only broken the ties with the residents built after shifting to the city but also with gone so with their neighbors, their extended family in the city and also with the rural areas and family folk staying there. Thus, the relocation within a city has completely broken the informal social and safety networks that the residents especially women had built in the city. This rearrangement of space has broken links with family members in the village also.

Increasing Vulnerability of Women: Easy Prey for Attacks
In the discussions, it was also reported that there were women, especially in Bawana, who were heads of the households and had flourishing restaurants and meat supply shops in Pushta areas. After relocation, with little savings left, they started small roadside food stalls. But, whereas earlier the lady had a privacy of space, with employees doing the interaction with customers, this is absent here and the income is also meager. The women pointed out to the loss of "izzat" in the resettlement site.
In the study area, only 11 percent of households had private toilets and rest all had to depend on the community toilets. In Bawana and Bhalsawa, community toilets were run by an NGO named Sulabh International and each visit to the toilet incurs a cost of Rs1-2 for the family. In addition, there are not enough toilets for the size of the community. Women reported that they do not feel safe while using the toilets because the toilet operators were abusive and thus women used to go in groups. But, a large proportion of women pointed out that they had to go on the fields to defecate. This makes them vulnerable to various forms of abuses and assaults from landowners and their watchmen. In TikriKhurd, women pointed out that they have to walk for half an hour to reach the nearest factory and on the way, villagers often harass them. Thus, relocation has increased the vulnerability levels of women and has disempowered them further. There are increasing numbers of incidents of violence against women.

Conclusion
Detailed discussions were held with women in Bawana, Bhalsawa, and TikriKhurd, and everywhere the situation was similar. Besides losing a steady income, relocation has had some intangible impacts on women too. The entire rearrangement of their social, cultural, occupational spaces has resulted in increased vulnerabilities, insecurity, and loss of social and cultural cohesion. Dislocation from older locations has resulted in the dismantling of long-established social networks. It has disrupted the family ties and has shrunk the space that the women enjoyed in their previous locations. Thus, intra-city displacement has enhanced the vulnerabilities and insecurities of the women, who are already impacted by poverty and illegality.