On October 16, 2017, the Government of Odisha, a state located in eastern India, ordained “The Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017”, a landmark and historic legislation, which aims to grant in situ land rights to 250000 households living in about 2500 slums in the state. Odisha has an urban population of over seven million people, out of which 23 percent live in slums. With a beneficiary coverage of about 1.2 million people the legislation has been described as the largest slum titling intervention in the world.

The implementation of the provisions of the Act involves a unique combination of state-of-the-art technology, such as using quadcopter drones to prepare high-resolution maps of slums, with participatory and community mobilization approaches using non-governmental organisations and associations of slum dwellers. This combined approach was applied iteratively, where the outputs of one phase of the exercise become data for another phase.

It was this combined iterative process involving a mix of high technology and grassroot level mobilisation that not only made the overall initiative transparent but also radically increased the speed of implementation. The state played both an affirmative and facilitative role by involving a wide range of organisations in the implementation process, such as non-governmental organisaions (NGOs), corporate philanthropic organisations, private sector service providers and academic and research institutions.

Within a span of seven months after the start of the drone surveys, high resolution maps were prepared for all 2500 slums targeted by the initiative, making Odisha the first and only state in India to have detailed maps of all its slum settlements. Preparation of such a spatial dataset has enormous implications both for implementation of future urban poverty alleviation measures and research on quality of life in slum settlements.

The initiative had a strong accountability framework. The legislation is unique in its desire to provide the services to the beneficiaries at their door step and within a specific time frame. No beneficiary was required to visit any government office for any part of the initiative even once. The participatory and community centric processes which were put in place right at the start of the implementation process ensured consultation, clarification and resolution of conflicts at the level of the settlement. The creation of Slum Dwellers Associations (SDAs) in each slum, with the support of NGOs put in place a mechanism for institutionalising this participatory processes.

On May 7, 2018, while handing over Certificates of Land Rights to the first 2000 beneficiaries of the initiative, the Government of Odisha also launched “Mission Jaga” (Jaga means place in the local Odiya language), with the aim of undertaking comprehensive upgrading of all the slums in the state. The upgrading package includes access to state and national level affordable housing schemes, water supply, street lighting, provision of social amenities, access to emergency facilities etc. According to the Government, the aim of the Mission is to transform slums into liveable habitats and remove the stigma associated with being a slum dweller.

So far, 52000 families living in slums across the state have received certificates of land rights. While the impact of this initiative is being felt in the cities and towns of the state, there is need for research, reflection and dialogue on the achievements of the state, the methods by which such a massive urban transformation is being brought about and the implications this has for the future of urbanization in India.

Mr. G. Mathi Vathanan has varied and extensive experience with the Government of Odisha spanning more than two decades. Having joined the administrative service in 1994 he has served as the Collector and District Magistrate of two districts; Managing Director of different corporations; Director, of the National Rural Health Mission and Secretary of Commerce, Transport & Energy. He also served as Special Secretary to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha during 2010-11.

Presently, he is Principal Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Government of Odisha. Throughout his tenure Mr. Mathi Vathanan has shown a resolute and steadfast commitment to the goals of inclusive development, social equity and urban poverty alleviation. He led and supervised the planning and implementation of AAHAR – an urban feeding program aimed at providing cooked food at highly subsidised rates to the poor and needy in 75 cities and towns across Odisha. Currently, 117 AAHAR centres provide food to 100000 persons daily.

Since the enactment of “The Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act” in 2017, he has been at the helm of the implementation of the JAGA Mission, which aims to grant in-situ land rights to 2.5 lakh households living in 2500 slums in the 109 Municipalities and Notified Area Councils of Odisha. With a population coverage of around 1.2 million, this could well be the largest slum titling program in the world.

Having received a post-graduate degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT), before he joined the administrative service, Mr. Mathi Vathanan is an alert observer of the advances in modern technology and adopting relevant developments to improve the effectiveness of poverty alleviation programs. The Odisha slum land rights initiative is the first program of its kind to employ quadcopter drones to create high resolution maps of 2500 slums, which contributed to the overall effectiveness and transparency of the beneficiary identification process.

Apart from this he also leads the implementation of other inclusive urban development Missions focussing on universal access to drinking water and street lighting in all urban local bodies of the state.

This event is cosponsored by The University of Chicago Law School International Programs, The Coase-Sandor Institute, and The International Law Society. Lunch will be provided.