From confrontation to collaboration: a decade in the work of the squatters movement in Nepal

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1 From confrontation to collaboration: a decade in the work of the squatters movement in Nepal MASAKO TANAKA Masako Tanaka is a development practitioner who has worked in Nepal. She was a volunteer for Lumanti Support Group for Shelter in the late 1990s and has conducted research on urban squatters, communitybased waste management and rental housing issues in Kathmandu. Address: ABSTRACT Squatters organizations are a notable driving force of civil society movements in Nepal. Their alliance, working on urban squatter issues, has been trying to change their strategy from one of confrontation with government authorities to one of collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including nonsquatter neighbours. This paper reviews a decade of squatters movement in Nepal. It highlights the changes in relationship between squatters and non-squatters and recent moves for public private community partnership. The paper argues the importance of getting more attention from non-squatter citizens for policy changes to ensure housing rights. KEYWORDS citizenship / civil society / governance / rights-based approach / social exclusion / inclusion / South Asia / squatter movement / urban poor Acknowledgment: I am grateful to members and staff of Nepal Basobas Basti Samrakchan Samaj (NBBSS), Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj (NMES) and Lumanti Support Group for Shelter for supporting my research over a decade. Any acknowledgment would surely be incomplete without thanking the residents of squatter areas in Kathmandu for their patience in sharing their stories of struggle with me. An earlier version of this paper was translated into Nepali and published in Gautam, Bhaskhar and Jagannath Adhikari (editors) (2006), Saharikaran: Jivikako Vivid Aayan (Urbanization: Various Dimensions of Livelihood), Martin Chautari, Kathmandu. 1. Statement by Mr Hukum Bahadur Lama, former chairperson of Nepal Basobas Basti Samrakchan Samaj (NBBSS) in I. INTRODUCTION a. Aims of this paper One of the primary aims of good governance is the inclusion of all actors, particularly marginalized people who have been excluded from provision of essential services and from participation in the development process. However, many people are still not appreciated as actors within society. Urban squatters, for instance, most often remain excluded despite their valuable contributions to the wealth of cities. A tough squatter leader in Kathmandu recalls his struggles over a decade: We have been here a long time, hoping others will understand why we need to stay here as squatters. We contribute to the development of the city by carrying bricks and other loads to construct houses for the rich, or by working for nominal wages as domestic servants for wealthy families. But people still see us merely as illegal invaders. They see us as the cause of problems. (1) In Nepal, as in many other countries, citizenship certificates are an essential protection without which people cannot defend their rights or get access to basic services, social welfare and other opportunities. (2) Squatters, in many cases, cannot prove their legal status as they lack migration certificates or proof of land ownership. (3) They worry always that they might be forced to leave their shelters at any time. Environment & Urbanization Copyright 2009 International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Vol 21(1): DOI: /

2 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 Today, Nepal s urban squatters can no longer be ignored; they are there in sufficient numbers to be a visible presence. It makes no sense to expect them to go back to their rural places of origin. Local governments, even beyond the capital, Kathmandu, are gradually shifting their stances and seeking solutions for urban squatters, with the help of the urban poor themselves. This article reviews the squatters movement in urban Nepal as one of the most vital movements in the country. It describes how the movement was organized, what it has achieved and where it is headed. It argues that the squatters movement must go beyond raising the awareness of squatters themselves, and must work to change the perceptions of government and non-squatters as well as the relationship between squatters and nonsquatters, to ensure that their housing rights are recognized. 2. Vandenabeele, Caroline and Christine V Lao (editors) (2007), Legal Identity for Inclusive Development, Asian Development Bank, the Philippines, 85 pages. 3. Lumanti (2008), Status of squatter communities along the Bagmati River and its tributaries in the Kathmandu Valley, High-powered Bagmati Area Sewerage Implementation and Monitoring Committee, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Kathmandu. b. Urbanization in the context of Nepal Nepal is an agrarian country and 86 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, (4) a fact that has made urban issues a lower development priority up to now. However, urban population growth in recent years calls these priorities into question. In the decade between 1991 and 2001, population growth in urban areas was three times that of the country as a whole (6.65 per cent compared to 2.27 per cent). (5) Urban growth since then has arguably been even higher, although there are no formal figures to support this. There are two elements to urban population growth: one is the expansion of existing urban areas as, for instance, in the case of Kathmandu; the other is the increase in the number of urban areas. The determination of the latter depends on the definition of urban, which varies from country to country. As Arif Hasan points out, definitions of urban are determined by political factors, and frequently reflect an attempt to maintain the political and economic status-quo in favour of the society s more powerful people. (6) In the case of Nepal, urban is understood to include all municipal areas, although there are inconsistencies and frequent changes in terms of what is defined as a municipality. When the Local Self-Governance Act of 1999 redefined municipalities, this was obviously controlled by political ad hoc- ism, and the criteria differed considerably between the Tarai belt along the Indian border and the hill districts, a double standard that made municipal status far easier to achieve in the more politically favoured hill districts. (7) As of 2001, there were 58 municipalities, including the metropolitan city of Kathmandu, and four sub-metropolitan cities; in 1991, there were only 33 municipalities. c. Population growth in Kathmandu The capital, Kathmandu, is the prime city attracting immigrants. In the most recent census in 2001, the population of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) was 671,846, compared to 421,258 in This annual rate of population increase is the highest in all Asian cities. (8) The projected population for 2011 is estimated to be 1,011,105. (9) Until the mid-1990s, the major reasons for migration from rural villages to urban areas were the classic push factors: soil erosion from natural disasters or deforestation, CBS (2003), Population monograph of Nepal, His Majesty s Government National Planning Commission /Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Kathmandu, page See reference 4, page Satterthwaite, David (2005), Understanding Asian Cities: A Synthesis of the Findings from the City Case Studies, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, Bangkok, page According to the criteria for municipalities in the Local Self-Governance Act 1999, the minimum population size should be 20,000 in the Tarai and 10,000 in the hills/mountains; and the annual revenue should be NRs 5 million in the Tarai and NRs 500,000 in the hill/mountains. See reference 4, page Asian Development Bank (2001), Cities Data Book: Urban Indicators for Managing Cities, Asian Development Bank, Manila, page 94.

3 CONFRONTATION TO COLLABORATION: SQUATTERS IN NEPAL 9. Kathmandu Metropolitan City/World Bank (2001), City Diagnostic Report for City Development Strategy, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, page 14. a shortage of inherited land and the lack of alternative income sources. There were also several pull factors in urban areas, especially in Kathmandu, including health care facilities, schooling and employment opportunities in formal sectors. In addition to these conventional factors, an alarming level of insecurity in remote villages began to accelerate rural urban migration as villages became the battlefields in a decadelong conflict between Maoist rebels and the monarchy-led government. Few people returned to their villages even after the comprehensive peace agreement in 2006, nor does the pace of migration appear to have let up since the cessation of hostilities. d. Urban poor squatters and their settlements in Kathmandu 10. Lumanti (2001), A situation analysis of urban poor communities in Kathmandu and Lalitpur, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Lalitpur, page 12. Unforeseen rates of population increase and unplanned urban expansion in Nepal have had the effect of marginalizing the urban poor. In Kathmandu, 35.6 per cent of households are below the poverty line, and due to the escalation of land prices and rents, they have no alternative but to live in slum or squatter settlements or in sub-standard rental housing. Included among the urban poor are numerous street children. There are various ways to categorize the urban poor by occupation or by their reasons for migrating; for example, those who are internally displaced form a distinct category. However, this paper only focuses on the current housing status of the urban poor in Kathmandu and on their collective actions. Nepali has no word for slum and there is no shared understanding of the concept in Nepal. There are disagreements as to whether the definition should pertain to the inhabitants their background or social deprivation or income poverty, for instance or to such physical characteristics as the level of crowding, the quality of housing or the level of provision for water and sanitation, the factors usually referred to by international organizations, including the United Nations. The consensus among people working for the urban poor in Nepal is that the term slum refers to the longestablished and homogenous settlements within Kathmandu and the adjacent city of Lalitpur, occupied primarily by socially deprived Newar people from lower castes. (10) The Newaris are the original residents of the Kathmandu Valley and they have legal entitlement to these ancestral lands, but they have poor access to such public infrastructure as sewerage. Squatters, on the other hand, are a more heterogeneous group. The majority are immigrants from other parts of Nepal and they lack legal tenure for the most part. Although squatter settlements and slums have some similarities in terms of physical appearance, limited access to basic services and sub-standard facilities due to their marginalization from the development process, slum residents and squatters have different issues due to their different legal status. A Nepali term, sukumbasi, is important in this context. It is used interchangeably with the English word squatter, but has a more specific meaning in that it refers not to every person occupying unused buildings or land without a legal arrangement but, rather, only to those who are quite literally landless. Originally, the term was used in the rural context to denote a person without farmland, who would hence have difficulty supporting a family in this agrarian society. It is not a self-asserted identity, but an externally imposed and generally pejorative term. This creates a 145

4 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 certain amount of confusion in debates within Nepal on the entitlements of squatters, since people who have legal ownership of even a very small piece of land in their place of origin, often co-owned with others and insufficient for survival, are not technically covered by provisions made for squatters. (11) This paper defines as urban squatters all those who lack legal entitlement to their present shelters, regardless of their formal status as landowners elsewhere in the country. (12) Recently, some dwellers in the oldest squatter areas in Kathmandu, mostly from the Newar lower caste, (13) started referring to themselves as swabasi, a term that literally means dwellers staying by themselves. They claim to be indigenous dwellers in these areas and do not want to be identified with the sukumbasi or other more recent squatters. Although not all dwellers in these areas have land ownership certificates, some do. This is another reason behind their unwillingness to categorize themselves as squatters, although their living environment is quite similar to that of other squatter areas. Some squatter settlements in Kathmandu were established more than 50 years ago but they were few in comparison to the present. The number of squatter settlements increased from 17 in 1985 to 45 in 2008, including five of the above-mentioned swabasi areas. Twenty-nine of these settlements are located along riverbanks, where they are vulnerable to floods and to the pollution and waste from rivers heavily used for waste disposal of all kinds. The largest settlement, Monohara, along the Hanumante River, has 589 households with a population of more than 2,400. Another 16 settlements are relatively small; some comprise fewer than 20 households and are located on public land far away from the rivers. Kathmandu s squatter settlements are heterogeneous not only in terms of the ethnicity or caste of their residents but also in terms of their places of origin, present occupation and income, family structure and reasons for squatting. (14) In the face of such diversity, organization can be difficult, but on the other hand it also contributes dynamism to their movement. Unlike other socially excluded groups, such as the Dalit and ethnic minorities, squatters did not want to be identified as such before they had organized to appeal for their right to land. They preferred to identify themselves by their occupation or place of origin because they were afraid of discrimination once they were exposed as squatters. Squatters often worried, for instance, that their children s marriage engagements might be cancelled if their prospective in-laws came to know that they were squatters. Few original squatters move on from their settlements to other areas as they have generally invested a lot in their houses over many years, despite the fact that they do not have land certificates. Second generation squatters in Kathmandu, however, often move out, either renting rooms or buying property with legal certificates. Passing houses on to the next generation, then, is not as common in squatter settlements as it is more generally within Kathmandu. e. Changes in government policies and support from donors Despite the growing presence of squatter settlements, until the mid-1990s there was no clear government policy on this issue, and few development agencies, either national or international, worked on shelter issues in urban Nepal Government policy on squatters continues to apply to genuine sukumbasi. The budget speech of , paragraph 162 stated: The houses and slums built by encroaching the banks of the rivers of Kathmandu Valley shall gradually be dismantled. Among such dwellers, the real landless/homeless will be identifi ed and housing arrangements shall be made for them. However, the proposed housing management Bill includes some provisions for migrants from rural areas who have no option but to stay on public land. 12. In terms of squatter ownership of houses, there are three different categories in Nepal: owner squatters who built/bought their own houses; landlord squatters who stay in their own houses outside of squatter settlements but rent their houses or rooms to others; and tenant squatters who rent their houses or rooms from either of the fi rst two categories. In general, the second category cannot easily be outreached and is nominal in number. A 1996 survey shows that tenant squatters accounted for 11 per cent of the total. See Tanaka, Masako (1997), Conditions of low-income settlement in Kathmandu: action research in squatter settlements, unpublished English translation of a report submitted to the International House, Osaka, page 9. However, this paper will not deal with tenant squatters, as they have less commonality than other squatters. 13. In 2002, the Khadgi Newar butcher caste in 13 settlements in Kathmandu and Lalitpur, an adjoining city to Kathmandu, formed an umbrella organization called Jheegu Manka Samaj (Our Common Society), which is an alliance member of Lumanti. Squatters in this group started to call themselves swabasi.

5 CONFRONTATION TO COLLABORATION: SQUATTERS IN NEPAL 14. For details, see reference 10; also Tanaka, Masako (1999), Which female-headed household is really vulnerable? Field notes on female-headed households of squatter settlements in Kathmandu, Nepal, Journal of Asian Women s Studies Vol 6/7, pages HMG Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning (HMG MHPP) (1996), National Plan of Action Nepal, proposed Paper for the city summit organized by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT), HMG MHPP, Kathmandu, page HMG National Planning Commission (HMG NPC) (2002), The Tenth Five Year Plan, HMG NPC, Kathmandu, page One of the fi rst urban community development programmes was supported by Redd Barna (which has now changed its name to Save the Children Norway) between 1989 and See Lumanti, NEWAH, Water Aid (2000), The Water Supply and Sanitation Situation of the Urban Poor in the Kathmandu Valley, Results of the Research Study, Volume 1: Main Report, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Kathmandu, page The workshop report was compiled in Yami, Hisila and Stephen L Mikesell (editors) (1990), The issues of squatter settlement in Nepal, Concerned Citizen Group in Nepal, Kathmandu. 19. See reference 18, page Lumanti means memory in the Newari language. 21. This programme has been in partnership with Action Aid Nepal since For example, the Urban Management Programme (UMP) in Lalitpur, supported by UN HABITAT. One of its objectives was to strengthen civil society through a local forum called Yala Manka Chiutaa Dabu (Lalitpur Support Forum). 23. This component is supported by Water Aid Nepal. The National Plan of Action (NPA) of 1996 was the first housing sector plan in Nepal, prepared for the UN Habitat II Summit. Regarding urban squatters, the NPA proposed that squatter settlements be upgraded to create a safe environment. (15) The tenth national plan also mentions preparing plans to systematize the unplanned and squatters settlements of the Kathmandu Valley in the coordination of all concerned stakeholders. (16) It was epoch making for government to create this mandate to work for urban poor settlement issues, although it has taken time for things to materialize. The UN Year for Habitat created an environment conducive to donors to start urban settlement programmes in Nepal. However, their support was limited in scale and unconnected with any local movement until they found local partners working on a larger scale. (17) Government initiatives and donor assistance became visible only after slum dwellers and squatters had widely organized themselves. II. THE SQUATTER MOVEMENT IN NEPAL: HOW THE MOVEMENT WAS ORGANIZED In 1990, the first workshop on squatters in Nepal was organized in Kathmandu by the Concerned Citizen Group in Nepal, initiated by the late Dr Ramesh Manandhar, a well-respected architect and housing rights activist who was a pioneer in raising awareness about urban poverty. (18) This drew attention to urban poverty issues within the limited circle of people working for human rights and urban development. Participants in the workshop initiated small-scale projects in three squatter communities (19) and learned the importance of having an institutional platform to sustain the projects. In 1993, they formed a non-governmental organization (NGO), the Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, (20) in memory of Dr Manandhar who had since died tragically. Lumanti has been affiliated with a regional network, the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR). Since the establishment of an office with full-time staff in 1996, Lumanti has worked as a driving force in putting urban poverty and shelter issues on the development agenda. In the very beginning, ACHR, Asia Pacific 2000 (a UNDP project) and SELAVIP (an international NGO based in Chile exclusively supporting shelter issues) were the primary supporters of Lumanti, since urban poverty was not yet being highlighted in Nepal. However, the first squatter survey conducted in 1996 became a tool for advocacy as well as providing the baseline data to start the Urban Community Empowerment Programme. (21) Later, the organization was able to get support both from donor agencies outside Nepal and partner organizations within the country. The former contributed to the development of its capacity for networking and provided opportunities to learn by replicating successful models from other countries. UN Habitat also helped coordinate with local government through its Urban Management Programme. (22) The local partner organizations encouraged lobbying in Nepal in addition to providing core support to various programmes directly benefitting squatters, such as microfinance, education, child development and the upgrading of shelters. Lumanti also addresses water and sanitation as a shelter issue through its Water and Sanitation Programme (23) and it became one of the founders and a leading member organization of the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation. 147

6 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 a. Two wheels steering the movement In its early years, Lumanti facilitated the formation of different grassroots people s groups and built their capacity. At present, there are five groups working in an alliance with Lumanti: Nepal Basobas Basti Samrakchan Samaj (NBBSS) (24) Nepal Settlement Protection Society; Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj (NMES) Nepal Women s Unity Society; Community Women s Cooperative Network; Jeegu Manka Samaj Our Common Society; and Child Development Youth Network (CDYN). 24. It is sometimes called by its English name, the Society for Preservation of Shelters and Habitations in Nepal (SPOSH Nepal). The first two, NBBSS and NMES, are the driving forces of the squatter movement. Jeegu Manka Samaj was formed specifically by slum dwellers of lower caste groups, and CDYN also plays a key role in changing the relationship between squatters and non-squatters, as described below. Nepal Basobas Basti Samrakchan Samaj (NBBSS) is based on the belief that squatters themselves should contribute to solutions. It was formed in 1998 as an ad hoc committee of representatives of squatter groups in Kathmandu, and was officially registered in early 2000 as a federation of groups from squatter settlements in Nepal aiming to work for the right to shelter. NBBSS tries to discourage the purchase or sale of property without land certificates, which contributes to providing credibility for squatters. Its counterpart, Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj (NMES), is a federation of squatter women s groups which advocate women s and housing rights issues. This federation was formally registered in August 2000 after several years of experience in monitoring evictions and sharing savings and credit activities among peer groups. One of the missions of both NBBSS and NMES is to identify squatters through surveys, and the distribution of family identity cards. The identification of squatters is the highest priority issue both for the squatters themselves and for local authorities, who are often suspicious that those claiming to be squatters actually own land and houses in other places. When people s backgrounds are on record, their claims are easier to support. Due to requirements established under the Nepal Citizenship Act of 1964, squatters cannot easily apply for citizenship certificates. They need to submit land certificates and can only apply in their places of origin, where their fathers were certified. This leaves the majority of squatters without proper identification as citizens. Without citizenship certificates, they face a number of barriers to getting basic services, including connections to the water supply or electricity grid. In addition, they are at a disadvantage if they cannot present their citizenship certificates when they apply for driving licences, foreign employment or higher education. The two wheels of the squatter movement, NBBSS and NMES, are responsible for the enumeration and survey of squatter households plus the mapping of their settlements. Aside from helping to verify people s identity and establishing their presence on official digitized maps, these activities are the most effective tools for raising the understanding of the squatters about their own situation. For each household, a photo of family members is taken in front of their house, to be put on a family identity card. This card records the number of family members, their sex, ages and length of stay in the squatter settlement, the condition of their house and their possession (if relevant) 148

7 CONFRONTATION TO COLLABORATION: SQUATTERS IN NEPAL 25. The cards were also useful when families applied for water taps or electricity hook-ups. The requirement of a birth certifi cate (not citizenship certifi cate) for school registration was relaxed in To apply for formal employment, however, it is still necessary to present a citizenship certifi cate. 26. Village development committees are the lowest administrative unit in the country, but the term VDC is also used to refer to the areas administered by these committees. of citizenship certificates and electoral cards; in addition to this, the house number is painted on the front door by the enumerators of the alliance. Finally, an elected representative, ward chairperson or mayor signs the card to certify that the cardholder is a citizen of their constituency. The photo, along with the information on the card, can prove their identity and status in the event of an eviction. (25) b. Scaling up for a larger voice The federations initiatives in Kathmandu were soon replicated in other parts of Nepal and a nationwide network of squatters was established. NBBSS has members both in Nepal s municipalities and in village development committees (VDCs) (26) within 29 of the country s 75 districts, and comprised 82,660 members by the end of 2008 (Table 1). At present, Lumanti works with seven municipalities in both the hills and in the Tarai area near the Indian border. Table 2 shows the number of squatter settlements found by surveys or affiliated to NBBSS within urban areas in the Kathmandu Valley. Although the number of settlements has not increased over the last decade, the population has grown. It is difficult to obtain statistics on the actual number of squatters at the national level since the government has not yet established clear definitions. No actors other than government could effectively reach all regions to collect nationwide statistics. III. WHAT THE MOVEMENT HAS ACHIEVED a. Going beyond financial problems By the end of 2005, when it celebrated its tenth anniversary, the microfinance programme started by squatter women in Kathmandu had reached 179 groups, with 3,147 members, and included women in slums, pati (public rest houses) or rental houses and women working for carpet factories in Kathmandu Valley and other cities Bharatpur, Birgunj and TABLE 1 Number of members and working districts of NBBSS and NMES NBBSS NMES Year Number of district branches Number of members Number of working districts NA NA NA NA , NA , SOURCE: Personal communication with members of NBBSS and NMES. 149

8 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 Year TABLE 2 Number of squatters, households and population in urban areas of Kathmandu Valley Number of squatter settlements in Kathmandu Valley Number of households Population , , ,271 6, ,783 8, ,021 10, ,844 13,243 NOTE: At least four squatter settlements were evicted for the Vishnumati link road project between 1998 and SOURCES: Lumanti (2001), A situation analysis of urban poor communities in Kathmandu and Lalitpur, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Lalitpur; and Lumanti (2008), Status of squatter communities along the Bagmati River and its tributaries in Kathmandu Valley, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Kathmandu. Dharan. (27) Squatter women in Kathmandu formed three cooperatives recognized as one of the best community-based financial institutions by officials in district cooperative offices. Regular loans vary from NRs 3,000 to NRs 50,000 (about US$ ) without collateral. They are taken out for income generation, children s education, medical treatment and home improvements. The cooperative provides long-term loans of up to NRs 250,000 (US$ 3,150) to finance the purchase of land, which is then considered to be the collateral for the loan. Bimala Lama, chairperson of NMES, says: Our savings and credit programme supports not only financial matters but also mobilizes people to raise their collective voice for rights. (28) For instance, women members of a savings and credit group referred a rape case of a woman staying in a squatter settlement to the Legal Aid and Consultancy Centre (LACC), an NGO providing legal support. (29) These days, members of NMES are vocal about their rights and confident enough to appeal against discriminatory practices in the issuing of citizenship certificates. NMES organized an interaction programme about women squatters without citizenship certificates. It prepared all the components for the programme, including assessing the situation, sending out invitations, negotiating with the Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare to join the programme and calling journalists to write about their events and appeals. Members of NMES have become competent at organizing these kinds of meetings. 27. See Lumanti (2005), Present status of microfi nance programme, unpublished power point presentation. 28. Quoted from power point presentation paper, see reference Lumanti (2004), Refl ection and learning document 2004, unpublished internal document, page 11. b. Eviction challenge for negotiations The increasing number of squatter settlements is evidence of the fact that the eviction of squatters is not a solution. Many of them will just squat 150

9 CONFRONTATION TO COLLABORATION: SQUATTERS IN NEPAL 30. Lumanti (2002), Shadows of development: housing the urban poor: an experience from Vishnumati link road project, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Lalitpur, page The Kathmandu Post, 22 March 2002, quoted in Lumanti (2002), see reference 30, page See reference 6, page The negotiation process is well documented. See reference 30; also Lumanti (2003), Persistence for progress: a follow-up report on the communities affected by the Vishnumati link road project, Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, Lalitpur. Evictions for the Vishnumati link road project took place in 1952, 1971, 1974, 1993 and For details of SDI, see Patel, Sheela, S Burra and C D Cruz (2001), Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI) foundations to treetops, Environment and Urbanization Vol 13, No 2, October, pages 45 59; also Satterthwaite, David (2001), From professionally driven to people-driven poverty reduction: refl ections on the role of Shack/Slum Dwellers International, Environment and Urbanization Vol 13, No 2, October, pages ; or its website, sdinet.org/. again unless the state provides them with an alternative. Evictions were often undertaken by power holders not to improve a situation but, rather, to increase people s fears and insecurity. Ironically, however, evictions often encourage squatters to become more organized and better prepared for negotiations. Until November 2001, evictions were rare in Kathmandu Valley thanks to the efforts of the alliance of NMES, NBBSS and Lumanti. But the number of evictions suddenly increased across the country during the state of emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended. (30) It was even called bulldozer terrorism. (31) Eviction is often justified as being for the public good, although it is rare that the good of the people who are forced to move is taken into account. (32) In April 2002, the then mayor of KMC promised that it would provide alternative land or compensatory house rent in case of future eviction. This was a landmark promise, made after the alliance lobbied against the evictions that had taken place during preparations for a roadbuilding project, the Vishnumati link road project. This had involved the eviction of more than 142 households. (33) After the eviction, the evicted squatters and the ward office of KMC conducted separate surveys and triangulated their data in order to identify people who had no other options for shelter. Finally, only 44 households were identified and they continued to negotiate for resettlement sites. KMC contributed to the Urban Community Support Fund (UCSF), and their contribution, along with funds from international NGOs, namely ACHR, Slum Dwellers International (SDI), (34) Action Aid Nepal, Water Aid Nepal and Lumanti, totalling NRs 20,000,000 (US$ 25,5000), made it possible for these 44 affected families to acquire resettlement sites and basic infrastructure free of cost. Their houses were built with loans that the households must repay within 15 years. The reason that this achievement was possible within the relatively short life of the organizations was that they applied lessons learnt from exchange visits to their sister organizations in other countries, especially in India. At the first stage of these exchange visits, visitors from Nepal were keen to learn anything their Indian peers could teach them around organizing themselves. At the next stage, visits by Indian members to Nepal were used as opportunities to encourage political commitments from local governments and state agencies in Nepal. During this period, the Nepali media publicized the more positive stance of government towards squatters. The good relationship with KMC was maintained until the collapse of the government that had nominated the mayor, following a series of threats by the then warring Maoist rebels who, claiming that appointed heads of local government should not represent people, killed some mayors. A replacement chief executive officer for KMC was appointed by the central government. Another road extension plan in Kathmandu had the potential to affect more than 400 households in five squatter settlements. In early 2005, the then newly formed government tried to garner popularity by forcibly carrying out pending public works such as road construction along the Bagmati River in Kathmandu. This potentially could have resulted in the forced clearance of these squatter settlements by KMC and the Department of Roads. 151

10 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 The plan was disclosed at a project committee meeting consisting of representatives of concerned parties, including the police, the army, KMC, the Department of Roads and the District Development Committee. Later, a prior notice of the clearance was issued by KMC. Although they could not organize a mass protest because of the suspension of the right to assembly during this volatile period in Nepal, about 10 representatives of NBBSS and NMES, accompanied by Lumanti staff members, visited KMC requesting that their houses not be demolished. Finally, the authorities decided to clear just a 20-metre tract of land from the river for the road construction. There was structural damage to one toilet and one pig hut, and the bulldozers destroyed an area of potatoes and mustard flower just before their harvest. Many young squatters also endured sleepless nights waiting for the outcome of this event, since it occurred just a few weeks before the all-important School Leaving Certificate exam. There was no further clearance, however, in squatter settlement areas adjoining the road construction site. Bimala Lama, the chairperson of NMES, refused to remain silent regarding this incident, even though journalists and activists feared talking about human rights during this period of emergency, after the royal proclamation of 1 February We squatters have not been accorded any human rights from the beginning, so why should we worry about losing them? she said at a discussion programme in March Such a bold statement at a sensitive time reflects the changes in the squatters and their relations with the rest of the world. IV. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SQUATTERS AND NON- SQUATTERS As Nepal s local governments are still not fully functional after the years of disruption, it is critically important for the squatters movement to get support from ordinary citizens as well as from civil servants. The squatters have certainly changed over the intervening decade, through organizing and exposing themselves to the outside world. These days, they frankly reveal their origins as squatters without any hesitation, which was not the case 10 years ago. Many young people, afraid of discrimination, would not disclose their address. Their parents also appreciate the new initiatives taken by the youth in forming the Child Development Youth Network (CDYN), a network of 30 child clubs from squatter communities. They say: Our children can consult their peers better than us thanks to the group activities. We no longer have to worry about them. The image of squatters as criminals and drug addicts is gradually changing. a. Changes brought about by the visible improvement of infrastructure In part, this change is due to the changing awareness of the squatters themselves. But it has also been promoted by their tireless efforts to improve their environment through the installation of water pipes, toilets and sewage systems, the paving of muddy streets and the establishment of waste management, largely sharing the costs through their own group savings. They proved that they were capable of playing a significant role in managing the urban environment. This changed the attitudes and 152

11 CONFRONTATION TO COLLABORATION: SQUATTERS IN NEPAL perceptions of their non-squatter neighbours, who used to ignore the squatters. For instance, in an area called Srijana Basti, after observing the sincere efforts of the squatters to improve sanitation, non-squatter neighbours subsidized the cost of connecting to the sewage system. This kind of collaboration could only have been realized through dialogue and behaviour change in both squatters and non-squatters. b. Learning from squatters Having observed the successful operation of microfinance cooperatives by squatter women, lower-middle class women from neighbouring communities started showing an interest in microfinance, and have now formed various savings and credit groups. This is an interesting and significant case because non-squatters are replicating what squatters did. Although their interests are limited at present to the improvement of their own economic status, the phenomenon of squatters as role models in cases like this may eventually help to change the overall relations between squatters and non-squatters. c. Exposure of squatter children to the rest of society 35. The shop faced diffi culties due to registration issues with KMC. Although members of CDYN tried to open the shop in other parts of Kathmandu, it closed in See reference 29, page 10. One of the unique initiatives by young squatters was a mobile momo (dumpling in Nepali) shop run by CDYN. (35) The shop was operated by groups of youths from different squatter communities, who took turns from three to six pm every day. These young people managed both their schooling and their shifts at the shop and earned money for their education through their own efforts. Commuters at a city junction patronized the momo shop and they had more than 150 customers every day. I am never interested in cooking at home, but making momos for customers brings me both fun and money. What could make me happier? said a boy in charge of the momo shop. Some members of CDYN are employed by NBBSS and NMES to support clerical work in offices, for example record keeping or liaison with other agencies, which contributes to the development of second generation leadership of NBBSS and NMES. One of the core members of CDYN is now working as a field coordinator for the improvement of housing and living conditions for the urban poor in Dharan municipality, outside Kathmandu. (36) They are surely developing their skills and exposure to the outside world. d. The movement towards social change The activities of the squatters as groups and federations has changed them from being an invisible mass into being organized citizens. Members of NBBSS and NMES have strong attachments to their present settlements and to their identities as members of the alliance. This is quite an important change for squatters who no longer have an identity in their places of origin. Education is another major reason behind the recent changes in the squatter settlements. Ten years ago, only very few squatters went to school. Small sons and daughters attending primary school helped their 153

12 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 mothers to keep records of group savings, since hardly any adult women had the skills needed for bookkeeping. Some of the first generation who were literate and able to pass the School Leaving Certificate now play vital roles in challenging their social environment. Squatters used to be afraid of mingling with outsiders for fear of discrimination. An NMES member recalls: My son used to hesitate to invite his school mates from rich families to come to our house when he was small. But his friends did not care about such things. Only my son and I did. The first generation of squatters faced hardships and developed solidarity with squatters from other areas, but could not minimize the gap between squatters and non-squatters. The younger generation gained more confidence through education. They will break through the barriers and make the movement more stable still. They should be provided with even more opportunities to bridge the gap between themselves and other city dwellers. The recent initiatives by the youth will continue to change the way in which non-squatters perceive the squatters. V. THE WAY FORWARD: WHERE THE MOVEMENT IS HEADED a. Coping or competing In December 2004, NBBSS participated in a national conference on land rights organized by the Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC), a national NGO working as a resource organization for land rights. Other groups composed of tenant farmers, bonded labourers or indigenous people subsequently formed the National Land Rights People s Forum (NLPRF) after the conference. NBBSS did not join this group, since the forum focused on land issues primarily from the perspective of food security. Ongoing national debates on land rights continue to focus on the distribution and registration of land and on land reform. For instance, as a result of a two-week long protest by members of NLPRF from 42 districts in November 2008, the government of Nepal agreed to form a high level Land Reform Commission within 15 days. There are three reasons why this movement is not relevant to urban squatters. First, the land rights movement gives priority to rural landlessness, assuming that farming is the only important source of livelihood. Their focus on land rights in terms of food security issues corresponds to government policy. For urban squatters, however, land is first and foremost a place to live and then a place for work whether by building small workshops and shops or having space to breed and keep animals. Although land in the urban context these days is not heavily used for farming, it is certainly critical for livelihood. Second, there is still a fundamental constraint in attempting to compare the landlessness of urban squatters to that of other groups. It is common even today to see government officials questioning the legitimacy of squatters. The authorities do not always acknowledge the family identity cards issued by NBBSS. They still fall back on the sukumbasi definition, arguing that genuine squatters should not own land anywhere in Nepal. However, even when urban squatters own some land elsewhere, this often does not mean that they have a secure place to live, and it should not exclude them from land reform relevant to their particular situation. 154

13 CONFRONTATION TO COLLABORATION: SQUATTERS IN NEPAL The third reason is that power relations within the present land rights movement make the activists compete with each other more than cooperate. Development agencies involved in land rights movements tend to represent the interests of the particular groups they are supporting, and the land rights movement in consequence is quite fragmented. As a result, the concerns of urban squatters become even lower priority issues. b. Are housing rights understood? 37. Housing rights in Nepal are reviewed in Shrestha, R (2004), Report on housing rights in Nepalese context, unpublished report. 38. Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Coordination Committee (2006), A civil society assessment of the situation of economic, social and cultural rights in Nepal, Report submitted to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the period , bodies/cescr/docs/info-ngos/ HRTMCC.pdf. 39. United Nations Economic and Social Council (2007), Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (thirty-eighth session, 30 April 18 May 2007), E/C.12/ NPL/CO/2, original in English, bodies/cescr/docs/e_c12_npl_ co2.doc. In Nepal, while land rights are widely discussed, the debate on housing rights and the need for a secure place to live is limited to a small circle. (37) NBBSS is an important proponent of housing rights as part of human rights. Although there is no legal basis for housing rights within Nepal law, the right to adequate housing is mentioned in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Nepal became a party on 14 May Article 11 (1). The State parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and for his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted General Comment No 4 in 1991, identifying seven core components of adequate housing: legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy. Of these seven components, the government of Nepal, at a minimum, needs to provide legal security of tenure to protect people from arbitrary forced eviction. The government of Nepal has submitted its second periodic report to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) but has failed to address these issues. Civil society organizations prepared a counter-report, suggesting more specific legal provision for squatters. (38) The ECOSOC committee recommended adopting a national housing policy and providing low-cost housing, but its emphasis was more on the rural poor and other marginalized and disadvantaged groups and was not focused particularly on urban squatters. (39) c. A movement particular to Nepal As long as security of tenure is ensured, it may not be as critical to talk about the whole range of housing rights in Nepal. However, it is essential to institutionalize that security through laws. NBBSS, NMES and Lumanti 155

14 ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION Vol 21 No 1 April 2009 have worked since 2003 on drafting a housing bill with the assistance of lawyers and other stakeholders, including government representatives from the Ministry of Land Reform and Management, which encouraged all people working on the issue. This Bill set out to be a core document to prevent forced eviction and to provide secure tenure. The alliance organized several drafting workshops in Kathmandu and other municipalities, and representatives of both NBBSS and NMES have always been a part of the discussion. This process has been operating in parallel with the drafting of the People s Land Reform Act by NLPRF. Although a common platform like NLPRF was not always relevant to urban squatter issues, NBBSS and its alliance have understood the importance of solidarity on the issue of land reform. In the Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007), the government of Nepal defined the state s responsibility: to adopt a policy of providing economic and social security including lands to economically and socially backward classes including the landless, bonded labourers, tillers and shepherds. (40) It also states that the State shall pursue a policy of making special provision based on positive discrimination to the minorities, landless, squatters, bonded labourers, the disabled, backward communities and sections, and the victims of conflict, including women, Dalits, indigenous tribes, Madhesis and Muslims. (41) Referring to these clauses in the constitution, NBBSS, NMES and CDYN submitted the Housing Bill for Squatter and Unplanned Settlements (2007) on the occasion of World Habitat Day This proposes the establishment of committees on housing issues at both central government and district levels. It defines two different types of squatter: persons and their families (to the second degree of kinship) who have no land anywhere in Nepal; and persons and their families who have land in a rural area but who have migrated and have lived on public land for more than two years with no other options. There will be different arrangements for these two groups in the event of evictions. The first would be given resettlement places free of cost while the second, except for orphans, widows and other disadvantaged people, would pay 10 per cent of the land price when they gave up the land in their places of origin. The Bill is under examination by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, while the alliance member organizations continue lobbying with the Constituent Assembly members. Some members of NBBSS formed a political party called the Nepal Sukumbasi Abyasbasthit Party Loktantrik (Nepal Squatter and Unorganized Settlements Party Democratic) to take part in the Constituent Assembly elections held in April The party did not win any seats but members were satisfied with the 8,322 votes they received from 74 districts, including some districts where NBBSS had no branches. The general-secretary of the party said that they wanted to show their presence and to appeal for squatters issues through their party symbol, the doko (wicker basket). (42) Although they were unable to send representatives to the Constituent Assembly, they believe that their strategy was successful in gaining attention from the general public and the media during the election period. 40. Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007), Part 4, Para 33 (i). 41. Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007), Part 4, Para 35 (14), org.np/constitutionbuilding/ constitutionnepal/ contitutionfi le/interim_ Constitution_bilingual.pdf. 42. In Nepal, every party has a visual symbol that represents it. 156