Bhanugram

Year: 2012-2013

PPA was hired was a consultant for CURE (Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence), a not-for-profit development organization working with urban informal and low-income communities working under the RAY (Rajiv Awas Yojana) initiative. RAY is a Government of India initiative that envisages a ‘Slum-free India’ through encouraging States/Union Territories to tackle the problem of slums in a definitive manner. It calls for a multi-pronged approach focusing on:

• Bringing existing slums within the formal system and enabling them to avail of the same level of basic amenities as the rest of the town;

• Redressing the failures of the formal system that lie behind the creation of slums; and

• Tackling the shortages of urban land and housing that keep shelter out of reach of the urban poor and force them to resort to extra-legal solutions in a bid to retain their sources of livelihood and employment.

The project methodology required identification of the slum pockets in Gangtok, documentation through survey of dwelling units and clusters. Analysis of the material documented with respect to the Sikkim Notification of Slums and Physical Attributes. Bhanugram under DPH ward was chosen as the pilot project for the DPR. The settlement is a notified slum area which is composed of a large colony of Dhobis but the settlers are mostly diverse in ethnicity. The design proposal came after thorough study of the spatial and non-spatial aspects of the area and with the participation of the community in the process.

Check out the proposal in detail below:

You can download the consolidated public feedback on this proposal below: