After seeing Mumbai’s slums bulldozed, he now works to save and restore them

Christian Science Monitor   
September 2nd, 2010

From the folks at the Christian Science Monitor, the story of Santosh Thorat, a resident of Mumbai whose opposition to the outright demolition of slum housing has led him to work toward improving the living conditions of people in the slums.  He’s already helped bring a computer center, sewing center, and new school to the community.

“If all they want is to make Mumbai slum free and neat and tidy, and they think that Mumbai looks dirty with the slums around, then instead of spending money on demolishing they should have given them money for restoration and for the upkeeping of the houses,” says Thorat through a translator as we sit in a room on the wobbly second story of the dim home he rebuilt within a year of its demolition.

That’s now largely the plan being pushed by the government of India, a nationwide project called Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana, introduced last year. It aims to make India slum free in five years – not through demolition, but through the construction of affordable housing and upgrading of current settlements.

Read the full story at the Christian Science Monitor

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