Driven out and duped

The sad plight of families evicted from Colombo city:

by P. Krishnaswamy

Nearly 580 families were evicted from Slave Island, Colombo 2, in december 2010 and the homes they had lived in for decades demolished in a matter of minutes.They were the first batch of 60,000 families of Colombo targeted for eviction to make way for the purported foreign-investment-oriented Colombo urban development and beautification project.They were evicted at short notice, without adequate or suitable alternative housing arrangement. The shocking reality was that the eviction was conducted in military style, in the presence of machine-gun wielding, steel-helmeted security forces personnel who came under the purview of the then Defence Secretary, Gotabhhaya Rajapaksa. He was in charge of the Urban Development Authority(UDA) that was responsible for urban development and the Colombo city beautification program as well.

These homes where their generations grew up were bulldozed and flattened under their very eyes. The tragic tale of these families and their forced relocation to unaccustomed and far-away places, with incommensurate rentals, no compensation nor alternative houses and deprived of their traditional professions and the schooling of children are heart-rending. The declarations made prior to the eviction was “The primary goal of the project is to uplift the living standards of the people in the area and provide them a better living environment” have proved otherwise and were only empty rhetoric. These hapless residents were promised rental money until they were provided with new residences but are not receiving adequate rental payment nor are there any signs that they will get alternative houses in the near future.

Cummunal hub

The former government of President Mahinda Rajapakse evicted families residing in urban areas in the heart of the city and cleared 2.4 hectares of land as part of its plan to convert Colombo City into a South Asian commercial hub for international investors and tourists. The project involved Tata, the giant Indian multi-national company, which wanted to build luxury condominiums with an estimated value of $US429.5 million.

Since the 2013 eviction, hundreds of families have been forced out from Slave Island, Dematagoda, Appalwatta and Ibbawatta.

Representatives of the affected families said that some of the housing-complexes built in Wanathamulla and Dematagoda were unfit for occupation. The rooms lacked space and were narrow and basic facilities were lacking. Heeding the request of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Rauff Hakeem, the Cabinet recently approved the appointment of a committee to review the aspects pertaining to the forced relocation of families in undeserved settlements. The affected families were given time till April 10, 2015 to submit their appeals. Senior Lawyer Sujeeva Senasinghe, now the Deputy Minister of Justice , who indomitably defended the cause of the families when they were under eviction told the Sunday Observer he is now making arrangements to file action against this unjust and inhuman treatment of fellow citizens. The previous regime was concentrating on investments from foreign companies at the expense of vulnerable Tamil and Muslim communities living in shanties in Colombo zones 2 – 7.

The current value of a perch of land in these locations is about Rs.10 Mn and they sold these lands to foreign multinational companies, including TATA , under the pretext of doing away with shanties and providing residents with better accommodation. They were afraid of the consequences. No parliamentarians from Colombo North came to their rescue or spoke on their behalf, Deputy Minister Senasinghe said.

Vulnerable people

The promised direct investment of US $ 400 Mn never saw the light of day but it is alleged thatt millions of US dollars went into the pockets of individuals as commissions and kick-backs,” he said.“Meagre amunts were paid to affected families and they were relocated in 350 sq.ft shelters. They tried to scare me out and certain agents made false complaints to the police against me saying that I demanded bribes but on principle, when I take a just cause, I stand by it irrespective of the consequences,” he said. When the issue was brought to the notice of the then Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, he declared to the utter surprise of everybody “No one should obstruct ongoing development programs in Colombo.” A cross section of the affected people have now lodged complaints with the Commission for Investigating Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on the fraudulent sale of their properties. About 2000 Tamil and Muslim families were affected. They should be provided with decent housing, having a minimum area of 600 sq.ft. Huge amounts, to the tune of about US $ 5 Mn, have gone into the pockets of unscrupulous individuals as commissions and kickbacks, Deputy Minister Senasinghe said.

Timely assistance

The Sunday Observer spoke to three representatives of the organisation to safeguard the interests of affected families – A.C.M.Badurdeen MMC, M.Ismail and Mohamed Azhar – and they lauded the timely assistance and services rendered to them by Deputy Minister Sujeeva Senasinghe. They said that he in his capacity then as senior lawyer and UNP parliamentarian persuaded them to file a petition in the Supreme Court and the three member bench headed by Chief Justice Mohan Pieris gave a verdict on 21/10/2013 that the families should vacate in six weeks and “no one should obstruct ongoing development programs in Colombo,“ they said.

They were advised to submit to the SC orders and they had no alternative but to vacate their homes, they said. They further said: “ 580 households, comprising about 2000 members, vacated their houses within short notice on assurances given by the UDA authorities that compensation in respect of those seeking it will be paid within one year and in the case of those wanting houses in lieu of the houses they had forfeited, a house will be provided within two years and that e process of the construction of the houses had begun. Many of the affected families opted for compensation because they did not see any houses being constructed. House rent for two years was paid but it was at the rate of Rs.8000/- per month which was not commensurate with the house rents in Colombo or the suburbs. It was due to the efforts of Sujeeva Senasinghe and another lawyer Salman Cassim that the amount was raised to Rs.15,000/ per month. We did not have reliable information that housing projects were being built. But strangely enough, activities on such projects were noticeable after we lodged complaints with the Bribery Commission. Within four days of lodging the complaints, we were summoned for an inquiry and we went with about 400 families. We hired vehicles and brought them from the different places where they live. The high-handed act relating to our eviction began in 2009 and has been going on since then.

Assessment numbers

We were given assessment numbers of houses in several places in the outskirts of Colombo but there were people already occupying those house. They abused us and chased us away when we went to see the houses. Apart from that, those houses were not suitable for occupation by any of our families and the locations were far away. There again , we hired vehicles and went. Virtually all the evicted families were living outside Colombo in environments that they are unaccustomed to and lack many facilities. They are living in places like Wellampitiya, Kolonnawa, Wattala and Mabole. We went to the Bribery Commission because we have been cheated and we have suffered enough.

“ Tata is a world-renown multinational company and we do not think that they would have cheated us in this deal . Our properties were sold to them and they bought it with the promise to give us alternative accommodation within a specific period and pay us money to rent out houses, until then.We feel that middlemen and agents cheated us. Samrad Yehiya is a broker. He is the third respondent in the case we have filed with the Bribery Commission. He was given a table and a chair in the UDA office but was not holding any official post. Who should be held responsible for that ?

The inquiries on payment of compensation started from today ( Thursday) and three people were called for the inquiry. Most of us opted for compensation because we were uncertain that we will get houses.

“ The short notice of six weeks given to us by the SC by its verdict on 21/10/2013 was not reasonable, considering the problems we faced in finding alternative houses and moving out. The SC order was that we will be given compensation within one year or houses in 2-1/2 years. Although one year has lapsed, we have not been paid compensationIs . it not a violation of the SC order, these residents queried?

Forced eviction in Colombo

The Centre for Policy Alternatives(CPA) has lambasted the Urban Development Authority (UDA) over the eviction and re-location of communities in high-rise buildings in Dematagoda and Wanathamulla . The CPA in a report has stated “These residents were facing untold hardship”. What is more, contrary to popular belief that apartments are being given free of charge, these poor low income residents are compelled to pay a staggering nearly Rs. 1,000,000 to the state over the next 20 years, including more than Rs 100,000, within the first three months. This demand is irrespective of whether people have the deeds to their previous dwellings or not. the report states,

Residents have no claim to these apartments and are yet to be given deeds to their apartments. On top of all that restrictions have been placed that owners cannot sell, rent or mortgage the apartments. These low income families now don’t even have a source of financial security. this has clearly been taken away from them.

The cost of the apartments according to the UDA is Rs seven million each. Lack of space is a serious issue faced by most residents. Each apartment is around 400 square feet and many of those who were relocated had houses that were twice as big and with space for more than one family.

The ‘one apartment per house’ policy means that today in some apartments there are up to 14 people or more and that some families have been forced to live on rent, elsewhere, simply due to lack of space.

Disenfranchisement is a serious issue brought to the notice of the during consultations with communities - such as the case of the former residents of Mews Street, Slave Island, forcibly evicted from their homes in May 2010.

These residents are yet to be provided with permanent housing, are still living on rent and unable to register in a new location, resulting in their fundamental right to franchise being violated. In ‘Forced Evictions in Colombo: High-rise Living’, the second report by the CPA focus is on forced evictions in Sri Lanka’s capital city, particularly those that took place under the previous Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, where as part of its beautification agenda they aimed to create a slum free Colombo by 2020 through the Urban Regeneration Project (URP). The eviction of low income residents in Colombo started much before the end of the war and long before the URP.

It gained speed and authority after the UDA was brought under the Ministry of Defence and the then Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who became the chief architect of Sri Lanka’s development and beautification.

The rush to relocate the communities coming under the URP to Dematagoda, was not done with the uplift of people’s lives foremost in mind, but with the intention of freeing up property with high commercial value. What made this project more problematic was the means used to acquire land. Military force, intimidation and harassment were used to evict people from their homes and the process did not follow Sri Lanka’s laws related to land acquisition.

Communities were relocated to high-rise buildings in Dematagoda and Wanathamulla where today they face many hardships. Contrary to popular belief that apartments are being given to people free of charge, those being evicted have to pay over Rs. 1,000,000 to the State over the next 20 years, including more than 100,000, within the first three months. This is irrespective of whether people have the deeds to their previous dwellings or not. They are yet to be given deeds toDisenfranchisement is a serious issue brought to the notice of CPA during consultations with communities - such as the case of the former residents of Mews Street, Slave Island, forcibly evicted from their homes in May 2010. There is also the case of Mayura Place, Wellawatte where more than 7 months after the apartment complex on Mayura Place opened, 17 families are yet to get housing as promised. Communities have detailed these issues in writing to the committee that was appointed by the new Ministry of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage.

Appointed in March 2015, this committee is meant to look into the activities of the UDA under the previous regime and “investigate into the injustices that have been caused in this resettlement and rehabilitation process, to make suitable recommendations and to expedite payment of compensation to the affected people”.

Recommendations Intermeddiate Term

* Initiate a thorough review of the development activities carried out in the city of Colombo by the previous regime. The Urban Regeneration Project must be reviewed in total, and the aim must be to ensure that communities are substantially better off in all respects and attain higher living standards. Building of new high-rise apartments should stop until this review has taken place.

* Make public all the documents and information related to the Urban Regeneration Project in Colombo, especially all aspects pertaining to acquisition of lands and resettlement including results of surveys, sites identified for redevelopment, demarcations of private and state land, as well as scheduling of proposed acquisition and relocation and agreements with private developers from Sri Lanka and abroad to build resettlement housing or to develop lands taken from communities and actual costs of the URP including the resettlementhousing, including per apartment cost

* Take immediate measures to redress grievances of specific affected communities, in Particular, Mews Street residents who were forcibly evicted in 2010 are given new housing with immediate effect, provide written guarantees for grant of in-situ housing to all Slave Island residents whose lands have been taken for the TATA Project; and to those who chose compensation instead of in-situ housing, ensure immediate payment of the same at fair and accurate market rates

* Take immediate measures to redress grievances of communities already relocated to high-rise apartments. This requires review and cancel the current payment plans for the new houses, provide deeds to all those relocated to the new apartments and take away restrictions on selling, mortgaging and renting the apartment and where land that communities previously occupied is still not utilized or sold, explore options to relocate the residents back to their previous location and increase the size of the apartments

* Together with the Election Commissioners office, ensure that those who have been Disenfranchised through forced relocation through the URP as well as other projects are Speedily re-registered in the electoral lists before the General Election of 2015.

Long Term

*The Policy Principles of the National Involuntary Resettlement Policy must be reviewed, brought up to date with national and international standards and be enshrined in law and made applicable to all future instances of land acquisitions involving relocation.

* Explore all possible options with regard to housing of low-income communities, including and especially in-situ redevelopment and upgrading, to eliminate and minimize involuntary resettlement.

* Revitalize democratic decision-making and strengthen the Colombo Municipal Council, including by ensuring robust mechanisms of participation, transparency and accountability as well as building its professional competencies.

* Enshrine in law the best principles of the National Housing Policy and adopt a Consultative, participatory and bottom–up process for providing housing for the urban poor.