Thursday 31 May 2007

Developers to demolish Asia's biggest shantytown

The largest slum in Asia, a sprawling shantytown in the centre of Mumbai, will be demolished and replaced with free homes for the city's poor under a $2.3bn (£1.2bn) scheme to transform one of India's most obvious eyesores.

The state government of Maharashtra placed advertisements yesterday inviting Indian and foreign developers to raze the tin shanties and maze of open drains that make up Dharavi slum and replace it with a new township in India's financial hub. For the government the redevelopment is a demonstration that developers can help the poor and free land in one of the world's most densely populated spots.Dharavi stands on just a square mile of land - reckoned to be worth more than $10bn - and houses about 600,000 people in ramshackle buildings. The government will sell land below market prices and, as an incentive to create properties for the poor, says that for every square foot of accommodation created for slum dwellers, developers will get 1.3 square feet for commercial use. The argument is that while slum dwellers will get flats in high-rise blocks the rest of the land can be used for malls, middle-class apartment blocks and business parks.

The scheme has outraged local activists who say the poor are being ignored in favour of the rich. Jockin Arputham, president of the National Slum Dwellers Association, told news agencies that it was not clear where ordinary people would live in the new developed areas.

He said Dharavi's residents lived next to the small businesses - such as tanneries and potteries - where they worked. "Their businesses will be shut once the construction starts," said Mr Arputham. "[The government] is forcing us to get on to the street," he said. "We will tell bidders from Europe to China not to touch this project because it damages the country."

India, Asia's fourth-largest economy, is facing a crisis of "slumification" according to experts, with numerous people leaving the countryside in search of jobs in the booming cities. The Indian government's own figures show the number of people living in its slums has more than doubled in the past 20 years to more than 60m.

Food miles: The true cost of putting imported food on your plate

Some examples given in the article.

Gobbling up the planet: Your guide to food miles

APPLES (FUJI)

Seventy-six per cent of apples consumed in the UK come from overseas. Washington, home of the Red Delicious and grower of half of America's apples, produces 135,000 tons of Fuji apples a year. They also come from China and Japan, and have a long shelf-life. With refrigeration, Fuji apples can last five or six months.

Typical exporter: US
Food miles to UK: 3,700
C02 (kg per pack of four): by sea 0.06; by air 1.68
Price: £1.99/500g, £2.98/kg

BEEF

The United States, Brazil, the European Union, Japan and the People's Republic of China are the world's largest consumers of beef, while the world's largest exporters of beef are Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Canada respectively. While British beef is clearly labelled in UK supermarkets, Argentinian beef is still a best seller here.

Typical exporter: Argentina
Food miles to UK: 6,900
CO2 (kg/kg): by sea 0.22; by air 6.33
Price: approx £6/kg

PINEAPPLE

South-east Asia dominates world production of pineapples. Total world production in 2001 was 14.220 million tons. The primary exporters of fresh pineapples in 2001 were Costa Rica, 322,000 tons; Ivory Coast, 188,000 tons; and the Philippines, 135,000 tons. In the UK we get most of our pineapples from Ghana.

Typical exporter: Ghana
Food miles to UK: 3,100
CO2 (kg/pineapple): by sea 0.22; by air 6.26
Price: approx £2/kg

Link to Food miles: The true cost of putting imported food on your plate - Independent Online Edition > Lifestyle