Rehabilitation of Colombo’s slums

Local press reported that the land around Beira Lake in Colombo will be redeveloped with World Bank assistance. A major component of the project would be the transfer of people living in congested housing into high-rise apartments, thereby releasing the balance lands for development.

With the proposed improvements to Colombo Fort, Galle Face and the former Colombo Commercial property, slums in Kompannavidiya or Slave Island would be an eyesore in the heart of the redevelopment. The Government has finalised a number of projects for the relocation of inhabitants living around Slave Island into multi-storeyed flats with Indian and Pakistani private sector participation.

Public housing in the past

Housing schemes for Wellawatta Spinning & Weaving Mills and Bogala Flats on Havelock Road were constructed for their staff during pre-independence era. Public housing is scattered throughout Colombo for the lower and middle class. Among the major housing projects are Bambalapitiya Flats, Police Flats in Thimbirigasyaya, Anderson Golf Links (Narahenpita), Maligawatta, and Soysapura in Moratuwa. Almost all above were storeyed units not exceeding four floors; railway staff at Dematagoda and Ratmalana were the most fortunate with individual housing units.

Currently public housing comes under the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and tenants were offered the purchase option and transferred to occupants, yet others remain as tenants paying a nominal rent. The ownership of property where buildings stand remains with NHDA.

Unlike in freehold property, owners of flats or apartments face a time ceiling on the ownership, beyond which the residency lapses. The basis is the buildings have a lifespan, beyond which maintenance would be uneconomical. But we have not witnessed at even a single block of apartments owned by the Government the residents being evicted after the lapse of the time ceiling or demolished when buildings become unsuitable for habitation.

Edmonton Road housing scheme off Baseline Road in Kirulapone shows how so-called poor people’s housing is exploited by Government staff. The scheme, originally proposed for low income groups, was offered for purchase at 2% interest payable over 20 years. The flats are small, but the location’s proximity to leading boys’ and girls’ schools in Colombo allows admission of children, resulting in high demand.

Some housing units remain vacant with owners living abroad, but the loan instalment arrives promptly over a standing order. Today, nearly five years after completion, the low income housing scheme has a problem; shortage of parking spaces, as most house owners possess two vehicles, one official and the other personal.

Maligawatta Housing Scheme

Marshes of Maligawatta were converted into a housing complex under Peter Keuneman in 1973 and further developed by Premadasa when he was Prime Minister. The complex, consisting of 1,520 housing units, is home to 10,000 people. The housing is supposed to shelter poor from the area, but today most occupants are businessmen from the area.

Maligawatta tenants were lucky and recently NHDA spent Rs. 280 million in modernisation. The recovery process of the expenditure was not even discussed, while the majority of current occupants are affluent businessmen who acquired units illegally. The Minister must be very popular at other people’s expense.

Will the Minister offer the same facility in repairing other depleted housing too? Anyway it would be the poor public who would have to foot the bill.

Problems in public housing

Every past Government’s policy on public housing was to offer affordable housing to the poor and middle class, meaning the rental charged was not based on the investment in land and construction, but on the tenant’s ability to pay. In almost all cases cost of maintenance was disregarded. While salaries of occupiers went up with inflation, etc., rentals remained static. Non-increase in rental was due to politicians’ reluctance to make unpopular decisions, which was exploited by the tenants. The housing was supposed to be for the poor, tenants were selected on political connections, with poverty generally disregarded.

With rentals remaining static, maintenance costs spiralled and only absolute necessary services were provided. Lack of maintenance resulted in buildings unpainted in decades, common areas neglected, corridors and stairs in darkness, but the tenants received practically free accommodation. Some tenants with improving incomes sold their housing and moved elsewhere.

Poor living in the city

It is claimed that in Colombo 30% of the population live in 65,000 slums, 51% in under-served settlements and 21% of the children below five are undernourished. Most of this housing lacks basic amenities as running water and proper toilets, although most have electricity.

The majority has been living in the city for decades and have nowhere to go. They are employed within the city as small-time traders and in minor labour jobs, keeping the city moving. If their children get educated and with better employment, prohibitive land prices would prevent taking up residence in the neighbourhood. Then what is the solution?

Relocation of under-served communities

With the Government on the threshold of a new wave of public housing, some rising over 20 floors, a number of areas need clarification to avoid pitfalls in the future. The present inhabitants would fall into 1. House owners with deeds to their property. 2. Those settled by the Government 3. Those occupied over decades without paper documents. Slums located on the edge of Beira Lake were removed a few years ago.

Current residents were informed that new housing would be of floor area not less than their current accommodation. New buildings will come in the vicinity of the resident’s original homes so that they would not have to find new jobs or different schools for the children. Proposed housing would be in multi-storeyed apartments with common amenities, recreation areas, mosques, etc. It was reported that the house owners have agreed that they will not press for compensation for lost property and they would be given accommodation in new developments.

Services

Multi-storeyed housing has inherent additional requirements, such as maintenance of passenger lifts, lighting of stairways, common amenities such as water, electricity supply, garbage disposal, and the building. Who will be responsible for maintenance of lifts as operator’s salary, and change of cables, as they need replacement every few years, electricity costs of lifts, lighting of stairways and common amenities?

Electricity

Electricity would require meters to be located at specific locations and CEB will be responsible for the supply power to the electricity meter. The lifts, stairways, common areas, and offices will need electricity, and who pays? What will happen during a power failure – will there be emergency power at least for the lifts? Who would bear the cost of maintenance of generators?

Water supply

The Water Board’s water supply cannot reach higher floors and water needs to be stored in a ground sump and pumped into tanks at different levels, which will supply to individual houses. It is unlikely that the Water Board would accept responsibility to supply water beyond the ground sump. The responsibility of pumping water to overhead tanks, distribution, and maintenance of pumps and pipelines need to be taken by a second party.

Garbage collection and common amenities

Normally garbage in multi-storeyed housing is dropped into a chute and removed by public authorities. Surroundings need to be kept tidy to prevent breeding of flies and rodents, also common areas need cleaning up.

All the above need fairly heavy maintenance work at a cost.

Sahaspura Housing Scheme

While earlier State housing confined to buildings not exceeding four storeys did not require lifts, the shortage of land is forcing the Government to climb higher.

The first Government built high-rise housing was the Sahaspura Housing Scheme, built in 2001, consisting of five blocks of 14-storeyed buildings yielding 670 units of 45 sqm (485 sq.ft.) each, but latter developments were reduced to 35 sqm (375 sqft).

Sahaspura is the first public housing scheme given under Condominium Law.

Condominium Law

The Condominium Property Act 12 of 1970 was brought to facilitate administration of collectively-owned properties, housing, or commercial units in a building or a complex. A condominium plan is prepared with units separated and is registered to become a corporate body (corporation). Each unit can now be sold and the purchaser becomes a member of the corporation, with his responsibility depending on percentage of total area and the usage.

Occupation of a building with common services and facilities has its own problems and are addressed in the Act. The condominium (corporation) is run by a board of managers selected among the members. The corporation has legal powers to administer the running and maintenance common areas and levy charges on members who are expected to settle their dues.

Under the Act, the condominium building is expected to be insured against fire, riots, and civil commotion. The board of managers is expected to repair, maintain and also to pay dues as Municipal rates, water, and electricity bills.

The corporation will hire administrative, maintenance and security staff and their salaries, office expenses, electricity, and water costs of common elements and maintenance fees are chargeable to members. Dues under Condominium Law levied under a corporation are normally low at the beginning, but with passage of time when service lines, passenger lifts, and installed equipment become older and needs frequent servicing, replacements and levies on members could amount to a substantial sum. In most condominiums in existence today, most members are unhappy over the running of their corporations as thievery among staff is a national phenomenon.

Complying with Condominium Law

The proposed housing is expected to come under the Condominium Act, but are the low income persons aware of the obligations and responsibilities arising out of Condominium Law? Will the house owners with deeds to their property agree to accept housing with a ceiling time limit (even 50 years) to the new property? The property-owning community who will get housing with comparable floor area is used to paying rates, electricity, and water bills, and are expected to comply with payments under Condominium Law.

Smaller housing occupants are expected to be housed in residences of 450 sqft floor area. Currently most are employed in minor jobs in the vicinity and are not used to savings and whether their income levels would afford to pay water, electricity, municipal taxes, and management corporation dues is questionable. They might claim that they were forced to multi-storeyed housing and are unable to pay their dues.

If a resident neglects to pay his electricity, water, or dues to management council, what course of action is available? Can his electricity or water supply be disconnected by the council? The Condominium Act does not allow such actions and the member has to be charged in a court of law.

The court can order the fiscal to sell the member’s movable properties to recover dues. With the level of efficiency of the current law how long will the court take for a decision? When defaulters mount, can the corporation survive and continue pay for utilities for basic survival of the condominium? What would be the eviction procedure? Answers to these questions need to be found prior to settlement of lower income families into condominiums.

Experience in running Sahaspura housing scheme was never published, but would give an insight into behavioural patterns of poor under improved living conditions.

Comply or move-out

All persons living in demarcated areas for redevelopment areas are to be given a new house, but does every individual need to live in the city centre at a higher cost? Some occupy these slums due to unavailability of an alternative. The Condominium Act and the responsibilities falling under it should be explained to every person affected by the redevelopment and they should be given the option of settling in the suburbs.

Persons with specific employment enjoying better living standards with proximity to work place would be willing to pay extra. The elders who were employed in their better days; will their current earnings allow them to pay enhanced dues? If the Government were to construct (say) four-storeyed more spacious housing in the suburbs where lands are cheaper and with a cash inducement, substantial numbers would agree to move out.

Those who fall into arrears should be given the option of relocation into alternate housing, which does not fall under Condominium Law and the payments demanded. It would be much convenient to everyone if rules of award would allow the recipients to sell their properties and move out.

Strict compliance of Condominium Law is most important to make housing schemes a success. In the 1990s a section of the Maligakanda Courts was reserved for hearing of cases due to non-payment of municipal rates and taxes. Rulings were prompt and compliance of people in payments to the Colombo Municipality went up sharply. A similar method of solving non-payment issues to condominium properties need to be set up to discourage defaults.

Current Government having planned the financing and development of run-down Colombo into a modern complex of shops, offices, hotels, housing, etc. have a more difficult task of moulding the human capital disturbed by the development into an integral part of running the developed community.

Staffing Colombo establishments

Today the public patronising shops, hotels, restaurants, and other conveniences in the city take services for granted, but hardly look at the life of service providers. These shops, restaurants, etc. survive due to the labour from shop assistants, waiters, etc., who dress in keeping with the establishments’ standards.

Most staffers serving customers originate from lower middle class school drop-out and generally live 15-20 km away from the city centre, enduring heavy transport costs. The jobs are not attractive due to poor salaries and late closing hours, leaving practically every establishment with staff vacancies. However, employers would not dream of selecting their staff from slum dwellers, due to the association of thuggery along with slums. Filling these vacancies would become a major problem in time to come.

Changes in attitudes with environment

People live in slums due to absences of alternatives; occupiers of low level housing, having lived in a congested environment, have adaptability and would easily learn a trade and their proximity to working places is certain to be an asset to any employer.

The push factor for readjustment would be the need to pay for condominium charges. The low level housing allowed day-to-day existence without savings, but the requirement to pay a monthly sum would demand a change in lifestyle. When failures are forced out, others would be forced to adjust their lifestyles with the environment and a monthly salary would be most welcome.

Vacancies in construction trade

The construction of high rise buildings will need a large construction staff as masons, carpenters, iron benders, plumbers, tilers, labourers, etc., and when completed require maintenance staff as electricians, air-conditioning mechanics, plumbers, mechanics, lift operators, gardeners, sweepers, etc.

If the young men in current low level housing are provided with training in the required trades, they could easily fill part of these vacancies. Maradana Technical College, located in the neighbourhood, could provide the required training and guidance to the youth, if the responsibility is entrusted and guided.

Running of complexes

The large numbers of establishments proposed will require staff of the calibre of clerks, cashiers, shop assistants, sales girls, waiters, and kitchen staff, who are expected to work late hours. Shop assistants and waiters are expected to be English speaking, patient, and respectful with their customers. Youth from new high-rises would be ideal candidates for these jobs. But the employers who are conscious of their background would be reluctant to absorb them and they would be expected to prove their worthiness.

It is imperative that the slum dwellers be given an English education and training in trades demanded by the massive complexes that are planned, first in the construction of buildings, followed by efficient running and maintenance. To achieve the objective of transferring youth from lower housing into responsible citizens, Maradana Technical College and the Hotel School in Colpetty could be expected to play a major role. However, they being Government organisations of the country cannot be expected to take any initiative. Their willingness and performance would depend on the political direction and pressure brought on.  Lower level jobs as cleaning, loading, and unloading, etc. could be carried out by anybody and can be offered to more mature persons.

Requirement

Relocation of persons from underserved housing to comfortable high-rise structures in the same vicinity is an enviable task, which will open up large amounts of job opportunities. To complete the task, the downtrodden persons need to be helped with training in skills to perform upcoming jobs in the vicinity and to escape from the violence and lawlessness that was a part of underserved culture.

To prepare the younger generation to accept challenges and opportunities ahead, guidance and training needs to be offered parallel to the construction of their housing. Upgrading of poor housing would only be completed by reorientation of occupants as respectable law abiding members of society.

Planned development of Slave Island area commenced in the 1950s when people were moved into four-storeyed buildings, which exist even to-date. Currently the balance land is occupied by a mix of shops, small housing, and slums. While some occupants possess deeds for their property, some were settled by the Premadasa Government; the majority are without paper titles, but have occupied the land for decades.

(The writer is a Chartered Civil Engineer graduated from Peradeniya University and has been employed in Sri Lanka and abroad. He was General Manager of State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka and currently employed with a Chinese construction organisation. He can be contacted on [email protected].)