Airport Expansion
Approximately 25% of Mumbai’s slums surround Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, home to an estimated 80,000 – 100,000 households resting on 276 acres of land. According to the Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL) and the government of Mumbai, people living on this land must be relocated for airport expansion and development . As Mumbai competes for business and investment opportunities, infrastructure projects have gained much government support. However, the airport expansion plans put the livelihoods of slum-dwellers, who are left out of the planning process, at risk in the name of global private business interests.
Although not a project of the Central government’s Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the airport expansion is influenced by its hopes for India’s larger cities, which seeks to fashion Mumbai and other large cities into global cities rivaling Singapore and Shanghai for international business and tourism investment. Improved transportation infrastructure in general, and the modernization of CSI Airport in particular, is vital if Mumbai is to become a global city as the central government desires.
The proposed airport expansion calls for a number of improvements that would allow Mumbai to move greater numbers of people more effectively. These include more taxiways, thereby decreasing the amount of time that flights must spend circling the airport. Creating more space to house planes at night would eliminate the need and cost of flying empty planes to other airports. Creating larger terminals would cut down on passenger wait times. Finally, the proposed airport expansion would boost aviation business and would help to dramatically increase passenger traffic through Mumbai’s international airport.
However, the land that is currently occupied by slum dwellers and which the MIAL is demanding be cleared, will not create enough space for the infrastructure necessary for an airport capable of meeting Mumbai’s growing transport needs. The land that, according to the MIAL, is now being encroached upon would instead be used to construct commercial spaces such as hotels, restaurants, convention centers and shopping areas. While airport improvements are to be made, the main goal is increasing revenue from commercial businesses. Mumbai airport has set to increase revenue from its non-aeronautical segment to 55%. Mumbai is, as developers themselves point out, attempting to emulate other global airports that have transformed themselves and are earning 55-70% of their revenues from non- aeronautical services. Essentially, the MIAL is going to make massive profits in the guise of working for the public good. In fact the Airport Authority of India (AAI) would be violating the law by allowing this to happen. Under the amended AAI Act, 2003, it can only lease airport premises "in the public interest or for better management of the airport". Handing over prime real estate held by a public corporation to a private company for commercial exploitation cannot be construed as being "in the public interest". The proposed plans have put private profit over the basic needs and rights of those residing on the area surrounding the airport.
While these improvements would do little to benefit the over 50% of Mumbai’s population currently living in slum communities, they are considered essential to creating a more efficient air transport system and helping to fuel the illusion that Mumbai is a city open for business. In addition to creating space for commercial enterprises, the proposed slum demolitions would effectively render the poor out of sight and out of mind of tourists and businesses and further the government’s goal of a slum-free Mumbai. Slum dwellers, like all citizens, not only have the right to basic amenities such as clean water, adequate sanitation and housing, they also have the right to employment opportunities. The forced evictions and demolitions of slum communities in the name of development have resulted in the loss of both the basic needs and livelihoods of those displaced. Often slum dwellers are not provided with the information necessary to make informed choices regarding relocation options until it is too late. The government of Mumbai has yet to articulate the locations proposed for relocation of eligible slum dwellers. Options include locations far from the current slum communities. This is unacceptable, as it would remove people from their employment opportunities, educational institutions and social networks. Slum dwellers surrounding the airport need to be full participants in the development process to ensure that all citizens are treated fairly and humanely. They should not be removed from their homes unless absolutely necessary to improve the functioning of the international airport and they should be given compensation for economic losses as well as suitable relocation.
The expansion of the CSI is a necessary infrastructure improvement but must be carried out with the interests of all of Mumbai’s residents in mind. Transparency, addressing community concerns and choosing a development plan that benefits all rather than a wealthy few should be the priorities of the government. Displacing people in order to build commercial ventures and increase private profit is not an acceptable development plan. Only those areas needed for runway and terminal expansion should be cleared. Those who live in the slums surrounding the airport area are vital to the economy of the city and every effort should be made to ensure that their right to housing and livelihood are protected and that they are informed participants in the development.
Learn more (link to Jhari Mari page) about Jheri Meri, a community on the airport’s fringes under threat of demolition and the work that CRH has done with community mobilization.