Limbo Of Sangam Vihar

Today, residents in Sangam Vihar receive water largely from government and private bore wells. But finding the supply of water from the government bore wells to be insufficient; residents began investing in private wells and established an informal distribution network. Walking through the blocks of Sangam Vihar, one cannot miss the nest of privately laid water pipelines running at or just below ground-level from bore wells to individual houses. This private water infrastructure is expensive; involving both capital and recurring costs that dramatically outweigh the cost of accessing government bore wells. In addition to laying the pipes—the cost of which varies based on distance—residents pay between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 each month to receive water from private wells. This compares to between Rs 50 and Rs 100 for water provisioning from a government bore well. Residents allege that both government and private bore wells have been ‘captured’ by supporters of the MLA who share profits with him; and in turn, the MLA “protects” the ‘capture’.

Although the DJB (DELHI JAL BOARD) has laid trunk water pipelines linking Sangam Vihar to the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant, no network water pipelines have been installed within the settlement to serve its residents. When they face serious water shortages, residents who work in the Okhla Industrial Area carry water home from their places of employment.

Construction and maintenance of sewer lines across Delhi is the responsibility of the DJB, but it is not obligated by law to provide sewer lines in unauthorised colonies. There are no sewerage lines in Sangam Vihar, but most households have built individual toilets that empty into what residents call “septic tanks”. These “septic tanks” are often not true septic tanks, but rather simple cesspools with no protection against seepage. Residents are aware of the sanitation risk inherent in the arrangement. Residents who do not have toilets in their homes defecate in the neighbouring Asola Wildlife Sanctuary. All pucca roads in Sangam Vihar have drains running alongside, although they are often clogged with garbage or overflowing.

No public buses ply within Sangam Vihar. Bordering the colony, on the Mehrauli Badarpur Road, there are two bus stops from where most residents take public buses to commute to their places of work. Within Sangam Vihar, residents either travel on foot or by auto rickshaws, e-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws. There are no public hospitals in Sangam Vihar. Residents explained that if a person’s health is in a "bad" condition, they usually take the patient to one of the two major public hospitals in South Delhi - the Safdarjung Hospital or AIIMS (both located as a distance of about 12 kilometres from Sangam Vihar).While a few “MCD”31 schools, which are government-run public schools, are present in the colony - only a small proportion of children go to these schools. These “MCD” schools provide primary education, and there is no public school providing secondary education in Sangam Vihar. Many children go to private schools located in Sangam Vihar. These private schools are of two kinds: schools which provide primary and secondary education, are large in size and are "recognised", as well as affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE); and small, private schools which are "unrecognised". The small "unrecognised" private schools are more affordable in comparison to the larger "recognised" private schools.

Sangam Vihar is one of systematic neglect by the state. Residents in the settlement remain extremely vulnerable to rent seeking from state actors, especially when they want to build or expand homes. This rent seeking is facilitated by an unusually robust police force, one area in which the state is eminently present. There is one police post at the entrance of Ratiya Marg and a police station on the Mangal Bazaar Road. Residents observe that five or six policemen are allocated to each block and make regular rounds. Police routinely negotiate payments of between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 from residents who want to expand their homes. Over the past five years, MCD officials have also started routinely monitoring adherence to building norms and extracting rents for violations. MCD officials have an arrangement with builders, contractors, and shopkeepers who inform them when any construction is being undertaken

An array of identity cards are an essential tool for anyone living in India, necessary for daily processes from getting a gas connection or mobile phone to accessing government benefits. Residents referred to the voter ID card as a relatively "easy" card to obtain, and for which they did not need to pay a bribe. The experience of obtaining voter ID cards, however, was different for house "owners" and for tenants (or renters). Residents explained that if a tenant (or renter) was to apply for a voter ID card, he/ she would have to submit a residence proof. This would mostly include an electricity bill of the house which he/ she is renting and a letter from the house "owner" stating that the tenant is staying at the address mentioned on the electricity bill. Such letters were often difficult to procure for tenants due to hesitation on part of house "owners" to give such letters, hence making it altogether difficult for the former to apply for a voter ID card. Residents explained that those who had applied for an Aadhaar card, had receipts stating that they had enrolled, while only a few had received the Aadhaar card through post. A few residents expressed that they needed to make "payments" to the people who delivered the Aadhaar cards to their home addresses. On the process of getting a ration card made, some residents explained that they followed the government application process which needed them to get the requisite application forms "attested" from their MLA before submission, while others expressed that a new ration card could be made by paying a bribe to a ’dalaal’.