1. GP Block, Pitampura
Community Composition
Mostly comprised of Hindus, and most men are cycle rickshaw drivers or workers on
construction sites. Women work as maids. There is an odd Christian family or two.
General Description: This is a settlement that is based in the middle of a slightly
posh residential area within Pitampura, Delhi. The settlement comprises of some
1500 - 2000 registered houses (and several unregistered) with about 10,000 - 15,000
individuals living in these densely packed homes. The houses are constructed on 10 mtr
squares and often have a second room on the top that is accessible by a simple ladder.
The streets are narrow and lined with open sewage. There is ’24 hours’ water supply that
they get from a trickle from a tap that is at the same level and in proximity to the sewage
canals. There are no community mandals or samitis here. We met with the Pradhan of this
area, who along with another influential person, seems to be taking calls and meeting with
people at the MCD. There isnt any formally organized mandal.
The residents are unaware of any NGO’s working in the area, but on further probing
we found that there are NGO’s working at the school that is in the same block (access
from the main road) where many of the children from the slum go. Also, there are many
commercial shops, ‘Halwais’ in the slum who has been blamed for much of the troubles
with cleanliness that the slum is facing. We also came across a paramedic who practices
in this area as a doctor.
Sanitation Situation:
There are 3 sanitation facilities at the periphery of the slum. No one has toilets in their
homes and bathe mostly within their homes.
a) There is a municipal corporation free toilet complex (even though its meant to be free,
the cleaners sometimes ask people for money to use it) that has been built right next to an
open drain. The toilet stalls are placed directly over this drain and empty into it. The drain
gets clogged badly upstream and has not been cleaned for a very long time and is now
blocked. The floor of the toilet blocks have rotted away - there have been cases of people
falling through the floor into the drain below. This complex has about 20 seats between
the men / women. There are no bathing facilities for either men / women. The men end up
using some open space within the compound to bathe.

2. b) Then there are a set of “mobile toilets” with about 70 seats between men and women.
These have been here for years and are managed by a contractor. The cleaner / collector
sits beneath a temporary canopy and sometimes collects fees for people to use this toilet.
c) The third toilet block is to the other side of the settlement - this is a pay for use complex
and is apparently better maintained.
Though the residents said that children do not defecate in the open we saw a number of
children urinating/defecating right outside the houses.
Top Reasons to Choose This Location/Unique Aspects
1 . The denseness of habitation and the lack of space make for an interesting study subject
2 . How people choose between the three sanitation facilities makes for an interesting
subject of research
3 . A unique system or the lack of a sewage system and the just-about-working condition of
the public toilet makes a good case for a design study