This Delhi slum helps figure out a way to better lives of the poor

THE RESETTLEMENT COLONY OF SAVDA GHEVRA IS LAB FOR URBAN PLANNERS, ARCHITECTS TO TEST THEIR PILOT PROJECTS

NEW DELHI: A water ATM using smart cards. Septic tanks designed by a British architect. A community theatre that screens inspirational movies. And a “museum of memories” that exhibits everyday items — from old television sets to utensils to even toys.

Savda Ghevra is a unique place. Home to an estimated 47,000 people on the northwest periphery of Delhi, it is the latest resettlement colony where people from different slums have been rehabilitated, its last rows of houses completed in 2015.

The colony has also emerged as a laboratory for urban planners, researchers, architects, documentary film makers, development organisations and CSR wings of corporate houses, all testing their pilot projects here.

“…It is better organised, has better roads compared to other colonies and most importantly, people are cooperative and there is social harmony…which is very important for organisations and individuals to carry out their work,” says Justin Jebakumar, director, Delhi wing of Habitat for Humanity, an NGO.

Children are also turning writers in Savda Ghevra, inspired by a one-room library stocked with Hindi novels.

“All my stories are set here, Savda Ghevra is my muse,” says Gulshan Kumar. All of 14, his stories have been published in prestigious Hindi literary magazines such as Hans.

His friend and fellowwriter Gaurav Kumar at Kitab Ghar, part of an alternative learning programme by an NGO, says the place is full of stories.

In fact, Savda Ghevra is a story by itself.

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