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CASE STUDIES
while implementing this project. • sustainable use and works in improving the living
Respectable life, with self- management of natural conditions without hampering
earning, education to children, resources; their livelihood. State Urban
meals without pleadings and an • options for appropriate Development Agency (SUDA)
all-weather House which was family and community and Municipal Corporation
the wildest dream of Leprosy infrastructure and sources of Rajnandgaon (RMC) had
affected community in Asha energy; together taken steps to address
Nagar, had to be successfully • strong self-governing need of the hour of providing
converted into reality. While people’s institutions (SHG) the sustainable housing for the
making housing as a driving with equal participation of leprosy affected community
force, benefits of varied Central men and women; residing in the Ashanagar area
and State Government schemes in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.
had to be provided to the • increased self-reliance, RMC had the responsibility of
destitutes residing in this locality self-esteem and political acting as approving authority for
through convergence. awareness. the works being implemented,
The primary aim of the project PMAY– NODAL / fund disbursement, overall
was to provide housing, with an IMPLEMENTING planning and monitoring of the
objective to upgrade the habitat AGENCY activities. While SUDA being
of these people along with socio- the State level nodal agency
economic upliftment, to make Urbanization is the process by was responsible for approval of
the project self-sustainable and which cities and towns grow the project at State and Central
achieve the relevant targets set and develop, it has provoked its government level, monitoring
by the Sustainable Development fair share of ‘by-products’. One of the work and providing
Goals, New Urban Agenda of the most ‘persistent’ among appropriate funding.
and WHO’s “Global leprosy them happens to be the pockets Conceptualisation of project
strategy 2016– 2020’. This project of poverty and neighbourhood forleprosy affected people’s
demonstrates how upgrading decay, famously known Rehabilitation
slums via converging multiple as ‘slums’. (GB). The 11th
government schemes is a viable Sustainable Development Goal Leprosy, one of the Neglected
development process and a (SDG) focuses on mitigating tropical diseases, is generally
model project. The objective of the challenges in urbanization associated with poverty,
the project was to enable a critical and aims to ‘make cities and overcrowding thereby affecting
mass of poor and marginalized human settlements inclusive, the most underserved population
people to empower themselves safe, resilient, and sustainable’, of the country. The visible
to achieve a better quality of life wherein its first target aims deformities of hand and foot and
characterized by: to ‘ensure access for all, to the accompanying sensory loss
adequate, safe and affordable contribute significantly to the
• land rights and safe housing; housing and basic services and stigma faced by leprosy patients.
• food security and access upgrade slums’. This stigma and ostracization of
to secured livelihood Hence, the time was ripe when patients severely affects social
opportunities; the government decided to existence of the patients (affecting
• assured access to basic focus on addressing issues of marriage, employment, etc.)
education and adequate urban poor and slum dwellers and contributes to the spread
health services; and find options which of disease away from public
October 2020 Volume 21 No. 2-SHELTER 103
