‘Warakari Sampradaya’ is one of the oldest Sampradayas of Maharashtra. It is predominantly known by its yearly ritual called ‘Pandharichi Wari’ i.e., pilgrimage to the town Pandharpura to meet God Vitthala on the day of Aashadhi Ekadashi. Thousands and lakhs of Warakaris walk to the Pandharapura along with the Padukas (the auspicious footwear) of the ‘sants’ (i.e.,saints of the Sampradaya) installed in the ‘Palkhis’ and thus the procession is also called as PalkhiSohala. Palkhis with Padukas of various saints of Sampradaya also join Wari from all over Maharashtra. Sant Dnyaneshwara Maharaj PalkhiSohala starts from Alandi and that of Sant Tukarama Maharaj starts from Dehu. NHAI has already started the widening of these two routes.Various state departments and local authorities of GoM take coordinated actions to facilitate smooth conduct of this procession. There is a need to amalgamate the proficient administrational process of Wari which would lead us towards competent social, cultural and environmental constructions which could be owned by the masses through the conservation of the set of traditional values.

This methodology outlines MASHAL’s study of the Smart City Mission in Pune, addressing its progress on the ground and offering a glimpse of the citizen perspective. In line with MASHAL’s pro-poor agenda, this study has adopted a holistic, collaborative, and people-centric approach. The study has sought to include the diverse stakeholder groups of the city through mixed method research incorporating artistic performances, transect walks, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires.

Aims of the Research Project:

1. Explore the levels of public awareness about the different projects happening under the SCM and raise awareness wherever possible.

2. Give voice to perspectives from diverse citizen groups, highlighting contesting and alternative narratives of the Smart City.

3. Feed into the on-going city-level implementation processes through offering citizen-led recommendations and suggestions for an inclusive, participatory development practice.

In accordance with these goals, MASHAL worked towards the following two objectives:

1. Analyse the themes and parameters of the smart city discourse, as well as the original Pune Smart City proposal, and bring them into conversation with citizens’ perspectives and implementation realities.

2. Assess the smart city project implementation so far through the citizens’ perspective and in relation to the mission’s parameters of sustainability, inclusivity and efficiency. The full Smart City Report was released on 30th December 2019.

MASHAL’s responsibilities in the Jejuri project included: Conducting a survey of beneficiaries; Preparation of the Plan of Action (PoA) under Research and Advocacy projects like HFA (PMAY); Preparation of plan and estimates of DPR for PMAY and other infrastructure projects; project management of sanctioned DPR projects with bill preparation, submission, and supervision.

Objectives of the study:So far in India, there has been no uniform health service delivery system in urban areas. Therefore, in order to have proper implementation of NUHM, city specific planning is extremely essential to understand the availability of health infrastructure, presence of stakeholders, distribution of slum population, and other factors that could impact the success of implementing a comprehensive healthcare plan. Thisstudy was undertaken to map the physical infrastructures and groups under BSUP/ RAY in Pune slums and assess their feasibility towards contribution to urban health inaccordance to NUHM framework.

Methodology: Study area: Primary data was collected from 44 slums BSUP I-II sites and SRA completed projects in Pune city which were covered by BSUP/ RAY schemes. There were 17,237 households with 80,894 individuals assessedin the study.Of these 44 slums, 2 sites of relocation project under BSUP I, 26 slums were underBSUP II scheme (Insitu Slum Research and Advocacy) and 16 locations where slum rehabilitationprojects were implemented under SRA. In Pune city, so far RAY (Rajiv AwasYojana) schemes have not been implemented in any area.

Study design: The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative methodology.The qualitative aspect involved Focus Group Discussions (FGD) which were used to elicitinformation regarding community structures andgroups.The quantitative aspect involved checklists which were used to gather information on public health care facilities situated in and around the slums covered under thestudy.Secondary information regarding health care facilitiesunder PMC was also gathered from the Health Department of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

MASHAL played a critical role in providing data and liaison-based support to KKPKP for the relocation of pavement dwellers, primarily working with solid waste disposal and treatment, as well as the relocation of pavement dwellers to PMC-owned rehabilitation buildings constructed under the BSUP project. The project constituted the construction of 108 units.

INHAF, a network of NGOs, professionals, professional training institutions and others working from a pro-poor framework on policy advocacy and related matters concerning slums, Research and Advocacy, and city development, partnered with MASHAL to organize a two day event titled “Reaching Policies, Programs and Projects to people: Improving Participation, Communication, Reach and Performance of the Development Effort for the City Slums.” This event was directed towards SampoornaZoppaddpattiPunarvasan (comprehensive improvement of city slums) and designed to explore the possibility of creating a people’s forum called SampoornaZoppaddpattiPunarvasan Parishad. The two part and two-day events included:

1. A multi-stake holder platform, “The City Hearing on the Slum issue” on 17th December, 2012 shared by the slum communities, their associations and unions (mainly those who face problems and are seen as recipients or beneficiaries of the improvement/development effort), the governments and their agencies, NGOs, civil society, academics, businesses, and others (seen as intermediaries in various forms and roles) to articulate issues and seek approaches to their resolution.

2. A workshop on 18th December, 2012 of academics, NGOs, concerned government agencies, elected representatives, invited experts from other cities, and selected representatives from the City Hearing on the previous day to analyze the process and outcome of the City Hearing and think of ways to create and strengthen such sharing platforms aimed at better information exchange and participation on development policies, programmes, projects, institutions and organizations.