Report on Baseline Survey Research,

Mazagaon

TISS-Mazagon Dock Limited CSR Project

Conducted by
School of Management and Labour Studies
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Mumbai

Commissioned by
Mazagon Dock Limited
Mumbai

Mumbai: 13 January 2011

1

Contents
List of Tables, Charts, Graphs,
Research Team
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Findings
Recommendations

List of Tables
Table 1

Demographic Profile of the respondents

Table 2

Types of Housing

Table 3

Ownership of the dwelling unit

Table 4

State of Origin

Table 5

Years at the current place

Table 6

Relationship with the owner

Table 7

Age Distribution of the respondents

Table 8

Marital Status

Table 9

Asset Holding : Multiple Responses

Table 10 Descriptive Statistics

Table 11 Educational Qualification
Table 12 Employment status of the respondents
Table 13 Types of occupation
Table 14 Nature of Occupation
Table 15 Economic profile of the respondents
Table 16 No. of earners in the family
Table 17 Working Hours
Table 18 Social Security
Table 19 School going children
Table 20 Expenditure on schooling
Table 21 Availing PDS
Table 22 Commodities obtained from PDS: Multiple responses
Table 23 Health Care Accessibility
3

Table 24 Drinking water facility

Table 25 Price of Water
Table 26 Sanitation Facility
Table 27 Types of Sanitation facility

Research Team at TISS, Mumbai

Project Director
Prof. Sharit Bhowmik
Dean,
School of Management and Labour Studies
Project Officer
Ms. Nandita Mondal
School of Management and Labour Studies
Research Investigators
Ms. Roseline Arul
Mr. Ajit Abhimeshi
Mr. Jaysingh
Mr. Ananda Laxman
Data Analysis
Mr. Debdulal Saha, Ph.D. Scholar, TISS
Ms. Shushma Shinde
Special Inputs
Mr. Rupak Dayal
GGM, MDL
Ms. Urmila Shetty
DGM, MDL
Dr. Desai
DGM, MDL

Acknowledgements

First of all wed like to thank Mazagon Dock Ltd for granting this project. Rear Admiral
Bajaj, Director, had initiated this project with us and has been a great support. Rear Admiral
Bajaj and Mr. Rupak Dayal, Group General Manager, had extensive discussion with us on
the issues involved in improving the living conditions in the area surrounding MDL and how
the organisation could help in this process. Mr. Rupak Dayal was especially helpful at the
time of the survey. His team, comprising Ms. Urmila Shetty (DGM) and Dr. Desai (DGM)
were competent and very knowledgeable of the locality and they extended all possible help.
We benefited a lot from the discussions we had with Shri Dayal, Ms. Shetty and Dr. Desai.
Our research team was also very competent. I thank them for taking so much trouble in
collecting the quantitative as well as the qualitative data.
Ms. Nandita Mandal, our Research Officer, put in tireless efforts to get the report out on
time. I was very touched that despite having a personal tragedy, she continued working.
I finally thank Sushma Shinde of the Computer Centre and Debdulal Saha, Research Scholar
for processing and analyzing the quantitative data respectively.

Sharit K. Bhowmik
Dean, SMLS, TISS.

List of Abbreviations
BEST

Bombay Electricity Supply and Transport

BMC

Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation

CHW

Community Health Worker

HDI

Human Development Report

ICDS

Integrated Child Development Scheme

MCGM

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai

NGO

Non Government Organization

PDS

Public Distribution system

T.B.

Tuberculosis

Report on TISS-MDL CSR Baseline Survey Research

This report is based on a field study of the area around Mazagon Dock. The purpose of the
study is to understand the issues facing the poor in the area. Since there is no data on the
specific nature of urban poverty in the Metropolitan city of Mumbai it was not possible to get
any quantitative data on the subject. Hence what was necessary was to have a base line
survey of the area. This would help in understanding the main trends in urban poverty.
Alongside other forms of qualitative data was collected. We will discuss the methodology in
a later section.
Mazagaon is an area that is situated in the eastern tip of the city. Being close to the sea
Mazagaon has other features that make it the obvious choice of a port. The area has a creek
and a basin, known as Kasara Basin, which is deep enough for ships to traverse through.
Along with these, the area has a natural port which is so important for ships to dock on to.
The Mazagon Dock was built in 1774 where a mud slipway was believed to exist. It
witnessed heavy traffic of ships during the World Wars. It was ravaged and reconstructed.
Eventually, the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) was incorporated as Public limited company
on 26th February, 1934.
Mazagaon dock has been central to the development of the city. It was through the business
of the port that the city earned its wealth initially from its trade through the ports. Its
surroundings however are in sharp contrast to its success. The municipal ward where MDL is
situated ranks 14th in the Human Development Index out of the 21 wards in the city. If one
looks outside the walls of demarcating the dock area, one can see the desolate conditions of
the local population. One need not refer to the HDI to determine that the Ward is one of the
lowest in the category. The study reflects the lack of development among the people in the
ward.
The new guidelines for CSR activities give much scope for PSUs to undertake development
activities for the economically and socially underprivileged sections of the countrys
population. This study conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences provides the basic data
8

for carrying out activities that would contribute to uplift of the marginalized urban
population. TISS has conducted a base-line survey of the area which provides firstly, the
situation in the area and secondly, suggests ways and means of intervention by MDL in an
effective manner.
Methodology
The methodology for this study includes quantitative and qualitative methods of data
collection and analysis. Soon after the study was commissioned the research team visited the
area along with the MDL officials. The idea was to understand the fields of data collection.
The research team would need to have a firsthand view of the area. After this a brainstorming
session was held at TISS to demarcate the process of data collection.
It was decided that it was not possible to conduct a census of the area. It would be too time
consuming and expensive because a larger number of enumerators would be employed. It
was decided that a sample survey of 500 households would provide the same data. Alongside
qualitative data would be collected from certain representative individuals. The sample
survey would collect data from a cross section of the poor residing in the locality.
The schedule used for the baseline survey would include questions that would elicit data on
the household, living conditions, issues relating to health, access to potable water, sanitation,
education, employment and issues relating to child labour. Data on these indicators are
necessary to get a holistic picture of the socio-economic conditions of the population.
A pilot study was conducted between 11 October and 15 October to test the questions
included in the schedule. We got very useful assistance from officials of MDL, especially Dr.
Desai, Chief Medical Officer who had close knowledge of the area. He was also aware of the
common ailments of the people in the locality. The pilot study enabled us to focus on the
issues. The survey was carried out between 18 and 23 December, 2010.
After completing the survey the research team began collection of qualitative data. This was
done through in-depth interviews of selected individuals and focussed group discussions.
These interviews were conducted in slum pockets of Lakdi Bunder, Reti Bunder and Powder
Bunder, Kolsa Bunder, Wadi Bunder, Kasara Bunder and Bhau cha dhakka (Ferry wharf).
The research team also visited the local BMC hospital and interviewed the Medical Officer
of E Ward, workers in ICDS Centres. They visited the BMC schools to observe how they are
9

run and spoke to people in NGOs working on issues like health, education and livelihood etc.
The collection of qualitative data ended in the third week of December.
We began inputting data on the 500 households after cleaning it. This data was then
processed in tabular form. We also had to codify the qualitative data. These processes were
completed by 24 December after which the report was written.

10

Findings

The research team met 187 women as respondents while 313 men answered the survey
questionnaire thus made the sample size for the study as 500 (see Table1).

Table 1: Demographic profile of the respondents

Frequency

Percent

Male

313

62.6

Female

187

37.4

Total

500

100.0

Table 2: Types of housing

Frequency
Kachha

Percent
500

100.0

The entire population that came under the study is living in Kaccha (temporary) houses (table
no. 2). These structures have walls of cardboard or wood and the roofs are of plastic or other
soft materials. Contextually it is required to mention here that the term slum is used to refer
to many types of housing, including those that could be upgraded. According to UNHABITAT, a slum household comprises a group of individuals living under the same roof in
an urban area who lack one or (often) more of the following: durable housing, sufficient
living space access to improved water and sanitation (UNFPA, 2007). As the table shows,
some of them are there almost a good part of their lives.

Slums are essentially the

manifestation of deep structural inequality that exists in a society. Statistically one in three
persons lives in slums worldwide. The corresponding figure for Mumbai City stands at 54.1
% (Census, 2001).

11

Table No.3: Ownership of the dwelling unit

Frequency

Percent

Rent

374

74.8

Own

126

25.2

Total

500

100.0

Despite the fact that the sample lives in kuchha/temporary structures we find that an
overwhelming majority (75%) live in rented places. In other words their huts are not their
own but are owned by others. They were in fact paying rent for their houses. The remaining
25% said that they owned the houses they lived in. We also found that these houses or huts
are illegal structures. Hence it is surprising that people who were first illegal colonisers of the
land have become owners or land lords. The respondents informed that the present cut off
date for the notification of slums from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
applicable in the research area is 1995. In most of the places around Mazagaon, the owners
of the slum huts have erected another Kaccha structure in front of their own and put those on
rent. This nature of spatial development has resulted in the creation of a rentier community,
besides increasing the population density. We found that a household comprises on an
average four people while the maximum number recorded was twelve.

The appalling

conditions the people live in show that it is livelihood and not how they live that is the
preponderant need of the people.

Table No.4: Migration & State of Origin (No. of People)

Place
Original inhabitant

Frequency

Percent
3

.6

WB

88

17.6

UP

167

33.4

1.0

Jharkhand

12

Maharashtra

141

28.2

AP

24

4.8

Bihar

33

6.6

Orissa

.4

Gujarat

10

2.0

Karnataka

10

2.0

Rajasthan

.4

MP

1.2

Tamil Nadu

.6

Goa

.8

Nepal

.4

Total

500

100.0

Mumbai as we all know is a city of migrants. Our findings also prove this. We found that
99.4% of the entire sample comprises migrants. While Uttar Pradesh (33.4%) has the highest
on the scale, making them largest population in the area, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Orissa
recorded the lowest. The second major source of migration is recorded from West Bengal.
Conspicuously there is also a steady stream of people who are arriving at Mazagaon from the
hinterland of Maharashtra (28.2%).

It may be mentioned here that the huge strain on the infrastructure caused by the slums arises
precisely because the authorities have never created any infrastructure for the poor. These
people are expected to be invisible. Hence the housing policies of the various state agencies
have never proposed building houses for the poor who migrate to the city. These people build
their own houses through their meagre resources. These are then known as slums. In other
words, the urban poor have to build their own houses as the state has no provisions for them.

13

Table No. 5 : Years at the current place

Frequency
Not less than a year

Percent
1

.2

1-10

100

20.0

10-20

151

30.2

20-30

140

28.0

30-40

64

12.8

40-50

32

6.4

50-60

1.6

60-70

.8

500

100.0

The table (No.5) reflects on the years the respondents are staying at the current address. It
reveals that some of the respondents are staying at the same place since decades and through
generations. It is significant that a majority (58.2%) have lived there for between 10 to 30
years. Table no. 6 below shows the relationship between house owner and tenant (including
those who live in their own houses). The table shows that 436 persons out of 500 are related
to the house owner while only 12% have no relationship.
The migrant seemed to ignore the hardships that they had to adhere to through generations
only to grab a better livelihood. They became naturalised with the way they stay in the
conditions around.

14

Table No.6: Relationship with Owner

Frequency

Percent

Brother

.2

Father

67

13.4

Husband

41

8.2

Mother

30

6.0

Other

77

15.4

Own

215

43.0

Rent

62

12.4

Sister

.4

Son

.2

Wife

.8

Total

500

100.0

As far as the age of the respondents is concerned, it is evident that while the average age of
the respondents is almost 40 years, it varies between 28 years to 52 years. There is a little less
than the half of the sample belongs to the range of the economically productive age group
belonging to 34 to 45 years (table no.7).

Table No. 7: Age Distribution of the respondents:

Age distribution (in year)

Frequency

Percent

15-17

.6

17-25

55

11.0

25-34

104

20.8

34-45

219

43.8

45-59

77

15.4

59-70

37

7.4
15

70-84

1.0

Total

500

100.0

Table No. 8. Marital status

Frequency
Unmarried

Percent
6

1.2

Married

494

98.8

Total

500

100.0

Table No. 9: Asset Holding: Multiple Responses

Items

Responses
N

Percent (%)

Two wheeler

38

7.0

Bi Cycle

63

11.6

TV

387

71.0

Refrigerator

57

10.5

Total

545

100.0

The data on household shows that 71% of the respondents are having a television set at their
home. This is very significant in the sense while we consider the question of where do they
procure electricity to run television. Since these are illegal settlements procuring electricity
officially is again another challenge. The focus group discussions revealed that in some
places like Reti Bunder area where the respondents are holding the BMC receipt, they do
have legal connections and pay their bills to BEST.
The table (no. 10) below gives us a birds eye view of how the people beyond the wall of
MDL living their lives. We would refer this table off and on while discussing in detail about
each aspects of lives of the respondents hereafter.
16

Table 10: Descriptive Statistics

Indicators (Ratio scale)

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. Deviation

Age of the respondent

15

80

39.49

12.025

Year at current place

70

23.67

13.401

Educational Qualification

1.86

1.092

Total Family Member

12

4.44

1.893

Total no. of earner

10

1.72

.902

Expenditure on childrens Schooling

.24

.581

Working hour/ Day

24

7.27

3.980

Income/ Month

20000

6670.59

3341.217

Health expenditure/ 6 Months

20000

465.27

1260.475

Payment on drinking water

1000

68.16

102.878

N= 500
Educational attainment of the sample reflected somewhat an interesting situation where
maximum educational qualification recorded as graduate. But correspondingly a close look
at the table no. 11 is giving somewhat an abysmal picture. More than half of the population
has recorded as illiterate. Hence a significant group of people from the productive age group
(52 %) is illiterate. This large illiterate population implies that it is mainly engaged in low
paid manual, unskilled work. This can be further illustrated that the workforce that the area
constituted is mostly illiterate, unskilled labourers.

Table No. 11: Educational Qualification

Frequency

Percent

Illiterate

260

52.0

Primary

107

21.4

Upper Primary

85

17.0

Secondary

38

7.6

1.6

Higher Secondary

17

Graduate
Total

.4

500

100.0

Table No. 12: Employment status

Frequency
Yes

Percent
424

84.8

No (*)

76

15.2

Total

500

100.0

About 85% of the respondents are employed while 15% are not employed. This 15%
comprises of housewife, some male senior citizens, some are ailing and on rest at home.

The table (No.13) below shows the various types of occupation that the respondents follow
for their livelihood. A miniscule of the population (3%) is having permanent jobs. Almost
half of the population is daily wage worker and having some sort of temporary work to carry
on their lives. 18.2 % of the population is comprises of self employed and 1.8 % are small
entrepreneurs who have small shops of tea, betel leaf, old garments, cycle repairing etc.
Interestingly, very small portion of people go for regular work means the biggest chunk of
the population here may not have work for all the days for a month. This reflects the struggle
for livelihood.
Table No. 13: Types of occupation

Frequency
Not employed

Percent
76

15.2

134

26.8

27

5.4

Temporary

149

29.8

Permanent

15

Daily wage worker

Regular

18

Self-employed

91

18.2

1.6

500

100

Small entrepreneur
Total

While we go for the nature of jobs, the severity of the struggle is clear. Almost close to 20%
of the respondents are housemaids. There are 30 types of job that we found people at these
areas clutch for their livelihood (table no.14).

Table No.14: Nature of occupation

Sr. No.

Occupation

Frequency

Percent

1.

Barbar

0.4

2.

Cable Operator

0.2

3.

Carpenter

0.2

4.

Construction Worker

1.6

5.

Dhaba

0.4

6.

Driver

32

6.4

7.

Electrician

0.2

8.

Fish boat

0.4

9.

Fish selling

23

4.6

10.

Flower merchant

11.

Helper

36

7.2

12.

Housemaid

92

18.4

13.

Labour

27

5.4

14.

Masson

0.8

15.

Mechanic

0.6

16.

Mobile vendor

1.8

17.

Naka labour

1.6

18.

Not employed

76

15.2

19

19.

Painter

1.4

20.

Peon

0.2

21.

Plumber

0.8

22.

Porter

1.2

23.

Scavenger

0.6

24.

Self employment

0.8

25.

Service

11

2.2

26.

Ship breaking

36

7.2

27.

Shopkeeper

48

9.6

28.

Tailor

0.6

29.

Vendors

1.4

30.

Watchman

25

31.

Welder

12

2.4

Total

500

100

20

Nature_occupation

20

Percent

15

10

0
barbar

carpenter

Driver

flower
marchant

masson

Not employed

porter

service

tailor

Nature_occupation

Table No.15: Economic profile

Income/ Month
>1000

Frequency

Percent
8

1.6

1000-2500

20

4.0

2500-5000

128

25.6

5000-7000

151

30.2

7000-10000

145

29.0
21

10000-15000

39

7.8

15000-20000

1.8

500

100.0

Total

Thirty percent of the respondents earn between Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000 a month. The picture
would be more clear if we consider the number of earners per family and the working hours
that they put together to live. The descriptive statistics above explains that the monthly
average income of the households under the study is only Rs.6670.29. It is deviating by
almost Rs. 3500. Here it is necessary to mention that we have got 3 respondents who are not
earning at all due to chronic illnesses and being taken care of their immediate relatives who
are staying in separate household. The table (no.16 ) below reveals that in 41% of the
households at least two people are working.

Table No.16: No of earners in the family

Frequency
Not earning respondents

Percent
3

.6

225

45.0

205

41.0

54

10.8

1.4

.8

.2

10

.2

500

100.0

Total

22

Table No.17: Working Hours

Working Hour (in Hrs)

Frequency

Percent

1-5

74

17.45

5-10

264

62.26

10-15

83

19.58

15-20

0.47

20-24

0.24

Total

424

100

Most of the people are working for almost 5 to 10 hours per day to meet their ends together.
Another significant fact is that most of them do not have any form of social security (see
Table 18).

Almost the major chunk of (92.8%) of the population is not under any social security
scheme. Only two of the respondents are receiving free health check up from employer as
they are in service. Only 34 people out of 500 are covered under some sort of insurance.
This reflects that even after spending a good part of their lives in such precarious situation,
the people are vulnerable during the evening years of their lives.

Table No. 18: Social Security

Frequency
Not availing
Free Health Services
Insurance
Total

Percent
464

92.8

.4

34

6.8

500

100.0

23

The table below reveals that there are no children in 37 households. 274 people are having
school going children and 189 people do not have school going children.

Table No. 19: School going children

Frequency
No Children

Percent
37

7.4

Yes

274

54.8

No

189

37.8

Total

500

100.0

Table No.20: Expenditure on schooling

Frequency
No expenditure

Percent
373

80.56

Uniform

68

14.69

School Books

18

3.89

Incidental

0.22

Any other

0.65

463

100.00

Total

Since almost all the children from the study area are going to BMC school expenditure on
school going children is almost nil for 80% of the respondents. Some of the children are
going to private schools; hence, they incur expenditure towards uniform, books, refreshments
etc.

Public Facilities:

Let us move to the area of public facility that the population use to lead their lives. The table
below shows that there are 5 respondents who do not have any ration card. 62.4% people are
24

availing the PDS facility and get some or the other commodity from Ration shop. The table
below (no.22) shows that the respondents mostly get fuel and sugar from the ration shop. 183
people are not being able to avail the PDS facility at all even if they are having the ration
cards. The focus group interviews reveal that even if they have ration card, the ration shop
are not having any commodity to offer to public at all.
Table No.21: Availing PDS

Frequency
No Ration Card issued

Percent
5

1.0

Yes

312

62.4

No

183

36.6

Total

500

100.0

Table No.22: Commodities obtained from PDS: Multi Responses

Items

Responses
N

Kerosene

Percent
232

39.5%

Wheat

53

9.0%

Rice

53

9.0%

Sugar

202

34.4%

Pulses

47

8.0%

Health is a major asset for the human existence who is constantly striving to ameliorate the
socio-economic condition of the family. In general, Public health Services in India comprises
of a network of health units to cater to the citizens. In urban areas, the health care is
provided by the Urban Family Welfare Centres (UFWC), Maternity Homes, Urban Health
25

Post (UHP)and General Hospitals. The area under research has one health post and a
maternity home in the vicinity. This has been confirmed by the result depicted in the table
below.

Table No.23: Health care accessibility

Frequency
Yes

Percent
500

100.0

There is a very conspicuous picture that is being revealed with the above table. Here the
entire population answered that they do have health care accessibility. But the probing
questions on this answer and qualitative enquiries revealed somehow a different picture
altogether. The people from the area do have accessibility to the BMC hospital (Ahilyabai
Hospital and Nawab Tank Hospital ) in the vicinity and for emergency they do avail the
services of two major BMC hospitals i.e. KEM and JJ Hospital. The neighbourhood hospital
is being used mostly for delivery and Tuberculosis patients respectively. The major cases are
always being sent to two other BMC hospitals.
As far as drinking water is concerned the picture is murky. About 25 % people answered that
they have drinking water connection at home but the personal interviews revealed that the
drinking water is not available at home at all even if they were given the connection. Almost
75% people do not receive any water connection at home. They collect the water by paying
prices to some who control public water sources and could be described as a water mafia.

Table No.24: Drinking water facility

Frequency

Percent

Yes

127

25.4

No

373

74.6

Total

500

100.0
26

While asked whether they pay for the water they use the more issues of concern emerged.
While 70.4% people said they pay for the water they use almost 30% people answered they
do not. The focus group interviews in different slum pockets reveal that the pipeline of Fire
Department is the major source of water availability for the people staying in the area. The
residents unlock the fire hydrants to get their supply. The water mafia, mentioned above,
control the water outlets. The water from these sources is available after 6 pm and these
people decide on how much each has to pay for their supply (see Table 25).

Table No.25: The Price of Water

Frequency

Percent

No

148

29.6

Yes

352

70.4

Total (N)

500

100.0

The very next civic facility that comes is sanitation. A large section of the slum population
is dependent on public toilet facilities provided by the BMC or MHADA. Unfortunately,
these facilities are found always inadequate to cater the needs of the people. Hence, there is
open defecation which causes unhygienic conditions in these slums. Mazagon is no
exception. The table below (no.26) revealed that the entire population under study living in
kachha houses do not have sanitation facility attached to their dwelling units.

Table 26: Sanitation Facility

Frequency
No (N=500)

Percent
500

100.0

Table No.27: Types of sanitation facility

27

Frequency
Sulabh

Percent
354

70.8

40

8.0

Common Toilet

106

21.2

Total (N)

500

100.0

Open Space

The table (No. 27) above depicted that nearly 70 % of the respondents are using the facilities
erected by the NGO, Sulabh and 21.2% are using the facilities provided by the BMC. It
seems the service that are provided by the civic body is outpaced by the population in the
area because 8% of the respondents accepted that they use open spaces.

In a nutshell, the study reveals that the area beyond the wall of MDL is not akin to the
prosperity that it reflects within.

The severity of the ground zero situation needs a

professional approach to address to. Pandit Nehru once remarked: It is bad enough to
inherit slums but to allow them to grow is the societys fault: the governments fault
They are a bolt on the societys conscience

28

Qualitative Report on MDL-TISS CSR Project

Health
Ahilyabai Holker BMC Maternity Home, Mazagaon
Dr. Sabina Pathan ( Resident Doctor)
Ahilyabai Hospital is a 10 bed BMC Maternity Home. Out Patient Department (OPD) of the
hospital runs between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day. This hospital is primarily being used by the
residents of Dockyard Road, Wadi Bunder, S.V.Patel Road, Darukhana, Reay road, Lakdi
Buder, Kolsa Bunder, Powder Bunder area. Most of the patients who are being treated are
either children or women of the area. The maternity cases are mostly treated at this hospital.
Dr. Pathan is of opinion that the diseases like Malaria, Typhoid, Dysentry etc. are the
common cases that they treat generally at the OPD.
This BMC hospital gives the medicines to the patients for the treatment for public good. Dr.
Pathan explained that once the Tuberculosis cases diagnosed are being sent to the Hospitals
like JJ Hospital, Kasturba Hospital which are having capacity to treat this disease better.
Dr. Pathan is of opinion that paucity of safe drinking water, lack of knowledge about
personal health and hygiene among the local residents are the key issues that have to be
addressed.
Nawab Tank Health Post, E Ward BMC
Dr. Abhijit Varpe (Health Officer)
This health post organizes eight health camps for health check up and arranges Pulse Polio
programme on routine basis. The OPD at the health post works between 9 a.m. to 4
p.m.There are two community health workers attached to this health post. They do visit the
community everyday from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. They conduct survey to detect skin disease,
convey messages about family planning etc. Ahead of health camp the CHWs visit the local
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areas like Reti Dunder, Lakdi Bunder etc. to create awareness among the community people
to usher them to join the health camp.
According to Dr. Abhijt Varpe around 300 people, mostly women and children join the
camps.
E Ward Health Officer, MCGM
Dr. Inamdar and Dr. Khumbhare
The discussion with them brought forth the following points
a) MCGM facilities are being provided during a fixed time that is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After such period the people generally go to the private practitioners of the area and
in case of emergency they go to the teaching hospitals at the tertiary level like King
Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital and JJ Hospital.
b) According to the Doctors the root cause of the diseases among the residents of the
Mazagaon area is the lack of observance of basic sanitation facilities and personal
health and hygiene.
c) Although the health awareness camps are being organized regularly until the
sanitation facilities and water supply are properly arranged the diseases are going to
be prevalent among the residents.
While the above discussion about the health of local residents under the study depicts that
there are lot to do the observations done by the research team suggest that even if the services
are offered by these municipal health posts are more affordable, this does not necessarily
mean that the local urban poor have access to them. First of all, to avail the facilities, the
people who are mostly engaged in unorganized sector for their livelihood have to forgo the
days work. That results in lack of wages for the day and many times this is the major cause
that they avoid going to these places. Secondly, the inadequate facilities and poor
infrastructures are the deterrent to serve the people satisfactorily.

The Focus group

interviews with the local residents reveal that the health posts could not provide all the
medicines that are required, hence even if they consult the doctors at the health post, the
medicines have to be purchased from the chemists at high prices.
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It has been observed by the doctor of maternity home and the research team also that the
people from Maharashtrian background prefer to take the expecting ladies to the private
doctors from local area rather than getting them treated in the local Maternity Home. After
lot of probing it emerged that apparently the Maharashtrian families avoid taking their
women in Maternity Home to keep their women out of the feeling of discomfort to get
exposed before the prying eyes of the men of the other communities who flock the home to
visit their relatives.
The private Practitioners that serve at the local areas are almost in unison suggested that the
lack of safe water supply, proper disposal of waste from the neighbourhood and lack of
awareness among the people about the personal health and hygiene are the root causes of
spread of diseases in the local area. According to them the prevalent diseases that they treat
are Malaria, Jaundice, Skin disease, Typhoid, Tuberculosis etc. The following practitioners
are having clinics at the local level.
1) Dr. Ashfaque Thakur, MBBS
Hamid Building, Dockyard Road
2) Dr. Khan, MBBS
Reti Bunder
3) Dr. Y. S. Shetty, MBBS
Sai Raj Pvt. Hospital
Darukhana
4) Dr. Dinesh, BHMS
Opposite Central Railway Jopadpatti, Haji Cussum Godown
5) Dr. Jagdish Verma, BHMS
Lakdi Bunder
6) Dr. Hashmi,BHMS
Reay Road
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7) Dr. Dalvi,MBBS
Kolsa Bunder
8) Dr. Kadam, MBBS
Kawla Bunder

Education
Education again creates an opportunity for human beings to further their progress. And here
in the city of Mumbai the schools run by the civic body are of paramount importance. Access
to schooling can be viewed from two perspectives. First is availability of school in the
neighbourhood to join and second, ability to continue the education there. Furthermore, the
quality of early childhood care and education to prepare the children for regular schooling is
always a challenge. It is all the more challenging in case of urban poor since most of them
are migrant labour, children are left in the lurch, sometimes with the elder siblings otherwise
the women need to be at home by leaving their work. Needless to say that there is little room
for choice in taking a day off from the job. Women, in these cases, too often left the young
children behind. These children roam around the vicinity and play throughout the day. Such a
situation prevails in areas like Darukhana where there are no day care centres (Balwadis). In
Reay Road, however, there are two Balwadis working in the rented rooms.
The research team found out that in education for the children at the primary level there are
many stakeholders working in Reay Road and Darukhana. While the children do not have
anganwadis, they are being sent to BMC school at Nawab Tank whic has classes till upper
primary (class seven). They then some go to Bal Vidya Mandir (a BMC School) at
Kalachowki or to Byculla Municipal School. Very few go to Rosary Church School at
Dockyard. NGOs like Vimla Vikas Kendra and Doorstep School are working in the area on
childrens education issue.
ICDS Centres at Reay Road
There are two ICDS centres in Reay Road. Ms. Ashwini Kemkare and Ms. Kadambari are
the in-charge of these centres. The centres are housed in Jopadpattis (hutments) that were
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rented. The research team found that one of the centres starts working at 11 a.m. provided by
that time the landlord vacates the room. We were told that there were 50 children enrolled
but after visiting the place over several times we found that there were only 10 children who
lived in adjacent hutments. The room was bare as there were not charts or maps on the walls.
These are normal educational aids for children in play schools. The children were given
sukha bhel. We found that the other centre was never found opened.
Nawab Tank BMC School
Principal : Ms. Hamida Shaikh
This school primarily caters to the local residents of Darukhana and Kasara Bunder. This
school has two shifts and offers education till VII standard. The morning shift is for IVth to
VII th standard and the afternoon shift is for the Ist to IIIrd standards. This school has 10
teaching staff and strength of 450 students. Tamil and Urdu are the mediums of instruction.
The school does provide the mid day meal for the children.
The principal herself expressed that she generally makes periodic visits among the
community (Reti Bunder and Lakdi Bunder) nearby to convince the parents to send their
children to school.
Vimla Vikas Kendra, Rosary Church Compound
Dockyard
Vimla Vikas Kendra started in August 1996 as part of Sneha Sadan, Andheri, which works
for street children. Since April 2001 it is incorporated into the Rosary Parish as community
centre. The target group was the pavement dwellers along P.DMello Road, from Wadi
Bunder, Dockyard road and a section of Reay Road. The objectives of the organization are
to provide educational and recreational opportunities for children and youth, empower
women and children to know their rights and to live with dignity, identify needs such as
nutrition, health, literacy etc. and take up vital issues e.g. basic amenities, family disputes,
rationing, housing.

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We found that the children were mainly from Kasara Bunder, Reti Bunder area. They went
to Rosary Church for evening tuition classes that are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There were 125
children were enrolled in the tuition classes. There were two teachers. The monthly charges
were Rs. 10 per student.
Magic Bus, another NGO, took the children for picnics every year and Don Bosco arranged
the Christmas festival. Anmol Trust, Wadala arranged the Diwali festival for the children.
Doortstep School -Mumbai
Nana Chowk, Grant Road.
Doorstep School is an NGO promotes education among children. They have a bus, called
School on Wheels (SOW) that operates in Reay Road, Lakdi Bunder, Wadi Bunder areas.
There are two steps that the NGO takes in helping educate children. Firstly, the children are
given lessons that introduce them to reading and writing. After this course is over, Doorstep
School volunteers help their parents to apply in the BMC schools in the neighbourhood.
Once the admission to the school is secured the SOW buses pick up the children from their
homes and drop them to school. The busses later bring them back home. We found this was a
fairly successful project because a large number of children, who would otherwise have little
or no access to education were going to regular school. We feel that this endeavour needs to
be strengthened so that more children can benefit.
Sanitation and Waste Management
Although there are toilets provided by the Municipality as part of the basic services
programme, these are never sufficient. There is visible open defecation and unhygienic
conditions around the areas of residence. Scarcity of water and scanty arrangement of proper
toilets create enormous problems relating to health and hygiene.
The focus group discussions with the residents and talks with the contractors of the NGO
Sulabh Sauchalaya showed that having greater access to toilets was a priority issue for the
residents.

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Huge heaps of garbage are seen at the entrance of Lakdi Bunder, Reti bunder areas as well as
Reay Road. The residents complained that the containers provided by the BMC are not
enough. Moreover, irregular evacuations of garbage by the BMC trucks create a nuisance in
the neighbourhood.
Hence, lack of water, poor sanitary arrangement and improper waste management create a
harrowing picture of civic life.
Water Supply
Access to water is the biggest challenge for the residents of the area under the study. There
are a very few public water taps which are available for potable water. The observations of
the research team and the results of discussions showed that a family of four requires at least
150 lts. per day. The residents preserve water in containers of 35 lts. They pay Rs. 5 for
each container of water. Since a family of four to five people requires almost four containers
of water, it costs a family Rs. 25 a day to meet the basic need of water. Having left with no
choice for the safe drinking water source, the families under the area of research have to
drink the water they are bringing for other usage which is not potable.
The most conspicuous point here is the source of water and the politics behind it. A particular
political party, that forms the majority in the Municipal Corporation, is involved in this
activity. He rank and file who has basically goons, have used their influence with the
municipal authorities to block the water sources of the slum dwellers. Earlier some residents
used to get water in their homes. Now these pipes run dry. The only source of water is from
pipes that the goons have gained control of. They sell the water at a premium.
Another method adopted is that some influential people (the goons) open the fire hydrants
attach a pump and distribute water, at a price. The observations made by the research team
revealed that at times some residents collect water from the gutters flowing underground. We
found that the residents were in fact at the mercy of this water mafia who rule without fear.

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Recommendations
The study reveals that there is definitely room for Mazagon Dock Limited to put in effort as
part of their Corporate Social Responsibility for the uplift of the community around. On the
basis of this study, MDL could prepare an action plan with its goal and objectives and
achievable outputs that they would like to aim for. It could be properly done by a team of
officers having initial discussions and prepare a draft on it before plunging into the process of
implementation.
The following recommendations should be considered:
1) MDL needs to prepare a basic document for Corporate Social Responsibility
depicting its goal, objectives and expected output spelt out clearly. The action plan of
next five year considering the priorities about the issues that this study putting forth,
should be prepared. We could help in preparing such a blue print.
2) While the activities at the field can be done by the NGOs, there is a need to have a
team of dedicated officials / staff to take charge at MDL to monitor the projects. The
present officials engaged in the project are adequate and competent.
3) These officials / staff should be appropriately trained in monitoring the CSR.
4) MDL needs to involve NGOs that are working among the communities on the issues
in the local area. The empanelment of NGOs can be done on the basis of this study.
5) There are some more NGOs existing in the area who are working for institutional
care. MDL may extend their help to their pursuit also while abiding by the CSR
guideline.
6) The CSR guidelines that have been issued by the Department of Public Enterprises
should be followed.
7) Considering the priorities that this study brings forth, the field level intervention
should be done in the areas like health, sanitation and waste management in the
public places around Mazagaon, livelihood and education of the children and labour.
8) While water availability is an important issue and needs to be taken care of, it has
many dimensions into its fold. The socio-political situation right now is yet to be
mature enough to tackle the water issue to the first place. Other types of interventions
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would be able to prepare the ground to make the community to resolve on water
issue.
9) Asha Sadan, is an after care home for girls.

This is an NGO governed by

Maharashtra State Womens Council. It is a registered NGO under the Societies

Registration Act and Bombay Public Trust Act. This home offers institutional care to
girls only. The immediate action in this respect is to provide financial help for
employing competent teachers for the girls. The institution suffers from shortage of
proper teachers. With proper educational facilities this NGO could be used to create
livelihood opportunities for its inmates as part of their rehabilitation process.
Other areas of intervention are, providing assistance for a medical practitioner,
holding classes for promoting nutrition, preparing the inmates for the apprenticeship
exam for MDL.
10) The Doorstep School operating in this area helps to transport children to the nearest
schools. MDL could help in intensifying its activities. In addition, the existing
municipal schools could be upgrade in terms of teaching aids so that the children can
get better education. The NGO also needs more busses to intensify its activities.
11) Labour Education And Research Network (LEARN), an NGO could partner with
MDL in the area of skill development, health and sanitation and waste management.
LEARN is an NGO registered under the Societies Act. It has been mobilizing women
in the areas of self-employment and collective action. It has been organizing women
working in small industries, street vending and waste picking/recycling.

LEARN could be assisted in holding awareness campaigns on health and hygiene

among residents in slums in the different locations. The NGO would initially require
funding for engaging one or two women organizers. Based on this activity, the next
step would be of setting up a pay and use toilet run by the local women.
Since control and distribution of water is a major issue in the locality, the NGO is
willing to ensure that water supply is taken up in areas not so far served by BMC
lines.
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Through its organization of waste pickers, the NGO can help in solid waste
management in the area.
The above are very important issues for the development of the area and its people. A
time bound programme, spreading over a few years can be prepared by the NGO,
however its immediate task should be of holding awareness campaigns so that the
local people are involved in their development.
12) Vimla Vikas Kendra, a community centre at Mazagaon can be given assistance in
pursuing their intervention in childrens education. This organization runs free
coaching classes for slum children.
13) Womens Special Cell, is a field action project under Tata Institute of Social
Sciences. This was initiated to cater to women who suffer from domestic violence. In
1984 womens cell is created in a few of Mumbai Police Stations as a pilot project
where the women counsellors intervened in the process of giving the tortured women
the access to Police for registering their complaints first and then mediating between
the two sides. Once the pilot project was successful the project expanded in other
police stations of Mumbai City. This initiative requires a lot of boost in the areas of
infrastructure and attracting capable manpower. The salaries offered are low and
these can hardly allow competent social workers. A better pay structure could help in
attracting better people.
14) Another important area that MDL can intervene is in upgrading the Home for
Mentally Challenged (Women) situated within the Childrens Home in Mankurd.
Though this area is outside the vicinity of MDL, it is imperative that the condition of
the Home be upgraded in a systematic and phased manner. These girls are all
abandoned by their parents/guardians and most were found loitering in the streets.
They are picked up by the police of social workers and are sent to this home. As such
these girls have no future outside the home. MDL has already helped the girls who
were selected for the Special Olympics for Challenged People to be held in Greece.

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Some of the girls are engaged in weaving. They make dusters, hand towels and other
pieces of cloth. MDL could perhaps help in marketing these products. A more
important input would be to help in improving the state of the looms and also provide
financial assistance for engaging good trainers.
There are some borderline cases among the girls. These could be given special inputs
so that they could later be absorbed by MDL as trainees.

39