4.1. Community NGOs and Participation

More than 80% of the houses were totally damaged by the 2001 earthquake. The reconstructions, so this was the existing layout before the earthquake and this was the newly located village layout. You can see here that these yellow colours are abandoned places and some people who do not have any land rights in this area, no land rights, they do not have any formal land rights and many people did not relocate.

The earthquake in 2001 resulted in extensive destruction, damaging over 80% of houses in the affected area. This led to a reconstruction effort where new layouts were established for relocated villages. However, many individuals without formal land rights were unable to participate fully in the reconstruction process, and a significant number chose not to relocate to the new housing, leading to abandoned properties in the new layout.

Imagine a neighborhood where a severe storm destroys most of the houses. After the storm, the government quickly builds new homes in a different part of town, but some families, especially those who rented their homes or had no official ownership, cannot move. This leaves many new homes empty while people continue to live in unsafe conditions.

This is the number of occupancy in the new, you can see these new constructed houses are lying empty, the cost of dwelling units was 1 lakh 20,000 Indian rupees according to that time comparatively much higher. So, most of the houses are vacant, only yellow part you can occupy and you can see here that many people did not actually relocate to the newly constructed house because it is a totally different layout.

The new housing units built post-earthquake were expensive, costing around 1 lakh 20,000 Indian rupees, which many could not afford. Additionally, the layout of the new village was significantly different from the original, leading to reluctance among residents to move, as they preferred staying in familiar environments, resulting in many new houses remaining unoccupied.

Think of a situation where a city builds luxury apartments for homeless people. If the rent is too high, or the apartments are in a completely unfamiliar neighborhood, people might choose to continue living on the streets rather than move into the new setup.

They have a health center but, people are not using that. Ayurvedic health center also, this is not used by the people, the schools are primarily; primary school, this is working well, people are using it, people are sending their kids there, panchayat office is rebuilt, electricity installed, telecommunication system was installed.

Despite the availability of several services such as health centers and schools in the newly constructed area, utilization rates were low for health services. While the primary school was populated, other facilities like the Ayurvedic health center were underused. This shows a discrepancy in community engagement and acceptance of the new services provided.

Imagine building a fancy gym in a neighborhood, but residents don’t use it because they prefer the more traditional market square for socializing and exercising. It's about fitting into the community’s actual needs and preferences.

Constructions; those who are rich did not relocate better off and they built their own house in the damaged side, some people who did not have the land tenure rights, they constructed temporary houses or got temporary houses and remaining there; they were not included in the reconstruction projects and the newly constructed projects remain unoccupied.

In the reconstruction efforts, wealthier individuals often opted to rebuild their homes on-site, while those without land tenure rights found themselves excluded from the new housing projects. Consequently, many constructed temporary homes and continued living in unsafe conditions, leading to an increase in unoccupied new homes.

Consider a gated community that builds new homes after a disaster, but only wealthy residents can afford to move in. Meanwhile, poor families that lost their homes are left to set up makeshift shelters rather than getting access to the new safe houses.

Because, these people preferred to live together, they did not like this new iron-grid pattern of layout, it was done by the Hindustan Benevolent. There was no training program, allocation of financial assistance given to the NGO directly and decision makings, villages were not involved in the decision-making process.

The new village layout, designed by an NGO, failed to consider the preferences of the local community, who valued togetherness. There was no engagement or training for the villagers in the rebuilding process, meaning they had no say in decisions made about their housing and the distribution of resources.

Imagine a community where the local government decides to change the street layout without consulting residents. If the new roads disrupt tight-knit neighborhoods, people may feel alienated and frustrated, leading to community discord.

As a result, this project was very high cost and took some time but it was most way that socially not accepted, it was rejected by the villages. The project did not help to enhance people's awareness, and the houses are poorly maintained.

The exclusion of the community in the reconstruction project led to high costs and delays. Ultimately, the resulting housing was not socially accepted by the villagers, who either rejected it or failed to maintain it due to a lack of ownership and familiarity with the structures.

Think of a school building project where the school was built based on an architect's vision without input from teachers or students. If it doesn't work for their needs, it may become underutilized or poorly cared for over time.

In community NGO partnership approach, we have Ludiya village, there is 100 kilometers north from Bhuj, area is around 5 square kilometers, total population is 1800 mainly by Harijans and Muslims population comprised by literacy rate was 35%. There also occupation was animal husbandry, wood carving and cultivations.

The community NGO partnership approach was implemented in Ludiya village, characterized by a collaboration between the NGO and local demographics which consisted mainly of Harijans and Muslims, with a low literacy rate of 35%. The primary occupations in this area included animal husbandry and wood carving, revealing the village's economic foundations.

Consider a tech company that collaborates with local communities to build a new app. They gather feedback from actual users and tailor the app to meet their needs, ensuring it’s practical and widely adopted.

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