Policy interventions and grassroots initiatives: Mismatches in a relocation project in Chennai, India

This article is based on research that took place between 1998 and 2002 in a relocation project in Southern Chennai, India. About 2,640 poor urban households were relocated from the city centre to the project location on the outskirts of the city in the early 1990s. The objectives of the relocation programme, its organisation and the way it was implemented by the local government is described, as well as the role of NGOs in the area. The main focus however is on the initiatives taken by the relocatees in trying to rebuild their lives in the absence of services and employment. It will describe the nature and the direction of these initiatives, their capacity and significance, and how these initiatives are related to the other actors in the area. The extent of coordination between the different actors and an assessment of the manner in which activities could be better coordinated and matched to improve outcomes for the urban poor is discussed.