Slum-Free Cities or Community Struggles: Decoding Odisha’s JAGA Story

Abstract: In Indian and South Asian cities, there is a strong policy push to create “world-class”, slum-free urban centres while improving the “ease of doing business”. This has driven neoliberal policy interventions through public-private partnership in housing, infrastructure, land titling and transport. Within India’s federal democratic framework, provincial governments have adopted varied approaches to these goals.

This presentation examines Odisha’s urban land titling initiative, the JAGA Mission, which claims to have transformed 3,212 slums, benefiting over 1.7 million people through in-situ housing, joint land tenure, public infrastructure and employment opportunities. Its success is attributed to political will, decisive bureaucracy and a results-oriented approach. However, top-down implementation has marginalised community voices, increased eviction risks and negatively affected small businesses in “untenable” slums.

Conflicts between urban development and land revenue departments, particularly around land conversion, have complicated implementation. Further, increased digitalisation and shifting institutional roles have challenged communities’ ability to assert occupancy rights. This talk explores these dynamics, focusing on the community’s adaptive responses to the JAGA Mission and the future implications for urban land titling policies.

When: Tuesday, 11 November 2025, from 4:00–5:00 PM (AEST).