Directors

K. P. Jayasankar
Anjali Monteiro

Duration: 52 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Reconstructing Communities

On September 30, 1993, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale devastated 67 villages in the Latur and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra, India. The death toll exceeded 8000 and over 16,000 were injured. This video critically explores the possibilities and limitations of community participation, in the 52 villages that were relocated, under the aegis of the Maharashtra Earthquake Emergency Rehabilitation Programme (MEERP). This World Bank funded project, implemented between 1993 and 1998, focused on housing, infrastructure, social, economic and community rehabilitation and the preparation of a Disaster Management Plan. It had community participation as a key modality. Tata Institute of Social Sciences was the community participation consultant, for the villages to be relocated. Through case studies of selected villages, the video examines the processes and dynamics of community participation in a pre-determined, target-driven project, for post-disaster rehabilitation.