India, Jan. 8 -- For close to 25 years, Bharat Mahato has pulled his trusted rickshaw through the lanes of north Kolkata, expertly swerving between decaying buildings, past sagging balconies and under loops of wires slicing the sky into claustrophobic strips. On the mossy green seat of his hand-drawn rickshaw are often stacked bundles wrapped in cloth, piles of scrap, or metal boxes. A trip earns him around Rs.150.

Last month, he got word that a local school teacher had come looking for him in one of the mottled buildings that frame the alleys. "It was an old place some of us were sharing. But the landlord raised the rent so we moved elsewhere," he said.

Eventually, the school teacher - a booth level officer (BLO) looking to distribute ...