SLUMS AND PLIGHT OF SLUM DWELLERS

Preamble of Indian constitution promised justice in terms of socio, economic and political;
equality in terms of opportunities and status. However Inequalities exist even after 70 th year of
independence. Slums in India represent failed urbanisation and economic inequality which further
affects social and political status.
what? why? How? Where?
Slums have been a part of the history of almost all cities, particularly during the phase of
urbanisation and industrialisation. Slums are generally the only type of settlement affordable and
accessible to the poor in cities, where competition for land and profits is intense. Civic bodies do not
provide the required municipal services in slums on the plea that these are located on “illegal“spaces.
The main reasons for slum proliferation are rapid and non-Inclusive patterns of urbanisation catalysed
by increasing rural migration to urban areas. They are found usually in the outskirts of the city .
Intensity of problem and plight of slum dwellers:
Slums manifest the worst form of deprivation that transcends income poverty. They are characterized
by acute over-crowding, insanitary, unhealthy and dehumanizing living conditions. They are subject
to insecure land tenure, lack of access to basic minimum civic services such as safe drinking water,
sanitation, storm drainage, solid waste management, internal and approach roads, street lighting,
education and health care ,and poor quality of shelter. Many of these habitations are located in
environmentally fragile and dangerous zones prone to landslides, floods and other disasters that make
the poor residents highly vulnerable. A significant proportion of slum dwellers also face social
burdens and health problems worse than their non-slum and rural counterparts. Moreover the scale of
the problem is so colossal that it is beyond the means of Municipalities which lack a buoyant fiscal
base.
Demography:
According to the UN, the share of urban Indians living in slums is 24%—about 100 million people.
Rural migration is high among general castes than backward castes. Thus majority of slum dwellers
are general castes. Nevertheless plight of SC/ST slum dwellers is even worse who happens to face
ostracization in addition of lack of income and basic facilities. Often poor minorities are pushed to
ghettoes in the outskirts of cities.
Schemes:

 1960s and 1970s favoured approach to slum upgrading was to demolish them and relocate
residents to public housing on the outskirts of the city. This has resulted in urban blight and
ghettoization in ‘the projects’—public housing.
 1985’s World Bank-funded Slum Up gradation Programme was more inclusive. It was looked
to lease slum land to cooperative groups of slum dwellers, along with loans for housing
improvements.
 The Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, rolled out in Maharashtra in 1995 under the Slum
Rehabilitation Authority, looked to bring private developers on board. The idea was that if
they built in situ pucca housing for residents of slums like Dharavi, they could develop the
rest as they pleased. The 2004 Dharavi Redevelopment Project took this a step further. Under
it, private developers would rehouse Dharavi inhabitants in 300 square foot houses in
apartment towers.
But none of the policies succeeded.
Today you read news that slum dwellers were given notice to vacate the land around Motera stadium
because it will be visited by Mr. and Mrs. Trump. This is the plight and vulnerability of slum
dwellers.
Failure to take slum dweller representatives on board meant that the informal economic networks
would be disrupted by the redevelopment /rehabilitation. 
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, “Housing for All by 2022” was launched by Modi government for
addressing issues of slums. It has four verticals. One of which is “In Situ Slum Redevelopment”: there
will be private sector participation for providing houses to eligible slum dwellers. Slums so
redeveloped should compulsorily be denotified. Ex: In 2018, a special purpose vehicle with 80%
private and 20% government stake was created to redevelop Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, as a whole
rather than in separate sub-clusters as previously envisioned. 
Slum redevelopment requires a holistic approach ranging from health services to mother, child birth to
literacy level and employment opportunities to basic amenities. Ghettoization should be addressed and
there should be uniformity in minimum standards of services through the city.
Thailand’s Ban Makong project where infrastructure subsidies and loans were channelled directly to
slum communities might be impractical in slums where the residents are not sufficiently organized.
Indonesia’s Kampung Improvement Programme which has implemented a policy of upgrading
physical infrastructure and allowing slum dwellers to build on that for socioeconomic improvement
wouldn’t work in those Indian cities where governance quality is poor; it would allow municipalities
to abandon their responsibilities.
Slum being a state subject and customised approaches with compassion be adopted for their
redevelopment. Slum development requires a intense focused approach in 5 states that consists of
51% of slum households in India. They are Chhattisgarh (18), Odisha (17), Jharkhand (14), Tamil
Nadu (11) and Bihar (10)–in 2008-09(number of slum households per 100).
For India to reach new heights, it requires strong social capital and bridge the gap between haves and
have-nots. In this journey slums plays a strategic role and revamping it offers an opportunity.

By ajay,207 PGP23