23

Urban Slums

1. Introduction
geographers, environmentalists
During last few decades many sociologists, define slums and
have made attempts to
urban planners and other social scientists
slum as buildings, group of
UNESCO (1956) has termed
present their characteristics.
insanitary
deterioration, conditions
buildings or area characterised by over crowding, conditions or any of them,
or absence of facilities amenities which because these
or
inhabitants or the community. According
endanger the health, safety or morals of its condition of blight in which
an extreme
connotes
to Dickinson (1969) the term slum
to constitute a menance to
unfit the health and morals. Reddy
the housing is so as
Indian metropolitan cities describes that
(1989) studying the ecology of slums in
"slums are those areas which are identified as over-crowding,
badly constructed,
essential amenities, triggers of diseases,
insanitary conditions, squalid, absence of
etc." De and Bose (1989) refer that "a slum
is thickly populated, squalid
crime, riots,
lowest class of the people".
part of a city inhabited by the poorest
or
an "area of
Calcutta Municipal Act (1941), a slum (bustee), is
According to the
a plot of land not less than ten
land accompanied by any collection of huts on
Katthas. In most cases these bustees are noted for their crowding and congestion,

insanitation and lack of civic amenities and facilities." Actually, the

slum problem in
of shelter for the poor. "It is
developing countries like India is essentially the problem
a problem of social disorganization
and economic distress which work hand in hand
has assumed
for degradation of human habitat, health, security and morals. It
20-30 per cent of
alarming proportions in the metropolitan agglomerations where
bereft
population is huddled together in over-crowded, dingy and unhygienic hovels
of all physical facilities and social amenities" (Singh, L.R., 1989). In Indian cities,
slums are known by different names. A slum is called Jhuggi-jhopari in Delhi,
Bustee in Kolkata, Jhopada-patti in Mumbai, Chery in Chennai and Katara and
Ahata in Kanpur.
2. Characteristics of Slums
Slums are, in general, dirty localities of cities settled by poor people. ln these
settlements, general urban facilities and civic amenities are not aváilable. Salient
features of slums are to be discussed here :
(1) Slum areas are located mostly in the localities either around the central pa
of the city or near industrial establishments. Other locations may be in any
UrbanShums

279
lacalities where vacant land is
ase of central part available on low
price or free of cost. In the
cas of
city,
a
nrefer to live near their work working people in central business district
place
they live in old hOuses of blight areasbut can not afford
high rent, therefore,
housing or low quality characterised by sub-standard
housing. In
or maintain improvements. Similarlyblight areas it is not
industrial
profitable to make
their work place so that workers want to live near
they can reach their work
at very low cost. place in a short time and

According to G.E. Breger

(1967) "Urban blight designates a critical
stage in the functional or social
its existing condition or use is
depreciation of real property beyond which
unacceptable to the community". M.L.
Walker (1938) strongly states that "high but
but decreasing population; obsolete and unfit
falling land values, congested
housing; a large of proportion
abandoned buildings and of rental vacancies;
heavily mortgaged property,
excessive tax delinquency; low average rentals; generally low economic
status of inhabitants ; excessive crime, mortality and disease rates, high per
capita and per acre governmental costs"
(2) Vacant land in the city especially near road and railway lines and also in
neglected places are occupied by unsocial elements and some times by poor
people where they start to build ordinary shelter in the from of temporary
jhopri or katcha houses. In the initial stage houses are built by mud,
thatched, reads, leaves, tin ete. and latter they take permanent form. In these
localities rural migrants become able to have a shelter on low rent.
class of
(3) A slum is a squalid part of a city inhabited by poorest and lowest
The houses in
the community. They are horizontal rather than vertical.
houses are
slums are small and of single story. In developing countries,
wood etc.
katcha which are made by mud, reads, thatched,
type
generally
drains and street,
(4) There are lack of many civic amenities like sewerage,
or other recreational
facilities. In these
street light, parks and play grounds
and unhealthy
on streets causing unhygienic
conditions, waste water flows use open land and
or shortage of toilets, people
environment. In the absence and the
slum areas become very dirty
drains for daily discharge. Thus, them the centres of endemic and
conditions of slums make
insanitary
epidemic diseases. at best
roads. There are
urban sBum is paucity of
) A marked feature cof the lanes, often
obstructed by frontage
narrow winding
and unpaved there are no
with roads. As
the slum dwellings
encroachment connecting turther reduced and in
their utility is
proper facilities
for water disposal, s u m m e r dusty.
In many slums
and during
muddy
become hazardous even to
rainy season, they which makes very
for street lighting
there is no provisio1
hours.
income. A number
walk during dark nijght poorest people
having very low
inhabited by slums which
have posed obstacle
( ) Slums are created by
have been
of social problems
 Settlement Geography
280
in proper urban development. Slums are also the shelter for many anti.
social elements who are main participants in gambling, delinguene
alcoholism, bootlegging and other organised crimes. T
prostitution,
vicious corrupt criminals drift into the slums where they are able to co
on their nefarious activities with impunity.

(7) The slum society is essentially in transition from the rural way of life to tha
urban way of life and is trying to seek its identity. As old habits die hard
they can not easily forsake their age-old habits developed in their rral
ral
social millieu and their hang-over creates problems of social adjustment
Slums, in general, are dominated by male population resulting great sex
imbalance there which leads to the crimes of adultery and prostitution.
Different types of crimes, violence, quarrels, terrorism etc. between
different groups are common in slum areas. Slums are the big sources of
manpower but are rather disorganised. It is a main factor which leads to the
involvement of slum dwellers in crime.
3. Causes of Slumns
There are many factors responsible for the origin and growth of slums. Some of
these are as follows:
(1) Industrialisation: There is a very slose and positive correlation between
industrialization and urbanization. The role of industrialization involves diferent
aspects. Big industries are generally established in and around the cities which attract
people in a large number to work in. Thus, the rural population tends to concentrate
in urban places which promote urbanization. Industries lead to rapid demand for
labour force resulting high demand for housing for the industrial workers. In the
absence of residential houses in proportion to increasing population, slums come into
force
(2) Rural Migration : The process of urbanization is closely related with rural
to urban migration of people. In almost developing countries of the world where rate
of urban growth is relatively higher, the cityward migration is usually high. "Rural to
urban migration is by far the major component of urbanization and is the chief
mechanism by which all of the world's urbanization trends have been
accomplished
Bogue and Zachariah (1962). The urbanward migration of people would seem to be
generated by perception of the ciy as a centre of opportunity, be it economic, social
or political. "Accelerating urban growth in many of the developing areas, therefore,
is not so much the product of economic
development and pull of population ino
cities from rural areas but rather is the result of the
push of population from troubled
and insecure rural areas" (Hauser and Schnore,
1965).
Studying the slums of
Allahabad, L.R. Singh (1969) has observed thar
migrant reach the city not on their own but on the informationrightly
received from ther
kin and friends who have
already settled in these slums, ethnic community
relationship is held by economic and social interests. Several of them have suddeny
sprung up on vacant land, private or nazul in an unauthorised manner and nav
 U r b a nS u m s

281

t o big bustees. In such a way, a large number of housing is required in

sprawle into
prawcities
nsandcities
due to large scale migration of population from rural areas.
o (3) Poverty and Inadequacy of Resources : Urban poverty is a main cause in
af the slums. A number of poor people in cities particularly in developing
o ft
origin
the ies have to spend their lives on footpaths, railway stations and other places.
countries

not afford the rent of residential houses and so they seek places for
o f them c a n n o t

ManyThev built their shelter wherever they find vacant land. Their houses can be
elter.

shed hovels rather than homes which lack even basic civic amenities like water
regarded

electricity,
faps, bath
lectricity, bath rooms and Kitchens. In the absence of latrines, open spaces
eondsides and railway lines are commonly used for laboratory purposes which
a l o n gr o a d

other environment.
pollu
air and
Growth countries like India, many
of Cities: In developing
(4) Unplanned
have expanded winout proper plañning for housing. In rural-urban fringe areas
cities semi-urban
are developed which have primarily rural or
new Settlements
within the urban limits. "ITheir
haracteristics and after some times they are included assumes the
continues to dominate and in a process of transition
ral hang-over
rural
low income groups and over
forms urban slums where cheap rents attract
of
the residential environment" (Singh, L.R., 1989, 197).
crowding deteriorates
Indian Cities
4. Slums in
in towns and cities is very acute which
Shelter problem in India particularly
to the staggering
with no solution in sight. In proportion
Plan after Plan multiples sector housing has remained
of residential units in cities, the role of public
back-log
in metropolitan cities like Calcutta, Bombay,
marginal. The housing shortage etc. are More than one-third
Kanpur, Lucknow very serious.
Madras, Delhi, is observed that in
of these metropolises had to live in slums in 1981. It
10.02
population
of slum population varies from the minimum of
metropolitan cities, percentage in Lucknow followed by
to the maximum of 38.83 per cent
per cent in Bangalore (33.90 per
Calcutta (35.35 per cent) and Nagpur
Greater Bombay (38.30 per cent), in
the poscentage of slum population to total population
cent). After Independence, In 1951, this
have been continuously increasing.
large cities and metropolises raised to 25 per cent
in 1961 and 30 percent
20 cent which
proportion was about perCensus, about 30.78 per cent population of metropolitan
in 1971. According to 1981
cities was living in slum areas. lives in slums
40.6 million urban population
AS per census of India 2001, About 48.9 percent population
of
of total urban population. on second and
Onstituting 22.8 percent percent) and Kolkata stand
resides in slums. Naglour (35.4
Umbai
third place in this respect. of people
mainly caused by cityward migration
of large
rapid growth of slums
are
he
Rapid growth in population
in a after Independence. of
shortage
cit arge numbers to urban migration
has created a continuous
of people in
cities India due to rural behind and thus
a lot
much
by and housing lagging and even on
Suchear year and squatter settlements
live in slums
"Cies are compelled to
282 Settlement Geography

pavements. However, in large housing has become an utopian

cities of the country,
dream to the poor people because of many socio-economic and political factors,.
Table 23.1
Slum Population in Some Metropolitan Cities of India (2001)

Name of City Slum Population Percentage of

(in lakh) slum/total population
Mumbai 58.24 48.9
7.27 35.4
Nagpur
Kolkata 14.91 32.6
Pune 5.31 20.9

Delhi 18.55 18.9

Chennai 7.48 17.7
6.01 17.4
Hyderabad
Surat 4.06 16.7

Indore 2.60 16.3

Jaipur 3.50 15.1

3.69 14.6
Kanpur
Ahmedabad 4.40 12.5

3.45 8.0
Bangalore
India 406.05 22.8
Source: Census ofIndia, 2001; Series 1, India: Provisional Population Totals.

It is estimated that slums are growing at double the rate of cities growth rate and
about four times the growth rate of country's population. In some metropolitan cities
growth rate of slum population is very high. For instance, during 1980s the slum
population of Bangalore was increasing at an annual rate of 27.4 per cent followed
by Delhi (8.7 per cent), Chennai (6.1 per cent), Mumbai (5.1 per cent), Ahmedabad
(4.3 per cent) and Kolkata (4.0 per cent).
The acute shortage of dwelling places, especially in the urban agglomerations,
is due to a number of factors. The rapid increase of population after Independence,
the concentration of big industries in cities, the need of work force to live near their
sources of employments, increasing cost of land and building materials, high rents,
failure of administration etc. are the main factors promoting slum
growth.
The Dharavi slum in Bombay is considered as biggest slum in Asia having
about 55,000 families and 3lakh population in an area of about 2 square miles. In this
slum, 800 to 1000 families live in an acre of land, and most of them live in
unhygienic and extremely hazardous conditions. According to various surveys, 30 to
50 lakh population of Mumbai live in slums extending on about 8 thousand acre land.
U r b a nS l u m s

283
The result of
sample surveys of 9 slums of
densityis proportion
very high. The proport of 2 to 4 Bombay reveals that per room
ulation. About
slum popula persons living in a
room is about 40
of total 35 per cent slum per
cent
pers per room. In these slums, dwellers fall in the
5 to 9 there is lack of category of
and people use .common latrines. About personal bathrooms and
toilets

around the slums for latrine purposes.

one-fourth population use the open
land
A b o u t 14. lakh population of Kolkata
resides in
ts 32.6 per cent nearly 3000
separate slums
bustees compris

busteical, Therefore, the nature the growth of slums

than vertical. of
population. "These slums are horizontal
rather
or

thaer with
character with high density of population. As result, the are a
rather sprawling i

quality of
substandard living is a dire physical movement in the
necessity. Of the 3.2 million
atta probably
Calcutta probably more than one million live in slums under physical people who inhibit
not for decent human habitation" (De and
fit for conditions that
are not fit
Bose, 1989, 219). The insanitary
anditions and masSive ecological imbalance of these slums make them the centres
for incubation and spread of various diseases.
5. Problems and Strategies
Generally the question of the slum
improvement leads to the improvement in
housing. The problem of
housing in urban areas
particularly in big cities and
metropolises is very acute and their solution is not
easy. "To solve the
housing
problem of the slum dwellers, the existing housing programmes and
policies are
being examined against the background of the established and projected social and
economic conditions, material's shortage and other constraints to determine a realistic
basis for sound planning to augment a better housing" (De and Bose, 1989, 221). The
shortage and high cost of land, lack of capital and dearth of building materials,
legalization of land for residential purposes etc. come in the way. It is also a fact tha
in spite of better residential condition in other places provided for slum dwellers, the
majority of them are not very much interested to go to some distant places because of
SCarcity of sources of livelihood and many other facilities which are available ne
their localities. Therefore in making any plan to solve the problem of slum dwellers,
various socio-economic and politico-cultural conditions of the city must be taken into
consideration.
Slums pose serious challenges to the civil authorities because they are centres of
poution and crimes. Therefore, for the improvement and renewal of slum areas,
states that the
necessary measures must be taken on priority basis. L.R. Singh (1987)conservation and
aim is to create a healthy residential environment by prevention,
rehabilitation as applicable to varied conditions in the respective slum areas. Inin the
the
whereas
houses is often required,
,Slums spot clearance of dilapidated
n g peripheral slum areas, installation of street utilities, recreation facilities and
In some localities
nprovements are desirable for improving living conditions.
modification and elimination of over-crowded in
ner alteration,
indiv
houses can go a long way. In some slum areas drainage is the real problem
living conditions
Winding and unpaved lanes present chaotic conditions.
284
Settlement Geography
The problems of slum dwellers may be solved in two
of slums providing necessary civic amenities ways-(1) improvema.
there, and (2) by clearance andnent
development of slums. Both the strategies should be applied d re
existing conditions of the particular slum. In those slums where accordingly to the
very serious and can be improved, the slum
conditions are not ns
improvement programmes should he
implemented. Providing drains and sewers, provision may be made for
latrines, baths, taps, widening, and paving of community
unpaved roads and
streets, street
lighting, the residential conditions may be improved in many slum
areas. It is
noteworthy that people's participation in any slum improvement
essential. Therefore, the civic authorities must take programme very is
effective steps for
participations of slum dwellers in tackling the problems of the slum seeking
implementing slum improvement schemes, people must be taken into area. n
because they are able to make this task confidence
easier.
Where to improve the slum conditions is
urgently required, the slum must be cleared but onpossible
not and slum clearance is
a planned basis
alternative accommodation to the by providing
people living in the slum and
uprooted without alternative arrangement. For the success of they
should not be
the schemes it is
urgently needed that slum dwellers should be consulted in the slum
schemes and their basic improvement
common
requirements should be fulfilled at minimum costs. It is
experience that if civic authorities take effective measures for slum
improvements, the response of the sBum dwellers is sufficiently
satisfactory.
The task force on Housing and Urban Development estimated that over one-
third of the urban population in the
of providing shelter to the
country lives in the slums. Therefore, the problem
It is mainly the
economically weaker sections assumes much importance.
public sector which has to shoulder
construction. It does not only to initiate promotional major responsibility of house
has also to provide subsidized steps mobilize resource, but it
to
housing for the urban poor. Besides, the technology of
low cost housing should reach the slum
dwellers so that they themselves can make
their own houses.
On March 1985, Housing and Urban
sanctioned 3587 schemes in 669 cities and Development Corporation (HUDCO) has
towns
involving loan assistance of about Rs. 1662 crores, ofcovering
almost all states and
which it had sanctioned about
Rs. 992 crores. These projects
provided about 20 lakh dwelling units and about 1.73
lakh developed plots and a number of
shops and commercial buildings. Of these,
about 88 per cent of the dwelling units and 79
per cent of plots were for the benefit of
the economically weaker sections and low
income group.
Government's role in the field of urban housing has
per force to be
The major effort will have to come
from the private sector. Due promotional.
to resource
constraints, government's role will have to be restricted to the
direct provision of housing to the weaker improvement of slums,
sections of the society and
and support of housing finance institutions that encouragement
resources into housing in a
promote channelling of private
constructively way.
 b a n STumns

of 285
The major
part of
aior part public sector investment in
b e c
Thed through HUDCO.
h a n n e l l e

Since poverty is thehousing in the Central Plan is to

d

chanlums,
he it is urgently needed
that the
main reason for the
origin and
largely be devoted to housing for activity of HUDCO in future
g r o w t h

argelyThough
groups. Th all sectors of economically weaker sections and low should
groupve sector
o-operative s e c t o r would
have to
economy-the
public sector, the
private
income
co
manner, the major
participate in housing activities insector and the
private sector.
responsibility for house
construction would have to be co-ordinated
left to the
rao recently announced Natidnal
ceeks to give priority to ScheduledHousing Policy (NHP) of the
Fconomically weaker Gastes, Scheduled Tribes andGovernment of
s are to be identified andsections, low income groups and freed bonded
assisted on
National Housing Policy are (George, socially oppressed
priority basis. The basic
nle and in particular the
houseless
K.M. 1989,
19) : (1) to motivateobjectives
and
of
land, materials, technology and to secure
affordable shelter through help all
housing stock and its proper finance; (2) to encourage a sustained access to
and accessible conservation; growth in the
system for the delivery of (3) to create an environment of efficient
improve settlements in order to inputs to maximise
minimum needs; and (6) to raise the housing efforts; (4) to
quality of life through
promote location specific the
heritage. architecture and provision of
preserve the
Bogue, D.J. and
Zachariah, REFERENCES
K.G. (1962):
Turner (ed.): India's "Urbanization and
Breger, G.E. (1967): "The Urban Future, Oxford UniversityMigration in India", in Roy
43, No.4, p. 372. Concept and Causes of Urban Press, Bombay, 27-54.
De, N.K. and Blight", Land Economics, Vol.
Bose, A.K. (1989):
"Environmental Degradation
Study of Calcutta with Snecinl Ni and Pallu