PRESENTED BY

NAME: BUSHRA HUSSAIN

ROLL NUMBER: 1
SEMESTER: IV
DEPARTMENT: MA POLITICAL SCIENCE
COLLEGE: BASANTI DEVI COLLEGE
(AFFILIATED TO CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY)
 WHAT IS POVERTY?
 Poverty refers to the condition of not having the
means to afford basic human needs such as
clean water, nutrition, healthcare, education,
clothing and shelter. This is also known as
absolute poverty or destitution.

 Relative poverty is the condition in which

people lack the minimum amount of income
needed in order to maintain the average
standard of living in the society in which they
live.
 URBAN POVERTY: AN OVERVIEW

According to the World Bank, urban poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon. The urban
poor live with many deprivations, including:
 limited access to employment opportunities and income,
 inadequate and insecure housing and services,
 violent and unhealthy environments,
 little or no social protection mechanisms, and
 limited access to adequate health and education opportunities.
 Urban poverty in India

 According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) urban poverty in India is over
25 % and some 81 million people live in urban areas on incomes that are below the poverty
line.
 The 2011 Census of India indicated that about 17 % of the urban population or an estimated 65
million people live in slums.
 Most of the urban poor are involved in informal sector activities where there is a constant
threat of eviction, removal, confiscation of goods and almost non-existent social security cover.
 In the Seventh Five Year Plan urban poverty was considered as a separate issue by the Indian
policy makers.
CASE STUDY - POVERTY IN KOLKATA
 Urban poor in Kolkata
 The urban poor are largely
understood as those living in
overcrowded and dilapidated slums
or in squatters built on pavements,
along railway tracks, under bridges,
besides canals or on ill-drained
marshlands and any vacant land
available to them in urban areas.
 According to the 2011 Census, there
are 70,000 homeless living in
Kolkata, up from 55,000 in 2001.
 Urban poor in Kolkata
 Kolkata is home to immigrants from a large
variety of sources like Bangladesh, Bihar, Orissa,
and Jharkhand.
 The city’s unregulated informal economic sector
supports the livelihood of these migrants and so
migration continues and this continuous rise in
population proliferates the slum settlements.
 ANALYSING KOLKATA’S SLUMS

 Kolkata has one third of its population living in slums which is only second highest share of
slum population after Mumbai.
 In Kolkata the general term slum refers to both “bustees” and squatter settlements.
 The slums of Kolkata can be divided into three groups:
a. The older ones, up to 150 years’ old, are associated with early urbanization;
b. The second group dates from the 1940s and 1950s and emerged as an outcome of
industrialization based rural- urban migration;
c. The third group came into being after the independence of India and took vacant urban
lands and areas along roads, canals and on marginal lands.
 Socio-Economic Conditions of
Pavement Dwellers
 Pavement dwellers are among the most deprived poor in Kolkata, in terms of living
conditions, access to basic facilities and health indicators.
 Surveys reveal that most of the pavement dwellers in Kolkata have internationally migrated.
 The educational status of these pavement dwellers is infinitely poor.
 Most of them are engaged into unorganised and informal sectors like: Rag picking, Begging,
Maid servant, Wage labour, Rickshaw puller, Masonry, Sweeping, Hawkery.
 Due to lack of resources to buy or rent better housing, they are forced to live under the open
sky, under a flyover, in a temporary polythene sheet draped hut or outside a private buildings.
 Urban Poverty Alleviation
Programmes
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)
Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)
National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)
Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)
National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)
Night Shelter Scheme for Homeless
 CONCLUSION
 Urban poverty requires the critical attention of policymakers.
 Studies on poverty and conflicts in contemporary India shows that there are
more conflicts between the poverty affected social groups and others in the
urban areas in recent decades.
 Urban poverty reduction therefore requires different kinds of approaches
because it is different from rural poverty in many respects.
With the increase in the levels of urbanization there is a clear cut
distinction between the haves and the have not's in the city of Kolkata.
Although some considerable success has been achieved, there is a long
way to go for Kolkata in terms of addressing the issues related to urban
poverty and slums.