SLUMS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT

Slums come about because of, and are perpetuated by, a number of
forces. Among these are rapid rural-to-urban migration, increasing urban
poverty and inequality, insecure tenure, and globalization all contribute
to the creation and continuation of slums.
Insecure tenure: The lack of secure tenure is a primary reason why
slums persist. Without secure tenure, slum-dwellers have few ways and
little incentive to improve their surroundings. Secure tenure is often a
precondition for access to other economic and social opportunities,
including credit, public services, and livelihood opportunities.
Globalisation: As it clearly differentiated Skilled and Unskilled labors
and created an inequality in wages and living standards leading to
improper allocation of resources in terms of infrastructure and others.
Rapid rural-urban migration:
People often come to urban areas to get better work and living
conditions. Since they are people with very low income or no income at
all, finding a place to live in is a challenge for them. This is the major
reason of why slums develop in a developing city.
Problems and suggested measures
1. Access to improved water: Due to the lack of proper supply, they
often get water from places that are highly unhygienic but they are
left with no other choice.
 Government should take effective measures to supply
sufficient quantity of quality of water for family use, at an
affordable price and should be freely available without any
extreme effort.
2. Access to improved sanitation: Unhygienic sanitation system is
another critical problem that is facing the slums. The diseases that
breed in unhygienic conditions are developing very rapidly in slum
areas which are later spreading in the city areas.
 The Government should provide an excreta disposal system
especially designed for slum areas. This could be done by
providing a disposal waste system either in the form of a
private toilet or a public toilet shared with a reasonable
number of people.
3. Security of tenure: People staying in slums always have that
insecurity of being thrown away from the land where they are
staying.
 Slum eradication measures should be taken by the
government but in a positive way. Government should allot
some land for these people with proper hygienic facilities and
give them evidence of their security of their homes.
4. Durability of housing: The materials used by the people in the
slums are mostly substandard that is hazardous to the environment.
The materials don’t last long and also prove hazardous to the
society.
 Materials of construction should be made available to slums
at cheaper costs or the Government must bear the expenses
for the housing of the poor
5. Sufficient housing Area: People living in slums do not have
sufficient living space. They have to sleep outside their hut during
night times and stay outside during the day time irrespective of the
kind of climate.
  Government should provide sufficient living space for these
people. Not more than two people sharing the same room.
Vidya Sagar Jagati