SLUM

GENERAL
• There is no general agreement on the definition of term slum because there are varieties of
slums. However, the prime characteristic of a slum is substandard housing. But a slum is
always an area. A single neglected building, even in the worst stage of deterioration, does not
make a slum. Thus, the areas characterized by substandard housing conditions within a city are
known as the slums. The term 'substandard housing conditions' should be taken in a relative
social sense referring to actual living conditions with reference to a given time in a specific
country.
 GENERAL
• The Central Government in its Slum Areas Improvement and Clearance Act, 1956 has
adopted the definition of slum as any predominantly residential area where the dwellings
which by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement of design, lack of
ventilation, light or sanitary facilities or any combination of these factors are detrimental to
safety, health and morals.
 GENERAL
• In general, a slum is an overcrowded poverty-stricken area having lack of open spaces and
presence of unhealthy residential structures. The formation of slum converts the land into a
place of vices and miseries and more or less it results into the state of hell on the surface of
earth. The slum dwellers live under conditions impairing their health and happiness and they
live there because they cannot afford better housing. A scholar has rightly observed that "God
made the world, man made the town but devil made the slum".
 GENERAL
• The movement towards town planning as we know it today was born only after widespread
realization of the intolerable conditions which life in industrial and commercial towns imposed
on the poorer inhabitants. In India also, the Central and State Governments have realized the
evils of slums on the town life and hence, the slum clearance authorities are being appointed to
look after the slum clearance programmes. The various towns affected by slums are being
covered up under the slum clearance schemes.
 GENERAL
• It is rather unfortunate to note that almost a quarter of our population lives in slums and
further that the slum population in some of our cities constitutes about 30% to 50% of the
population. The slums are famously known as `Ahatas' in U.P., `Bustees' in Bengal, 'Cherries' in
Madras and `Chawls or jhopadis' in Mumbai.
 CAUSES OF SLUMS
 
The formation or development of slum area in any town is due to various reasons. Following
are the main causes which are considered to have contributed to the formation of slums:
• Decentralization: When decentralization takes place, the rich and middle class people move out
to the extended portions of the town and thus, the poor people are left unattended in the
overcrowded central area of the town.
 CAUSES OF SLUMS
• Economic conditions: The unemployment and growth of population may force the affected
persons to stay even in unhealthy atmosphere. In fact, the most important and universal
characteristic of slums is poverty. This is due to the fact that people live in slums because they
cannot afford to pay the rent set up by the market conditions.\
• Education: If the inhabitants are lacking in education, they may be easily dragged into social
evils without any attention to improvement of the living conditions.
 CAUSES OF SLUMS

• Improper use of land: If lands fit for residence are used for industries or vice-
versa, the slums may be formed.
• Industrialization: The slums may be said to be the direct evil result from
industrialization which in the early stages never took care of planning houses for
labourers. Those that were built near the factories were cheap structures with
rent as the only motive.
 CAUSES OF SLUMS
• Lack of zoning: If the town is not divided into suitable zones and development is allowed to
take place at random, the slums may be created.
• Migrants: The persons migrating from the surrounding areas may occupy, usually illegally, the
vacant or empty places in or outside the city. The term squatter is used to mean a person
who is occupying the land without title. The colonies of squatters may result into slums. The
flow of migrants per day increases in metropolitan cities. About, one-third of the urban
population lives in ramshackle huts with no civic amenities.
 CAUSES OF SLUMS
• Powers of local authority: If the local authority concerned does not possess adequate powers
to control the development of town, the slums may be formed.
• Repairs and maintenance: If cheap houses, constructed by the land owner for the purpose of
collecting rents, are not properly maintained, the conditions favoring formation of the slums
may develop.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUMS

Following are some of the usual or general characteristics of slums: 

• Appearance: This is rather the universal mark of the slum and its unpleasant appearance
offends the eyes, nose and conscience. The structures appear to be deteriorated and to be of
over-age.
• Fire hazards: The slum area is often exposed to fire accidents and consequent damages. One
stick of matches may prove to be sufficient to reduce the whole slum to ashes in no time.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUMS
• Health and sanitation: The slum is characterized by low standards of sanitation and is often
neglected most by the public services for sanitation. It also refers an area of high sickness
and death rates.
• Income criteria: The slum is a poverty area and it is occupied by people of the lowest income
group of the society.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUMS
• Morals: The socially disorganized slum may prove to be an area of delinquency, crime
and vice.
• Overcrowding: The slum is overcrowded with buildings or the buildings are overcrowded
with people or in the worst condition, both the conditions prevail in the slum.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUMS
• Population: If the slum population is racial or cultural, it grants a degree of social
organization even though the area looks poverty-stricken slum area. For a heterogeneous
occupancy, the inhabitants are of different categories which are not welcome in other
localities or they cannot afford to live elsewhere.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SLUMS
• Social isolation: The slum area is of the lowest social status and it is usually linked up with the
rest of the community through its labour force. In a democratic society, the slum dwellers can
identify themselves with certain political groups because of their equality of voting and other
legal rights with the rest of the community.
• Way of life: Depending upon the manner in which the slum has come up, the way of life of the
inhabitants may be such that they are strangers to one another or they form a family slum
with thick acquaintance with one another.
 EFFECTS OF SLUMS

The effects of slums on the town life are manifold. They can be briefly mentioned as follows:

• Absence of amenities: The surrounding area of slums is lacking in essential amenities in

required proportions because of overcrowding.
• Health: The persons residing in slums are easily attacked by various types of diseases. The
climate of slums is such that it easily leads to unhealthy conditions of living.
 EFFECTS OF SLUMS
• Surrounding locality: The working of institutions like library, school, hospital, etc., located
nearby slums, is seriously affected.
• Undesirable spots: The slums as such on a city plan forms undesirable spots and in a sense,
disturbs the appearance of good features of a city plan.
 EFFECTS OF SLUMS
• Working conditions: It is not possible to work peacefully in slums because the whole area is full
of noise, traffic congestion, smoke, dust and darkness.
• It is an accepted fact that if housing conditions are improved, there is considerable improvement
in the community welfare. A good mind becomes a Devil's workshop in an unfavorable
environment. The above view is also endorsed by social workers, magistrates, and health
authorities and police department. It is, therefore, more advisable to spend the public money in
the slum clearance projects as prevention proves to be better than cure.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
• Objects: The process of improving the existing conditions of slums is known as the slum clearance
and the main four objects of taking up slum clearance programmes can be enumerated as follows:
• To bring down the disparity in the living standards of the people of various classes.
• To prevent the occurrence of epidemics in the town or city.
• To provide the absolute basic minimum standards of essential amenities for a healthy living.
• To remove the ugly spots or slums from the map of town or city.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
 
• Methods: Following are the two methods by which slum clearance programmes can be
effected:
• Complete removal method
• Improvement method.
• It should, however, be remembered that the slum clearance, if not properly carried out, does
not abolish slums, but on the contrary, it shifts and spreads them.
• Complete removal method: In this method, the ill-constructed houses are demolished and only
those which are really good are retained. The open spaces left are used for widening of roads,
providing recreation grounds or building new houses of approved standards. The slum
clearance, by this method, proves to be too costly and further, the people who are dishoused
are to be provided with alternative housing facilities.
SLUM CLEARANCE
For the selection of the slum areas for clearance as against improvement, the
following two important factors should be considered:
• the degree of public health hazards involved; and
• the economic potential of the land i.e., the full use to which the land can be
economically exploited after removal of the slum.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
• Improvement method: It is observed that certain areas where slums are due to poor
drainage arrangement and insanitary environments need not necessarily be demolished.
If the houses are fairly good, certain steps such as improvement of the street system,
filling up of low ground, modifications of drainage arrangements, removal of obstructing
structures, etc. may be taken up to implement slum clearance scheme. By proper
selection of improvement works, the desired results can be achieved with minimum
expenditure.
• The important points to be carefully attended to in any slum clearance or improvement
project are as follows:
 SLUM CLEARANCE
• Amenities: In addition to widening of roads, the public utility services such as water, drainage and
electricity should also be made adequate for the affected area. The minimum basic standards fixed
by the Govt. of India for the environmental improvement of slums are as follows:
• One water tap for every 150 persons living in the slum.
• Two latrines for every 20 to 25 persons living in the slum
• One street light for every 30 meters.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
• Legal aspects: The legal formalities required to implement the slum clearance project
should be strictly followed. The unnecessary haste results into serious legal complications
and considerable time is required to correct the mistakes made. The legal aspects include
publication and circulation of the slum clearance project, acquisition of lands,
compensation of the acquired properties, arrangements for the evicted population, etc.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
• Transit camps: When a slum clearance scheme is taken in hand, the persons occupying the
slums will have to be dishoused. The transit camps in the form of semi-permanent or temporary
buildings are constructed in some other parts of the town to accommodate such persons
temporarily till their new houses are built. The transit camps of temporary nature should be
designed in the simplest way possible to bring down their costs and they should just be strong to
satisfy the requirements of the floating population likely to pass continuously through them.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
• Unauthorized persons: To arrest the unauthorized persons to take advantage during the
transit period, it is desirable to issue the slum dweller, who is qualified to get a tenement
after slum improvement scheme, a pass book containing the complete photo of the family
including the children. Such a practice will avoid falsification and impersonation of
unauthorized persons and the pass book will serve as a proper authority for the slum dweller
to claim a tenement.
 WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT

The term works of improvement in relation to any building in a slum area includes the
execution of any one or more of the following works:
• construction of open or covered drains;
• necessary repairs;
• opening up or paving of courtyards;
• provision of additional or improved fixtures or fittings;
• provision of bathing places, water taps and light points;
 WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT
The term works of improvement in relation to any building in a slum area includes the execution
of any one or more of the following works:
• provision of latrines including conversion of dry latrines into flush latrines;
• realignment or replotting of streets;
• removal of rubbish and debris;
• structural additions and alterations;
• Miscellaneous including the demolition of any building or any part of building for executing any
of the works mentioned above.
OPEN PLOT SCHEME

• In this scheme, the available open land is suitably subdivided and allotted to slum
dwellers. Extreme care however should be taken to see that the beneficiaries of the
scheme do not pass away their title and possession to other better off groups.
 OPEN PLOT SCHEME
• Further, constant watch should be kept on the area developed under this scheme so that the
open plot scheme areas do not deteriorate into the worst slums.
• Some of the precautionary measures to be adopted for the scheme implementation of the
scheme are as follows:
• The area of the plot should not exceed 20 m2 to 25 m2 so that the scheme may not attract the
better off classes.
• The individual lessees may be provided with the possible alternative designs for the construction
of small houses.
• The plots should be given on long-term lease with necessary conditions for cancellation and re-
entry in case of breach of terms of the lease document.
• The self-help combined with the use of locally available materials and methods of construction
should be encouraged.
 SLUM CLEARANCE AND REHOUSING

• The complete removal of slum has been recognized as the ultimate objective and slum
improvement has been considered as an immediate alternative to give relief to the slum
dwellers. The available limited resources should be exploited to the maximum possible extent
for providing rehabilitation to the urban poor people in healthy and planned colonies. The main
five difficulties to be encountered while pursuing the slum clearance programme are as
follows:
 SLUM CLEARANCE AND REHOUSING
• constraint of resources;
• high cost of alternative sites near place of work;
• lengthy and time-consuming procedures of the acquisition of slum area;
• low rent paying capacity of the slum dwellers with the result that the subsidized rents may
also prove to be too high; and
• Reluctance or unwillingness of the slum dwellers to move from the areas selected for
clearance.
 SLUM CLEARANCE AND REHOUSING
Following are some of the measures which may be adopted to make the slum clearance and
rehousing schemes successful:
• In the surrounding area of the metropolitan city, a chain of growth centers, popularly known
as the satellite towns, should be formed with a view to provide for growing employment
opportunities and better living conditions in such centers. These towns will discourage the
migration tendency and will also provide an attractive alternative to the city for the purpose
of future expansion.
• The slum rehabilitation scheme may be combined with some commercial schemes so as to
make it self-supporting in finance.
• The minimum carpet area including sanitary conveniences may be decided for a family.
• The potentialities of the open plot scheme combined with self-help housing on the part of
the slum community should be fully exploited.
• The State Governments should make enough provision in the budget every year for the
construction of minimum houses for the slum population.
 PREVENTION OF SLUM FORMATION
• The formation of slums is a very slow process and extreme care should be exercised by the
authorities concerned to prevent the springing up of new slums in the town. The failure to take
precaution of formation of new slums results in equalizing or even overtaking the progress
achieved in slum clearance projects. Ultimately the housing shortage and coming up of new
slums become the permanent features of the town.
 PREVENTION OF SLUM FORMATION

Some of the important measures which can be taken to effectively prevent the slum formation
are as follows:
• Cheap housing: Sufficient number of subsidized cheap housing should be made available to
the poor people. The investment of public funds for such purpose certainly gives good results.
• Compulsion to employers: The employers of a good number of labourers may be compelled or
forced to provide housing accommodation for their staff.
 PREVENTION OF SLUM FORMATION

• Construction of buildings: Certain rules and regulations may be framed and strictly enforced
to restrict the coming up of buildings of subnormal standards.
• Maintenance and repairs: The responsibility of maintaining and carrying out repairs should be
fixed and defined in housing codes or Acts. It then becomes the duty of either landlord or
tenant to keep the existing building in a living condition. Such an attitude on the part of the
local authority helps in preventing the conversion of existing good buildings into slums
 PREVENTION OF SLUM FORMATION
• Rent restrictions: If provision is made to restrict the increase of rent, the tenants will be
protected. The Rent Restriction Act is in force in many towns of our country. It is advisable to
revise this Act periodically so that landlord may be inclined or tempted to maintain his
property in proper form.
 PREVENTION OF SLUM FORMATION
• Social education: It is possible to check the growth of slums by carrying out effective social
education of the slum dwellers. The social education makes the slum dwellers conscious of the
evils of slums and if an intensive social propaganda is carried out with the help of service
organizations through literature, posters, exhibition of films, television shows, etc., there is great
improvement in the living standard of slum dwellers.
 PREVENTION OF SLUM FORMATION
• Unauthorized construction: It is absolutely necessary to arrest immediately the unauthorized
construction in the form of huts and temporary structures on vacant pieces of lands.
• The authorities concerned should take drastic actions in demolishing and removing such
unauthorized constructions. The law should be suitably amended to give such powers to the
authorities concerned. The delay in such matters proves dangerous as time passes and
interference of outside agencies even on humanitarian grounds should not be at all encouraged.
The term squatting is used to mean the encroachment on land owned by private or individual or
public body.
• Thus, the squatter occupies the land without any title or right. The squatting may be brought to
an end by police action or it may at least be legalized, if there is widespread public sympathy for
the squatters.
 RESOURCES FOR SLUM CLEARANCE PROGRAMMES

• The slum clearance works require considerable fund and the resources for the
successful implementation of the scheme should be properly analysed and arranged.
• The financial management should be made in such a way that maximum benefit is derived
from the available limited resources. Some of the possible measures to augment the slum
clearance schemes are as follows:
• distribution of national housing acess for rural and urban housing;
• granting interest free loans or loans with nominal rate of interest for a period of 30 to 40 years;
• lottery funds;
• relaxation of the provision for loans by the Life Insurance Corporation;
• Surcharge on urban properties; etc..
 THE INDIAN SLUM
• It is a sad state of affair that some of the worst slums in the world can be found in major Indian
cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai, Delhi, etc. The slums are spreading
like white ants and cancer due to lack of proper and effective town and country planning. It is not
possible to accommodate the ever-increasing flow of migrants from rural areas and small towns
in our big cities.
• The problem of slums in Mumbai is very acute. The areas of slums in Mumbai vary from a
fraction of a hectare to as many as 24 hectares for Kamathipura and about 132 hectares for
Dharavi. Kamathipura is the biggest slum comprised of privately owned properties. Dharavi is
the biggest eye-sore as a slum on the city map of Mumbai.
 THE INDIAN SLUM
• Due to the rapid growth and migration of population, the slums have also considerably
 
expanded in Calcutta, Chennai, Surat, Delhi, etc. In a similar way, the slums are also on the
increase at places like Poona and Ahmedabad. The city of Poona is fast developing with an
expanding industrial sector. The city of Ahmedabad is now a major industrial centre and over
its 50 per cent slum dwellers live in single rooms with 4 to 9 people.
 THE INDIAN SLUM
•  
It is also important to note that slums have appeared on the periphery of newly built capital
Chandigarh which was conceived by the master architect and town planner Le Corbusier. The
critical nature of the problem is demonstrated by the fact that 42 to 67 per cent homes do
not have tap water and 26 to 50 per cent homes do not have toilets in Mumbai, Calcutta and
Delhi. These figures are increasing day-by-day.
 THE INDIAN SLUM
•   5-1 shows the approximate estimated slum percentage in various towns and cities of
Table
our country ranging from less than 50000 to more than 10 lakh.
 THE INDIAN SLUM
•   study of the table also reflects that nearly 74.20 percentage of slum exists in 222 big
The
towns and cities (nos. 3 to 6) forming only about 6.59 per cent of total number of towns or
cities.
• With the limited resources available, the government and semi-government bodies will
have to plan out intelligently slum clearance programmes to grant adequate and decent
housing to every human being.