The Census of India defines a slum as "a compact area of at least 300 in population or about 60-70

households of poorly built, congested tenements in an unhygienic environment usually with

inadequate infrastructure and lacking proper sanitary and drinking water facilities.
What Causes Slums in the Cities in the First Place?
It is vicious cycle of population growth, opportunities in the cities (leading to migration to the cities),
poverty with low incomes, tendency to be closer to work hence occupying any land in the vicinity
etc. The key reason out of all is the slow economic progress. After independence in 1947,
commercial and industrial activity needed cheap labor in the cities. Plentiful was available in the
rural area. They were encouraged to come to cities and work. People, who migrated to the cities and
found work, brought their cousins and rest of the families to the cities. Unable to find housing and
afford it, they decided to build their shelter closer to work. First, one shelter was built, then two and
then two thousand and then ten thousand and on and on. Conniving governments provided
electricity and drinking water. Politicians looked at the slums as vote bank. They organized these
unauthorized dwellers into a political force; hence slums took a bit of a permanent shape. More
slums developed as more population moved to the cities. By mid sixties Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, and
all other large cities were dotted with slums.
Very poor people live in slums. They are not the only one dwelling there. Fairly well to do people
also reside there. They are either offspring of the slum dwellers that found education and an
occupation. They have prospered but are unable to find affordable housing, hence have continued to
stay in the shantytowns. Others are avoiding paying rent and property taxes. The latter is more often
the case. It is not unusual that in the dirtiest of slums, where misery prevails that TV sets,
refrigerators and radios are also blaring music. This is quite a contrast from the image which one
gets in the media or from the opportunist politicians.
India’s capital of Delhi has a million and a half out of fourteen million living in slums. Mumbai is
worst with greater percentage living in slums. Other big urban centers have done no better. Newly
built cities like Chandigarh and surrounding towns where shantytowns could have been avoided
altogether have now slums. The forgoing is India’s shame despite huge progress.

Urban Renewal In India

Urban renewal is in progress in India in a big way for the last 50 years. The British starved cities in
India of the funds for two hundred years. They only built regal palaces for themselves in Delhi,
Shimla and Kolkota. No new funds were made available to the people to renew and rebuild, hence
Moghul Delhi presented a decaying and a rundown look, when they finally left India in 1947. The
problem got compounded with migration of people from rural areas. Expanding industry and
commerce needed them hence migration was encouraged. Thus urban slums and squatting began in
a big way. Today, some estimates place 10 to 15% of Delhi population as slum dwellers. Slums in
Kolkata predate Delhi slums. So do the Mumbai slums. They all began the same way – people’s
livelihood was destroyed or they were invited to work in factories without adequate housing. The
problem grew acute with huge population growth after 1950. From 1950 to today, cities lacked
funds to renew themselves and help build additional housing. People lacked adequate jobs hence
are caught in the poverty cycle.
Only recently a huge building and construction boom has started in all cities in India. Whereas
governments are concentrating on building infrastructure and industrial base, private construction is
building work places, shopping districts and housing for the middle class. The poor and slum dwellers
are not there in any building equation. Cheap housing projects are lowest in the category. Hence
slum dwelling has become a way of life.

How Long the Poor have to wait?

If the experience elsewhere is a guide then poverty, slums and urban squat will be a diminishing
phenomenon, if the rapid economic progress keeps its pace. Today we would have smaller of the
slums, had economic policies of the present were in place 50 years back. Only now, all signs point to
a rapidly rising GDP together with rising per capita GDP. With rise in income level, tendency to head
to the slums has lessened. Die-hard slum dwellers who wish to pay no taxes and spend nothing on
housing will most certainly continue to stay there. Others will prefer to move out. This is a normal
phenomenon. It happened in US and elsewhere. It will happen in India too. An economic equilibrium
has not been reached in the society yet, where enough money in people’s pocket will persuade them
to vacate the slums. This won’t we reached for another 20 to 25 years. By about middle of this
period with increased availability of housing and higher incomes, the growth in slum dwelling will be
arrested. Decline will begin only when much higher incomes are reached (as stated above), provided
India does not make the mistake of regularizing the slums/bustees with land tenure on tenable land
and other amenities. That is a sure fire method to keep the slums going. People will always wait for
free grant of land ownership even if these grants never materialize. Even the possibility of this ever
happening in a distant future will keep the slum dwellers in the slums.

Conclusion

Poverty, slums and urban squat are not going to go away in next 20 to 25 years. Reversal of this
phenomenon will begin after sufficient economic progress had been made. Eight percent GDP
growths is a good sign. With quadrupled GDP in 25 years, there is a good chance that the new and
upcoming generation may stay away from slum dwelling. It may take another 25 years before the
slums are vacated.