SLUM

One billion people of India live in slums. That's

one in seven of us. Unless urgent action is taken,
1.4 billion people will live in slums by 2020.

Today, more people live in urban areas than

rural areas and city populations are growing by
more than 200,000 new inhabitants each day.
• Cities in developing countries are expected to
absorb 95 per cent of urban population growth in
the next two decades, increasing the slum
population by nearly 500 million in the near
future.

• Cities account for some 70 per cent of global

GDP and city slums are often economically
vibrant; around 85 per cent of all new
employment opportunities around the world
occur in the informal economy
 SLUMS
DEFINITION-as adopted in Central Govt. Slum
Clearance and improvement act-1956

• Slum is a 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 is detrimental to
the saftey, health and morale of inhabitants.
 Causes of slums
• INDUSTRIALIZATION
• MIGRATION
• LACK OF ZONING
• DE-CENTRALIZATION
• POVERTY
• LACK OF EDUCATION
• LACK OF POWER FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY
• LACK OF REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE
 Characteristics of Slums
• Appearance-offends the eye, nose and
conscience
 Characteristics of Slums
• Health and Sanitation

Poor sanitation and • Contaminated water

unsafe water claim supplies, poor hygiene
the lives of many and a lack of decent
slum dwellers every toilets and sewerage
year. increase the spread of
deadly diseases in
slums.
Characteristics of Slums
Health and Sanitation

• Diarrhoea kills
1.5 million
children under
five each year.

Without toilets,
women suffer from
the lack of privacy
and dignity
 LAND
• Slums built on marginal land prone to
disasters like flooding pose a high risk for
residents.

• Those living beside busy city roads and

railways, on shorelines, river banks and on and
around rubbish dumps feel the constant
dangers of these unsafe environment
• with no legal rights to land, slum dwellers face
the threat of eviction and can find it difficult
to secure a job and access credit and finance

• Gaining secure tenure of safe land is the first

step towards building a permanent home and
accessing other opportunities.
Characteristics of Slums
Fire Hazard
• Income Criteria- Poverty Stricken Area-
occupied by people of lowest income category
• Morale- Socially disorganized slum is an area
of delinquency ,crime and vice.
• Over-crowding- Slum is overcrowded with
buildings and buildings are over crowded with
people.
• Population- If Slum population is racial or
cultural, it grants a degree of social
organisation. For hetrogenous occupancy, the
inhabitants are of different categories.
• Social isolation- lowest Social status- linked up
with rest of the community through its labour
force.
• Equality of voting, association with political
groups.
• Way of life- Depending on the manner in which
the Slum has come up, they may be strangers or
form family slum having thick acquaintance
with one another.
• Noise, traffic congestion, smoke, dust and
darkness makes slums undesirable spots of a
city
 EFFECTS OF SLUM
• Surrounding area of slums lacks in essential
amenities in required proportion due to
overcrowding.
• Noise, traffic congestion, smoke, dust and
darkness makes slums undesirable spots of a
city.
• Persons residing in slums are prone to various
types of diseases.
 SLUM CLEARANCE
AIM
• To bring down the disparity in living standards
of people of various classes.
• To prevent the occurrence of epidemics.
• To provide absolute minimum standards of
essential amenities For a healthy living
• To remove the ugly spots of slums from map
of town.
• Slum clearance programme can be
1.Complete removal method.
2. Improvement method
In Complete removal method ill constructed houses
are demolished and only those that are good are
retained. Open spaces left are used for widening of
roads, providing recreation grounds, or building
new houses of approved standards.
Disadvantages
More costly
Dis housed people are to provided with alternate
housing facilities.
IMPROVEMENT METHOD

• If the houses are in fairly good condition certain steps

such as improvement of streets, filling up low ground,
improvement of drainage etc. may be taken up
• by proper selection of improvement works, desired
results can be achieved with minimum expenditure.
• The important guidelines for Slum clearance
/Improvement method are follows

1.Amenities: In addition to widening of roads, public

utility services such as water, drainage and electricity
should be made adequate for the affected area.
The minimum basic standards fixed by Gov. of India are
as follows
a. one water tap for every 150 persons
b. one latrine for every 20-50 persons living in slum
c. one Street light for every 30 m.

2. Legal aspects like publication and circulation of slum

clearance project, acquisition of land, compensation of
acquired properties, arrangements for the evicted
population should be strictly followed.
3. Transit camps
When a slum clearance programme is taken up, the persons
occupying the slums will be dishoused. Transit camps in the
form of semi-permanent or temporary buildings are
constructed in some parts of the town to accommodate
such persons temporarily till their new houses are built.

4. Unauthorized Persons.
To arrest the unauthorized persons to take advantage
during transit period, it is desirable to issue the slum
dweller who is qualified to get the tenement after slum
improvement scheme, a pass book containing the complete
photo of the family including children.
Prevention of Slum formation
1. Cheap Housing

2. Compulsion to employers to provide their staff housing

3. Construction of buildings of subnormal standards must be restricted by law

4. Maintenance &Repairs: The responsibility of maintaining and carrying out

repairs should be fixed and defined in housing codes & Acts.

5. Rent restrictions-This act must be revised such that the landlord is tempted to
maintain his property in proper form.

6. Social Education- It is possible to check the growth of slums by effective social

education of slum dwellers which can improve their living standards.

7. Unauthorized construction- It is absolutely necessary to arrest unauthorized

constructions in the form of huts and temporary structures in vacant pieces of
land.