SLUMS

causes and solution

What is a slum?

 A slum is predominantly an overcrowded area which is in

an advanced stage of decay where dwelling are unfit
for human habitation.
 It is like an area where the basic amenities like water
supply, drainage, for standard living are lacking,
insanitary conditions prevail, and diseases flourish.
 It is a poverty stricken area, where there is a high rate of
birth, infant mortality, illegitimacy, juvenile crime,
delinquency and death, thus representing a state of hell
on the surface of death.
 Causes:
o Poverty:
Urban poverty encourages the formation and demand for slums. With rapid
shift from rural to urban life, poor people migrates to urban areas. The urban
poor arrives with hope, and very little of anything else. He or she typically
has no access to shelter, basic urban services and social amenities. Slums
are often the only option for the urban poor.
o Rural–urban migration:
Rural–urban migration is one of the causes attributed to the formation and
expansion of slums. Many people move to urban areas primarily because cities
promise more jobs, better schools for poor's children, and diverse income
opportunities than subsistence farming in rural areas.
o Poor house planning:
Lack of affordable low cost housing and poor planning encourages the supply side
of slums. Insufficient financial resources and lack of coordination in government
bureaucracy are two main causes of poor house planning.
o Natural disasters:
Major natural disasters in poor nations often lead to migration of disaster-affected
families from areas crippled by the disaster to unaffected areas, the creation of
temporary tent city and slums, or expansion of existing slums. These slums tend to
become permanent because the residents do not want to leave.
o Decentralization:
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.
o Industrialization:
The slum may be said to be the direct evil result from industrialization which in the
early stage never took care of planning houses for laborers.
o Lack of zoning:
If the town is not divided into suitable zones and development is allowed to place
at random, the slums may be created.
o Lack of repair and maintenance:
If cheap houses constructed by the land owner for the purpose of collecting rents
are not properly maintained, then the slums may forms.
Harmful effects of slums
on society:
The rapid urbanization in conjugation with industrialization has resulted in the growth of
slums. The shortage of land for housing, the high prices of land beyond the reach of urban
poor and a large influx of rural migrants to the cities fueling the development of slums. These
slums give rise to many problems in the urban areas. The major problems of slums in India are
as follows:-
 Shortage of space: About 77.6% of the urban dwellers in Mumbai reside in one room and lakhs of
them sleeps on the footpath. About 62% of the households of the metropolis reside in these slums. This
give rise to the problem of shortage of space.

 Prone to natural and man-made hazards: As in slums, houses are crammed in a little
space, they are often prone to dangerous hazards like floods, water logging, fire etc.
Extent of hazard is increased because of high population density. The Kutcha houses of
slums frequently catches fire in summer.

 Poor living conditions: Slums are not planned hence they lack basic amenities. Slums have
invariably extreme unhygienic conditions. There are no toilets and people defecate in
open. Slums have practically no drainage. Most of the slums are located near drains
which contain filthy stagnant water.
Strategic options for tackling
slum problems:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA,
2011) recognized that possible physical development
options are:
❑ Slum Improvement
❑ Slum Upgradation
❑ Slum Redevelopment/Resettlement.
Slum Improvement:
Slum improvement aimed at extending infrastructure in the slums where residents have
themselves constructed incremental housing. For providing roads, water supply, drainage,
toilets and streetlights for the slum-dwellers, in 1971-72 Government of India launched Slum
Improvement Program (SIP). The following works may be included in the ‘Works of
Improvement:
✓ Works organizing women around various social and economic activities;
✓ Works relating to improvements in the physical environment of slums such as drains,
latrines, footpaths, access roads, tube wells etc;
✓ Works resulting in increased family income;
✓ Works to increase awareness about health, sanitation, and community participation and
thereby reducing incident of diseases.
Under Slum Improvement Program many important services and amenities such as
community latrines, storm water drains, community taps, paving of lanes and streetlights
were to be provided in the slums. Though the program could provide many facilities in
slums but it has failed to provide effective solution to the slum problems as besides having
limited scope the funds allotted were not sufficient.
Slum up-gradation:
Problem of slums arises due to lack of infrastructural facilities in slums. Many
governments tried to solve this by extending infrastructure along with facilitation of unit
level upgradation. Slum upgrading consists of economic, social, organizational,
physical and environmental improvements undertaken cooperatively and locally by
citizens, community groups, businesses and local authorities. Some actions include:
✓ Mapping, titling and registration to ensure security of tenure.
✓ Installing or improving basic infrastructure
✓ Removal or mitigation of environmental hazards
✓ Providing incentives for community management and maintenance
✓ Constructing or rehabilitating community facilities such as nurseries, health posts,
community centers
✓ Home improvement, including material upgrading, new construction and expansion
of existing structures
✓ Improving access to health care and education as well as social support programs
to address community issues of security, violence, substance, crime and substance
abuse
✓ Training and credit for enhancement of income-earning opportunities
Slum Redevelopment/Renewal/Resettlement:

Slum redevelopment and slum renewal relates to reconstruction of slums at the

same place after demolishing the existing structures. Under this the slums are
developed into the lively city centers. Redevelopment plans provide security
of tenure, increase in public expenditure on health and education, promote
self employment by micro-credit, improved skills and better urban and slum spatial
planning.
Sometimes the spaces where slums are located is so placed that it become
imperative to clear the area for better city planning, then slums are to be
rehabilitated on alternative sites. This approach is known as slum resettlement.
The land is evacuated and area is cleared of slums. The slums are then resettled
on alternate location by providing basic facilities such as water, safe and
hygienic houses at resettlement sites. A successful slum program the three
conditions are to be met
✓ Location Compatibility
✓ Land Availability and
✓ Affordability.
The Indian government has also tried to solve the problem of slums and almost
every state has slum clearance and improvement laws and authorities for
ensuring slum free cities. The initial solution to these problems consists of forceful
evictions of such colonies but soon it was realized that this is not a viable option
due to political and economical grounds. Government changed its strategy
and launched Slum Improvement Program (SIP), Slum Upgrading Programs (SUP)
for improving the conditions and environment of slums. Government of India
launched National Slum Development Program (NSDP) and Valmiki Ambedkar
Awas Yojna (VAMBAY) for providing dwelling units and efforts have been made to
make the city slum free. The recent government initiative under Jawaharlal Nehru
Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojna(RAY) focuses on the
affordable housing, security of tenure, skill development, infrastructure and provision
of basic urban services to urban poor for making the dream of slum free cities a
reality. The performance of these schemes lay a solid foundation for making
India a 'slum free' country.