Slum Redevelopment in India: Tackling Urban Challenges and Promoting Equity

This paper has been published in Peer-reviewed International Journal "Innovation The Research Concept"                     

URL : https://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/new/publish-journal.php?editID=7855

Publisher : Social Research Foundation, Kanpur (SRF International) 

Abstract :  

In the year of 2009, more people lived in cities than in villages for the first time in recorded human history. This shift towards urbanization has been lauded for its substantial increase in productivity and subsequent economic growth, notably witnessed in countries like China and South Korea.  However, to improve the quality of life of people living in urban areas, decent housing and supporting urban infrastructure is extremely important.

Almost 31.6% people of the world's total urban population dwells in slums as per UN Habitat Report 2003.  377 million people in India lived in cities in 2011, but of these, 65 million individuals resided in extreme shelter poverty in places called slums. This predicament is not exclusive to India, as similar challenges are observed in other regions globally. According to the United Nations, the proportion of the urban population living in slums worldwide increased from 23 % to 24 % between 2014 and 2018, translating to over 1 billion slum dwellers.  The highest concentration of slum residents is found in three main regions: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and Southern Asia. Unfortunately, the needs and issues faced by these individuals are frequently overlooked in traditional urban planning, funding, and policy formulation, leading to the neglect of a significant portion of the world's population.

Even though some progress has been made through local and global initiatives over the years, the number of slum dwellers worldwide is still expected to increase by approximately 6 million annually. According to the 2011 census of India, about one in six residents of Indian cities live in urban slums characterized by unsanitary living conditions that are unfit for human habitation. This issue extends beyond metropolitan areas in India, as even several second-tier cities face significant slum problems. Features of slums in India often include acute over-crowding, as well as unhealthy, insanitary, and dehumanizing living conditions. They are subject to insecure land tenure, poor quality of shelter and lack of access to basic civic services.

Many slums are in environmentally fragile and dangerous zones that are prone to floods, landslides, and other disasters, which becomes a huge problem for already vulnerable residents. A considerable proportion of the slum dwellers even experience health issues and social burdens worse than their non-slum counterparts. Civic bodies often do not provide the needed municipal services in slums on the plea that these are located on ‘illegal’ space. Without appropriate measures for slum development, this problem will only worsen in the future. It is imperative for governments at the state and national levels to prioritize housing for the urban poor and ensure the availability of affordable housing. Given the growing significance of large urban centers, slums have become an unfortunate reality. The trend of urbanization at a global scale indicates that the growth of slums is inevitable. Therefore, an urgent solution is required to address this issue.