Slums and Squatter Settlements

Let’s begin by asking a basic question — What happens when a city grows, but not in a planned way? People migrate in, but infrastructure doesn’t expand. Resources fall short, housing gets overcrowded, and what we get is a slum. Let’s explore this phenomenon.

What is a Slum?

In very simple terms:

A slum is an area of poor-quality housing, typically overcrowded and often illegally occupied.

It is marked by:

• Multi-occupancy (many people in a single unit),
• Overcrowding, and
• Substandard living conditions.

Now, here’s the larger reality — today, about 1 billion people globally live in slums. That means 1 out of every 8 humans on Earth is living in such conditions!

Why Do Slums Emerge?

The development of slums is not accidental. It is a direct result of unregulated and rapid urbanisation, particularly in developing countries.

Let’s understand this with comparative data (2020):

Region	% Urban Population in Slums
Low Income countries	64%
Middle incoming countries	33%
Sub-Saharan Africa	51%
South Asia	51%

What does this tell us? That slums are not just poor settlements; they are a global development challenge.

Causes of Slum Development

🏭 Unplanned Industrial Development

In India, industries have grown concentrated in specific zones, like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, etc.

• People rush for jobs in these hubs.
• But housing doesn’t grow proportionally.
• Result: informal housing springs up around industrial zones.

This is concentration without planning — a classic feature of slum formation.

🧳 Migration (Rural to Urban)

India has limited urban centers, and most economic opportunities are concentrated in a few.

• Push Factors (poverty, unemployment in villages) and
• Pull Factors (jobs in cities)

drive massive migration to urban centres.

But cities are unprepared. Migrants end up in temporary, makeshift housing — leading to squatter settlements.

🛣️ Poor Transport & Infrastructure

Even if land is available in urban peripheries, poor connectivity means people prefer to live closer to jobs, even in slums.

• Transport bottlenecks stop urban decentralisation.
• So slums cluster around core city areas.

This is called “spatial compaction due to infrastructural bottlenecks.”

🏛️ Governance Failure and Political Apathy

Sometimes, slums exist not despite government efforts, but because of political convenience.

• Politicians often treat slums as vote banks.
• They may regularise illegal settlements to gain popularity.
• Serious rehabilitation efforts are often missing.

Thus, slums become politically tolerated spaces.

🧱 Lack of Affordable Housing

Here’s a paradox:

As of December 2024, approximately 46% of houses constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) remain unoccupied

Why?

• Incomplete Infrastructure: Many housing units lack essential amenities such as water supply, electricity, and road connectivity, making them less appealing to potential occupants.
• Delays in Allotment: Administrative bottlenecks have slowed the process of allocating these houses to eligible beneficiaries.
• Unwillingness of Allottees: Some beneficiaries are reluctant to move into these houses due to their remote locations or lack of basic services.

So, the formal housing stock remains unused, while informal slums expand.

Slums in India: Regional Names & Examples

Different regions in India have different terms for slums, reflecting cultural and linguistic diversity:

Local Name	City	Example/Location
Jhuggi-Jhopri	Delhi	Bhalswa Slum near Yamuna River
Jhopadpatti	Mumbai	Dharavi — Asia’s largest slum
Basanti	Kolkata
Kolegeri	Karnataka
Nochikuppam	Chennai
Indiramma Nagar	Hyderabad

These aren’t just settlements — they represent the economic and political dynamics of urban India.

Slums: A Byproduct of India’s Urban and Economic Structure

Let’s not forget a deeper truth:

Slums are not an exception in India’s cities — they are a symptom of our developmental model.

• As per Census 2011, 31% of Indians were urban dwellers.
• By 2030, UN projects 41% of Indians will live in urban areas.
• With initiatives like Smart Cities Mission, urbanisation will only intensify.

But here’s the catch:

• Urban centres are growth engines, yes.
• But if growth is not inclusive and planned, it breeds inequality.
• And slums are one of the most visible manifestations of this inequality.

🔑 Key Concepts to Remember for UPSC:

• Slums are a spatial outcome of socio-economic disparity.
• They reflect urban informality — both in terms of housing and employment.
• Their persistence shows failure of spatial planning and urban governance.
• Any model of sustainable urban development must prioritise slum rehabilitation, not just eviction.

Problems Associated with Slum Dwellings

After understanding what slums are and why they develop, let’s now turn to a critical question:

What are the consequences of slums?
In other words — what kinds of problems do slum dwellers face, and how do these affect urban societies as a whole?

🏚️ Lack of Basic Services: The Most Defining Feature

This is the most visible and urgent problem.

• No sanitation facilities – open defecation, clogged drains.
• Unsafe or limited water supply – people depend on tankers or illegal lines.
• No proper waste disposal – garbage piles up, leading to disease outbreaks.
• Irregular or no electricity – connections are often unauthorized or absent.
• No surfaced roads or footpaths – mobility and access are disrupted.
• No street lighting or rainwater drainage – increasing vulnerability, especially during monsoons.

These are not just inconveniences — they are violations of the Right to Life with dignity under Article 21.

🧱 Substandard Housing Conditions

Most houses in slums are:

• Made with non-durable materials (tin sheets, plastic, cardboard, scrap wood).
• Vulnerable to weather — floods, heat, cyclones.
• Not earthquake-resistant, especially in seismic zones.

In essence, they are not real homes, just makeshift shelters.

👪 Severe Overcrowding

You will often find or at least you must have seen in movies:

Five or more people living, sleeping, cooking, and eating in a single room.

This leads to:

• Lack of privacy
• Spread of diseases like TB, skin infections
• Psychological stress

This is a clear violation of spatial standards of urban housing, as defined by UN-Habitat.

💩 Unhealthy Living Environment

Slums are epicentres of environmental degradation:

• Open sewers and open defecation
• Uncontrolled waste dumping
• Lack of ventilation
• Mosquito breeding grounds
• Polluted air and contaminated water

These areas become hotspots for communicable diseases — dengue, cholera, typhoid, respiratory illnesses.

🌊 Hazardous Locations

Due to land scarcity and illegality of construction, slum dwellings are often built in unsafe or prohibited areas:

• Floodplains (e.g., along Yamuna or Mithi river)
• Landslide-prone hillslopes
• Proximity to industries emitting toxic pollutants
• Near garbage dumps or untreated waste sites

Such zones expose slum dwellers to natural and man-made disasters, with zero legal protection or insurance.

💰 Poverty and Income Deprivation

Now let’s address a nuanced idea.

Is poverty a defining feature of slums?

Surprisingly, not always. While most slum dwellers are poor, poverty is more of a cause and consequence rather than a definitional requirement.

Here’s how:

• Poverty pushes people into slums.
• Living in slums traps them in poverty — due to poor education, no formal address, informal jobs.

This is a cycle of urban poverty, deeply linked to:

• Spatial injustice
• Lack of access to upward mobility

🚨 Social Exclusion & Crime

Slums are often treated as “informal cities within cities“. But this isolation leads to:

• Marginalisation from mainstream society
• Stigmatisation — assumed to be crime hubs or encroachers
• Higher crime rates — due to unemployment, lack of policing
• Drug abuse, extortion, domestic violence

Many slums become breeding grounds for social dislocation, not because of inherent criminality, but due to systemic neglect.

🚷 Legal Vulnerability

Here’s another crucial angle:

Slums are often illegal or unrecognized settlements.

This results in:

• No legal claim to the land.
• Constant threat of eviction or demolition.
• No access to formal bank loans, utility connections, or public welfare schemes.
• Extortion and exploitation by local goons or even corrupt officials.

Slum dwellers are stuck in legal limbo — they exist, but are not officially acknowledged.

Measures Taken and Suggestions for Slum Development

Now that we understand the magnitude of slum-related challenges, the natural question arises:

What has been done to solve the problem, and what more can be done?

Let us answer this in two phases:

1. What has been done so far? (Existing measures)
2. What should be done going forward? (Suggestions)

🌍 What Has Been Done?

A. Global Initiatives

• Under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 11, the target is:

“Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”

• At the Habitat III Conference in Ecuador, the New Urban Agenda (NUA) was adopted.
  • It aims to ensure adequate housing with basic services to all slum dwellers by 2030.
  • Emphasis: Not just housing, but also urban integration and dignified living.

B. India’s National Policies and Programmes

Most schemes aim at either:

• Upgradation of existing slums, or
• Relocation and construction of new housing.

Examples include:

Sl. No.	Scheme Name	Year Started	Focus / Notes
1	Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)	1990	Rural housing for BPL families; now merged into PMAY-G
2	EWS Housing Scheme (Beedi workers, etc.)	1991	Housing for informal sector workers
3	National Slum Development Programme (NSDP)	1996	Slum upgradation via basic services
4	Two Million Housing Programme	1998	Targeted housing for urban poor
5	Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana (PMAY-G)	2000 (revamped 2016)	Rural housing with convergence on toilets, LPG, electricity
6	Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)	2001	Urban housing and sanitation for slum dwellers
7	Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) – BSUP & IHSDP	2005	Slum redevelopment and infrastructure in 63 cities
8	Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)	2009	Slum-free cities vision, now subsumed in PMAY-U
9	Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U)	2015	Four verticals: In-situ redevelopment, AHP, CLSS, Beneficiary-led
10	Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs)	2020	Rental housing for migrants, urban poor (under PMAY-U)
11	Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U)	2014	Not directly housing but complements it with sanitation
12	Smart Cities Mission	2015	Includes housing, slum-free infrastructure in urban transformation

🏚️ Why Do Slum Dwellers Reject New Housing?

This is where policy often fails — not due to lack of effort, but due to lack of understanding.

Key reasons include:

• Livelihood Detachment: People prioritize proximity to jobs over larger homes.
• Social Capital Loss: Within slums, people have a trust-based support system, informal loans, shared caregiving — lost after relocation.
• Limited Financial Access: Slum dwellers lack access to housing finance despite having incomes.
• Family Fragmentation: Relocation may split families across old and new locations.
• Loss of Market-based Skills: Skills like Zari work, beedi-making, fish vending are tied to specific urban ecosystems.
• Poor Services in New Housing: Ironically, some new housing colonies lack transport, schools, or hospitals — pushing people back into slums.
• Psychological & Practical Barriers: The sense of “home” is not just about shelter, but community, routine, and belonging.

🔍 Suggested Measures

Let’s now explore what a more empathetic and effective approach might look like.

A. Link Housing with Livelihood

Relocation without livelihood integration is bound to fail.

• Sites must be near economic zones or have good transport access.
• Affordable public transport and skill centers are necessary for long-term sustainability.

B. Include Slum Dwellers in Decision Making

“Nothing about us, without us.”
This should be the motto.

• Urban policies must involve participatory planning.
• Slum residents know their realities — allow them to co-create solutions.
• Local institutions like Slum Dwellers Associations should be empowered.

C. Data-Driven and Context-Specific Policies

• Collect granular data on:
  • Housing preferences
  • Migration patterns
  • Skill networks
• Don’t focus only on interest subsidies — understand behavioral economics behind housing choices.

D. Reframing Slums: From Problem to Strategy

Instead of viewing slums as just urban failures, consider:

• They are a survival response to poor urban planning.
• Many slums combine work and residence — like cottage industries.
• Slums have innovative and efficient community practices.

Thus, instead of demolition, promote in-situ upgradation.

Slum Upgradation: The Realistic Path Forward

Slum upgrading means:

“Gradual improvement of existing informal settlements while preserving the community structure.”

It includes:

• Legalization of tenure and regularization of rents.
• Infrastructure upgrades:
  • Water, sanitation, street lights, roads, drainage.
• Social infrastructure:
  • Schools, health centers, green spaces.
• Physical improvements:
  • Repairing homes, improving layouts, better ventilation.

🧭 Final Thoughts:

The slum issue is not just a housing issue. It is about:

• Urban governance
• Social justice
• Spatial equity
• Inclusive planning

Any long-term solution must be:

Technically sound, economically viable, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable.

In the words of urban planner John F.C. Turner:

“When dwellers control the major decisions and are free to make their own contributions to the design, construction, and management of their housing, both the process and the environment produced stimulate individual and social well-being.”