VASTU KALA ACADEMY, DELHI

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY

RESEARCH PAPER 2016-2017

Integration of slums in Cities

Dhruv Mudgal
(05317601613)
Fourth Year - B
Batch : 2013-2018

GUIDE:-
Prof. Rashmi B. Tandon
 VASTU KALA ACADEMY, DELHI
GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY

APPROVAL CERTIFICATE

Research Paper title: INTEGRATION OF SLUMS IN CITIES

The following study is here by approved as a creditable work on the approved subject, carried out and
presented in a manner sufficiently satisfactory to warrant its acceptance as a pre-requisite to the degree
for which it has been submitted.
It is to be understood that by this approval, the undersigned does not necessarily endorse or approve
any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn therein, but approves the study for the
purpose of which it is submitted and which satisfies there requirements laid down by the Research
Paper Committee.

Date:

Name of the student Name of the Guide

(Dhruv Mudgal) (Prof. Rashmi B. Tandon )

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank Prof. Rashmi B.Tandon for her continuous guidance and
constructive comments. I also appreciate her patience while keeping me on the right
track and helping me in writing this dissertation and widening my knowledge shell.

Thank you Prof..R.K.Safaya for making me understand the seriousness of the issue
which I have picked up for my dissertation. I also want to thank those who supported
and assisted me throughout my research. And finally, I want to thank my family for their
support, love, and prayers.

Dhruv Mudgal

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 LIST OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

SYNOPSYS

 Introduction.
 Research question and hypothesis.
 Aims and objective.
 Research framework.
 Research outline.

Chapter-1: Causes of unplanned settlements in the city of Delhi:-

a) Population growth in Delhi.

b) Migration from rural areas to cities.
c) High urban land prices.
d) Weakness of administration.
e) Illegal residents.

Chapter-2: literature Review.

 Definition of slums as per census of India

 Different organizations define slums differently
 Data collected from census of India 2011

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Chapter-3: Case studies:-

 Transformation of Indore’s Shanty towns – Ar. Himanshu Parikh.

 Rehabilitation of households of slums in Surat – by S.R.Rao.
 Sunder Nagri slum area- Delhi

Conclusion:-

 Self involvement in design and construction

 Creating a ‘sense of belonging’ through design
 Housing solutions through design
 Other possible solutions and policies

Bibliography.

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 ABSTRACT

The unplanned slum and squatter settlements in many of 21st century urban cities are
inevitable phenomena. On one hand where the metropolis is on a boom of development
and its prosperous image is being highlighted, on the other there exists a parallel side.
This side plays an equally important role in the cityscape and urban fabric of the capital.

Slums or unplanned settlements have a long history in the world and in the
metropolises. Unplanned settlements are regarded as one of the main problems facing
cities. They are not only an urban issue but in fact, they result for several reasons such
as economic, political and social.

Unplanned settlements happen for several reasons such as population growth and
migration from rural areas to the cities. General characteristics of unplanned
settlements worldwide, are a lack of basic services such as infrastructure, schools,
hospitals and safe areas. Living condition in these settlements suffer from
overcrowding, inadequate accommodation, limited access to clean water and sanitation,
lack of proper waste disposal system and deteriorating air quality. Squatter settlements
are increasingly seen by public decision-makers as ‘slums of hope’ rather than ‘slums of
despair’.

There are many strategies to address unplanned settlements such as clearance, up-
grading and conservation. However, concerted efforts by public sector, private sector
and informal sector are important to fix these problems of unplanned settlements.There
is abundant evidence of innovative solutions developed by the poor to improve their
own living environments. This dissertation will assess the question if ideas of
contemporary architecture can be implemented in providing ecological living for squatter
settlements, along with a discussion on probable suggestions in relation to their daily
living pattern. The dissertation also presents several case studies of sustainable living
slum settlements in different context, finally concludes providing some strategies and
policies that might be helpful to the policy makers in providing sustainable settlement for
urban squatter dwellers.

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 SYNOPSYS

Introduction:-

United Nations (UN-HABITAT) defines a slum household as a group of individuals living

under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following:-

• Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate

conditions.

• Sufficient living space, which means not more than three people sharing the same
room.

• Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price.

• Access to adequate sanitation in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a

reasonable number of people.

• Security of tenure that prevents forced evictions. (United Nations, 2003)

In case of India :- A Slum, for the purpose of Census, has been defined as residential
areas where dwellings are unfit for human habitation by reasons of dilapidation,
overcrowding, faulty arrangements and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty
arrangement of street, lack of ventilation, light, or sanitation facilities or any combination
of these factors which are detrimental to the safety and health.

There are many word which are often used to describe unplanned settlements within
cities such as shanty town, illegal areas, autonomous urban settlement, uncontrolled
urban areas, squatting areas, slum areas, marginal housing.

A squatter settlement can generally be defined as a residential area in an urban locality

inhabited by the very poor who have no access to tenured land of their own, and hence
"squat" on vacant land, either private or public. As these settlements are growing
illegally on vacant lands, therefore, urban policies are not very active regarding the
development of these areas. The simple shelters that the slum dwellers construct with
the help of their rudimentary building skills can be erected and re-erected at short
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notice. Cities like Mumbai, Dhaka, Mexico City, Cairo etc. are some of the examples
where growth of squatters and slums are taking on such a fast pace that they are
encroaching on a significant portion of the urban fabric.

Note: The numbers in

the circle are in millions

Source: UN-Habitat and Frost & Sulivan analysis

Such settlements have become a big problem of many cities around the world, even
though they are different in location, size, function and social mix. Delhi is no exception
to that. Unplanned settlements are not a new phenomenon in cities. They have been
part of the history of most cities, and a place for people who do not have money to rent
or buy a house because that is the only option for these people in most countries.

National approaches to squatter settlements have generally shifted from negative

policies (such as forced eviction, benign neglect and involuntary resettlement etc.) to
more positive policies (such as, self-help and in situ upgrading, enabling and rights-
based policies). In some cases, squatter settlements are not classified as urban
settlements precisely because they lack services to qualify basic human needs.

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NCT DELHI, percentage of slum
population to total population 2011

Source: census 2011

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Research question:-

‘Is there a possible way through which the population living in urban slums and squatter
settlements could be integrated in mega cities , such that the urban fabric and the
cityscape is not altered or degraded much ?’

Hypothesis:-

‘The metropolis of Delhi can integrate the population living in slums with the help of
private and informal sectors and come up with a solution which is frugal, flexible and
sustainable.’

Aims and objective:-

 The study objectives are to discuss problems of unplanned settlements such as

urban, economic, social and health.
 The purpose of this study is to identify a way to encourage private sector and
informal sectors to improve unplanned settlements to make a better life for low-
income people in the city of Delhi.
 This is to be achieved while keeping in mind the intense scarcity of resources
and the exponential factors of population growth.
 To consider self addressed solutions to basic problems of such dwellers and
improvising them for best and most economic results.
 To understand ‘jugaad’ an innovative approach and its relation with R&D.

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Research framework:-

STAGE-1:
UNPLANNED SETTLEMENTS

UNDERSTANDING THEIR URBAN, ECONOMIC

AND SOCIAL ISSUES

CLEARANCE UPGRADATION CONSERVATION

ANALYSIS AND
OBSERVATIONS

STAGE-2:
LIVE STUDY
PICKING UP ONE SLUM SETTLEMENT IN
DELHI AND UNDERSTANDING THE
FOLLOWING

URBAN ECONOMIC SOCIAL

GOVT. POLICIES
CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS

OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINS

and possible solutions

Firstly, I am going to study development types of slums such as clearance, up-grading

and conservation, and world experiences to know more about how these countries deal
with slum problems.
Secondly, after analyzing all of that, I am going to pick one of slums to study it and to
know more about it such as, who lives there, who owns the land, how and when slums
exist in Jeddah city. In addition, I am going to analyze urban, social and economic
characteristics of the area that I picked in the city.
Thirdly, I am going to study Delhi’s government policies about unplanned settlements.
Then I am going to identify a way to encourage private sectors to improve unplanned
settlements. Finally, it is going to be about recommendation, summary and conclusion.

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Research outline:-

Chapter one, I will discuss the basic causes of unplanned settlements in cities in detail
and will try to understand the reason for considering this as a pressing issue in 21 st
century cities.

Chapter two is going to be about Literature Review. It is going to focus on five factors
which are: who wrote what about unplanned settlements, types of unplanned
settlements, the problems of unplanned settlements and finally how they address these
problems.

Chapter three is going to be about a case studies conducted on successful examples.

After that, I am going to pick one of major unplanned settlements to describe the
characteristics of urban, economic and social.

Conclusion and possible solutions for the city of Delhi

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 CHAPTER–1

Causes of unplanned settlements in the city of DelhI :-

a. Population growth.
b. Migration from rural areas to the cities.
c. High urban land prices.
d. Weakness of the municipal administration.
e. Illegal residents.

a)Population growth:-

The population of Delhi has been estimated at 1.67 crore, registering an increase of
over 21 per cent during the period of 2001-2011, which is above the national average of

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about 17 per cent. The total population of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi
stands at 16,787,941, out of which 53.53 per cent (8,987,326) are males while 46.47
per cent (7,800,615) are females, according to Census figures.

b)Migration from rural areas to the cities:-

Migration of people from one geographic location to another for various reasons is an
inevitable phenomenon. Delhi being the Capital of India generates enormous job
opportunities for labourers , skilled and unskilled workers. So people who are not paid
well or who do not have enough job opportunities in their native land or the ones who
are looking for growth and better job opportunities are attracted towards Delhi. Women
generally relocate after marriage.

This movement is benefiting migrants in terms of better wages and better lifestyle but
this mass migration is somewhere inversely impacting the Capital. Delhi now has more
number of slums, unauthorized areas, JJ clusters and ‘jhuggis’. It is estimated that more
than half of the population of Delhi resides in unauthorized colonies and slums which
lack even basic facility of water and drainage. The crime rate and other social issues
have increased manifold in Delhi. Though it cannot be said with certainty that migration
is the whole sole reason for all this but definitely there is a connection among all these.

Why do people migrate?

Population in both rural as well as urban India is growing rapidly but rural India is not
able to provide sufficient employment and jobs. Returns from agriculture are low and not
enough to sustain the needs of a family.

Some landholdings become so small that these become uneconomical. This is the
result of father dividing his property among his children instead of giving it to the eldest
like in England. With the rise in population the landholdings become even smaller.

Better connectivity and construction of roads have facilitated migration. People also
migrate for education and women migrate after marriage.

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The world’s best known demographer( a person who studies change in population)
Kingsley Davis had in a treatise on India in 1951 regarded the country as a relatively
immobile society estimating that three out of every ten Indians migrate internally. But in
the last one decade the Capital is seeing increased influx of people from other States.
The widening developmental gap between the rural and urban areas has largely
spurred the migration. Moreover,’ low profits in agriculture and high returns from
industry is pulling people towards cities’.

By 1951 Delhi along with Chennai and Hyderabad became the million-plus cities. In
2001 Delhi had approximately 45 percent migrants.

Type of migration

Broadly speaking, migration can be permanent and semi-permanent or long-term

circular migration.

 In permanent migration individuals or households leave their place of origin to get

settled down in another place.
 In case of semi-permanent or long-term circular migration they keep moving
between two places.

Economic reason is the foremost reason for this migration. Both types of migrations
may result in chain migration, in which migrants bring their relatives and friends who
then bring their relatives and friends and the chain keeps on building up in a somewhat
geometric progression.

Impact of migration

One advantage of internal migration is a reduction of gap in terms of living standard and
income. But certain factors and checks must be kept in place to define the extent of
migration.

Migration impacts the population size and service provision. Housing for all is coming
out as major challenge in the Capital because of increasing migration. Other problems

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such as lack of basic amenities like electricity, sewerage, sanitation and water supply
are associated with this.

The problem of street children is also on rise in Delhi and can be linked to migration.
When a family moves they bring their children along. Children even move with their
friends and sometimes alone. Children leave their homes for different reasons. In Delhi,
population of street children is increasing dramatically. These children end up doing odd
jobs like rag picking, drug peddling, robbery etc. Girls are even sold and forced to
become prostitutes. Most of the time migrants do not get employment. They either keep
commuting or some even indulge in crimes to earn

c) High urban land prices:-

The cost of a home includes not just the cost of land but also other costs. Let us go to
Table 1 and consider construction cost. If the market price of land is high, then indeed,
high-rise construction is an optimal choice. However, if the market price is close to the
fundamental value of land (that is, low), then there would be, except in a few places,
hardly any rationale for land-saving high-rise buildings for which the cost of construction
is higher than in the case of ordinary single- or double-storeyed homes. So, the
estimate for the cost of construction at Rs. 1,000 per square foot for the period 2007-
2010 (as mentioned at the bottom of Table 1) is not low at all for the purposes of this
analysis.
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Even if other costs like the true cost of development and the true cost of marketing are
considered, the substantive conclusions here will not change. Of course, there are also
various transfers masquerading as economic costs in the pricing of real estate but these
have to be ignored in computing the fundamental values

Source: A report by RBI.

Table 1. Price of property and land in urban areas in India, Average 2007-2010

Source: Table 1 in ‘The price of land-a book by Sanjoy Chakravorty (2013)’

Note: ‘Possible price of land’ has been calculated using the following assumptions:
Floor space index (FSI) of 1.5; construction cost of Rs. 1,000 per sq. ft. in 2007-2010;
land cost = finished price minus construction price.
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d) Weakness of the municipal administration:-

The data collected through survey for SFCAP (slum-free city action plan) shows that
56,980 households in the city’s slums still defecate in the open. The numbers, apart
from being the “ugliest” situation that bring “shame” to the country’s capital, as stated in
the SFCAP, also throw up a formidable challenge before its administration.
According to the data mentioned in the SFCAP (slum-free city action plan) finalized by
the DUSIB (Delhi urban shelter improvement board) in February, 22.30 per cent of the
2,55,435 households living in 589 surveyed ‘jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) clusters’ in Delhi
defecate in the open. “Sufficient arrangement needs to be carried out for totally
liquidating such type of practice,” the SFCAP states.

The data cited in the plan is based on the socio-economic survey of 2012. It showed
that 16 per cent of the population living in slums has a toilet within their residential
premises. The figures also indicate that 6.73 per cent of households have a shared
toilet while 55 per cent have a community toilet.

The highest number of households defecating in the open were found in South Delhi
that accounts for 142 of the 589 surveyed clusters in the city, the highest in the nine
districts of the city. Of the total surveyed households in the slums, 42.19 per cent had a
bathroom on their residential premises, 21.63 per cent had it outside their premises.
Just over 6.5 per cent had a community toilets while 29.62 per cent had none at all.
About 21,778 households without a toilet in the South district again paint a dismal
picture. The Northwest district too has 17,631 households without their own toilets.

The SFCAP survey agencies took into account the socio-economic survey from 2010-
2013. Meetings with communities were held between January 2013 and September
2014. The agencies were asked to survey 622 slums, however, owing to resistance
from locals; 33 clusters could not be surveyed. The SFCAP states: “There are 675 JJ

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clusters, with slum cover of about 675.88 hectares of land owned by the Delhi govt., and
state and central government bodies. These slums have been formed after 1978.”

Source: The SFCAP survey

The data, however, pertains to 589 surveyed JJ clusters spread across Delhi. A
religious break-up of the population living in the surveyed slums shows that 80.35 per
cent of the population is Hindu while 18.18 per cent is Muslim. The SFCAP reads: “The
religion-wise figure reveals that most of the Muslim population resides in Northwest and
Northeast district of Delhi, where 45,420 and 41,118 people are residing respectively.”
The highest number of Christians are found in the Southwest and that of Sikhs is found
in the Northwest. The data also shows that 123 Jains, 224 Buddhists, 185 Parsis and
6,799 persons belonging to other religions live in the slums of Delhi.

e) Illegal residents:-

India’s geostrategic location, its relatively sound economic position vis-à-vis its
neighbors, and its liberal democratic credentials have long made it a magnet for people
in other parts of the region who are fleeing persecution in their countries of origin or
looking for a better life. Refugees/illegal immigrants from Tibet, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have found shelter in India. While refugees
coming from other areas-including Tibet, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Myanmar- have

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been dealt with in a somewhat systematic, although ad hoc, manner, the influx of
refugees/illegal immigrants from Bangladesh has largely been left unattended.

This neglect has adversely impacted the interests of local populations in the areas
seeing large-scale influxes of illegal immigrants as well as India’s national security
interests. Further, the absence of national refugee laws has blurred the distinction
between refugees and economic migrants, leading to the denial of any assistance to
even genuine asylum seekers. It now poses an enormous problem for India and the
millions of affected people. Further delay in addressing the problem is only making
matters worse.

Source: UNHCR (UN High Commission for refugees) New Delhi

An excerpt from the interview of late Shri P.P. Chander Juneja, who expired two months
back and was a refugee from Gujranwala. He said,” Refugees are not myths of the past,
ruins in the jungle, or zoos but people who want to live respectfully.”

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 CHAPTER–2

Literature Review:-

Census of India – Data on slums

• It is for the first time in Census that datasets on Housing stock, Amenities and
Assets based on the House listing and Housing Census are being released
• In Census 2001, information on Slums were released only on demographic
characteristics based on the Population Enumeration. For this purpose, Slum
Blocks were identified in Statutory Towns having a population of 20,000 by the
local authorities at the time of Population Enumeration phase
• In Census 2011, Slum Blocks have been delineated in all statutory towns
irrespective of population size..

A Slum, for the purpose of Census, has been defined as residential areas where
dwellings are unfit for human habitation by reasons of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty
arrangements and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty arrangement of
street, lack of ventilation, light, or sanitation facilities or any combination of these
factors which are detrimental to the safety and health.

Household: A ‘household’ is usually a group of persons who normally live together and
take their meals from a common kitchen unless the exigencies of work prevent any of
them from doing so. Persons in a household may be related or unrelated or a mix of
both. However, if a group of unrelated persons live in a census house but do not take
their meals from the common kitchen, then they are not constituent of a common
household. Each such person should be treated as a separate household. The
important link in finding out whether it is a household or not, is a common kitchen. There
may be one member households, two member households or multi-member
households.

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Some definitions as per slum act are required to be understood for the data :-

1) “Affordable Cost” means a cost that is based on the needs and financial capability of
the slum dweller, as determined by the State Slum Redevelopment Authority.

2) “Basic Civic Services” means services of drinking water supply, drainage,

sewerage, solid waste disposal and street lighting.

3) “Building” includes a house, out-house, stable, shed, hut and other enclosure or
structure, whether of masonry bricks, wood, mud, metal or any other material
whatsoever, whether used as human dwelling or otherwise; and also includes
verandahs, fixed platforms, plinths, door-steps, electric meters, walls including
compound walls and fencing and the like, but does not include plant or machinery
comprised in a building.

4) “Carpet Area” means the net usable floor area of a dwelling house, excluding that
covered by the walls and the common areas.

5) “Central Government Land” means land owned by the Central Government or its
undertakings.

6) “City / Urban Area Slum Redevelopment Committee” means the City / Urban Area
Slum Redevelopment Committee or Committees appointed under section 7 of this Act.

7) “Development / Redevelopment” with its grammatical variations and cognate

expressions, means the carrying out of any building, engineering or other operations in,
on, over or under land or the making of any material change in any building or land and
includes layout and sub-division of any land.

8) “Dwelling House” means an all weather single / multi-storeyed super structure with
adequate basic infrastructure including portable water, and sanitation for a quality
living.

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9) “Dwelling Space” means a dwelling house or a piece of land for construction of a
dwelling house.

10) “In-situ slum re-development” means the process of redevelopment of slum areas
by providing dwelling space and other basic civic and infrastructural services to the
slum dwellers, on the existing land on which the slum is based.

11) “land’ includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or
permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth.

12) “Landless Person” means a person who does not own either in his own name or in
the name of any member of his family any dwelling house or land in an urban area..

13) “Person” includes an individual and his family. Explanation:- ‘family’ includes
husband, wife, minor son, unmarried daughter or any relation by blood wholly
dependent on the slum dweller.

14) “Private Land” means land owned by a private person or entity.

15) “Property” means the land, the building, all improvements and structures thereon,
and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto, and includes every
type of right and interest in land which a person can have to the exclusion of other
persons, such as possession, use and enjoyment free from interference, right of
disposition and franchises.

16) “Slum” or “Slum Area” means a compact settlement of at least twenty households
with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded
together usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic
conditions.

17) “Slum Dweller” means any person residing within the limits of a slum area.

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 18) “Slum Resettlement” means the process of relocation and settlement of slum
dwellers from the existing untenable slums to an alternative site with dwelling space,
basic civic and infrastructural services.

19) “Up-gradation” means the process of improving the quality or expanding of dwelling
spaces occupied by slum dwellers with provision of basic services and infrastructure
services and includes landscaping.

20) “Urban Area” means the area comprised within the limits of all cities and towns
classified as urban by the Census 2001 including the limits of Municipal Corporation or
Municipal Council or Nagar Panchayat as constituted under the respective State Acts,
including cantonment board or notified areas, and shall include the planning area as
per the Development Plan of a town or city.

In Census 2011, Three types of slums have been defined in Census, namely, Notified,
Recognized and Identified.

(i) All notified areas in a town or city notified as ‘Slum’ by State, Union territories
Administration or Local Government under any Act including a ‘Slum Act’ may
be considered as Notified slums
(ii) All areas recognized as ‘Slum’ by State, Union territories Administration or
Local Government, Housing and Slum Boards, which may have not been
formally notified as slum under any act may be considered as Recognized slums
(iii) A compact area of at least 300 population or about 60-70 households of poorly
built congested tenements, in unhygienic environment usually with inadequate
infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities. Such
areas should be identified personally by the Charge Officer and also inspected
by an officer nominated by Directorate of Census Operations. This fact must be
duly recorded in the charge register. Such areas may be considered as
Identified slums

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Percentage of slum population distribution and share of slum population pie graphs :-

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.

According to the Census 2001, the slum population of India was 42.6 million. This
constitutes 15 percent of the total urban population of the country and 22.6 percent of
the 178.4 million urban population in 607 towns reported having slums. There has been
a significant improvement in the structural condition of dwellings in slum areas in the
last decade. According to NSSO, in 1993 only 30 percent of slums had pucca houses,
which increased to 48 percent in 2002. The percentage of pucca houses is much higher
in notified slums (65 percent) and only a small percentage of dwellings are katcha (6

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percent). Also considering water supply, 84 percent of notified slums and 71 percent
non-notified slums have tap as a source of drinking water.

Source: A report by Delhi Jal Board(DJB)

Since the NSSO data pertains to sample size across cities therefore it can not be used
in detail for city level action strategy. Mostly encroachments on public and private land
(squatters) are notified as ‘slum’. The terms such as slum, Katras, Jhuggis (Delhi),
Jhopad-patties, Chawls (Maharashtra), Bustees (Kolkatta), Cheris (Chennai) and Katchi
Basties (Rajasthan) are considered similar by authorities. Designated slum areas may
sometimes include settlements with varying range of legality and degree of deficiency of
services.

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Type of Slums - Slums / informal housing can also be classified according to the diverse
processes of land /housing supply and varying degree of tenure security in the following
manner:-

o Freehold land (inner city blighted areas,

o Urban villages and land owned by village panchayats
o Chawls/Bustees
o Encroachments on public/private land (squatters)
o Government/private leasehold land (resettlement colonies)
o Slums on the urban periphery
o Illegal land-subdivisions/unauthorized colonies/revenue layouts/gramthana
layouts (where land ownership may be legal or quasi legal but land
subdivision is illegal)
o Refugee Resettlement Colonies
o Pavement dwellers, although small in percentage, are found in large
mega-cities.

The main difference is how the administrative /planning system regulates these
settlement types. These settlements differ substantially from each other not only in
terms of environmental deficiencies and shelter conditions but also income and
affordability of slum dwellers. There are significant untapped resources with slum
dwellers could actually pay for their priorities. Slums could be graded on the basis of
these parameters. Various schemes of the Government have aimed at improving slum
conditions by granting capital subsidies.

o Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

o Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP)
o Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP)

launched in December 2005, and the 2 schemes entitled Interest Subsidy Scheme for
Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP)No distinction was made to grade them according to
the type of slum
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Concept and Definitions of “Slum”

Slums are a physical and spatial manifestation of urban poverty. People living in slums
have little or no access to services such as water, sanitation, and solid waste collection.
Most of the housing structures in slums are substandard and do not comply with local
building codes. Often, slum dwellers lack legal ownership of the dwelling in which they
reside or any other form of secure tenure. In addition, slums are often not recognized by
public authorities as an integral part of the city. This is one of the reasons why there is
so little data on slum settlements in many countries.

The concept of ‘slums ‘and its definition vary from country to country depending upon
the Socio-economic conditions of society. The basic characteristics of slums are –
“dilapidated and infirm housing structures, poor ventilation, acute over-crowding, faulty
alignment of streets, inadequate lighting, paucity of safe drinking water, water logging
during rains, absence of toilet facilities and non-availability of basic physical and social
services.”

The living conditions in slums are usually unhygienic and contrary to all norms of
planned urban growth and are an important factor in accelerating transmission of
various air and water borne diseases. The legal definition however differs from State to
State.

Parameters used for defining slums In India, the Slum Area (Improvement &
Clearance) Act, 1956 (under section 3) provides the legal basis for defining or declaring
any area as ‘slum’. The Act uses the following criteria for defining slums:-

i. Area in any respect unfit fo human habitation;

ii. Area by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of

such buildings, narrowness or faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light,
sanitation facilities or any combination of these factors which are detrimental to
safety, health and morals

30 | P a g e
The National Sample Survey Organization “NSSO”

Define slum as - “A compact settlement with a collection of poorly built tenements,

mostly of temporary nature, crowded together usually with inadequate sanitary and
drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions. Such an area, for the purpose of this
survey, was considered as “non-notified slum” if at least 20 households lived in that
area. Areas notified as slums by the respective municipalities, corporations, local bodies
or development authorities are treated as “notified slums”. It is interesting to observe
that the criteria used for defining or declaring any area as slum (i.e. dilapidation,
overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty
arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation) under the ‘Slum Area
(Improvement & Clearance Act, 1956) are not supported with the parameters/standards.
It is at the discretion of the slum declaring agency to decide randomly based the
physical or infrastructural conditions of any area which entitles it to be declared as
slums.

According to UNDP, the proportion of urban population living in slums is the proportion
of urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group
of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more1 of the following
conditions:

o Access to improved water

o Access to improved sanitation
o Sufficient-living area
o Durability of housing
o Security of tenure

However, since information on secure tenure is not available for most of the countries,
only the first four indicators are used to define slum household, and then to estimate the
proportion of urban population living in slums.

31 | P a g e
 CHAPTER–3

Case studies

Transformation of Indore’s Shanty town- Ar. Himanshu Parikh:-

BEFORE AFTER

32 | P a g e
As clear in the pictures above It is a slum and then it is not. Makeshift tin shanties seem
to have been devoured by bulldozers and replaced by double storied pucca structures.
Black, foul-smelling mud that slithered over shoes has been covered by roads of
granite.

Community toilets, in which women were assaulted, have been pulled down and most
houses given their own bathrooms. And where once filth and garbage gathered in small
hillocks, lines of pipes for sewerage and water criss-cross the area.

It began with an unusual collision. Between a city teetering on the edge and an architect
raised in Dares-Salaam and then educated at Cambridge who was told by his mentor,
the Ahmedabad-based architect B.V. Doshi, "If you want to do some good work for the
poor, go to India."

When Parikh arrived in Indore, he found what everyone there knew: the Khan and
Saraswati had become cesspools posing plaintively as rivers.

They collected municipal waste and industrial effluent: in effect, with the urban
sewerage system serving only 5 per cent of the city's population, they were the town's
drainage system. The slums were infested too, with crime and disease.

Parikh was undeterred. He says, "One ninth of India's population lives in slums and
semi-slums. Just one tenth of the advertising budget of India's industry would be
enough to make their lives worth living." So he approached the IDA( International
Development Association ), which - having been assured of the Rs 64 crore grant -
accepted his guidance.

David Copperfield stand back, Parikh was the ultimate illusionist - sewer and water
lines, streetlights, roads, a falling death rate, he would give half a million people all this
for a mere Rs 8,000 per household.

Sanitation, in a city that could not spell the word, was their first mantra. While a main
sewerage artery was constructed along the city bank, new pipes snaked along the
33 | P a g e
slums. No longer were the slum dwellers emptying their effluents into the river and dying
from the disease that resulted.

Getting the slum dwellers to invest in their own lives was pivotal. It could be a matter of
simple cleanliness like pushing them to build private toilets; for those less affluent, pay-
and-use public toilets were constructed, as experience showed their maintenance was
superior to free lavatories. Something free, Parikh realised, never works; it just whets
the appetite for more charity. So instead, residents were prodded to invest.

"Just one tenth of the The Madhya Pradesh

industry's advertising budget Government's decision to
would be enough to make the award ownership rights of
slum dwellers' lives worth public land to squatters
living." encouraged them to build
Himanshu Parikh,Architect pucca houses.

Says Ashok Jarwal, "Earlier the area was so squalid that even those who could afford it
did not buy houses. Now everyone is doing it." How life has turned around - residents of
some areas, once labourers , are now construction contractors.

Like a plastic surgeon engaged in a meticulous facelift, Parikh had an eye for detail.
Nothing was ignored. Roads, actually lanes of slush, were paved; not with asphalt that
self-destructs after every monsoon but with concrete.

Showing his inventiveness, they were arranged at a gradient, thus doubling as storm
water drains. Streetlights followed, so did drinking water facilities available at every
doorstep. Simple amenities were put in place and the fallout was remarkable.

Income levels have escalated by 30 per cent, for women, instead of bickering while
waiting endlessly to collect water, now have the time to earn money. Epidemics, that
regularly hound slums, have come visiting less frequently.

34 | P a g e
Now even residents of posh areas, which stand at kissing distance from the slums,
cheer: if these slums get cleaner so does their environment. Says IDA Chief Engineer
A.M. Tripathi, "The sewer pipes have decreased the pollution level. And we are trying to
regenerate the dead rivers by pumping fresh water from tube wells."

But Indore will have learnt some lessons. Parikh certainly has. The slum-dwellers'
financial participation is always his first mission. In Indore, he says, the slum dwellers
must have pumped in Rs 150 crore; at his next stop, the 200-hutment once-stinking
Sanjay Nagar slum in Ahmedabad, he was preaching this again. There the cost of
laying sewer and water lines, paving roads and providing streetlights was estimated at
Rs 6,000 per household.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation agreed to pay Rs 2,000 per household, so did
Arvind Mills; eventually the slumdwellers put in the remaining amount. Now, with the
project completed, the stink long gone, Rameshbhai Patni, a mill worker, says, "We
used to lose half a dozen kids every year to malaria but not a single child has died in the
past one year."

Rehabilitation of households of slums in post plague surat- by S.R.Rao:-

No wonder S.R.Rao got down to business right away. Not with brooms and vacuum
cleaners, but with a vengeance most untypical of the country’s present-day IAS officers.
"Bureaucratically, it was a suicide posting. I had little option but to clean up the city on a
war-footing," says the 42-year-old officer, who joined the civil service in 1978.

A war, at times, was quite literally what Rao had on his hands. Amidst threats to his life
and the ubiquitous pressure from politicians and their cronies, Rao generated extreme
reactions. The hatred he evoked among builders, contractors and various other vested
interests probably only matches the respect and admiration he received from Surat
residents and the slum dwellers.

35 | P a g e
In fact, in one-and-a-half years, ‘Rao Sahib’ virtually attained the status of a demi-god.
Between requests for autographs and photographs for posterity, his sheer presence
make Suratis go for the broom. Or bend down to retrieve a Pan Parag wrapper or a
cellophane foil from the street.

During Rao’s tenure, the Surat Municipal Corporation has ranked first in the state in
terms of recovery of taxes, in octroi collection and in tree plantation. And last fortnight,
when the Indian National Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage ( INTACH)
declared Surat the second cleanest city in the country—after Chandigarh—the pride of
the Suratis naturally turned into adulation for Rao.

Coping with mass adulation is, however, the least of Rao’s problems. Changing
people’s habits is. Says he: "One of Surat’s well-known poets, Bhagwati Kumar
Sharma, maintains that a lack of hygiene among the city residents has something to do
with their genes. I intend to prove him wrong." Easier said than done. But the science
graduate from Vijaywada who completed his post-graduation in applied psychology from
Vishakapatnam University decided to convert Surat into his laboratory.

Realising that his first task was to restore the faith of citizens in the Surat Municipal
Corporation, Rao applied all his psychology insights to the hilt. Christening the operation
"AC to DC", he told his officers to get out of their air-conditioned (AC) chambers to
accomplish their share of daily chores (DC). And so, officers from all the six zones of
the city would start their day at 7 am and supervise sweepers and cleaners on Surat
streets. "Apart from a feeling of camaraderie amongst my colleagues, this also helped
us gain field reality: a sweeper can’t ask a millionaire to remove the car hiding garbage
or a hotel owner not to throw foodstuff on the roads," Rao explains.

Armed with the experience gleaned from these early morning excursions, Rao set up
another pop psychology experiment: to attack the richer among the populace first.
Unauthorised structures have long been a part of Surat’s skyline while illegal
encroachments have been the order of the day. And most big builders tend to flout all
civic norms in their greed for quick profits.
36 | P a g e
"I decided to give them advance notices before pulling their structures down," says
Rao. A couple of such demolitions were enough to dent the clout of the high and mighty.
A powerful local MLA, who moved around with gun-toting thugs, was among the first to
be hit when his multistoreyed building was brought down without much fanfare.

After that, all persons whose pending municipal taxes exceeded Rs 1 lakh were
targeted. From there on it was a cakewalk. Smalltime shops, residential buildings,
temples and mosques which had encroached on government land started toeing the
line. "Once they realized that the rich have not been spared, the reaction from the rest
was nothing short of a miracle," says Rao. The local press, which had been relentlessly
targeting the corporation’s failures, suddenly took notice. And another exhibition of
Rao’s blatant disregard for financial and political power made him a hero among the
vigilant local press.

MANY of the shops on the main arterial road readily agreed to break down the
encroachments to widen the roads. When the corporation put yellow lines demarcating
encroachments, Rao was showered with petals, coins and written agreements
permitting the demolition. "Why, even the mosques and temples voluntarily broke down
their encroachments. Several demolished the structures at their own cost. In fact, I am
still trying to figure out the reason for such enthusiastic response," wonders Rao.

Adds Ajaybhai Choksi, secretary of the corporation’s standing committee: "Rao’s

biggest success has been to inculcate a spirit of integrity and a zeal for cleanliness, not
just among the corporation staffers, but also in the citizenry of this 300-year-old city."

Rao appears genuinely thankful to the local press which, he says, has inexorably
fulfilled its watchdog role. An admitted introvert, Rao’s frankness is nonetheless laced
with a smattering of media-savvy jargon, which endears the media while it beguilingly
helps him achieve his purpose to send out the message loud and clear: shape up or
ship out.

37 | P a g e
Concurrent with the ‘cleaning up’ of the main city, Rao also started rinsing the
corporation’s own dirty linen. And the stains were not easy to remove. "Do you
remember how the Godfather threatens in Mario Puzo’s book?" he suddenly asks,
referring to the spate of resignations that followed his initial months. "Very pleasantly,
over a cup of tea, I had to accept the resignations of several officers. And I am still not
convinced that we have totally weeded out all corruption," he observes.

Among some of the innovative moves devised by Rao is one that stipulates a written
explanation if a construction job cannot be undertaken within six months. "The rule is
that the explanation has to be typed single-space in six fulscap sheets without any
margins. Often contractors and officers-in-charge find it less painful to complete the job
in six months than bother writing an explanation," he smiles.

In 1990, the corporation built a school at the rate of Rs 250 per square ft. The project
took four-and-a-half years that included an 18-month time over-run. In 1996, under Rao,
another school was built with the same specifications within six months. Its production
cost this time was Rs 219 per square ft, inflation notwithstanding. "And the only criticism
one corporator had to make in the last general body meeting was that I had used too
much steel in the structure," he comments wryly.

The municipal commissioner has also established unit rates for specified construction
works. Not only has it shortened the time lag between planning and execution, it has
also reduced corruption considerably. "Now we have 14 tenders for a project that earlier
would attract only two, and both with the same bids," he notes.

The results are evident. A city, where the migrant labour population is growing by 15 per
cent each year and where 60 per cent of the residents are slum-dwellers, has suddenly
discovered the pleasure of organization. "Talking about any civic amenity in isolation
does not make sense. If sanitation and public health engineering go hand in hand, town
planning and slum upgradation follow close behind. Roads, schools, hospitals, and tax
collections are all intrinsically interlinked to civic services," points out Rao.

38 | P a g e
The gutters have been cleaned and covered. Roads and streets have been broadened
and paved all over—in the residential areas, the shopping centres and even the red light
street close to the Surat municipal office itself. If nature has burdened Surat with black
dust in profusion, Rao has given the city its streets free of junk and garbage, its slums
pay-and-use Sulabh toilets and a cleaner environment, its shops mandatory dustbins
and penalty, also known as ‘administrative charges’, for default.

But most of all, he has given the citizens of Surat a pride that would have been
unimaginable before his tenure. An international pariah just two years ago after the
pneumonic plague outbreak, Surat today may yet find it difficult to host the Miss World
Pageant, but it sure can prove to be a case study for hundreds of cities within the
country and outside. Rao appears a bit fazed by all the attention and adulation. "I am
not a social reformer," he says disarmingly. "I am just following orders."

City without slums is the goal and objective of Surat Municipal Corporation, for which
the Slum Upgradation Cell is its special purpose vehicle. Therefore, to reach this goal, it
has been decided to rehabilitate the slums in the EWS housing colonies, which can
definitely provide the hygienic environment and help to get rid of typical slum
environment. The slums so upgraded will definitely provide a hygienic and aesthetics
importance to the city.

Since Rao’s tenure Surat Municipal Corporation is providing basic infrastructure

facilities like water supply, drainage, roads, street light, nursery schools etc. since many
years. 10% of municipal budget is allocated every year under section 63 / 2 for
providing the basic infra-structure in slum area.

Till March 2006, about 70-80% of slums were provided with all the basic services. It is
estimated that about 125 crores of rupees has been spent for this mission. However this
activity is mainly carried out by zones of Surat Municipal Corporation.

Slum dwellers and the citizens falling in the EWS category can avail ready built houses
on a different plot of land then the existing slums in a total new hygienic environment.

39 | P a g e
 A. Site and Service Scheme:
Surat Municipal Corporation had started the site and service scheme on large
scale from the year 1994. The slum pockets located on important public roads as
well as on important public lands required for city development was vacated by
shifting the hutments. The effected hutments were shifted to other SMC land by
providing them individual open plot of 3.0m x 5.0m size with all basic
infrastructure facilities. The cost of land and infrastructure is borne by SMC.
About 12,200 households have been rehabilitated upto May 2006 on 22 various
sites with the total expenditure of Rs. 58.60 crores.
B. Built House Approach:
Surat Municipal Corporation has implemented several housing projects under
Government's housing schemes for urban poor. Also, slum dwellers on road
alignment and other such inappropriate location have been shifted to the houses
built under these housing schemes. The built house approach for the
rehabilitation of slum dwellers and urban poor is carried out under the following
three categories:
1. EWS Housing
2. VAMBAY Housing
3. LIG Housing

EWS Housing Scheme

Under National Housing Policy, the Central Government has decided to construct two
million houses per year; predominantly benefiting the poor and the deprived.

Under the Chief Minister's 15 point development program and Government of India's 20
point program, the Government has given target to construct about 8954 EWS houses
including target for the Year 2006-2007.

Allotment to these units is done in two ways. First 60%, by shifting households in
hutments and 40% by public draw wor other weaker sections of the society. The EWS
dwelling units on the basis of a draw are allotted to those who satisfy the following
criteria:
40 | P a g e
 1. The person should be living in Surat since last Five years.

2. The Family Income of the applicant should not more than Rs. 2500/- per month.

The layout plans for each EWS plots are prepared looking to the easy circulation need
of the habitats. Sufficient open spaces with centrally located C.O.P. are provided in
each layout. Having a builtup area of 22.45 sqm/unit and unit costs Rs.58,000/-

Considering local requirements, typical floor plan consisting four dwelling units on each
floor has been prepared. The building block is ground plus three-storied R.C.C. framed
structure. The outer walls are of 23 cm. thick while internal walls are 10 cm. thick
partition walls. The windows are steel windows. Grey mosaic tiles flooring is provided.
Water supply, drainage, electricity connection, street light and pucca roads are
provided. Each dwelling unit has been provided with following facilities.

Salient Features: One Room, Kitchen, W.C., Chowkdi, Balcony, Underground and
Overhead water tank and all infra structure facilities like water
supply, drainage, street light, Road.
41 | P a g e
VALMIKI - AMBEDKAR AWAS YOJANA (BPL Housing)

VAMBAY was announced by the Hon'ble Prime Minister during his independence day's
speech on the 15th August 2001 envisaging the construction of 4 lakh dwelling units
annually for the urban poor and the slum dwellers with the Government of India's
subsidy of Rs.1000 crores supplemented by HUDCO's loan assistance of Rs. 1000
crores. The unit cost has been kept at Rs. 60,000 for mega cities, Rs. 50,000 for metro
cities and Rs. 40,000 for other cities.

It is estimated that about 55,000 households are living below poverty line in the City.
The VAMBAY Housing Scheme is specially designed for the families those who are
living in slums and below poverty line

Against target Surat Municipal Corporation has already planned to execute 2120
dwelling units on different 10 sites. The implementation of the scheme had started in
Feb. 2004. But as the scheme was terminated and replaced by JnNURM scheme, out of
total planned 2120 units, 1748 units are transferred to JnNURM whereas already
constructed 372 BPL houses are allotted as per policy of Surat Municipal Corporation.

The layouts for each scheme are set in such a way so as to provide easy circulation,
C.O.P. The building plans and layout plans for all the sites are approved by the Town
Planning Department of the Surat Municipal Corporation as per prevailing building
byelaws.

All the infrastructure facilities like water supply, drainage, roads, street light, compound
wall etc. are provided by SMC. The land cost and infrastructure cost is subsidized by
SMC.

Due care for dwelling unit planning has been taken. Two types of housing pattern is
adopted –

 Row Houses
 Flats.

42 | P a g e
TYPE - I: Row Houses

 Built up area 20.16smt (Govt. has recommended 15 smt.)

 Unit cost Rs. 62,000/-

 Salient features One Multi-purpose room, Toilet, Chawkdi, Otta small backyard.
All infra structure facilities like water supply, drainage, electrification, street light,
Road are provided.
43 | P a g e
TYPE - II: Flats

In flat type system two type of design pattern is adopted.

1. Built up area 17.20smt (Gr. + 2 storied structure - Total 18 flats/bldg)

Unit cost: Rs. 60,000/-
Salient features One Mult-purpose room, W.C, Bath, Balcony and all
infrastructure facilities like water supply, drainage, street light, Road.

2. Built up area 20.69smt (Gr.+ 3 storied structure - Total 18/24 flats / bldg)
Unit cost: Rs. 1,05,000 / 85,000
Salient features One room, Cooking space, W.C, Bath, and all infrastructure
facilities like water supply, drainage, street light, Road.
44 | P a g e
LIG Housing Scheme

Total Target given under Govt. of India's 20 point program is of 65 units but the Surat
Municipal Corporation had planned & constructed 113 buildings (ground+3 storied
structure with 15 housing units ) out of which 99 are allotted by public draw system and
remaining 14 are allotted to special cases.

 Built-up area 38 smt/unit (Gr. + 3 storied structure - 15 flats / bldg)

 Unit cost Rs.2,00,000/- (Incl. land, construction, infrastructure cost.)

 Salient Features Two Rooms, Kitchen, W.C., Bath, Balcony, Underground and
Overhead water tank and all infrastructure facilities like water supply, drainage,
street light, Road.
45 | P a g e
The Sunder nagari slum area:-

The study addressed two slum blocks in Sundernagari with approximately 800
households and a combined population of 4,000 people. The area was a ground but
after 1983 a lot of people migrated to the capital and they made shelters for themselves
and started encroaching the city open spaces.

The community is extremely poor, with an average reported monthly income of

approximately INR4,000 ($72). The condition of the housing stock is poor as well. A
significant proportion of the homes are single-story huts built using temporary roofing
materials like tarpaulin and plastic. Open, overflowing sewers and dysfunctional public
toilets present a general picture of the state of infrastructure.

46 | P a g e
 GROWING SLUM
If we observe carefully the four
satellite images given below, we
see how the slums increased in
density, and buildings got
intricate long shadows give us an
idea of increase in height of
structures as well. The dwellings
got shorter in area in order to
accommodate the growing
population. This gives us an idea
of growth in last 1.5 decade.

2000 2006

2012 2015

Source: Google earth-sattelite maps-images

47 | P a g e
The interaction process began with a household survey, focused group discussions,
and conversation with individual households, including children. The majority of the
community's residents are involved in traditional occupations, and 60 percent worked
within 2 kilometers of their home, including home-based workers engaged in
shoemaking, embroidery, tailoring, dairy, and so on where this was their primary source
of income. Others residents worked as domestic help in neighboring middle-class
homes.

The living area is not more than ten square metres, which is used mainly for storage of
household items, whereas cooking, bathing and sleeping is done mainly in the open.
There are common water taps and public conveniences.

An open space, shaded by trees, may be used as the community space. Slums are
often prone to floods, waterlogging, fire etc. There is no proper drainage and sewerage
and this leads to recurrence of water-borne diseases like cholera, gastro-enteritis and
jaundice

48 | P a g e
source: captured by author

The slum dwellers are mostly rural migrants who live near their workplaces, since they
cannot afford high transportation costs. Generally, workers from the same community or
those coming from the same place and working at the same place, live together. The
slum dwellers also include the self-employed, petty traders, household servants,
vendors and hawkers.

The efforts by various governments for resettlement of slum dwellers have not been
successful, because often the resettlement colonies are on the outskirts—far away from
the workplace. Also, the closed, multi-storeyed environment is not conducive to the kind
of lifestyle to which the slum-dwellers are accustomed which involves a lot of activities
in the open.

49 | P a g e
 DWELLING
UNITS

In the first case, the

residence has two floors.
On the lower floor there
is a living room and a
toilet and a bathroom
placed right below the
staircase. On the upper
floor there are kitchen
and another bedroom.

While in the second case,

the structure is single
storey with a kitchen
recess and a living room
in a similar layout.
Bathroom and toilet are
absent as the users use
public convenience
located in a resettlement
colony, just across the
street. Also there is a
mezzanine just above the
living room which Serves
as a separate bedroom.

source: captured by author

50 | P a g e
 CONCLUSION

Possible solutions

In my opinion, to address a solution for urban squatter and slum settlements, firstly the
squatters and slum dwellers will have to work as a community, that can co-ordinate
with their development plans along with Government and other organizations.

Even by looking at the formation of this kind of settlements, they are the constructive
results of collective efforts of a group or community. Development and maintenance of
slums calls for on-going collective organization of land development, shelter-making,
obtaining basic services and ensuring social security. But, in case of improving their
conditions, they have to be more organized and expanded as a group. Moreover, urban
poor have to be aware and educated of their rights and how they can work along with
each other, take the lead role in improving their situations.

For example, regarding the complex tenure situation in urban regions, the urban
squatters, formed as an organization or as a group, can seek the help of government to
allot unused, vacant lands on their organization/ group’s name, on the condition that,
the property would be developed as housing used by the squatters themselves.
Although cities often claim that, there is no land left for the poor, this is almost always
untrue. When poor people learn about their own cities and educate themselves about
development plans, they can challenge this fallacy.

1. Self-involvement in Design and Construction

The squatters and slum dwellers can continue to play a central role in the design and
construction of their homes and communities with the help of architects (as observed in
Indore ).

Contemporary architectural practices and researches can set some design examples of
low-cost ecological living settlements with basic living conditions provided (like-
sanitation, water, electricity etc); these designs should be adapted to climates of
different regions. The designs must fulfill the first condition of being affordable for urban
51 | P a g e
poors. Then, they should fulfill the criteria to be built in easy, traditional methods by the
owners.

Source: study by American International University-Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Squatters and slum dwellers have always been the architects, engineers and builders of
their settlements, and here they can also play the role. The goal here is to use the
knowledge and skills of the formal sector in complement to the skills of the informal
sector- building quality houses without foreshadowing the participation of beneficiaries.

2. Creating a ‘Sense of Belonging’ Through Design

In most of the efforts taken to improve conditions of urban squatter settlements by

architects and designers- there has been the eviction of squatters, and re-settling them
in vertical, high-rise buildings.

In most of the designing of these buildings as replacement for squatters, their usual
living pattern had been ignored- no open space for social activities and children had
been provided. Moreover, dwellers were not involved to the process of the
development.

As a result, no ‘sense of belonging’ worked for those urban squatters on those

settlements. For example, both Britain and France responded to housing shortages
after the Second World War by constructing low quality, high-rise blocks. The
consequence of this decision is that horizontal slums were replaced by "vertical
52 | P a g e
ghettos".

Source: Ollie Harrop, Bartlett Park, Poplar, UK

Even today, these high rise buildings constitute a serious problem to the people who
live in them, because of increased insecurity and insularity, poor quality building
materials, low standards and stigmatization of those areas. In a way, these vertical
ghettos are often worse than the horizontal slums of previous decades as they lack a
sense of community.

One of the common characteristic in slums is that these are consisted of vibrant
communities of people and incorporate a whole range of social and community spaces
and facilities within their living. For example, every slum has a niche; small shrine or
temple, mosque or church, based on their common faith, where they meet and have
social gatherings. For most of these informal activities of social interacting; children
playing, shopping, chatting etc they use from the most minimal space for social
interaction at the door step, the circulation and open spaces, to the optimum community
spaces for various social and cultural activities.

Visiting in almost all of the squatter settlements, one can find the lack of basic human
living needs in these settlements, like- sanitation, drinking water, ventilation in living

53 | P a g e
units, crime etc. which couldn’t become a hindrance to the social living existing among
them.

As ‘Dharavi’ was mentioned earlier, in the development plan of the slum by

internationally-renowned Architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), they plan
to shift the slum by building blocks up to 14 storey high. On payment of a transfer fee,
slum dwellers could become eligible for a 300-sq ft flat in Dharavi. According to
Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), they plan to use 4.5
lakh sq meters of built-up area from the total available 10.5 lakh sq meters for
rehabilitation of slum dwellers; the remaining area will be used to build affordable
houses for outsiders, and for the total construction.

source: www.dharavi.org

Designing an urban environment that equally and adequately addresses the vibrant
Indian culture and commerce along with the unique social structure of slum dwellers is
already a tremendous challenge for them. One of their design ideas is to recreate a
similar sense of community that is present now; the new apartment blocks will have
wide corridors and communal areas that mimic the current shantytown's streets and

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where children can play. However, this $750 million-budgeted project faces resistance
from residents who have been in their shanties for generations and doubt that SOM can
improve their lot.

3. Housing Solution through Design

In this point of designing high-rise settlements for urban poor, which the land value
demands but contrary to their living attitudes, thoughts of Architect Laurie baker (1917-
2007) could be mentioned. The architect was renowned for his initiatives in cost-
effective energy-efficient architecture. In his writing,

Source: THE HINDU Vol.14 :: No. 16 :: Aug. 9-22, 1997

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“What can we do with a slum?”, and he said in answer, “A great deal. We can "recycle"
it; that is to say, we can build at the same site low-cost structures that accommodate an
equal number of persons, and provide plenty of open space and other facilities.”

He suggested simple-structured housing units in stepped tiers, up to four storey,

incorporated with open spaces for recreational activities and Gardens at different levels.
During the timeline when the article was published, contemporary architecture’s practice
of sustainable green buildings was not that much in vogue, but the idea of Laurie Baker
holds the contemporary position from designer’s point of view.

4. Use of Pre-fabricated Structure

In contemporary architectural practice, pre-fabrication of structures is much discussed in

question of replacing regular housing units. Though the structures need to be
assembled with help of experts, but they can act as a platform in solving the urban
squatter problems for their advantages of cost savings for mass production, quick
assembly, re-assembling in different locations and erection. Pre-fabricated housing unit
has been a great help as many post-disaster shelter alternatives, as a case study we
can talk of South-Asian tsunami attacks in Sri-lanka on 2005. These structures can be
built as higher storey, which can arrange less ground-cover for the settlements

Further ,within a slum problems are manifold: living conditions are deplorable, crime
rate is high, sanitation is poor, child mortality is high, education levels are low and

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diseases are rampant. But the situation has to be tackled and the issues have to be
faced. Various solutions have been suggested:-

 Provision of tenancy rights to slum dwellers in order to ensure that their housing
is not infringed upon by government agencies. Slum dwellers often fear
rehabilitation because it affects their access to means of livelihood. The idea
behind ensuring tenure is that once they lose their fear of being evicted, the slum
dwellers can work to improve their quality of life. In due course they can
purchase the land they currently inhabit.

 Building low-cost residences for slum dwellers so that proper housing can ensure
their safety and hygiene.

 Making clean water available.

 Encouraging proper sanitation and waste management.

 Controlling pollution levels.

 Providing transport facilities.

 Arranging for informal education.

 Making credit and finance available as per requirement.

 Introducing new programmes for income-generation.

 Providing a platform for sharing ideas, inputs and experiences.

However, these are only broad guidelines and there can be no single uniform model for
urban planning which can be used globally. Slum rehabilitation and upgrading are vital,
but each city has certain distinctive political, cultural, environmental and economic
factors which determine the extent to which such rehabilitation is feasible. Hence,
proper assessment has to be made and prospects evaluated before the problem can be
addressed. Slum dwellers need to made aware of the need for improvement in living

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conditions, and they must readily involve themselves with every phase of the
rehabilitation.

Practical and innovative approaches need to be put into practice to integrate slums
within the cities. Governments need to pay more attention to slums and make concerted
attempts to address this problem proactively.

In addition, I suggest that private sector that builds the new housing units should also
replace dilapidated buildings with basic services such as wide streets, gardens, schools,
open space, etc., depending on the needs of the community. Furthermore, the Ministry
of Social Affairs should work with the private sector to provide rehabilitation programs
for people who live there or transfer to the new area in order to integrate with the
community. Free land with basic services, grants from Ministry of housing for slum
dwellers to buy housing units form the private sector. That should be incentive to private
sector to improve unplanned settlements. One-seventh of the world’s population is in
slums right now. It is indeed time for urgent action.

Many architects have provided creative solutions on this subject and their application
and implementation can help us accommodate these people who survive in the
metropolis only on the doze of hope.

As per the hypothesis of my study, slums can be integrated in a metropolis like

Delhi but this process has many levels. As observed in case of Indore’s Shanty town,
transformation was not very drastic but was definitely better and a reasonable solution.
Slums can be upgraded and improved at their very own place because rehabilitation is
an effective but unaffordable solution and as discussed in case of Sunder Nagri it can’t
provide an appropriate solution for the city of Delhi.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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http://fic.tufts.edu/assets/original_Urban_Profiling_of_Refugees_Situations_in_Delhi.pdf

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http://archnet.org/sites/1294

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/architect-himanshu-parikh-wins-aga-khan-award-for-
transforming-indores-shanty-towns/1/265121.html

http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/cleaning-up-the-plague-city/202600

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surat/

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http://indianexpress.com/article/delhi/delhi-slum-shame/

http://carnegieendowment.org/2016/06/29/illegal-immigration-from-bangladesh-to-india-
toward-comprehensive-solution-pub-63931

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