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A LOOK AT SLUM PROBLEMS

The constitutional machinery in Bihar is sheer failure.Here are some

solutions to bring derailed Bihar on track

The picture that conjures up in our minds, when we talk about slums, is that

of a dirty, unhygienic cluster of impoverished shanties with long lines of

people crowding around a solitary municipal water tap, bowling babiesliterally left on street corners to fend for themselves and endless cries and

found voices emanating from various corners. Most of them are engaged in

eking out their daily lives, always below the poverty line, by working as construction

labourers, domestic helps, rag pickers and chhotus in neighbourhood dhabas. Thoughtheir living conditions are utterly unhygienic, gloomy, dismal and dehumanized, many of

them still dream of improving the quality of their lives.

The majority of slum dwellers identify themselves with the city rather than with theirnative place and plan to settle permanently in the city. In spite of poor conditions in

slums, second generation residents who are not nostalgic about their rural background -feel that life in slum is reasonably tolerable and city life is probably better than rural life.

They greatly value improving their working situation through getting a better job, yethave low aspirations and have an optimistic view of their chances of improving their

socio-economic status.

Many of the younger generation, irrespective of gender, income level and educationalattainment express their regard for education and foresee upward social mobility for their

children by educating their offspring as much as possible.

Our slums are indeed very dingy, dark and dismal. But the dark clouds are now fading.

Despite the inaction of civic authorities, and despite the efforts of politicians and slum

mafia to keep slum dwellers to remain docile, there are definite signs of younger slumdwellers to improve the quality of their lives. Silver linings are now becoming visible.

Plentiful of these was available in rural areas. They were encouraged to come to cities

and work. People, who migrated to the cities and found work, brought their cousins andrest of the families to the cities. Unable to find housing and afford it, they decided to

build their shelter closer to work. Thousands of shelters were built for the migrating

labourers. Conniving governments provided electricity and drinking water. Politicianslooked at the slums as vote bank. They organized these unauthorized dwellers into a

political force; hence slums took a bit of a permanent shape. More slums developed as

more population moved to the cities. By mid sixties Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, and allother large cities were dotted with slums.

Recent years have seen a dramatic growth in the number of slums as urban populationshave increased in the Third World. According to a recent UN-Habitat report, 327 million

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people live in slums in Commonwealth countries almost one in six

Commonwealth citizens. In a quarter of Commonwealth countries (11

African, 2 Asian and 1 Pacific), more than two out of three urban dwellerslive in slums, and many of these countries are urbanizing rapidly.

Why ???

Slums are the products of failed policies, bad governance, corruption, inappropriateregulations, dysfunctional land markets, unresponsive financial systems and a

fundamental lack of political will.

Each of these failures adds to the toll of people already deeply burdened with poverty.

This frustrates the enormous potential for human development that opportunities in urban

life offer.

Urbanisation has created a number of problems like shortage of dwelling units,

mushrooming growth of jhuggis, encroachment of public land and expansion ofunauthorized residential colonies. The rapid growth of urbanization is creating a numberof problems. Whenever a big project is commenced, a lot of workers migrate to towns in

quest of employment. With no proper place to live, they usually encroach public land and

the sites earmarked for various developmental projects. This causes expansion of jhuggisand unauthorized colonies.Thus building enormous pressure on civic services and

creating major bottlenecks in the proper development of cities.

Problems

People residing in slums face many problems like improper sanitation, unhygienic

environmental conditions, social, economic, health, educational and cultural problemsand many more. The basic problems inherent in slums are Health hazards

Lack of basic amenities like safe drinking water, proper housing, drainage and excreta

disposal services, make slum population vulnerable to infections. These furthercompromise the nutrition requirements of those living in slums.

It is projected that more than half of the Indian population will live in urban areas by

2020 and nearly one third of this urban population will be slum dwellers. The ongoing

process of rapid urbanization has deleterious repercussions on health and nutrition,especially for children. Malnutrition in young children has long-term negative effects on

physical and cognitive development. The major causes of childhood malnutrition in slum

population are inappropriate child feeding practices, infections, improper food securityand suboptimal childcare besides poor availability and inadequate utilization of health

care services. Addressing nutritional problems of urban poor is essential for overall

development of the country.

Lack of sanitary conditions

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Poor sanitary conditions and poor quality of water lead to illnesses like

diarrhoea and other water borne diseases, affecting the life expectancy of

slum dwellers. According to a recent case study, water and sanitationdiseases are responsible for 60 per cent of environmental health. Among water borne

diseases, diarrhoea disproportionately affects children under the age of five. Poor health

among children adversely affects the attendance rate at schools.

In dense, overcrowded urban conditions it is often difficult for people to find space to

build latrines. Many have to defecate in the open or share whatever limited facilities areavailable which tend to offer no privacy, safety or hygiene.

Because of human waste and refuse collecting in stagnant pools spread disease and

contaminate water sources. The problem is made worse during the rainy season whenrubbish and excrement are washed into cramped living areas.

In these conditions it is virtually impossible to remain healthy and clean. Diseases spread

rapidly among the crowded conditions and the little money that slum dwellers earn oftenhas to be spent on medicines to help the sick recover.

Often these settlements are unofficial and so, without any legal tenure, the people living

there are not entitled to get connections to basic facilities like water and sanitation. These

settlements are also vulnerable to demolition as governments reclaim the illegally

occupied land for other usages.

Social problems

The slum environment is the perfect breeding ground for a wide range of social problems.

High unemployment often causes men to stay around the home growing increasinglyfrustrated with their pathetic situation and the worsening poverty.

Cramped conditions mean that there is nowhere to go when tensions rise, a factor thatregularly leads to domestic violence. Sometimes the situation goes to the other extreme,

where people abandon their homes, lured by the prospect of oblivion through alcohol or

drug abuse. Once people develop such problems the prospects of finding work diminish.They fall deeper into poverty and the cycle continues.

Child labour

Many children in the slums start work at a very early age with no prospect of getting any

education. They make money by rag picking (trawling through rubbish dumps to retrieveanything that can be sold), selling newspapers in traffic jams, peddling drugs or begging.

They are at risk of exploitation as well as all the health problems that accompany their

lifestyles. Incest and abuse can occur and child marriages are still encouraged in some

areas.

Internal and external corruption

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Some people manage to achieve a high status within slums and establish

themselves as slumlords. They are often allies of certain politicians and gain

control of sizeable chunks of the community land. By renting out the land,they make huge financial gains while everyone living in the slum struggles to

survive on their meager earnings. The slumlords form elaborate links with

local politicians, government officials and the police, and slum dwellersbecome dependent on them for the smallest of amenities. They have little

empathy with the slum residents and exploit them by charging highly

inflated prices for illegal electricity and water supplies or for constructinghuts.

The men do not like to see the women becoming more powerful through forming

women's groups as one of their main concerns is keeping the slum dwellers helpless and

under their control.

The sheer volume of people living in slums causes them to be obvious targets for

politicians wanting to increase their percentage of the vote. Slum inhabitants are oftenpromised all kinds of support and improvements in return for political allegiance, but

their trust is regularly abused.

Gender Inequality

Female babies in the slums of India can face discrimination and poor treatment from their

very first moments, if they are given a chance of life at all; although gender specific

abortion is illegal in India, it is still practiced in some places.

Male children are seen as a blessing and indulged in many areas of Indian society.

Children born into the deprived and harsh environment of the slums may not be asfortunate, but male babies are still given better treatment than the girls. Boys tend to be

healthier as they are given better food in greater quantities, and they are also more likelyto be sent to school.

In contrast, girls are seen as a drain on precious resources as they will one day get

married and their contribution towards the family will end. To make up for this, they are

forced to work from an early age and any ambitions regarding schooling or future careersare discouraged.

With that kind of start in life, it's difficult for women within the slums to find a voice.

They are used to getting little support from their embers and are not usually consideredworth consulting on family matters.

The sheer volume of people living in slums causes them to be obvious targets for

politicians wanting to increase their percentage of the vote.

Solutions

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Problems of the slum can be dealt by little initiative taken by the

government, NGOs and employers. Some of the possible solutions can be

Countries need to recognize that the urban poor are active agents and can

contribute to national growth.

Local authorities and national governments should collaborate with the organizations ofthe urban poor in upgrading slums and providing alternatives to slum formation.

Whenever a worker migrates to a city for work his employer must ensure that he is

provided with appropriate accommodation. This should be the responsibility of all bigand small employers.

Managing cities require local solutions. Local authorities need to be empowered with

financial and human resources to deliver services and infrastructure to the urban poor.

Cities should draw up local long-term strategies for improving the lives of slum dwellers.

Local governments should develop strategies to prevent the formation of new slums .

These should include access to affordable land, reasonably priced materials, employmentopportunities, and basic infrastructure and social services.

Public investments must focus on providing access to basic services and

infrastructureWorking with the urban poor, cities need to invest in housing, water,sanitation, energy, and urban services, such as garbage disposal. These services and

infrastructure must reach the poor living in informal settlements.

Role of the government and the NGOs. In a usual scenario a migrated laborer securesa job with security agencies, waste management service providers, contractors,

householders etc. They usually employ slum dwellers as rag pickers, sweepers,

construction labors, masons, carpenters, domestic helps etc. For such migrating laborsthere should be a centralized labor registration center where they can registerthemselves and secure their labor ID number. These centers should have direct contact

with prospective employers and they should try to find suitable jobs for these workers

according to their skills. These migrated labors should also be allotted dwelling units andthe accommodation expenses should be borne by their respective employers. The

dwelling units should be located on the outskirts of the town and transport facilities

should be made available to the workers in order to make commutation easy for them.Locating proper dwelling units on the outskirts would minimize the proliferation of dingy

slums in the city. Along with these arrangements certain regulations should be made by

the government:

A minimum wage rate should be created for workers immigrating to town.

Computerized ID numbers should be allotted to the laborers for maintainingrecords.

ESI dispensaries and counseling services should be provided in dwelling areas.

All labors should be centrally registered

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Strict rules should be formulated to prevent the misuse of funds.

Aim for 1 Lakh units of construction every six months.

Import high volume construction machinery from China for the speedy

construction.

Factories with a workforce of more than 100 labors should have compulsorydwelling units. The accommodation facilities should be made available before the

commencement of any project

NGOs can play a vital role in improving the existing conditions of slums. NGOs shouldwork for the underprivileged in the slums. NGOs should work in close coordination with

government and make sure that the following facilities are available to the slum dwellers:

Counselling services to minimize crime and other problems.

Basic amenities like schooling, proper sanitation, potable water, health facilities

and common electricity with minimal charges.

Free weekly medical and healthcare facilities.

Manifestation of income and other gaps in health, education, skills, etc. can be seen in

slums and squatter settlements of most urban areas in developing countries. Slums are not

'problems' that have to be 'solved' - but are indeed results of lopsided and vested urbanpolicies covering land ownership, infrastructure provision and maintenance, and other

socio-economic issues. And for the poor, they represent a solution. The need of the hour

is to find light in the darkest of the dark scenario and infuse life in the lives that are stillwaiting for the silver lining.

Fading dark clouds

Poverty, slums and urban squat can be controlled in next couple of decades. Reversal ofthis phenomenon will begin after sufficient economic progress had been made. Eight

percent GDP growths is a good sign. With quadrupled GDP in 25 years, there is a good

chance that the new and upcoming generation may stay away from slum dwelling. It may

take another 25 years before the slums are vacated.

Silver liningThe problems prevailing in slums give us the challenge to rebuild a society that is more

equitable where equal opportunities could be provided to all for living with dignity. Many

hurdles have to be overcome to achieve this objective.

The despair of the underprivileged has to be replaced with hope, their fear with security,

and their ignorance with knowledge. Give them the opportunity to secure good health,immunity from curable diseases, employment opportunities, sufficient and nutritious

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food, clean water and a clean environment, capability to protect their children against

exploitation and discrimination. Their children should have the right to get adequate

education for becoming responsible citizens of India.

Slum dwellers should be empowered to enable them to improve the quality of their own

lives