Pramiti Basu
BSc Geography (Hons.) 3rd year, Presidency University, Kolkata
Slums could be said as a blotch of ink stain on a city. Slums, are “residential areas where dwellings are unfit for human habitation by reasons of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangements and design of such building, 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“, (as defined by the Census of India,2011). It plagues most of the nation. Out of the 4,041 Statutory Towns, according to Census 2011, slums were reported from 2,543 towns, which is about 63%.
Our National Capital is no exception to this. While New Delhi is all about the glitz and glamour, the underbelly shows quite the different picture. According to the Census 2011- 1,854,685 out of 9,817,439 lived in Jhuggi Jhopari (JJ) clusters- which is almost 19%of the population.
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board as well as the Union Ministry of Urban development have put out various efforts through the years, but the efforts are yet to bear fruit. My work essentially looks into these government policies and assess their efficiency. In 1980, the Delhi Government came up with a policy, known as the “in-situ upgradation of JJ-clusters” which is considered to be one of the less disruptive policies by the government. This policy involves modifying the layout of a settlement, and improving the basic levels of services. As such the residents are not left homeless or relocated in a far-off inaccessible colony in the city. …
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