Indian slum population doubles in two decades

[Neo]

From The TimesMay 18, 2007

Indian slum population doubles in two decades

Jeremy Page in Delhi
The number of people living in slums in India has more than doubled in the past two decades and now exceeds the entire population of Britain, the Indian Government has announced.

India’s slum-dwelling population had risen from 27.9 million in 1981 to 61.8 million in 2001, when the last census was done, Kumari Selja, the Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, said.

The figure is the latest illustration of how India’s recent economic boom has left behind millions of the country’s poorest people, raising fears that social unrest could undermine further growth.

India’s economy has grown by an average of 8 per cent annually over the past four years, and yet a quarter of its population of 1.1 billion still lives on less than $1 (50p) a day.

The expansion of India’s slums is partly due to the rise in India’s total population, which increased from 683 million in 1981 to 1.03 billion in 2001.

That has been exacerbated by mass migration from the countryside as millions of farmers have forsaken the diminishing returns of small-scale agriculture to seek the relatively high wages of manual labourers in India’s cities.

But the ballooning slum population is also evidence of the Government’s failure to build enough housing and other basic infrastructure for its urban poor, many of whom live without electricity, gas or running water.

India’s largest slum population is in Bombay, the country’s financial and film capital, where an estimated 6.5 million people – at least half the city’s residents – live in tiny makeshift shacks surrounded by open sewers. Bombay is also home to Dharavi, Asia’s biggest single slum, which is estimated to house more than a million people.

Delhi, the national capital, has the country’s second-largest slum population, totalling about 1.8 million people, followed by Calcutta with about 1.5 million.

Mrs Selja says that it will cost India four trillion rupees (£49 billion) to build the estimated 24 million housing units needed to accommodate India’s slum-dwellers. She has called for the Government and the private sector to address the problem jointly and has launched several schemes to provide basic public services to slum-dwellers. But civil rights activists accuse the Government of willfully neglecting India’s slums, while favouring commercial property developers who often bribe local officials and fund politicians’ election campaigns.

“The rise in slums is due to the lack of affordable housing provided by the Government,” said Maju Varghese, of YUVA Urban, a nongovernmental organisation that has been working with the urban poor for more than 20 years. “The Government has withdrawn from the whole area of housing and land prices have gone to such heights that people can’t afford proper housing,” he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1805596.ece

 

[Adux]

Where are the SLUMS of India, in the cities, Why did people come to the cities; cuz they start a better life. Did the Slum population increase cuz of NEW poverty or the 'already' poor from the villages came and settled in these SLUMS. That is truth about that. How can Government house all these people, who keep on coming from the village's. This is not the UK, where you have free governmental Housing. We are a 3rd World country, though we are developing extremely fast.

Now Wealth Distribution is not in good position in India, More Investment into Infrastructure will definitly pull up these people in the socio-economic ladder.

 

[Neo]

Where are the SLUMS of India, in the cities, Why did people come to the cities; cuz they start a better life. Did the Slum population increase cuz of NEW poverty or the 'already' poor from the villages came and settled in these SLUMS. That is truth about that. How can Government house all these people, who keep on coming from the village's. This is not the UK, where you have free governmental Housing. We are a 3rd World country, though we are developing extremely fast.

I agree, though many self-reliant poors become even poorer and desperate after failing to find better fortune in the cities.
Government is responsible for the exodus from the rural area due continued negligence.

Now Wealth Distribution is not in good position in India, More Investment into Infrastructure will definitly pull up these people in the socio-economic ladder.

Agree on this aswell but that than again it is governments job to provide development.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Adux]

Neo,

You are forgetting the enormity of the problem!!! Where is the Money?
India has so much to do adn so much to achieve.

Indian Economy is booming cuz of its Knowledge and not cuz of its cheap manual labour. It is a knowledge based economy, which basically helps the Middle class, that is why the phenomenal growth in Middle class. If you have education India is a good place for you. The Boom is the resultant of India's emphasis on Education from its Inception

Now this boom will slowly trickle down to Lower Class or uneducated Class, when infrastructure projects, Real Estate's and other sector boom. Which is precisely what is happening now. Time is a great factor here. India poor's are reducing, the increase in slum poor is cuz of migration in search of Money not cuz of Spreading Poverty

 

[Neo]

Neo,

You are forgetting the enormity of the problem!!! Where is the Money?
India has so much to do adn so much to achieve.

A trillion dollar economy and one of worlds top three weapons importer, I'd say there's plenty of money but its a matter of priorities and failure in governments domestic policies.

Indian Economy is booming cuz of its Knowledge and not cuz of its cheap manual labour. It is a knowledge based economy, which basically helps the Middle class, that is why the phenomenal growth in Middle class. If you have education India is a good place for you. The Boom is the resultant of India's emphasis on Education from its Inception

The irony here mate is that despite having an excellent educational base the development in the rural area's didn't profit from the progress. The government is focused on the rapid development of the industry in urban area's, growth in rural area's is still less than 4%!!

Now this boom will slowly trickle down to Lower Class or uneducated Class, when infrastructure projects, Real Estate's and other sector boom. Which is precisely what is happening now. Time is a great factor here. India poor's are reducing, the increase in slum poor is cuz of migration in search of Money not cuz of Spreading Poverty

Imho there's no hope for the poorest 100 million or so uneducated, maybe the next generation will have more success.
Good luck!

 

[Adux]

You are unaware of the enormity of the problem, Or just not bothered to acknowledge it. The rural sector is benefitting, But what is 10 million in 300 million right!!!!!!, I suggest you read up a bit more on educational system of this country. The problem is other 300 million who are bellow poverty line. There is another 300-400 million the Middle Class; booming like no tommrow.

Thanks to Pakistan and China, we have no option. But to buy weapons, also along with our commitment to make India a super-power. Its not about priorites, Its about how much you can apportion to each problem. Every problem is inter-linked to each other, we dont have a good defence, we loose our economy when you attack. Its all about budgetting.We could put the whole of GDP into development still the problem wont be solved.

What is our Defence Spending is one of the lowest in the world % of GDP. 2.4- 2.6%. Pakistan spends 5%-6% on defence, Why; cant they do it abolish poverty.

Life is hard, Maybe this generation wont have the luck of government helping, hopefully the next. But this Generation can always do it on themselves.

Lets not talk like Peacenik Hippie's, We know how the world works; it aint pretty

 

[Adux]

Government is looking at Industry so it can be an alternative to Agriculture, their sole reason is the down - trodden. You are missing the point. The Industries arent coming in the cities or urban centers but in second and third tier towns.

 

[Bull]

A trillion dollar economy and one of worlds top three weapons importer, I'd say there's plenty of money but its a matter of priorities and failure in governments domestic policies.

You forgot to add...' and a billion people' to the list. India can be a ecocnomic power by just making 30% of the population well off. Thats it. But still you wont have money to deal with the remaining 70%.

Tax collection is poor and inefficient and too with a income tax structure which is on lower scale compared to global standards.

Illegal economy is figured to be as big as the legal one.

Very little or no money invested in infrastructure.Indias boom is mainly due to services, human oriented. Good telecom line and power is all that required for them to succeed.

 

[kvLin]

Bull, do you have a law on tenement that a leasehold over 11 months will ensure the lessee priority in extensions and reletting, or a preferential price if he decides to buy that house?

If it's true, the salaried people who usually live in lets will periodically head for slums coz the lessor has to evict them on due date. hence a temporary contribution to the increasing slum population. is that correct?

 

[con]

Bull, do you have a law on tenement that a leasehold over 11 months will ensure the lessee priority in extensions and reletting, or a preferential price if he decides to buy that house?

If it's true, the salaried people who unually live in lets will periodically head for slums and hence enlarge the slum population. is that correct?

Why should someone who has lived in a "live-in" or rented house go to slums? If he is not happy or for some reason could not extend the stay in the existing house,he moves over another rented house.

First and foremost do please understand what slums are.
They are illegal construction on land,most of the time owned by the government. This is the fact. People who migrate in to cities land up in these location as they do have enough money to make it to proper rented house.

The reason the slums exists is not because the government would not like to remove them.
For example in Bombay. The slums exists on land which is close to the international airport.
Now you can image what will the price of such a piece of land. If I could get this land in the form of slums,and using political power manage to retain it for years and bargain with government by telling them to "buy" it,would it be a bad deal?

 

[alamgir]

Indian Economy is booming cuz of its Knowledge and not cuz of its cheap manual labour. It is a knowledge based economy, which basically helps the Middle class, that is why the phenomenal growth in Middle class. If you have education India is a good place for you. The Boom is the resultant of India's emphasis on Education from its Inception

April 12, 2007
An education gap between China and India?
Bruce Einhorn
First off, apologies for the dearth of posts lately. I was away for a few weeks. Back at work today, I saw an interesting item from a few days ago written by Cheng Hu, a columnist for online magazine The Globalist, arguing that India should learn from the way China has emphasized education. “I still remember vividly how speechless I was when my Indian colleague told me that in some public schools in India, teachers never or seldom show up,” writes Cheng. “If the same thing were to happen in any village in China, the irresponsible teachers would be living in contempt of the villagers. And the villagers would keep pressuring the authorities until the teachers were removed or fired altogether.”

According to Cheng, China’s economic rise is due in part to the government’s success in building the country’s school system. “This is a lesson India should take to heart,” he adds. “While many commentators bemoan India’s lack of infrastructure as the main factor preventing it from becoming an economic powerhouse, it is not the only one. A poor basic education system is a less obvious but even more imperative problem that demands a solution. Without a quality schooling system, the industrialization of India will continue to lag behind that of its giant neighbor to the East.”
China’s education system certainly still needs a lot of work. Many schools, especially in the countryside, are shabby. Despite efforts by education reformers to promote creativity, students and teachers still have to focus most of their energy on preparing for standardized tests. And China’s schools – at least the ones that I have visited over the years – are overwhelmingly male, with a handful of girls among a sea of boys. That said, though, the Chinese have made a lot of progress in promoting universal primary education and have ambitious targets to boost the number of children who go on to high school. (FYI, for more on China's school reforms, see this BW story I wrote two years ago.) And Cheng isn’t the only one bemoaning the problems of India’s schools. Indian officials know that India needs to do a better job educating its children. For instance, see this Zee story citing Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh acknowledging that reformers have a long way to go in India. Says Singh: “Surveys of attainment levels of our school children do not give much cause for satisfaction.” He adds: “Despite our various achievements and increased financial outlays, we are still quite some distance away from the goal of every child completing eight years of good quality education." I’ve written a lot in this blog about the infrastructure gap between India and China. According to people like Cheng and Singh, there’s a big education gap, too.

 

[alamgir]

TECH TALK: Education and Reservation: Atanu Dey?s Primer
A part of India is seething. The reason? A decision, driven entirely by politics, to reserve 27% seats in India?s higher education institutions for ?other backward classes.? The government has tried to assuage some of the anger by announcing a simultaneous increase in the overall seats by 54% so that mathematically the number of existing seats do not change. Over this week and next, we will discuss some of these issues here, starting with a five-column series by my colleague, Atanu Dey.

There are numerous characteristics which distinguish developed from underdeveloped economies but the one invariant difference is that the former have robust, efficient, and effective educational systems which the latter do not have. Indeed it can be argued that it is the educational system which forms the foundation upon which the development of an economy rests. Even economies with little natural resources can overcome this handicap and flourish based entirely on their stock of human capital created by an excellent educational system. Conversely, even though endowed with a wealth of natural resources, some economies don?t prosper because of poor educational institutions.

If you wish to predict the trajectory of an economy, the leading indicator you pay attention to is its education system. If the system is in decline, the economy has little to look forward to in this age post-industrial age; if the system is in ascendancy, the economy will emerge to join the ranks of rich nations. Note not just the level but note especially the trend of the educational system, and you will have a fairly good estimate of where the economy is headed.

The Indian education system is moribund. It is not, and in fact has never been, very good. By the 12th standard, the school drop out rate reaches an astounding 94 percent. Of those who finally graduate out of college, only around 15 percent (or, one percent of the those who enter grade one) are employable, leading to a serious shortage of qualified college graduates. It is severely capacity constrained. Getting admission into a good school or college has become a Herculean task. Horror stories of three-year olds being given kindergarten admissions tests and the parents being interviewed abound. Quality higher education is scarce. The IITs, those much celebrated technology institutions, can only admit fewer than 2 percent of applicants: annually around 300,000 compete to get a shot at 5,000 seats.

But the disturbing fact is the negative trend in the system. The primary worry is that the system is increasing falling behind in its capacity to meet demand. India is demographically very young. About half the population is below 25 years old. Young people need schools to become productive members of society. The capacity constraint?the mismatch between demand and supply?has the predictable effects of low quality and high prices. Prices are a rationing mechanism and high prices implies high barriers to entry for the huge number of poor people in India. The economic waste that results from tens of millions of people not being able to afford education is staggering. Poor quality education also has effects that propagate across the entire economy. Globalization has increased the premium associated with a well-educated workforce, and India stands to lose a great deal if the quality of its labor force does not make the cut.

The fundamental problem with the Indian economy is that the education system is one of the most flawed systems in the country. If there is one sector which is in dire need of reform, it is that education system. The most urgently required reform is to get the government out of it?lock, stock, and barrel. The recent move by the government to further increase quotas in the so-called elite institutions with a view to social justice is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. No, I take that back: it is akin to scuttling the lifeboats even as the ship is sinking.

www.emerging.org/colection/teck_talk_education_and_reservation.html_75k

 

[con]

TECH TALK: Education and Reservation: Atanu Dey?s Primer
A part of India is seething. The reason? A decision, driven entirely by politics, to reserve 27% seats in India?s higher education institutions for ?other backward classes.? The government has tried to assuage some of the anger by announcing a simultaneous increase in the overall seats by 54% so that mathematically the number of existing seats do not change. Over this week and next, we will discuss some of these issues here, starting with a five-column series by my colleague, Atanu Dey.

There are numerous characteristics which distinguish developed from underdeveloped economies but the one invariant difference is that the former have robust, efficient, and effective educational systems which the latter do not have. Indeed it can be argued that it is the educational system which forms the foundation upon which the development of an economy rests. Even economies with little natural resources can overcome this handicap and flourish based entirely on their stock of human capital created by an excellent educational system. Conversely, even though endowed with a wealth of natural resources, some economies don?t prosper because of poor educational institutions.

If you wish to predict the trajectory of an economy, the leading indicator you pay attention to is its education system. If the system is in decline, the economy has little to look forward to in this age post-industrial age; if the system is in ascendancy, the economy will emerge to join the ranks of rich nations. Note not just the level but note especially the trend of the educational system, and you will have a fairly good estimate of where the economy is headed.

The Indian education system is moribund. It is not, and in fact has never been, very good. By the 12th standard, the school drop out rate reaches an astounding 94 percent. Of those who finally graduate out of college, only around 15 percent (or, one percent of the those who enter grade one) are employable, leading to a serious shortage of qualified college graduates. It is severely capacity constrained. Getting admission into a good school or college has become a Herculean task. Horror stories of three-year olds being given kindergarten admissions tests and the parents being interviewed abound. Quality higher education is scarce. The IITs, those much celebrated technology institutions, can only admit fewer than 2 percent of applicants: annually around 300,000 compete to get a shot at 5,000 seats.

But the disturbing fact is the negative trend in the system. The primary worry is that the system is increasing falling behind in its capacity to meet demand. India is demographically very young. About half the population is below 25 years old. Young people need schools to become productive members of society. The capacity constraint?the mismatch between demand and supply?has the predictable effects of low quality and high prices. Prices are a rationing mechanism and high prices implies high barriers to entry for the huge number of poor people in India. The economic waste that results from tens of millions of people not being able to afford education is staggering. Poor quality education also has effects that propagate across the entire economy. Globalization has increased the premium associated with a well-educated workforce, and India stands to lose a great deal if the quality of its labor force does not make the cut.

The fundamental problem with the Indian economy is that the education system is one of the most flawed systems in the country. If there is one sector which is in dire need of reform, it is that education system. The most urgently required reform is to get the government out of it?lock, stock, and barrel. The recent move by the government to further increase quotas in the so-called elite institutions with a view to social justice is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. No, I take that back: it is akin to scuttling the lifeboats even as the ship is sinking.

www.emerging.org/colection/teck_talk_education_and_reservation.html_75k

Right did some one tell the Chinese that the people in Indian knowledge industry are NOT from government funded school?

IIT is meant to admit the cream of the nation. If they admit each and every chap in the country,they wont be known for what they are today.
May be the Chinese need to learn to present facts first,then tell others to learn from them.

 

[kvLin]

Bull, do you have a law on tenement that a leasehold over 11 months will ensure the lessee priority in extensions and reletting, or a preferential price if he decides to buy that house?

If it's true, the salaried people who usually live in lets will periodically head for slums coz the lessor has to evict them on due date. hence a temporary contribution to the increasing slum population. is that correct?

Why should someone who has lived in a "live-in" or rented house go to slums? If he is not happy or for some reason could not extend the stay in the existing house,he moves over another rented house.

First and foremost do please understand what slums are.
They are illegal construction on land,most of the time owned by the government. This is the fact. People who migrate in to cities land up in these location as they do have enough money to make it to proper rented house.

You replied when I was editing my question.Check it again and I was mainly asking whether you have such a law. last weekend I went to dinner with one of my colleagues who's an American,he said even a mid-class guy in India might have to stay in the slum for a while until next leasehold starts for him to return,unless he's got his own house. and I just wanna make sure if it's true or not. you didn't answer it anyway, find anything offensive?

The reason the slums exists is not because the government would not like to remove them.
For example in Bombay. The slums exists on land which is close to the international airport.
Now you can image what will the price of such a piece of land. If I could get this land in the form of slums,and using political power manage to retain it for years and bargain with government by telling them to "buy" it,would it be a bad deal?

That's being the case, It happens similarly in China but all are privately owned houses without anyone living in it. The owners are waiting for higher bids given by land agents or the Govt. we call this kind of house a NAIL clenching into the land.
If the land of the "nails" is already marked out for public use, the govt. will redeem them at minimum market price and it'll be enforceable by law. so,for house owners it could be a bad yet reasonable deal in China. actually you can also find same solution in the UK.

Now back to India, as you said the slum are illegal construction on land,most of the time owned by the government, who the hell is waiting for a good deal? how does the property right go between the govt and individuals?

 

[Bushroda]

You replied when I was editing my question.Check it again and I was mainly asking whether you have such a law. last weekend I went to dinner with one of my colleagues who's an American,he said even a mid-class guy in India might have to stay in the slum for a while until next leasehold starts for him to return,unless he's got his own house. and I just wanna make sure if it's true or not. you didn't answer it anyway, find anything offensive?

Slums exist in India because of government's inability to create a proper low-class housing society. The migrant workers somehow find a way to manage a roof in these slums. I am not sure what your friend told you is exactly true. In Mumbai, you always have to provide the address of your previous accomodation before you move into a home. Something that a person from slum finds hard to provide as they arn't registered addresses. Morover, nobody would want a slum dweller around in a proper middle class housing society. Therefore, these people find it harder to migrate out of slums. Moreover, you & I view slums from our perspective, whereas for the people actually living in the slums it is their home & workplace where they live & make their livelihood. More reasons why people do not want to migrate out of slums. It isn't that government hasn't tried anything in the past but every attempt to rehabilitate them has met with a failure to come up with a solution of providing them with an alternative employment. If slums go, the small scale industries operating in the slums go as well & thereby, goes the livelihood of people. I suggest you read this month's national geographic's cover story which has a brief & detailed narrative of the lives of slum dwellers in Dharavi(Mumbai) & what government & NGOs plan for them. Here is the link

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0705/feature3/index.html

That's being the case, It happens similarly in China but all are privately owned houses without anyone living in it. The owners are waiting for higher bids given by land agents or the Govt. we call this kind of house a NAIL clenching into the land.
If the land of the "nails" is already marked out for public use, the govt. will redeem them at minimum market price and it'll be enforceable by law. so,for house owners it could be a bad yet reasonable deal in China. actually you can also find same solution in the UK.

Now back to India, as you said the slum are illegal construction on land,most of the time owned by the government, who the hell is waiting for a good deal? how does the property right go between the govt and individuals?

China & India are two different cases. Chinese government doesn't have to go to people every 5 years to beg for vote. Indian politicians do. So, Chinese government can send people an ultimatum to vacate, offer them the compensation & bulldoze their way. Whereas, Indian government can never dare to send an ultimatum. All they can do is persuade these people to move out offering them a hefty compensation only if they wish to do so. But people, who have their livelihood in these slums, would you believe they would be easily persuaded in giving up everything for an uncertain future? But having said that, things are now changing quick & fast. With India rising quick & fast, these things are surfacing before the international media & this has caused a great deal of embaressment to the government. Past few years have seen government adopt a heavy hand in dealing with these slum-dwellers. Several illegal slums in New-Delhi have been demolished for government's preparation of 2010 Commonwealth Games. New Delhi has already adopted an ambitious 2021 Masterplan. Here is the link

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/12/news/delhi.php


Mumbai has adopted a similar approach in its quest to realize its 'Shanghai Dream'. Several thousand slums have been demolished in past two years & government has prepared a makeover plan for its biggest slum colony in Dharavi(Mumbai). Below are the links

Dharavi makeover: Deshmukh won't wait for slumdwellers' OK

Dharavi makeover now a model for the world

Slum Rehabilitation Authority

Similar efforts are being made in Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and other places. Hopefully, things would be better in future.