Chapter – 6 : Urban Poor and Slum
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Chapter – 6 : Urban Poor and Slum IL&FS ECOSMART Chapter – 6 Urban Poor & Slum CHAPTER - 6 URBAN POOR AND SLUM 6.1 INTRODUCTION Urban Poverty and Slums are the most critical problems of urban development today. In Delhi too, they are a serious issue. The various dimensions of poverty and slums have been discussed in detail in this chapter. This chapter has been divided into three sections. The first section discusses the poverty profile of the city, the characteristics of the poor population and poverty alleviation programmes. The profile of slums / JJ Clusters, with respect to their location, distribution, growth, infrastructure status and requirements, processes of slum development in the city and the slum development programmes by the Slum Department of the MCD and DDA, is discussed in the second section. The last section summarizes the issues related to poverty and slums. 6.2 POVERTY PROFILE OF DELHI The Planning Commission estimates the proportion and number of poor based on the projection of minimum needs and effective consumption. Such a projection is based on the norm of 2100 calorie per capita per day consumption for an urban area. The calorie norms are invariably expressed in monetary terms that change with respect to weighted commodity indices of the consumer price index. The percentage of people below poverty line (BPL) stood at 49.61% for Delhi in 1973-74. The figure has been declining steadily to 26.22% in 1983; 16.4% in 1991 and 14.69% in 1993-94. The percentage of people below poverty line declined to 10.02% in 2001. Table 6.1 presents the zone wise BPL population. Table 6.1: Below Poverty Line Population (2005) % Rural BPL %age 25 age Urban BPL Year Population to 21.78 to Population (in Lakh) Total 20 17.95 Total 15.32 Urban 1973 1.06 24.44 21.78 52.23 15 1983 0.44 7.66 17.95 27.89 10.15 11.42 1987 0.10 1.29 10.15 13.56 10 1993 0.19 1.19 15.32 16.03 5 2000 1.06 0.44 0.1 0.07 Rural0.19 0.07 0.40 11.42 9.42 0 1973 1983 1987 1993 2000 Source: Economic Survey Report, Government of Delhi, Delhi Client : Dept. of Urban Development, Govt. of Delhi 6-1 Consultant : IL&FS Ecosmart Limited Chapter – 6 Urban Poor & Slum 6.3 SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF POOR The socio-economic profile of the segment of population categorized as poor is of strategic importance for both planning purposes, and for managing the habitat and its environmental upgradation and improvement. However, comprehensive data is not available for the whole of Delhi, although generalizations can be made on the following parameters based on data available from the few available surveys and studies. It is important to keep in perspective however that inhabitants of LIG / EWS areas are not a homogenous segment. (a) Income and Expenditure: The average total monthly income per household ranges from Rs. 1500-2500 among the poor. The expenditure of these families is around 5-10% more than their incomes. The per capita monthly income and expenditure is Rs. 245 & Rs. 423 respectively. Poor households, therefore, are increasingly dependent upon loans from the local moneylenders. The monthly income of around 25-30% households is above Rs 1500 and around 45-50% households is below Rs 1000. (b) Access to Housing: Housing is a basic need of the poor. Most of the poor do not have access to secure land tenure. 85% of the poor are squatters, and are vulnerable to frequent eviction. 6% of the poor live in rented accommodation and have to pay a substantial portion of their income for rent. Most importantly, such rental quarters do not have even basic infrastructure facilities. The quality of life led by these people is extremely poor. (c) Occupation Profile of Poor: 41% of these families work as casual labourers, as most of them are unskilled. However, one-third of the poor also work in the service sector and only 20-25 % is self-employed. Therefore, nearly 52% of the poor households do not have access to a dependable occupation and secure incomes. (d) Migration Status and Poor: Migration characteristics have also been included as most of the poor are migrants from rural areas, who come to the city in search of employment. In Delhi, 38% of the total poor have migrated to the city for employment purposes. (e) Access to Infrastructure: The infrastructure facilities that have been covered are water and sources of energy for the urban poor. A majority of the poor families (47%) have access to water from community sources. 16% of the families do not have any definite source of water. With respect to source of light, nearly 30% of the families depend on kerosene lamps. (f) Pavement Dwellers: Around 1 Lakh homeless people constitute another component of the poor in Delhi. They are mostly found in the Walled City or its surrounding areas and generally sleep on the pavements. There are around 10 night shelters located at Azadpur, Subzi Mandi, Paharganj, Jhandewalan, Red Fort, Old Delhi Railway Station, Azad Market and Roshanara road. The night shelters operated by MCD provide accommodation to only male dwellers. Client : Dept. of Urban Development, Govt. of Delhi 6-2 Consultant : IL&FS Ecosmart Limited Chapter – 6 Urban Poor & Slum 6.4 POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES Swaranajyanti Saw Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) is the main poverty alleviation programme of the government, which was launched in 1997 after merging the NRY (Nehru Rozgar Yojna), PMIUPEP and Urban Basic Services Programme (UBSP). The programme aims not only at economic emancipation of people living below the poverty line but also an improvement in their living environment. The details of the programme are being given in Box 1. Box 1: Salient Features of SJSRY The programme seeks to provide gainful employment to the urban unemployed and underemployed poor, through encouraging the setting up of self – employment ventures or provision of wage employment. It relies on creation of suitable community structures and delivery of inputs through urban local bodies. It is funded on a 75:25 basis between the centre and the state. It consists of two special components of: • Urban Self-Employment Programme (USEP): It has 3 components of self- employment: setting up of micro-enterprise; setting up of group micro- enterprise under Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) and training for skills up-gradation of beneficiaries. • Urban Wage-Employment Programme (UWEP): The programme aims to provide wage employment by utilizing labour to construct socially and economically useful public assets. • Special emphasis is given on formation of Community based structures like CDS, NHGs and NCs. 6.5 SHELTER OPTIONS The poor typically inhabit unplanned or semi-planned developments. In Delhi these are classified as (a) Notified Slums in Old Walled City area; (b) Resettlement Colonies; (c) Relocated JJ Clusters and (d) JJ Clusters or Squatter settlements. The section below describes the characteristics of these areas. 6.5.1 Old Walled City Area In Delhi, areas designated or notified as slums under the act are generally located in the Walled City and its adjoining environs. There are 319 katras in the Walled City area with about 3,000 buildings or properties. Out of these, 365 properties have been identified as dangerous and therefore require resettlement of inhabitants. In addition, there are 400 properties, which are with the Evacuee Property Cell of Land and Building Department of Delhi Government. 6.6 SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS / JJ CLUSTERS The squatter settlements are encroachments on mainly public land. As such these are illegal clusters (JJCs) and are devoid of any legal entitlements. However, efforts have been made by the government to extend basic social and environmental services to them (Refer Box 2) Client : Dept. of Urban Development, Govt. of Delhi 6-3 Consultant : IL&FS Ecosmart Limited Chapter – 6 Urban Poor & Slum Box 2: Urban Poor and Type of Shelter The category of the urban poor mainly comprises of the inhabitants in JJ clusters / squatter settlements. These inhabitants are service providers, which includes domestic help, hawkers and vendors, low paid workers in the industrial, commercial and trade / business sectors etc. The socio-economic constraints on access to income pose constraints to food and other basic necessities including shelter. As a result, they are constrained to live in the worst kind of settlements. Substandard housing is not only the consequence of poverty but also policy and financial constraints imposed on the government departments and agencies to provide adequate services for the poor. However, the type of housing they are constrained to choose is largely the consequence of poverty. 6.6.1 Location and Distribution of JJ Clusters JJ clusters are scattered all over the city. Generally they are situated on the vacant land along railway lines, roads, drains and river embankments and also vacant spaces near residential, industrial and commercial complexes. Around 55 per cent of squatters are near the residential areas and 40% along the road berms (Table 2). Table 6.2: Status of JJ Clusters in Delhi Number % age Areas with Schools Mar ket of to Encroachment 1% 2% Squatters Total Park and Open Residential Areas 34100 55.86 Spaces 2% Road Berms 24184 39.62 Park and Open Spaces 966 1.58 Schools 500 0.82 Market 1093 1.79 Railway Station 200 0.33 Road Berms 40% Residential Areas 55% TOTAL 61043 100.00 Source: Sabir Ali, Environment Scenario of Delhi Slums, Centre for Social Development Studies, 1998 It is clear from Table 6.3 that around 70% of clusters have less than 500 JJ’s.