Delhi needs better slum rehabilitation policy

Why in news?

Delhi Assembly moved the cut-off for recognising jhuggi-jhopri clusters from 2006 to 2025; a new slum rehabilitation policy is awaited.

UPSC Relevance

Mains – GS1, Urbanization, their problems and their remedies; Population and associated issues

GS2, Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections. 

What are urban slums?

• Census 2011 definition: Residential areas where dwellings are unfit for human habitation because of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement, narrow streets, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation, or a combination of these that harms safety and health.
• UN-Habitat definition: A slum household lacks one or more of five things – durable housing, sufficient living area, improved water, improved sanitation and security of tenure.
• Scale (Census 2011): About 6.5 crore people lived in slums across 2,613 towns – roughly one in six urban Indians. Maharashtra had the largest slum population (about 1.18 crore); in Greater Mumbai, about 41% of people lived in slums.
• Constitutional and legal framework
  • Article 21 – Right to life includes right to livelihood and shelter (as interpreted by courts).
  • Article 19(1)(e) – Right to reside and settle in any part of India.
  • 74th Constitutional Amendment, 1992 – Twelfth Schedule lists ‘slum improvement and upgradation’ and ‘urban poverty alleviation’ as municipal functions.

Why do slums exist in the first place?

Slums are often called a ‘failure of the poor’. In reality, they are the poor’s own answer to a housing system that has no place for them.

• Cities need workers but don’t house them – Domestic workers, construction labour, vendors and drivers keep the city running, yet formal housing near jobs is unaffordable for them. 
• Housing shortage at the bottom – The Technical Group on Urban Housing Shortage (2012) estimated a shortage of about 1.88 crore units, with over 95% of it in the EWS and Low Income Group segments. 
• Expensive and scarce urban land – High land prices, low Floor Space Index, rigid zoning and delays in approvals keep formal housing costly. The poor settle on vacant public land, drain banks and railway lines. 
• Informal economy – Over 80% of urban workers are informal. Irregular incomes, no salary slips and no credit history keep them out of formal home loans and rental markets. 
• History of city growth – Mumbai’s mill and port workers, and Partition refugees and later migrants in Delhi, settled where land was available because planned housing never kept pace.
• Planning blind spot – Master Plans often under-deliver on EWS housing targets and treat informal settlements as ‘encroachments’ to be removed rather than neighbourhoods to be planned for.

Why do slums keep proliferating? 

• Rural distress-driven migration – Small landholdings, low farm incomes and climate shocks push people to cities, while jobs pull them in.
• Political Tolerance without tenure – Settlements are tolerated for votes but not given legal rights. Without tenure, residents and governments both avoid investing in better houses and services.
• Natural growth inside slums – Existing settlements grow denser as families expand, often building vertically in unsafe ways.
• Failed relocation – Resettlement colonies on city edges (e.g., Bawana and Savda Ghevra in Delhi) cut people off from jobs and schools. Many families sell or rent out allotted plots and move back to the city.
• Weak urban local bodies – Despite the 74th Amendment, ULBs have limited funds, staff and planning powers. Municipal revenue in India is around 1% of GDP, much lower than in many other countries.
• Slum redevelopment delays – Stalled PPP projects leave families in transit camps or pushed into new informal settlements, as seen in Mumbai.

How have governments dealt with slums? 

As the author argues, a slum policy should not become a land monetisation policy with a welfare annexure.

Solutions 

• In-situ first, relocation last – Upgrade on site wherever land and safety permit. Relocate only when the site is truly unsafe or needed for an overriding public purpose.
• Household’s urban life as the unit – Rehabilitation must protect work, school, care networks and commute, not just hand over a flat.
• No demolition before a ready home – Serviced homes with transport, schools and health centres should be functional from day one.
• Flexible eligibility – Recognition should not depend on every resident producing perfect documents; use surveys, community verification and GIS data.
• Accountable PPPs – Transparent developer selection, audited financial capacity, performance bonds, milestone deadlines, transit rent kept in escrow, and penalties for defaulters.
• Transparency – Public dashboards showing surveys, eligibility decisions, appeals, construction progress and possession dates.
• Rental housing – Scale up rental housing and hostels for migrants; adopt the Model Tenancy Act, 2021.
• Inclusive land use – Reserve land and a share of units for EWS in new projects (inclusionary zoning); use idle public land.
• Community at the centre – Slum dwellers’ associations and women’s groups (like Mahila Milan with SPARC and NSDF) should plan and monitor works.
• Stronger ULBs – Give cities the funds, staff and planning powers promised by the 74th Amendment.
• Measure outcomes – Success means families are securely housed near work, children stay in school and maintenance is affordable – not acres ‘cleared’.
• SDG link – SDG target 11.1 calls for adequate, safe and affordable housing for all and upgrading slums by 2030.

Case Study: Odisha’s Jaga Mission – Upgrading slums, not erasing them

• Background – The Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act was passed in 2017. The Jaga Mission (Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission) was launched in 2018 with support from Tata Trusts and other partners.
• Core idea – Every slum household gets land rights and secure tenure where it already lives. Eviction is not the default.
• How it worked:
  • Mapping – Drone surveys and GIS mapped nearly 3,000 slums across the State’s towns, creating an official database.
  • Land rights – Small land plots (up to 30 sq m in larger cities) given as land rights certificates; women can be joint owners.
  • Community-led works – Slum Dwellers’ Associations were formed in each slum to plan and monitor roads, drains, water and toilets. Residents were paid wages for the work.
  • Linking to schemes – Land rights allowed families to access housing subsidies and build pucca homes.
• Results – By early 2023, all households in about 2,724 slums had piped water connections and over 700 slums were fully transformed into liveable habitats (Biju Adarsh Colonies).
• Recognition – Won the World Habitat Award (Bronze) in 2019 and again in 2023; often called the world’s largest slum land-titling programme.
• Why it worked – Statutory backing, tenure security, use of technology, community ownership and the State keeping control of outcomes.

Other successful examples

• Ahmedabad’s Slum Networking Project (1995) – Linked slums to city water, sewer and road networks with resident contributions.
• Thailand’s Baan Mankong (2003) – Community organisations got funds directly to upgrade their own settlements.

Mains Practice Question

“Slums are less a failure of the urban poor than a failure of urban planning and land policy.” Examine the causes behind the spread of slums in Indian cities and discuss how safe hosing can be ensured for all. (250 words, 15 marks)

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