CHAPTER V

CONDITIONS OF SLUMS AND THEIR PROBLEMS

Slums are generally characterized by overcrowding, dilapidated buildings and surroundings,

open sewage, shortage of drinking water, problem of sanitation and hygiene, insecure housing,
etc. and many other difficult conditions of life. All these characteristics make the life of slum
dwellers challenging and tough risking their mental and physical wellbeing along with
diminishing future perspectives. These people are more prone to disease, further their poor
condition does not allow them to take proper care and treatment which must be given to patients.
This makes them most vulnerable part of urban society. Along with health issues, safe and
affordable drinking water is also one of the major problems cited in the slums. Water is the basic
need of all humans without which life is not possible, but in slums most of the times water is
supplied in scarcity or it is not supplied at all. For the supply of water these people have to wait
for hours by standing in line and after that if water is supplied that too in small amount through
which their daily needs are hardly satisfied creating the problem of sanitation and hygiene.
Although in various part of the countries some projects have been executed and others are in the
pipeline for water supply in this kind of less developed areas by which tap water is supplied to
these localities by the municipal authorities. Similarly the problem of open sewage is common in
slums which make the life and surrounding of these areas too much unhygienic where foul smell
and mosquitoes is make you feel mentally that you belong to the most out-caste part of urban
world. At the time of monsoon, the streets in slums get jammed with heavy water where there is
no provision for management of this logged water on streets. The people have to pass through
this water for crossing the roads. This risks the life of specially the children and the old age
people who can hardly walk (Adinarayappa,2008).

Most of the slums being illegal settlement pay no municipal taxes due, in turn they are
not given proper services by the Municipal bodies and other authorities also look at them like
unwanted overburden on the civic bodied of the town. Such areas are rarely been cleaned by the
municipal workers and the humps of garbage here and there makes the environment polluted.
Furthermore these people remain very less focused towards value education due to their poor
conditions. Parents also remain incapable to teach their children values and good habits as they

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remained busy throughout their life in hard conditions of life and never had the time to teach
their children or promote their education. In such circumstances these children who later become
adults in such localities could not learn hygienic habits and culture. Though this task could have
been achieved by the NGOs and the members of the society in urban areas but that too seems
lacking in sincere efforts.

Figure 5.1: The picture shows the people from slums standing in line for water.

(Source: World Finance, 2017)

When we talk of problems in slums it becomes important to talk about the main problem of
slums i.e. unsafe housing in these areas. The slums in general have houses or dwelling units
made of unsafe material such as tin sheds, cloth sheds, mud, bricks, which can‘t secure its
inhabitants from all weather conditions. At the time of heavy rains the roofs of their dwellings
leak from one side or the other. There remain very less space for all the occupants in these
houses. Along with the other problems in housing, the slums also have the problem of less
natural light and fresh air entering the dwelling unit due to less or no windows in the side walls.
These are mainly constructed in congested areas so there always remains the problem of spacing
inside the dwelling unit as well as outside it. In case of any accident or emergency situation, the
congested roads in the slums often creates difficulties for the emergency response team to reach

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at the emergency site with their vehicles which not only delays the support teams to reach their
but also endangers the life of inhabitants.
Being unplanned, illegal occupancies, of which no formal map or record is kept by the
concerned authorities; they are not provided with the basic services like sewage and electricity
supply. The residents of these areas perform illegal activities for these basic needs such as
establishing unsafe temporary electricity supply which is an offence as well and always risks the
life with short circuit and fire in the tent houses. Such incidences in many cities have taken the
life of several persons at different times but even after that neither the residents stop doing such
mistakes nor have the State authorities have shown concern in prohibiting such illegal
connections. The political influence and the technical issues i.e. involvement of different
departments in improvements in slums, are the reasons behind such lacunas in urban planning.
Buttenheim (2008) shows that 15 percent of deaths in children below the age of 15 years in least
developing and developing countries are due to diarrheal disease which affects these children
due to improper sanitation and hygiene issues. The improper sanitation sometimes cause severe
health problems for eg., when the feces come in contact of food items through water, hand touch,
insects and flies they also bring various dangerous parasites, dangerous bacteria, protozoa, etc.
with them, which then infects the intestinal tract leading to serious problems ( Aggarwal and
Sangar, 2005). This may lead to fetal results and under growth of children which is caused by
such parasites which do not allow the intestinal tract to accept nutrients from the food. This
shows that children in slums are more affected by sanitation problems then the adults. There is
need of awareness about hygienic habits which everyone must adopt to keep himself and his
society safe, such activities involve washing of hands with soap as washing hand with soap after
defecation minimizes the chances of contamination then washing hands with water only. It is an
established fact that majority of the big slums don‘t have toilets in the residential units, therefore
they have two options for defecating themselves. One is to go in open in vacant plots and land,
and the second option is to use public toilets. Both the options available to them are not
comfortable specially for the women in slums. Going in open for such activities makes the
women shy and also invites the eve teasing. So that no body see them in such situation they have
to go in early morning when it is dark ot they have to wait for evening when it will be dark again,
going in dark is also a social problem in male dominating society where the offences against the
women are so common and many such incidences are even not reported through formal

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institutions. In such circumstances when these women are overladen with socio-economic
problems, becomes the soft target of the bad element of the society. Not only this, they have to
face social stigma also if they want to go in day time for such a personalized thing, this make
them feel shame on many points of time. The public toilets in such places also do not function
well, they are not cleaned for many days and proper water supply in slums is also a matter of
concern. Sometimes such public toilets are paid which add more misery to their lives. Similarly
in case of men also the problem of deteriorated public toilets persist which raises the question on
policy makers and implementing authority of Swachh Bharat Mission. The Figure 5.2 below
shows the incidents of crime reported against the women from 2011 to 2015:
Figure 5.2
Crimes reported against women from 2011 to 2015

(Source: Crime in India, 2015 Report, NCRB)

The figure 5.2 shows not only the crimes against the women but also shows the degrading social
values and control of society over such incidences. Such kind of incidences are in fact reported
very less in a country like India. In India, traditional social values do not allow the issues related
to women are to be given much publicity as the reporting of such incidents is supposed to bring

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disrespect to the family reputation. Injustice to women in slums in such a society can‘t be denied,
they similarly have to face domestic violence, physical assaults by the husband and in-laws.
Misfortune of women in India is that even after so much trouble, the crime against them is
reported in very less number than actual incidences. All this shows the problems and conditions
of slum dwellers and the miseries of their life they face in routine. This demands a detailed
survey and action by the State authorities so that their situation can be improved and their
problems can be minimized.
Data Analysis:

From the above discussions it is clear that the conditions of poor slum dwellers is in very
alarming stage and a proper study of these slums is must for understanding these problems and to
identify their root causes in a scientific manner. This chapter deals with analysis of problems and
conditions of slums as explained below.

Residential Unit of Slum Dwellers:

Proper spacing according to the number of occupants is very necessary for any dwelling unit.
The minimum number of rooms in a house depends upon the number of members living in that
house or dwelling unit. In urban areas, we often see lack of space for housing, mainly because of
negligible development of agricultural land as residential property by the planners of cities such
as municipal authority, District Town Planner, etc. Other reason behind shortage of space in
urban areas is rapid migration of people from rural areas to urban areas. These migrants often
comes in town and cities for better jobs and services, but they don‘t have paying capacity to
settle in posh areas or the main areas of the town, as rent is very high. In such circumstances
these migrants and other homeless people look for alternatives in urban area which should be
affordable for them. This affordable alternative they find on vacant land under the private, public
or disputed ownership. This people pay negligible rent if they pay and establish their temporary
housing arrangement normally of one room which serves as kitchen, bedroom, drawing room,
bathroom and all for its occupants. With the passage of time in some cases these temporary
arrangements becomes permanent arrangement and also gets sanction of local administrative
authorities. The political leaders cites these migrants as their future vote bank and help them in
getting these areas approved by municipal authorities, with approval starts the development
process in these area but that‘s too take many years. To understand the genesis of these slums we

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tried to know that how much area in general is occupied by the slum dwellings units. Table 5.1
shows the area of jhuggi/ dwelling units.

Table 5.1
Occupancy Area of Jhuggi/Dwelling Unit
Occupant Area of Dwelling No. of Respondents Percent
Up to 50 sq. yards 27 14.8
Up to 75 sq. yards 55 30.2
Up to 100 sq. yards 63 34.6
More than 100 sq. yards 37 20.4
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.1 shows the area of respondent‘s jhuggi/dwelling unit. Table 5.1 shows the area of 14.8
percent slum houses is than 50 sq. yards. The area of 30.2 percent slum houses is less than 75 sq.
yards. The area of 34.6 percent slum houses is less than 100 sq. yard. The area of 20.4 percent
occupant is more than 100 sq. yard. Table 5.1 shows that the majority of the dwelling units in the
selected slums is more than 75 sq. yards which means the area of these units can‘t be said as less
spacious though it may also depend upon the size of the family and it will be wrong to call such
dwelling units as jhuggi except few which were really in very poor conditions and of temporary
nature.

Table 5.2 shows the relationship between the size of the dwelling unit and the number of
habitants in the house. This will let us know about the proper spacing in the household.

Table No. 5.2

Area of Dwelling and Number of family Members in the Household
Area of Dwelling Number of Members in the Household Total
1-4 5-6 7-8 More Than 8 Percent
Less Than 50Sq. yards 21 (11.5) 6 (3.3) 0 (0) 0 (0) 27 (14.8 )
LessThan 75Sq. yards 12 (6.6) 32 (17.6) 11 (6.1) 0 (0) 55 (30.3 )
Less Than 100Sq.
8 (4.4) 42 (23.1) 9 (4.9) 4 (2.2) 63 (34.6)
yards
More Than100Sq.
9 (4.9) 22 (12.1) 4 (2.2) 2 (1.1) 37 (20.3)
yards
Total 50 (27.4) 102 (56.1) 24 (13.2) 6 (3.3) 182 (100)
Source: Field Survey
* Figures in the bracket represent percentage.

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Table 5.2 shows that there were 14.8 percent slum houses with area less than 50 Sq. yard out of
which 11.5 percent slum households had family members from 1-4. 3.3 percent households had
5-6 family members whereas no household in this category had more than 6 members. In the
second category there were 30.3 percent slum houses which had area less than 75Sq. yard from
which 6.6 percent households had 1-4 family members, 17.6 percent households had 5-6 family
members whereas 6.1 percent households had 7-8 members. In the third category there were
slum houses whose area was less than 100 Sq. yard from which 4.4 percent households had 1-4
family members, 23.1 percent households had 5-6 family members, 2.2 percent households had
7-8 members and 1.1 households had more than 8 family members. In the fourth category, there
were slum houses with area more than 100 Sq. yard from which 9 households had 1-4 family
members, 12.1 percent households had 4-6 family members, 2.2 percent households had 7-8
members whereas 1.1 percent households had more than 8 family members. The table shows that
majority of the families have 5-6 members and they were having houses ranging above 75 sq.
yard except few which were below 75 sq. yard. The families having larger families were having
houses of more than 75 sq. yard which shows they were not living in less spacious home.
In slum areas, it is often seen that most of them are located on the government or unclaimed land
like Dharavi which once was the marshy area unclaimed by anyone which later on became the
one of the biggest slum in Asia. Table 5.3 shows the ownership of property in Rohtak slums.

Table No. 5.3

Ownership of the Property of the Respondents
Ownership of Property No. of Respondents Percent
Self/Owner 102 56
Rented 46 25.3
Barren Land/Disputed Land 22 12.1
On Govt. Land 12 6.6
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.3 shows the ownership of the property. Table 5.3 shows that 56 percent respondents
were the owners of the slum houses in which they were living, whereas 25.3 percent slum houses
were rented, 12.1 percent slums were on barren land, 6.6 percent slums were situated on
government land. In contrast to other temporary slums, we found that these slums were mostly

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inhabited by the land owners themselves and were rented mostly. It is not temporary residence of
majority of them so these people really hope for basic services and facilities in this area.

When asked about the papers of title/ownership of property we got the mixed responses. Many
possessed the papers, some have written contracts for transfer of property. Though it was
important to note that those who were living on rent did not have rent agreement. In the
discussion, many of them accepted that sometimes they could not pay rent due to poor resources
but the owners understand their position and not forces them to pay unless a reasonable time has
passed. Table 5.4 shows the data related to ownership papers of the property.

Table No. 5.4

Documented Papers of the Dwelling

Documented Papers of
Dwelling No. of Respondents Percent
Yes, Have Papers 74 40.7
No, Don‘t have Papers 92 50.5
Written Contract 16 8.8
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.4 shows documented papers of dwelling of slum people. Table depicts that 40.7 percent
of the respondents had the papers of the property, 50.5 percent of the respondents had no papers
of the dwelling, whereas 8.8 percent of the respondents had the written contract to dwelling
ownership. From the table 5.4 it can be said that nearly half of the families have been settled
without documents of paper which becomes a major concern for availing the schemes and
policies meant for slum dwellers.

Physical Specifications of Slums:

These will include type of building material used for developing the slums, condition of water,
electricity, sewage, drinking water supply, etc. the slums in earlier stage of their development
have negligible infrastructure and basic amenities like water supply, electricity, etc. these
services are made available to these areas only through two ways, i.e. one is political influence
and second is when these areas are approved by the local municipal authorities otherwise they
have to manage water, electricity, etc. either through public taps or paid sources.

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Material Used for building Jhuggis/ Dwellings:

Though the jhuggis or slum dwellings are supposed to be made of temporary building materials
which can be easily removed or tear off. But this is not necessary a dwelling unit may be
considered slum if it fulfills other criteria necessary for calling a unit, slum. Building material
used may pucca material, semi pucca material or it may be raw material such as polythene
sheets, cloth, tent, etc. Table 5.5 shows the type of building material used in jhuggi/dwelling.

Table No. 5.5

Type of Building material Used in jhuggi/Dwelling

Building Material Type No. of Respondents Percent

Pucca* 130 71.43
Semi Pucca* 21 11.54
Polythene/Cloth Shed 31 17.03
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

* Semi -Pucca house: A house that has fixed walls made up of pucca material but roof is made
up of the material other than those used for pucca house.

Pucca House: A pucca house is one, which has walls and roof made of the following material.
Wall material: Burnt bricks, stones (packed with lime or cement), cement concrete, timber, etc.
and Roof Material: Tiles, GCI (Galvanised Corrugated Iron) sheets, asbestos cement sheet which
have safe quality material, RBC, (Reinforced Bricks Concrete), RCC (Reinforced Cement
Concrete) and timber/wood, etc.

Kutcha House: The walls and/or roof of which are made of material other than those mentioned
above, such as unburnt bricks, bamboos, mud, grass, reeds, thatch, loosely packed stones, etc. are
treated as kutcha house. (Source: Housing Condition in India, 2002 )

Table 5.5 shows the type of building material used for jhuggi/slum dwelling. Table depicts that
71.43 percent of the slum houses were pucca according to the building material used, whereas
11.54 percent slum houses were of semi pucca building material, 17.03 percent slum houses
were made of polythene/cloth shed /kutcha building material type. This shows that majority of
the houses in this slum were made of pucca building material which are safe for all weather

110
conditions. Though it was noticeable that many of these houses needed huge repairs, and some
were having cracks in the walls, many of them were having roofs made of timber blocks and
garter stone. It was found that the houses are in dilapidated condition and not repaired due to lack
of economic resources.

Generally in most of the metropolitan areas there remains the water shortage especially in the
summer season, in small towns also such situation is created in summer (Bhatt, 2000). Water is
one of the basic needs of all human beings and the slum dwellers also have right to safe and
affordable drinking water in sufficient amount. The table 5.6 shows the water arrangement in
slums.

Table No. 5.6

Source of Water in the Jhuggi/Dwelling
Water Source No. of Respondents Percent
Water Connection 127 69.8
Hand Pump/Submersible 36 19.8
Through Tanker 19 10.4
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.6 shows the source of water for the slum dwellers. Table 5.6 depicts that 69.8 percent of
the respondents had water connections in their households, 19.8 percent respondents used hand
pumps/submersible for water, 10.4 percent respondents said that they had to arrange water tanker
for water. Water supply was noted as one of the main problem in the slum area.

In Indian tradition, and mainly in rural areas mainly, people believe that toilets are the home to
harmful bacteria, virus, etc. which can contaminate their homes, so earlier they preferred to go
far away for defecation in open in fields or decided place for that. But with the passage of time
and effect of western culture now people have started constructing the toilet in their homes, but
that too in many houses found in some outside corner of the house. Though any member can use
them, but mainly the women use them and men prefer to go outside.

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 Table No. 5.7

Bathroom and Toilet in Respondents Jhuggi/Dwelling

Bathroom/Toilet No. of Respondents* Percent

Bathroom 170 93.4
Toilet 164 90.1
Both Bathroom and toilet 164 90.1
No Bathroom or Toilet 12 6.6
Source: Field Survey

*Multiple responses by the respondents.

Table 5.7 shows the availability of bathrooms and toilets in respondent dwellings. Table 5.7
shows that 93.4 percent respondents dwellings had bathroom in their dwellings, 90.1 percent
respondents had toilet in their dwellings, 90.1 percent the respondents said they had both
bathroom and toilet. In 6.6 percent dwellings neither the bathroom nor the toilet facility is
available. Though most of the houses have toilet and bathroom inside the dwelling units, there
are some slum dwellings which need these facilities but due to poverty they are unable to build
these.

As far as toilets are concerned, the studied slums have the toilets inside the dwelling unit but
when they were asked about the use of public toilets they gave below mentioned responses.

Table No. 5.8

Reason for not Using Public Toilet

Reasons for not Using Public Toilet No. of Respondents Percent

They Charge Money 18 9.9
Dirty Toilets 82 45.1
Too far 64 35.2
Open Defection is More Convenient 18 9.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.8 shows the reason for not using public toilet. Table 5.8 depicts that 9.9 percent
respondents said that they didn‘t use public toilet because they charge money, 45.1 percent
respondents said that they didn‘t use public toilet because they were dirty, 35.2 percent

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respondents said that they didn‘t use public toilet because they were too far and the 9.95
respondents said that they don‘t use public toilet because they think that open defection is more
convenient. This shows that the condition of public toilets is not up to the mark, unhygienic and
dirty therefore, people avoid using these toilets.

The slums are often found with dirty streets and humps of garbage here and there. They are
mainly two reasons of garbage in slums. One is that the humps of garbage are generally found on
government land or unclaimed. Both the type of lands are suitable for poor people who can live
in slums nearby, i.e. in both cases no body objects the establishment of slums on humanitarian
grounds and they found home and work place in these slums. Rag pickers found work there in
garbage dumping sites and others in nearby industries. Second reason is that generally there no
municipal worker comes for cleaning streets in the slums. With the passage of time the situation
of these streets becomes deteriorated with the daily household waste thrown in slums. Table 5.9
shows the places where these slum dwellers dispose of the garbage produced in their homes.

Table No. 5.9

Site for Garbage Disposal
Garbage Disposal Site No. of Respondents Percent
Decided Common Place 25 13.7
Vacant Plots 47 25.8
On the Road Side 27 14.9
Municipal Van 83 45.6
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.9 shows the site of garbage disposal in the slum area. Table 5.9 shows that 13.7 percent
respondents dispose of their domestic garbage in the decided common place. 25.8 percent
respondents dispose of their domestic garbage in the vacant plots. 14.9 percent respondents
dispose of their domestic garbage on the road side whereas 45.6 percent respondents dispose of
their domestic garbage in the municipal waste collection van. Humps of garbage not only spread
disease but also pollute the environment. So the municipal workers must clean these areas and
should also make aware the residents about the need of cleanliness.

Table 5.10 shows the list of appliances used by the respondents in routine which shows how
many facilities they avail which are common in urban areas.

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 Table no. 5.10

Appliances Possessed by Slum Dwellers

Appliance Possessed No. of Respondents* Percentage

Fan 164 90.1
Mobile 180 98.9
T.V. 155 85.2
Laptop/Computer 10 5.5
Cooler 104 57.1
A.C. 5 2.7
Source: Field Survey

*Multiple responses by the respondents.

Table 5.10 shows the appliances possessed by the respondents used in their dwellings. Table
5.10 shows that 90.1 percent slum houses had fans, whereas in 98.9 percent slum households at
least one person had mobile, 85.25 slum households had television, 5.5 percent slum households
had laptop/computer. 57.1 percent households had desert cooler and 2.7 percent households did
even have air conditioners. Simpler appliances were possessed by the respondents, but they
lacked the items like laptop, computer, ACs, etc.

People in slums try to save every penny they can. It is a fact that penny saved is penny earned,
therefore those slum dwellers who don‘t have capacity to afford the gas cylinders go for other
options such as wood fire to prepare food. One other reason is that these people have no house
numbers on which gas cylinders can be delivered. These people migrate from one place to other
in search of work, so for them it becomes difficult to change the address in gas booking copy
again and again. There are some of the practical problems where poor people have to face while
arranging gas cylinders for cooking food. Table 5.11 deals with the type of fuel used by the slum
dwellers.

Table No. 5.11

Type of Fuel Used by the Respondents to cook food
Type of Fuel No. of Respondents Percent
LPG Cylinder 160 87.9
Wood Fire 22 12.1
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

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Table 5.11 shows the type of fuel used by the respondents to cook food. Table 5.11 depicts that
87.9 percent of the respondents used LPG cylinder for cooking food, whereas 12.1 percent
respondents used wood fire for cooking food. Although it was noticed that many households also
used wood fire along with LPG for cooking food. Though government is taking various steps to
promote the use of gas cylinder to avoid cutting of trees and prevent environment pollution, still
there were some families who used wood fire for cooking food.

Table 5.12 shows the type of electricity slums dwellers have. Many of them have legal
connections but some were having illegal connections. During the survey it was noticed that
many of the households have legal connections of electricity, however they were managing
electricity supply through illegal connections also.

Table No. 5.12

Electricity Connection in Slum Dwellings
Type of Electricity
Connection No. of Respondents Percent
Legal Connection 155 85.2
Illegal Connection 18 9.9
No Electricity Supply 9 4.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.12 shows the data regarding electricity connection in respondents‘ houses. Table 5.12
depicts that 85.2 percent households have legal electricity connections, whereas 9.9 percent
respondents had illegal electricity connections. During the survey, 4.95 households did not have
electricity connection as the electricity was disconnected due to unpaid bills. This shows that
majority of the houses have legal electricity connections, but nearly 15 percent were devoid of
valid electricity connection.

Reason for Living in Slums:

Everyone wants to settle in highly developed areas where all the basic services and infrastructure
are available. People in urban areas spend a lot on housing and location of the property, but now
the next question arises is that why do people live in such slums where the basic facilities and
infrastructure is found missing. There may be many reasons, but most probable answer to this

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question seems to be mainly the poverty due to which people get settled in such deprived areas.
Table 5.13 shows the various reasons for which the people start living in slums.

Table No. 5.13

Reasons for Living in the Slum

Reasons for Leaving in Slums No. of Respondents Percent

Low Cost of Land 63 34.6
Low Rent 26 14.3
Parents already Living Here 15 8.3
Near to Work Place 12 6.6
Close to native Place* 37 20.3
Time being Arrangement to Stay here 29 15.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.13 shows the reason for living in the slums. Table 5.13 depicts that 34.6 respondents
stayed in slum houses due to low cost of land. 14.3 percent respondents said that they had shifted
to slum area due to low rent. 8.3 respondents said that they were living here because their parents
are already living here. 6.6 respondents said that they were living here as that place is near to
their work place, whereas 20.3 percent respondents said that they were living here because that
area is near to their native place. Only 15.9 respondents said that they were living here for the
time being arrangement. Table 5.13 shows that the two major reasons for which the people
settled in these slums were low cost of land which makes this place affordable for these poor
people where as other reason was this area of the city was near to their native villages which
helped them to take care of issues arising in their native places easily. Other minor reasons which
were noticed were such as time being arrangement, low rent, near to workplace and due to
parents are already living here.

We have understood the reasons for migration, now it is also necessary to look at the purposes
which these migrants have in mind while migrating to slums. When a person leaves his home
and shifts to other town or city it never remains a easy decision, but when the purpose is
important than people leave their comfort and come to big town and cities. Table 5.14 also tries
to explain the purpose for which the respondents mainly come to live in slums in cities.

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 Table No. 5.14
Purpose of Migration to City
Purpose of Migration to City No. of Respondents Percent
Employment 63 34.6
Good wages 91 50.0
For Betterment of Family 18 9.9
Other Causes* 10 5.4
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey
*Includes absconders, run away couples, illegal migrants, etc.
Table 5.14 shows the purpose of migration to city. Table 5.14 shows that 34.6 percent
respondents had moved to the slum due to unemployment whereas half of the respondents said
that they had moved to the slum from their native places as there are low wages. 9.9 percent
respondents said they had moved to the slum in city for the betterment of their family, whereas
5.4 percent respondents had moved to city slum due to various purposes such as family
betterment, employment, good wages, etc. It was noticed that such migration is due to push and
pull factors both, the harsh conditions in rural area push these people towards the cities and the
job opportunity in the cities attract these poor needy people.
Unemployment is one such issue which has shaken many governments in India and has always
caused trouble to all the government either in State or at centre level. Large population size is
one of the main reasons behind unemployment in India, but there are many other causes also,
such as low level of large industries, developing economy, traditional society, low level of
technical skills, theoretical education, etc. Table 5.15 depicts the responses of the respondents
which they think are reasons for the unemployment of their family members.
Table No. 5.15
Reason for the Unemployment among Family Members
Reason for Unemployment No. of Respondents Percent
Illiteracy 91 50.0
Lack of Vocational Skills 46 25.3
Low Wage 18 9.9
Any other Reason* 27 14.8
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

*Loss of work due to modern industries, financial problem, physical problem, drug addiction,
etc.

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Table 5.15 shows that half of the respondents sighted illiteracy as the reason for unemployment
of their family members, whereas 25.3 percent respondents believed that lack of vocational skills
was the main reason for the unemployment of their family members. 9.9 percent respondents
believed that low wages in their jobs was the main reason for the unemployment of their family
members due to which they have left their jobs. 14.8 percent respondents believed that various
reasons such as modern machines, financial problems, physical disabilities, addiction to drugs
are the main reasons for the unemployment of their family members. It was noticed during the
survey that many respondents were not mentally prepared to change their traditional work. Data
depicts that illiteracy is main cause of unemployment, but question is that what kind of literacy
can provide jobs and employment. Whether doing mere school education or any other level or
technical education for creating job opportunities? This is a big question, answer of which is still
not available for these people. We hope government will sooner or later try to provide the answer
and provide job opportunities to needy people.

Migration Induced Slums:

Unequal development in rural areas in comparison to urban areas pushes the rural population
towards urban parts of the country specially the big industrial towns where these people find
employment opportunities. The income rural areas have decreased drastically due to lose of
traditional family business, secondly negligible number of industries, thirdly low agricultural
income and decreasing size of agricultural land, etc. for these reasons to get rid of poverty people
from villages move towards cities and towns for better income opportunities. Migration creates
shortage of housing in cities and the extremely poor people settles in slums. Not only poor
migrants, who are financially stable but want to settle in peripheral region of the city also shifts
to these slum like colonies for other reasons like proximity to native place, near to the fields,
informal society, relatives in slums, etc. ( Banerjee, 1986).
Table 5.16 describes the type of migration by which these people in selected slums are living.
Table No. 5.16
Type of Migration
Type of Migration No. of Respondents Percent
Urban to Urban 18 9.9
Rural to Urban 119 65.4
Within the City 45 24.7
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

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Table 5.16 shows the type of migration in case of people who are living in slums. Table 5.16
shows that 9.9 percent respondents had urban to urban migration, 65.4 percent respondents had
rural to urban migration, whereas 24.7 percent had moved to the present city slum from the some
other part of the same city. Maximum percentage was of respondents who have migrated from
rural to urban areas.

Table 5.17 is related to the nativity of the migrants who have shifted to these slums for various
reasons. It is seen that migration in developing towns like Rohtak is mainly from the rural areas
of the nearby districts. These people come to cities for better education, health and various other
services as well as infrastructure. Table 5.17 shows the nativity of these people.

Table No. 5.17

Nativity of the Respondents
Location No. of Respondents Percentage
From Haryana 145 79.7
Outside Haryana 37 20.3
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.17 shows the nativity of the respondents. Table 5.17 depicts that almost eighty percent of
the respondents living in this slum area are from Haryana, whereas 20.3 percent respondents are
from outside Haryana. As explained above, nearly 80 percent of the respondents belonged to
Haryana only, these are the people from nearby villages and some also from Rohtak and other
towns. Though some of the respondents are also found who belonged to Bihar, West Bengal,
Odisha and other states.

As discussed earlier some of the residents live on rent by paying rent in these slums for
temporary period and whenever their interest is over they leave these slums and shifts
somewhere else. Similarly those persons who have family problems, property dispute, change in
job, etc. also try to move out of these slums. Table 5.18 is related to the reasons for which the
slum dwellers would move if given choice and opportunity.

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 Table No. 5.18
Reason for Moving out of the Present Slum if Given Choice
Reason for Moving Out of This Slum No. of Respondents Percentage
For Future of Children 26 14.3
For Better Livelihood Options 63 34.6
Family Dispute Here 10 5.5
Don‘t Want to shift from Here 83 45.6
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 58 shows the reason for which the respondents would like to move out of the present slum
dwelling. Table depicts that 14.3 percent of the slum dwellers would like to move out of that area
for better future of their children. 34.6 percent respondents said that they would like to move out
of that slum for better livelihood options. 5.5 percent respondents said that they want to move out
of that slum due to family disputes here whereas 45.6 percent respondents said that they are
comfortable here and didn‘t want to move out of this area. The people in this slum are mostly the
owners of the property and have constructed their homes, these people are satisfied from this
area and have adopted to circumstances of these slums. On the other hand those people who
don‘t have good livelihood opportunities are found interested in moving out of these slum areas.

Migration is of types, permanent and seasonal migration. Permanent migration refers to such
migration in which a person has left his native place and has permanently shifted to some other
place whereas seasonal migration refers to those persons who leave their native places only for
some time i.e. for the time during which they have work opportunities in other areas, and then
come back to their native homes. Table 5.19 shows settlement pattern in the present slum
dwelling.

Table No. 5.19

Pattern of Settlement
Settlement Pattern No. of Respondents Percentage
Permanent 151 82.9
Seasonal 31 17.1
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey
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Table 5.19 shows the type of migration. Table 5.19 depicts that 82.9 percent respondents had
migrated permanently to that area whereas 17.1 percent respondents said that they had migrated
there for seasonal job opportunities and would left when the job opportunities would end there.
The table depicts that most of the respondents belonged to permanent type of migration and they
have made mind to settle here permanently. This is also one of the reason that many respondents
have bought the land here. During field work, it was noticed that some migrants from outside
Haryana have also purchased land and have constructed homes with the intention to permanently
settle here.

Poor people and those engaged in labor start living in slums due to various reasons, but one of
the reason is proximity of slums to the working sites such as industries, building under
construction, etc. Similar case is seen in the slums of Rohtak city near Hisar bypass where many
industrial units are present and hundreds of workers work in these units who settle down in slums
nearby. Table 5.20 shows respondents place of work within the slum or outside the slum area.

Table No. 5.20

Location of Place of Work

L:ocation of Work Place No. of Respondents Percentage

Within the Slum Area 42 23.1
Outside the slum Area 140 76.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.20 shows the location of work place from the slum area. Table 5.20 depicts that 23.1
percent respondents have their work place within the slum whereas 76.9 percent respondents said
that their work place is outside the slum area. Data shows that majority of the respondents have
work place outside the slum.

In the early stage Dharavi slum was inhabited by the workers from nearby industries. Similarly
many other slums have mushroomed in other cities near the big industrial sites. Table 5.21 shows
the distance of work place from their residence and the proximity of work place.

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 Table No. 5.21

Distance of Jhuggi/Dwelling from Place of work

Distance from Jhuggi/Dweling No. of Respondents Percentage

Within 0.001km to 1.0km 42 23.1
Within 1km to 5.0km 63 34.6
Within 5km to 10.0km 37 20.3
Depend on work/Opportunity 40 22
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.21 shows the distance of work place from their dwelling. Table 5.21 depicts that 23.1
percent slum dwellers have work place within one km. of the slum area, whereas 34.6 percent
slum dwellers had their work place within 1-5 km. of the slum area. 20.3 percent respondents
said that their work place was within 5-10 km. from their dwelling unit and the 22 percent
respondents said that their work place is not fixed as it depended upon the work opportunity.
Nearly 80 percent of the respondents have their workplace within 10 km. of the slum which
shows that one of the important reason due to which these people have settled in these slums.

Hygiene and Sanitation

In the present times when the whole world is shaken by the corona virus the issue of hygiene and
sanitation is discussed everywhere. Government and World Health Agencies are spreading
awareness about benefits of proper hygiene and sanitation. Many companies have started
manufacturing sanitizer in response of surge in demand of sanitizers due to corona virus. When
there were no medicines or vaccination against this virus proper sanitation was one of the
important methods to avoid the contamination of this virus. Proper hygiene and sanitation are the
goals under Sustainable Development Goals. But in country like India there are many issues of
hygiene and sanitation which need to be focused upon. India till date don‘t have much awareness
about sanitation when many people specially in rural areas go for defecation in open in routine
and wash hands with soil and fire waste instead of using soaps. Such study is also relevant for
the knowing the condition of sanitation and hygiene in slum areas where people are socially,
culturally, economically lag behind the other counterparts in urban areas. Table 5.22 shows the
bathing habits of respondents in the slums.

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 Table No.5.22

Bathing Habits of the Respondents

Bathing Habit No. of Respondents Percent

Daily 109 59.9
Daily With Soap and Hair
18 9.9
With Shampoo
Alternate Days Bathing 9 4.9
Whenever Seems Necessary 46 25.3
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.22 shows the bathing Habits of the respondents. Table 5.22 depicts that 59.9 percent of
the respondents bath daily, 9.9 percent of the respondents bath daily with soap and shampoo. 4.9
percent of the respondents bath on alternate days, whereas 25.3 percent of the respondents don‘t
take bath in routine but they bath only when it seems necessary for them to bath. Though
majority of the respondents bath daily but still many of them avoid bathing.

Hygiene means keeping clean one‘s own body and surroundings, to prevent unhealthy
environment which can cause illness or disease. Such concepts of cleanliness and hygiene in
India at present are very well ignored by the so called urban society in cities. If we see
traditionally, there was much focus on the concept of hygiene. Our ancestors used to put off their
shoes outside the main residential block of dwelling unit, they used to wash hands and mouth
first before eating or drinking, they didn‘t plan toilets in the home. They used ‗namaste‘ gesture
to welcome somebody instead of hugging and shaking hand, etc. but we people are losing our
cultural values and have adopted western habits which sometimes take away from our culture.

Table No. 5.23

Habits related With Hygiene
Habits related With Hygiene
No. of Respondents Percent
Wash Hand with Water 30 16.5
Wash Hand with Water Using Soap 102 56
Wash Hand Using Soil 29 15.9
Do Not Wash Hand Always 21 11.6
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

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Table 5.23 shows the habits of respondents related with hygiene. Table 5.23 depicts that 16.5
percent of the respondents wash hand only with water without any soap, whereas 56 percent
respondents wash hand with water using soap. 15.9 percent respondents wash hand with water
using soil, 11.6 percent respondents wash hand with water which is available otherwise they
don‘t wash hand always. In the selected slums it was noticed that majority of the slum dwellers
used soap for washing hands, many are there who found careless in this matter and didn‘t wash
hands properly inviting the disease.

Hygiene is a matter of habit and it has no dependency on religion, ethnicity, caste, etc. Many
poor families are seen during survey, who has very clean and hygienic environment of their
homes. Table 5.24 shows the items used by the respondents for sanitation in routine. These items
include bathing soap, shampoo, hair oil, nail cutter, mosquito coil and tooth brush.

Table No. 5.24

Daily Items used in Routine by the Respondents
Items used No. of Respondents* Percent
Bathing Soap 164 90.1
Hand Wash/Soap 155 85.2
Shampoo 137 75.3
Hair Oil 168 92.3
Nail Cutter 73 40.2
Mosquito Coil 100 54.9
Tooth Brush 151 82.9
Source: Field Survey

* Multiple responses by the respondents.

Table 5.24 shows the list of daily use items used by respondents in routine. Table 5.24 shows
that 90.1 percent of the respondents used bathing soap daily, other 85.2 percent respondents used
hand wash/soap in routine, 92.3 percent respondents also used hair oil, 40.3 percent respondents
use nail cutter, only 54.9 percent respondents used mosquito coil. 82.9 percent of the respondents
used tooth brush. Data shows that these people have satisfactory awareness about using the items
related to sanitation and personal hygiene.

Health Issues among Slum Dwellers:

Due to poor maintenance of environment and hygiene in slums many people get fatal disease
specially the kids. Lot of work has been done by the NGOs and state authorities for awareness

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about health concern in slums but much more action is pending than done. Vaccination means
developing artificial immunity or boosting immunity through injecting some external substance
in the body to protect the person from some disease. In India, necessary vaccines are given free
of cost through civil hospitals to the infants and children, these vaccines include polio drops,
pneumonia vaccine, BCG vaccine to prevent children from tuberculosis and hepatitis. Table 5.25
shows the rate of vaccination in slums.

Table No. 5.25

Type of Vaccination Given to Children
Type of Vaccination No. of Respondents* Percentage
Polio drops 182 100
pneumonia vaccine 45 24.7
Tetanus injection 145 79.6
BCG 138 76.6
Hepatitis 73 40.2
Source: Field Survey

*includes multiple responses by the respondents.

Table 5.25 shows the type of vaccination given to the children in respondent‘s family. Table 5.25
depicts that polio drops are given to all the children in respondent‘s family, 100 percent coverage
was done, pneumonia vaccine was given to 24.7 percent respondent‘s family, 79.6 percent
respondents said that their children were given tetanus injection, 76.6 percent respondents said
that their children were given the BCG vaccine 40.2 percent respondents said that their children
were given hepatitis vaccination. As far as vaccination is concerned and keeping in mind the
health concern of the children. Data shows lack of awareness on the part of parents and
inefficiency of health workers in these slum areas.

According to NIUSSP online news magazine (2019) 27 percent of the global neo-natal deaths
occur in India. Maximum neo-natal deaths i.e. 45 per thousand occur in Uttar Pradesh and
minimum such deaths occur in Kerala i.e. 4 per thousand. This happens due to negligible
delivery practices which risks the life of mother and infant both. In most of the cases such deaths
occurs during deliveries at home. This further says that neo-natal mortality rate was down 12 per
thousand (NFHS, 2016) in hospitals than at home. Table 5.26 shows the birth percentage at home
or in health institutions.

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 Table No. 5.26
Birth Place of Children In the Family
Birth Place of Children No. of Respondents Percentage
Civil Hospital 99 54.4
Private Hospital 37 20.3
Home 46 25.3
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.26 shows the place where children were born in the respondent‘s family. Table 5.26
depicts that 54.4 percent delivery took place in civil hospital, 20.3 percent delivery took place in
private hospital 25.3 percent delivery took place in home. Data shows that though nearly 80
percent families preferred hospitals in place of traditional way of delivery at home but still nearly
one fourth of the families take the risk of birth at home. Sometimes this happens due to lack of
awareness and sometimes due to poverty. Social factors such as dominance of traditional
thoughts also contribute to unsafe birth delivery practices.

The figure 5.3 shows the manifold rise in cesarean deliveries in last one decade due to
unregulated market and preference of women for cesarean deliveries than normal deliveries.

Figure 5.3

Percentage of cesarean deliveries at government hospitals and at private hospitals.

(Source: Health Management Information System; Ministry of health and Family Welfare,2019)

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 Similarly the Table shows the method of infant birth in slums of Rohtak city, this will help in us
knowing the preference of women in slums about this medical condition.

Table No. 5.27

Method of Delivery of Child
Method of Delivery of Child
No. of Respondents Percentage
Normal Delivery 173 95.1
Caesarean Delivery 9 4.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.27 shows the medical procedure that how the birth is given to the child. Table 5.27
depicts that 95.1 percent respondents said that their children are born through normal delivery
whereas in case of 4.9 percent respondents children are born through caesarean delivery. The
world sets an ideal percentage of 15 percent that no country should have cesarean deliveries
more than 15 percent. This goal looks like, is very much achieved in the slums where nearly 95
percent women prefer to give birth to their children in normal way than cesarean method.

Poverty along with physical problems is the worst combination these poor people in slums can
have. Table 5.28 shows the number of differently able person in the family and the problem of
medical care associated with them.

Table No. 5.28

Differently Able Person in the Family and Medical Care
No. of
physically Proper Medical Care
Challenged
Person
Poverty as Some other Total (1)+(2)
Yes Reason for Reason for
Checked Not Checked Improper Improper
Properly (1) Properly(2) Health Care Health Care
One 12 6 4 2 18
Two 0 0 0 0
Less Than Four 0 0 0 0
No one 164 0 0 164
Total 176 6 182
Source: Field Survey

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The table 5.28 above shows that there are 18 families in which one of the member was
differently able. Data also shows that out of 18 such persons, only 12 are getting the due medical
care rest, of the six is not getting proper. Out of six four are not taking medical care through
expert doctor due to poverty and two are not taking proper medical care because there is no adult
person available in their family who can look after them. Such kind of circumstances really brake
the confidence of suffering people who just spend their life in hope of better life in next life after
death.

Next in the series of sufferings for these people is the scarcity of resources for proper health care
of the family members. Whenever a person from the family gets ill these people have to manage
the expanses of treatment from their hardly earned money. Many of them have to borrow money
from their near and dear ones whereas some of them have no such connections because of which
they totally remain dependent on the government hospitals where they get almost free treatment
but there is no guarantee of best treatment and facilities. The Table shows the health expenses
management by the respondents.

Tabel No. 5.29

Management of Health Expenses
Management of Health
Expenses No. of Respondents* Percent
Through savings 127 69.8
Borrow from Relatives or
55 30.2
Friends
Totally Dependent on
145 79.7
Government Hospitals
Source: Field Survey

*includes multiple responses

Table 5.29 shows the health expenses management by the respondents. Table 5.29 depicts that
69.85 meet their health care expenses through savings, 30.2 percent respondents meet their
health care expenses by borrowing from relatives or from friends. 79.7 percent respondents said
that they had no source for health care expenses and are dependent upon government hospitals.
Data above shows that the situation is very poor as almost 80 percent of the respondents families
are solely dependent upon the free medical care by the government hospitals. For this reason the

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government must improve the facilities and services in the civil hospitals specially the senior
specialist doctors must be appointed so that these poor people can also get good medical care.

Most of the urbanites and the people living in rural areas try self medication and generally take
medicines from pharmacist shop without prescription of an expert doctor. Table 5.29 shows the
details about such practices in the slum dwellers.

Table No. 5.30

Type of Hospital for Health Care
Type Of Hospital No. of Respondents Percent
Civil Hospital 113 62.1
Private Hospital 12 6.6
Pharmacist/Medicine Shop 21 11.5
Home Remedies/vaidya 36 19.8
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table no.5.30 shows the type of hospital concerned for health care services. Table 5.30 depicts
that 62.1 percent respondents consulted civil hospital for health care services whenever needed,
6.6 percent respondent consulted private hospitals for health care services. 11.5 percent
respondents consulted pharmacist/medicine shop for health care services whenever needed. 19.8
percent respondents said that they had taken home remedies or consulted local vaidya for health
care services. Nearly 32 percent slum dwellers are found to take medicines from the open
services without consultation of doctors. Such practices are done by the poor people for various
reasons such as lack of awareness about side effects, poverty, waiting time in hospitals, costly
treatment, etc. many of these factors are responsible for poor treatment of patients belonging to
poor families, which sometimes result in causalities of the patients.

In cities and towns hospitals are there but it is a matter of fact that newspapers many times shows
huge vacancies of doctors and staff in government hospitals, but no one take cares. Health care
of relatives of big leaders and policy makers along with the ministers themselves get treatment in
big five star private hospitals such as Medanta in Gurugram. In Haryana when any influential
minister of the state government gets serious disease he or she is taken to Medanta hospital
generally for best treatment, which is a private costly hospital. Government ministers don‘t rely
on their State own hospitals in every district than for home such hospitals are meant and when

129
their conditions will be improved. The Table 5.31 deals with the cases in which the families have
lost family members who did not get proper treatment because of poverty.

Table No. 5.31

Fatality in the Family due Financial Constraints

Causality No. of Respondents Percent

One 63 34.6
Two 19 10.5
Four 0 0
No Such Death 100 54.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.31 shows the fatality in the family due to financial constraints for treatment. In 34.6
percent households one fatality has occurred as they did not have enough financial resources for
treatment. In 10.5 percent households there are two fatalities which have occurred as they did not
have enough financial resources for treatment. 54.9 percent households have no fatality due to
lack of financial resources for treatment. Nearly 46 percent of the families have lost their near
and dear ones because of carelessness in treatment due to financial issues. This shows
government facilities are not sufficient. They need reformation and there is also the need of
increasing income of these slum dwellers.

Availability of Food in Slums

Poverty is the biggest problem in this urban society where people do have formal relations and
everything is paid, here comes nothing only because of relations when such is valued by others.
The poor people in slums spend their whole day in search of livelihood and arrangement of
foods. Many beggers, hawkers, cleaners, etc. live in slums and they don‘t have much income for
the subsistence of their family, in such cases they have to adjust even without food (Ghosh,
2008). Though government also provide subsidized ration to poor people but many of these
people don‘t have required documents for such subsidized food items, in such case they have to
remain dependent upon market for purchase of food items for the family. Most of these people
work in unorganized sectors where they are paid very less wages. Table 5.32 shows the
availability of milk for the family in slums.

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 Table No. 5.32
Source of Milk in the Family
Source of Milk No. of Respondents Percent
Own Buffalo/Cow/Goat 56 30.8
Get Milk From Market 99 54.4
Get Milk Only for Children 18 9.9
No source 9 4.9
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table 5.32 shows the source of milk in the family. Table depicts that in 30.8 percent
respondent‘s family source of milk was their own buffalo/cow/goat, in case of 54.4 percent
respondents they purchased milk from the market, in 9.9 percent cases they family could arrange
milk only for their children whereas there were some family i.e. 4.9 percent were unable to
arrange milk as they don‘t have capacity to buy milk so there was no source of milk for them.
Nearly 70 percent of the respondents purchase milk from the market and it was important to note
that 4.9 percent of the people were incapable of buying milk due to financial problems. Such
level of poverty really makes feel shy, where one side in the same city a family of 5-6 members
builds a multistory house with several rooms and waste lots of money on showcasing, even waste
food items just because they don‘t like this or that, dogs of rich people do have enough facility of
milk and all, on the other hand these poor people in the same city don‘t have capacity to buy
milk even for their children. Such a poor face of urbanization we have, not visible to the
responsible to government authorities and the civil society also. The Table shows the depth of
their miserable life, that how these people are sometimes live without food.

Table No. 5.33

Number of Times Family Slept Without Food
Slept Without Food No. of Respondents Percent
Whole Day 12 6.6
Without One Meal 10 5.5
Many a Times 5 2.7
Never 155 85.2
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

Table no. 5.33 shows the food availability in the respondent‘s family. Table 5.33 depicts that 6.6
percent family of the respondents had slept without food when they were not having food for the

131
whole day. 5.5 percent of the respondents family have stayed without one meal in a day. 2.7
percent of the respondents said that they had missed food many a times. Whereas 85.5 percent of
the respondents said that they have never slept without food as they always had food availability.
Right to food is a fundamental right and also comes under sustainable goals, even then we have
such poor and pity examples that in the era of globalization many people have to sleep without
food. Data shows that nearly 15 percent of the respondents have slept without food in their life
only once, though single meal missed sometimes.

Other Social Problems:

Most of us have seen baggers on the roads, labour workers at construction sites and children and
women bagging food in front of our homes but we rarely think from where these people come,
how they survive and we don‘t bother much about their circumstances. Some of us have many
times rudely talked to them or have treated them in a disrespectful manner taking it for granted
that they don‘t have self-respect and they deserve to be treated like these. It shows out civic
sense and mentality that when someone is well-dressed, we use respectful words for them, they
might cheat us, but when we deal with some poor people dressed in dirty clothes and needy
situation we behave like masters and command them and command them with full authority. In
our culture, we used the words like tau, tai, chacha, chachi,dada, dadi, etc. which generally
have respect and feeling of personal touch depending upon the age of the listener, but in our
urban society, we do have such words but they seem and actually are formal words which don‘t
show personal touch. In such society, these poor people have to face disrespect at various
occasions. Table 5.34 also shows the behavior of people from nearby colonies towards the
children of slum dwellers.

Table No. 5.34

Behavior of Other Neighbourhood Colonies towards Slum Dwellers
Behavior of Other Neighbourhood Colonies
towards Slum Dwellers No. of Respondents Percentage
Always Discouraged to enter in their Colony 10 5.5
Sometimes called to keep away Their Children 20 11
Never said anything for Playing with their
152 83.5
Children
Total 182 100.0
Source: Field Survey

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Table 5.34 shows the behavior of neighbourhood colonies towards respondent‘s children. Table
5.34 depicts that 5.5 percent respondents said that neighbors from different areas always
discouraged their children to enter in slum colony. 11 percent respondents said that neighbors
from other colonies sometimes discouraged their children to contact with their children. 83.5
percent respondents said that the neighbors from other colonies had never misbehaved with their
children. The table 5.34 shows that nearly 17 percent of the respondents have faced such kind of
disrespect or foul behavior from the neighbors of nearby colonies. Such kind of social problems
are related to identity issues and must be looked after by the society itself.

It is observed in the rural society of India that people have the habit of smoking through Hukah
and beedis, and many people also have the habit of drinking alcohol even with poor financial
situation. In slums the parents and society is not able to take care of their wards in a proper
manner, in such situation the youth get distracted from the path of right habits and get influenced
by the loafers and bad elements of the society who make the youngsters learn how to smoke and
take other kind of seductive drugs, alcohol, etc. Table 5.35 shows the habits related to drug
addiction among slum dwellers.

Table No. 5.35

Type of Addiction in the Family

Type of Addiction No. Of Addicts* Percentage

Tobacco 63 34.6
Beedi/ Cigaratte 152 83.5
Alcohol 91 50
other Drugs 12 6.6
No Addiction 27 14.8
Source: Field Survey

* multiple responses

Table 5.35 depicts the types of addiction among the family members. Table 5.35 depicts that in
34.6 percent household at least one person was addicted to tobacco. 83.5 percent households
have at least one person addicted to the habit of beedi or cigrate smoking. 50 percent households
at least one person was addicted to drinking alcohol whereas in 6.6 percent households had at
least one person who was addicted to other drugs. On the other, hand it was also observed that in
14.8 percent households no person is habitual to any kind of addiction. In the society the trend of

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addiction is increasing because of ever less control of police authorities and degradation of social
values and social control in urban areas. The actors and actresses are shown in Television and
online media, their drinking alcohol, smoking style influences the youth. After some time
repeated telecast of such things makes the youth and society to form habits which degrade the
social values and culture (Goswami, 2010).

From the above analysis it came out that these slum dwellers have many problems in their life
and they fight with them daily, their whole day passes in fighting the challenges God have given
them. These slum dwellers were asked to arrange the problems like poverty, unemployment,
housing, water supply, sewage and crime in order of ranking. Their responses were recorded and
the results are as follows:

Table No. 5.36

Problems viewed by the Respondents

Problems (Rank Wise) Type of Problem No. of Respondents* Percent

1. Poverty 164 90.1
2. Unemployment 155 85.2
3. No Proper House 137 75.3
4. No Water Supply 91 50
5. No Sewage 65 35.7
6. More Crime 47 25.8
Source: Field Survey

* multiple responses by the respondents.

Table 5.36 ranks the problems viewed by respondents according to their importance. Table 5.36
depicts that 90.1 percent respondents ranked poverty as the biggest problem. 85.2 percent
respondents ranked problem of unemployment as the second biggest problem for them. 75.3
percent respondents ranked problem of housing as the third biggest problem for them. 50 percent
percent respondents ranked problem of water supply as the fourth biggest problem for them. 35.7
percent respondents ranked absence of sewage as the fifth biggest problem for them. 25.8 percent
respondents ranked increasing crime as the sixth biggest problem for them. The table 5.36 shows
that poverty and unemployment are the biggest challenges in their life, which actually is the root
cause of all other problems.

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 SUGGESTIONS

The slums need many reforms in long run, the government and the society have to look in to the
past for the mistakes that have been done till now. For future the planning is possible only after
knowing our failures, on the basis of this study and the literature reviewed for the research the
following suggestions are made:

Slums reflect the underdevelopment of society. The existing policies have not done much
concrete for improving the position of slum and housing in urban areas. We have well defined
rights and duties in our constitution and nobody is above the law. No one can develop residential
area with prior permission of the concerned departments than the question arises how do the
slums without planning develop in urban areas? Definitely there is negligence on the part of
responsible authorities who must have checked such growth of slums. So there is need of
increasing accountability of such authorities and offices whose duty it is to check such
unauthorized housing in the form of slums development. They need to set example that no
person will be allowed to develop such informal housing.

There may be three vital areas on which focus must have to be paid by the government and
agencies to solve the problem of slums. First is employment to youth, secondly women
empowerment and thirdly, security of minimum livelihood for satisfying basic needs to provide
them a base for development.

Slum dwellers also have to do efforts like the people living in the Orangi town in Karachi have
done. These people did not have the sewage lines in their own, after waiting for efforts by the
government year over year they decided to maintain their area themselves. For this they all
contributed for the welfare fund meant for their area and also provided man power for it which
gave their area the solution in the form of sewage lines which they were demanding from so
many years. This way the slum dwellers in India also have to set a positive approach for their
area for such requirements which they themselves can fulfill. This is possible only if they have
sense of ownership.

NGO‘s must fight for land rights of poor, women and illiterate people living in slums and they
must also try to upgrade slums. Many times people living in slums are not aware of their rights

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and due to lack of guidance they lost legal battle. In such circumstances NGOs can prove
beneficial (Clinard, 1970).

Healthy and happy homes are not the mere concrete structures but they also need social and
political participation and opportunities. Policies must have to integrate such ideas which not
only improve the infrastructure of slums but they should also enhance values, social and political
participation, so that they can also enjoy their social life.

In present times slum upgradation projects are the felt need. Many times due to man-made
disasters or natural disasters it is seen that the people living in slums are affected most and help
reaches to them very late. Police and other emergency vehicles often have to face trouble when
they have to reach at some location in unplanned areas like slums due to tightly packed pathways
which results in less monitoring and curbing of disasters, crime,etc. For example in case of
Covid 19 spread Dharavi slums become nightmare for Maharashtra government as the slum
houses were much unplanned in which people don‘t have proper spacing, they had to live in
congestion due to which contamination spreads rapidly.

Most of the slum dwellers have earning below 10% and most of them are daily wage
earners and that too from the informal sector so it is necessary for the policy makers to arrange
minimum resources for them necessary for their survival in a pandemic situation like Covid-19.
The daily wage earners have lost their jobs and have no earnings so they have to return to their
native places for securing their lives. Government has to look after not only food but other
services also such as health services, educational services, old age homes, etc. It was seen that
the many children living in the slum area did not have proper access to internet and online
education and there was not government dispensary in nearby locality to dispense primary health
services. This type of sustainable vision has to be adopted.

It is further suggested that the urban development must go on in parallel to rural

development, it should never be at the cost of rural development at any cost. Both are dependent
on each other and both can sustain only, if the development goes on with a healthy balance
between urban and rural development (Kapur, 2006). In most of the cases it is seen that slums
develop due to migration of people from rural to urban area in search of employment, education,

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better services but if they could have got these facilities in their native places they might not
have moved to these urban areas.

Representatives from slums must be included in bodies meant for their welfare so that they can
have participatory attitude and felling of being important and equal. There must be provision of
participatory budgeting along with good governance so that the programmes can be made
effective and beneficiary oriented.

One more measure to develop slum areas can be that these areas must be equipped with police
station, dispensary, school, market, parks and good roads so that these slum dwellers may also
have the feeling of community participation as well as social security. These measures may let
them explore their talents by using the market opportunities, women safety through police
stations, employment through good education in schools and health services from nearby
dispensary.

Affordable housing is also one of the suitable measures which can help in reducing the numbers
of slums and will also in further rise in no. of slums. Land mafia and property rates in urban
areas should be controlled. There should be Single window for all beneficial schemes with user
friendly module. Fast processing of files should be ensured.

To solve the problem of rising number of slums government has also to focus on infrastructure
connecting rural and semi developed areas to highly developed towns and cities so that people
can come and return to these towns and cities for work and services on daily basis. For this the
government has to develop easy and comfortable public transport with wide and frequent
network of bus and train services. This will reduce the permanent migration of poor people to
urban areas.

This century is witness to mass movement from agri-based economy to big industrial, technology
and services economy, therefore it is foremost requirement of the present times to give boost to
manufacturing and services sector so that adequate employment opportunity can be generated.
Employment raises the spending power of people which in turn improves standard of life. So to
eradicate slums it is foremost necessary to manage this shift in economy.

It is hoped that these suggestions will help in improving the conditions of slums.

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Summary:

The analyses of the data shows that slum dwellings in Rohtak, provides shelter to the urban poor
and also the home to many problems. Lack of sewage, drinking water, good education, health
services, drug addiction, crime, and many are other socio-economic problems exist in slums. It
was noticed that the dwelling units in these areas are found in good condition and most of them
are in pucca structures. The basic amenities such as electricity supply, water supply and sewage
are available in most of the area, though in some parts the work is under process. The study
shows that the bathroom and toilets are there in all most all the houses, but people still follow
unhygienic habits. Many people don‘t bath daily and don‘t use soap for washing hands. It was
found that the problem of employment and poverty are the biggest challenges for which they
wanted government support.

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