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ow a day we are going through the era of Covid-19
pandemic and we have been seeing a large No. of Migration of daily wages
labors, labors working in industries and constructions. Most of these
labors/workers live in urban slums of our Metropolitan cities like Delhi,
Mumbai, Chennai and major cities of the country like Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad
etc. The people living in urban slums of these cities are related unorganized
sector. In India, 52–98 million
people live in urban slums, and 59% of slums are “non-notified” or lack legal
recognition by the government while
37% of slum households are non-notified because non-notified slums have a
smaller average population size (National Sample
Survey Organization 2013), and
these urban slums lack of basic amenities like water, sanitation, toilets and
health service providers. India’s slum population has substantially poorer
health outcomes compared with its non-slum urban population (Agarwal 2011;
Gupta et al. 2009).
The 21st century's
globalized India now has a brand value in the international arena. However, there are so many
challenges and impediments to fulfill the aspirations of its citizens by the
welfare state. The concept of 'Smart City' aims to develop 100 world class,
citizen friendly and sustainable cities in India. In this regard, Prime
Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi said- "It is our dream that by the
time we celebrate the 75th year of independent India, all the slums are
replaced by cemented houses."
The existence of slums is an essential by-product of industrialization and rapid urbanization especially in developing countries. These urban colonies or areas are generally characterized by their closely packed decrepit, unauthorized or encroached small and temporary houses, congestedpopulation, unhygienic health conditions, least civic amenities, all types of pollution, criminal activities, foul smell, stray animals and poverty etc. According to the United Nations World Cities Report 2016 the number of slum dwellers in developing countries increased from 689 million in 1990 to 880 million in 2014. Nearly 25% urban population of the world is living in slums. Dharavi of Mumbai is the biggest slum of India the second largest in Asia and third largest in world. It has 2.1 sq km area and one million population.
The existence of slums is an essential by-product of industrialization and rapid urbanization especially in developing countries. These urban colonies or areas are generally characterized by their closely packed decrepit, unauthorized or encroached small and temporary houses, congestedpopulation, unhygienic health conditions, least civic amenities, all types of pollution, criminal activities, foul smell, stray animals and poverty etc. According to the United Nations World Cities Report 2016 the number of slum dwellers in developing countries increased from 689 million in 1990 to 880 million in 2014. Nearly 25% urban population of the world is living in slums. Dharavi of Mumbai is the biggest slum of India the second largest in Asia and third largest in world. It has 2.1 sq km area and one million population.
One of the main problems
of these slum communities is unemployment as a large no. of population living
in these slums is basically depend on construction sector, local industries. In
Agra where I belong to a large no. of people living in the urban slums depends
on hospitality industry, marble industries and construction sectors and actually
most of them are unskilled workers. They prepare shoe covers, brushes, carpets
and marble items etc. on contract base. They are given a fixed amount to
prepare these kind of items by the contractor and actually this fixed amount of
money is insufficient and even it is very hard for them to meet their basic
requirements. And I think the same
pictures can be seen in the other urban slums of major cities of India. The
dimensions of urban poverty can be broadly divided into three categories: (i)
residential vulnerability (access to land, shelter, basic services, etc.); (ii)
social vulnerability (deprivations related to factors like gender, age and
social stratification, lack of social protection, inadequate voice and
participation in governance structures, etc.) and (iii) occupational
vulnerability (precarious livelihoods, dependence on informal sector for
employment and earnings, lack of job security, poor working conditions, etc.). Urban
poverty being multi-dimensional, various vulnerabilities faced by the poor in
cities and towns: occupational, residential and social need to be addressed
simultaneously in a comprehensive and integrated manner with a targeted focus
on the vulnerable groups so that a definitive impact can be made on ground.
Residential vulnerability issues are being addressed through programmes like
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The other two vulnerabilities: occupational
and social can be best addressed by creating opportunities for skill
development leading to market-based employment and helping them to set up
self-employment ventures. Urban poverty alleviation programmes need to be based
on skill development and easy access to credit. Any livelihood
promotion programme can be scaled up in a time-bound manner only if driven by
the poor and their institutions. Such strong institutional platforms support
the poor in building up their own human, social, financial, and other assets.
This in turn, enables them access to rights, entitlements, opportunities and
services from the public and private sectors, while enhancing their solidarity,
voice and bargaining power.
Following strategies
can be very effective towards self-reliance
and gainful employment for urban communities:
·
Building capacity of the urban poor, their institutions and the
machinery involved in the implementation of livelihoods development and poverty
alleviation programmes through handholding support.
·
Enhancing and expanding existing livelihoods options of the
urban poor.
·
Building skills to enable access to growing market-based job
opportunities offered by emerging urban economies.
·
Training for and support to the establishment of
micro-enterprises by the urban poor – self and group.
·
Ensure availability and access for the urban homeless population
to permanent 24-hour shelters including the basic infrastructural facilities
like water supply, sanitation, safety and security.
·
Cater to the needs of especially vulnerable segments of the urban
homeless like the dependent children, aged, disabled, mentally ill, and
recovering patients etc.
·
To address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors by
facilitating access to suitable spaces, institutional credit, social security
and skills to the urban street vendors for accessing emerging market
opportunities.
The poor need to be empowered, and solutions have to be
designed by them. And they do participate. Community organization, a difficult
yet key element to successful slum upgrading, is often successfully carried
out, with communities taking mostly the lead. In places where there is
collective sense of purpose and willingness to be helped, the likelihood of
successful community upgrading is greater.
