Poorest of the Poor: A Comparative Study of Two Slums of Central and North East Delhi, India

Ms. Hina

Research Scholar, Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

E-Mail: hina.geog@gmail.com

Accepted 12 August, 2013

Abstract

Slums are considered as illegally occupied houses and creating a nuisance of environmental pollution and degradation of urban living conditions. Slum dwellings signify as common phenomena of degraded life of urban dwelling itself occupied by urban poor. The presence of slum as a part of urban habitat refers to a condition of defective physical, social and economic environment. The present study is for two slum areas of Delhi i.e., Balmiki Kabristan ITO and Janta Colony, Seelampur. In India, Delhi accommodates 4.8% of the total slum population of India as per 2001 which is relatively above the India’s average of 15% slum population. This is due to rapid in migration of unskilled and illiterate persons from rural areas from densely populated states like West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Since all the slums are not lying at same level of infrastructural development, it is necessary to know about the basic services and facilities like drinking water, electricity, sanitation, education and health services etc between and within the slums of Delhi. Therefore for this purpose, primary survey through random stratified sampling was carried out for 100 households for these two slum areas taking 50 households of each slum. The basic aim of the study was to compare the living conditions within the slum through access to basic amenities facilities and to compare variation between the slums. Since the study is empirical, no initial hypothesis is formulated. The data is analysed by applying appropriate statistical and cartographic techniques. The major findings of the study is that the inhabitants of the slums are  facing problems like water supply condition, drainage system, disposal of  garbage, lack of sanitation. Irrespective of the size and location of slum, conditions are found to be not conducive for human survival in these slums.

Keywords: Slums, Migration, Degraded life, Urban Dwelling, Environment.