On the Changing Concept of a Slum – Transforming narratives

Source: This post on the Changing Concept of a Slum has been created based on the article “Transforming narratives” published in “The Hindu” on 3rd January 2024.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 1 Indian Society – Urbanization – problems and remedies.

News: The article discusses the changing understanding and interpretations of the concept of a slum, which ultimately reflected in policies regarding slums.

The understanding and interpretations of the concept of a slum has changed with time.

This has impacted the treatment of the topic by legislatures and policies. For instance, earlier, slums were viewed as an epidemic needing eradication, but lately they are viewed as objects of technocratic solutions.

What is the evolution of the discourse on slums?

According to the author, the 5 decades post-independence are divided into 4 eras wherein the consequences of the changing definition of slums are explored. These eras are:

1. First era between the 1950s and 1960s:

Conceptualisation:

1. Slums were considered to be a result of partition and the inflow of a huge population into cramped, dilapidated residential areas.
2. Slums were considered as something that needed to be eradicated.
3. It was connected to spatial constraints and health issues. Urban socio-economic disparities that resulted in its formation were ignored.

Steps:

Introduction of the Slum Areas Act of 1956 made government intervention possible after an area was officially notified as a slum. Thus, the slum became a legal entity.

2. Second era between the early 1970s and mid-1980s:

Conceptualisation:

1. Slum was now looked at as something that had to be developed.
2. Providing basic amenities to slums became part of the narrative, instead of destroying them.

Steps:

Town planning emerged as a governance tool, pushing slums to the peripheries.

3. Third era between the mid-1980s and late 1990s:

Conceptualisation:

1. Cities and urban spaces including the slums, were now looked at as assets and investments for the economic growth of the State. Thus, economic reasoning was provided for interventions in cities rather than social ones.

Steps:

1. Housing policies adopted a broader approach encompassing issues like land, finance, and infrastructure. The first two National Housing Policies were introduced.
2. The National Slum Development Programme was launched in 1996 bringing back targeted funding from the union government towards slum redevelopment.

4. Fourth era between 2000s and 2014:

Conceptualisation:

1. With the launch of the 2001 Census, the understanding of slums became based on data.
2. Statistical information explained that a lack of proper urban planning, growing population, increased urbanisation, the pressure on land, and price rise which made affordable housing difficult were some of the reasons for slum-formation.
3. The upliftment of slum dwellers was associated with giving property rights to them, rather than complete eradication.

Steps:

1. Urban housing deficit became the motto of housing policies.
2. The definitions of slums broadened due to the Census, leading to many targeted schemes.

Thus, the definitions of slums continued to transform, from being a socio-political subject into a technical, economic object that can be dealt with technocratically (i.e. increasing reliance on technological solutions for urban problems).

Question for practice:

Explain how the conceptualisation of slums has influenced policymaking in post-independence India.