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Slumming it out
One in every six urban Indian lives in slums. In Andhra Pradesh one in every three urban households is a slum, nine out of every 10 slum households in Odisha are either without a drainage connection or connected to an open drain

Every sixth urban Indian lives in slums unfit for human habitation. Slums, in fact, are so common that they are found in 65 per cent of the Indian towns. Yet slum dwellers are the most overlooked section of society. Six out of 10 slum dwellers live close to unsanitary drains and almost four of every 10 do not get treated water.


 



Slum hubs
Nine states have higher slum populations than the national average

Andhra Pradesh tops the list, with 36.1% of its urban population living in slums. Other states are: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana.

Did you know?
35% slum households in India, do not have access to treated tap water

According to State of India’s Environment in Figures 2019, published by DTE, a huge chunk of slum households in Odisha do not have access to treated tap water (64.9%) and are either without a drainage connection or connected to an open drain (90.6%).


 

 
Map shows the state-wise Number of Towns/ Cities Reporting Slums and percentage of Slum Population
Hover over the bubble for details
Data: Registrar General of India, Census of India 2011



 

State-wise slum households by source and location of drinking water
Hover over the dots for details

Data: Census of India 2011, Slum Houses, Household Amenities and Assets


1.2 million slum households drink untreated tap water

11,92,428 out of 137,49,424 slum households depend on untreated water for drinking. Of this, close to 60% are in just five states — Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal.

Did you know?
27 out of the 100 smart cities in India have proposed 41 slum redevelopment projects for nearly Rs 3,797 crore.

Three Southern states are home to 39% of slum households in India depending on untreated water for drinking. Most of them are in Tamil Nadu.




Six out of every 10 slum households do not have proper drainage facility

Of the 63% of Indian slum households without any proper drainage system, out of them 44% have open drains and close to 19% of the households are without any drainage connection.

Did you know?
63% slum households in India are either without a drainage connection or are connected to open drains

Maharashtra and four other states have 61% slum households without drainage connections. Maharashtra is home to Dharavi that has close to 1 million people living in just over 2 square kilometres. Beating the Taj Mahal, the slum was ranked among the top 10 most favourite tourist sites in Asia in June 2019 by....


 

 

Graph shows the India's Slum households by type of drainage connectivity for waste water outlet
Graph shows the State-wise Slum households by type of drainage connectivity for waste water outlet
hover over the graph for details
Data: Census of India 2011, Slum houses, Households Amenities and assets



 

 

 



State governments are responsible for the improvement of slums while the Centre’s ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)’ scheme addresses slum redevelopment

One quarter of the world's city dwellers live in slums — and they are there to stay. In the next 10 years, 50 per cent of India will reside in urban areas, up from the current 28%. With this increase in urban population, slums will grow exponentially.

Did you know?
India has 2,613 towns with slums. Of these, 57 per cent are in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra

It is the responsibility of the states to provide housing and basic civic facilities. However, ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)’ Mission was launched in June 2015 to provide central assistance to states / Union territories to facilitate housing to all eligible families including slum dwellers and other vulnerable categories among the urban poor. Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri asked all states to expedite and complete all approved houses by 2022. Based on the project proposals received so far from the states and Union territories, 8.1 million houses have been approved under the PM’s housing scheme, out of which 4.7 million are under construction and 2.6 million have been completed.