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| DyCM may look at urban poor | | |
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand’s statement on creating urban-like facilities in rural areas is worth appreciating but there is something more he should look into. While it is good to concentrate on the rural areas, the urban inhabitants are not getting as much attention as duly required. The most ignored lot in the urban areas are the poor and the slum dwellers for which the government should come up with a comprehensive policy. Though the urban areas in Jammu and Kashmir are not too large but still who belong to the poor strata in these urban localities live in pathetic conditions. A report on urban poverty brought out jointly by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) underscores the importance of improving delivery of basic services to the urban poor. According to the report, in 2001 around 23.7 per cent of India’s urban population was living in slums amidst squalor, crime, diseases and tension. The urban poor — defined in the report as anyone living on less than Rs 20 a day — accounted for 25.7 per cent of India’s total urban population in 2004-05. While the proportion of urban poor has halved over the past three decades, the rate of overall decline in urban poverty slowed from 0.82 percentage points per year from 1973-74 to 1983-84, to 0.61 percentage points from 1993-94 to 2004-05, the report says, indicating that India’s economic reforms have not dented urban poverty adequately. Urban infrastructure, especially for those living in slums is under severe strain. There is not a city or town in India that does not have problems of water shortage, power cuts, open sewers and inadequate transport facilities. This infrastructure is likely to come under increased strain as migration to cities grows. Around a quarter of India’s population is urban today. By the year 2030, 50 per cent of the population will live in cities. Are civic authorities taking steps to prepare for the increased pressure on urban infrastructure? Civic authorities have often looked upon slums as ‘eyesores’ marring the beauty of cities. Some small slum areas in Jammu and its outskirts have literally left to the mercy of the Gods. They have therefore responded to the problem of slums and urban poverty by demolishing hutments or launching slum clearance drives. People live in slums or on the pavements because there are few low-cost options for housing. If the poor are defecating on the roads, this is because they do not have access to toilets or clean water. When civic authorities provide low-cost housing, these do not have electrical or sewage connections. Consequently, these too soon degenerate into slums. Plans for urban renewal have so far tended to prioritise the demand of investors for an investor-friendly environment over the needs of the urban poor. This has to change if India should be better prepared to face the growing pressure on its cities. The GOI-UNDP report on urban poverty in India is a wake-up call. In sync with India, if Jammu and Kashmir does not address the problems of urban poverty, social unrest and conflict in cities and towns, which are already rearing their ugly head, will assume serious proportions.
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