Jagmohan hints at Delhi way to tackle Mumbai slums

Jagmohan hints at Delhi way to tackle Mumbai slums
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 23: To face the increasing cases of squatters in Mumbai a special project of learance-cum-resettlement-cum-redevelopment should be implemented on a priority basis, says Union minister of Urban Development Jagmohan. While speaking during a seminar on housing for poor recently in the city, he said that this project was successfully kicked off in Delhi for addressing the slum proliferation in the capital.

Official statistics available with the union ministry suggests that slum population in the city has crossed over 60 lakhs in 1999 with an alarming growth rate which was only 40 lakhs in 1995, he said.

The seminar organised by Indian Institute of Architects was the launching pad for a major global campaign on housing for poor by International Institute of Architects.

"We have the dubious distinction of having the highest congestion rate in the world- about 19 per cent of Indian families live in less than 10 sq metres of space here. About 44 per cent of families in the urban area live in one room only. Apart from the existing shortage of 7.57 million, the new housing demand during 1997-2002 is estimated to be 8.8 million for which we have a shortfall of Rs 70,000 crore," admits Jagmohan.

Even alarming is the fact that on an average the slums and squatters' population has been increasing at more than double the general growth of population of the cities, Jagmohan observed.

Quoting global cases, Jahmohan stated that currently as many as 1 billion are homeless in the world with over 18 million people living without a proper shelter in Europe itself. Interestingly, in a developed nation like United States, the number of shelter beds provided to homeless in cities have trebled in the last few years," he added.

Jagmohan stressed the need for a constructive approach for converting these liabilities into assets. Giving statistics on the degrading system, he said: "The position in regard to availability of urban infrastructure and municipal services is equally disconcerting. At present, there is no sanitation worth the name for 52 per cent of the urban population and the individual toilet facilities are available only to 24 per cent. The sewerage system covers only 35 per cent of the population of Class IV cities and 75 per cent of the population of Class I cities. About 34 per cent of the urban population does not have any arrangement even for draingage of rain water around its habitats. Over 60 per cent of the municipal bodies in Indian collect less than 40 per ent of the solid waste generated daily.

On to funding pattern, Jagmohan said that as per the current estimates, urban infrastructure alone would require no less than Rs 250,000 crore in the next 10 years out of which the government will be able to release a meagre 10 per cent.