Despite the success of the movie, Slumdog Millionaire did portray India in a light that many did not like which however at some level which was true. Most notable being slum dwelling in India. Majority of the Indian cities have their share of slum dwellings not to forget Asia’s largest slum. Slums are a major hindrance towards urbanization and Indian government is now embarking on new schemes to make India Slum-Free.
Government of India has launched new scheme for where in the government will provide new dwelling units to slum dwellers on payment of a part of the cost
Essentially, as part of the scheme government will bear 40% of the cost of these dwellings while the rest of 60% needs to be paid for by the slum resident. Commendable initiative but i wonder if the government will also provide credit/installment options for the slum residents because even though the price of these dwellings is on-cost basis, a 60% payment in one go could prove handful for a large majority of the target base.
This is however not the first initiative by the government to create a slum-free India and affordable housing for slum dwellers is pretty much the objective of Rajiv Awas Yojna as well with projects already initiated in Surat.
While affordable housing is a step in the right direction, i hope these initiatives are also complemented by educational/vocational training programmes so that these dwellers not only have decent clean living environment but also a shot to live a better life. But as they say, One Step At A Time
What are your thoughts on government’s initiatives to make Indian cities slum-free ?