THE SLUM AREAS (IMPROVEMENT AND CLEARANCE) ACT, 1956 AND

THE ROLE OF ARCHITECTS

Shivansh Singh
Undergraduate Scholar, Apeejay School Of Architecture and Planning, Greater Noida, In-
dia.(Email : shivaanshh.0417@gmail.com)

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation has shifted the course of individuals from small towns and villages towards the
cities for jobs and making their living. This has led to the solution which we recognise as a negative
element of the society and name them “Slums”. This plight of poverty in urban areas needs
habitable atmosphere, whish is the right of every individual. This paper discusses Slum Areas Act,
1956 and the role of architects behind it, who are to be held equally responsible for the increasing
failures in slum redevelopment schemes and projects since the Act came into existence. In spite
of many slums got notified by the government, one tap is shared by more than thousand people
in some of the slums as compared to average of 52 persons per tap. One third of the households
have no access to electricity and most of them are sharing community bathrooms and toilets.
This shows that a lot of work is still left to be done and the architects need to focus on this part of
society in a dominant way.

Introduction

Urbanisation and urban growth cannot be stopped, the challenge is how to counteract and man-
age it.(Geoffrey Payne). In the present scenario, the urban environment has its own complexities.
History exemplifies that public policies have always targeted at effacing the slums instead of trying
to understand the problems that lead to slum generation and the problems generated during the
life cycle of the slum areas.

Over the last half century, people living in or near metropolitan cities has risen in proportion to
the global population. Migrations from rural areas to urban areas have grown exponentially as
cities have developed into hubs of economic activity and job growth promising new opportunities
for social mobility and education. Quality of life has suffered in these urban centres not only due
to migration but more so due to expanding gap between the demand and supply of necessary
services and other infrastructure facilities. Unchecked land prices and unaffordable housing
forced the poor to search for informal solutions resulting in mushrooming of slums and squatter
settlements(Retnaraj, 2001). Slum develops on peripheral and marginal lands on the outskirts of
city, on hills, slopes and low lying areas, and also on the land which has little use to the owner in
near future. They also developed on the land left unused by public bodies like Railways, Municipal
Corporation, Port Trust etc. (Nangia and Gupta, 1993).

The problem of slums is all around the globe and thus we can consider it as a crucial element of
urbanisation too. Without taking this part of the society(approximately 1/3rd) into account, the
goal of development is incomplete. Even the professionals have too often created inappropriate
framework for the development or improvement of any slum.
Slums : Growth and Improvement Policies

“House is not a physical artefact designed and built in one moment, it is an incessant incre-
mental system”
Nearly 62 million urban people in India live in slums and squatter settlements today, constituting
over 21% of the urban population. Slums, Jhuggi-Jompheries, shanty towns are the products of the
exploding migration from rural to urban areas. Slum areas were first notified under Section 3 (1)
under SLUM AREAS (IMPROVEMENT AND CLEARANCE) ACT 1956 enacted in Delhi.
Any area unfit for human habitation by reason of-
• Dilapidation, Overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of such buildings, narrowness
or faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation facilities, or any combination
of above factors, are detrimental to safety, health or morals.

While “UN Habitat” define slum as a group of individuals living under the same roof that lack one
or more (in some cities, two or more) of the following conditions:
• Security of tenure,
• Structural quality and
• Durability of dwellings,
• Access to safe water,
• Access to sanitation facilities and
• Sufficient living area.

The problems of the slums are all over world and steps have been taken to repress it but majority
of the projects have failed because there has been no trials to understand the basic reasons which
contribute to the formation of slum areas. If a person is living in an opulent condition, it is difficult
for them to understand what it means to live on Rs 50-100 a day. And this is what the major part
of urban poor do and with such salaries, survival strategies become necessary. Food and Distance
from work are at the top priorities, while the civic infrastructure and housing rank second and third.
Affordability is the most important standard for conventional policy which is followed.

Quality of life of the migrants in slums is most adversely affected; living in unhygienic and
congested places devoid of basic necessities for a healthy life like housing, water supply, drainage
and sanitation, slums are also the breeding ground for crime, pollution and health hazards
(Bhandari and Basu, 2000). Women and children are the worst victims. Physically, mentally and
emotionally they are affected. The rapid growth of slums and squatter settlements has largely
contributed to the social, economic and environmental problems in urban areas. The rehabilitation
programme of slum clearance board is totally inadequate in relation to the mushroom growth
of slums. (Sundari, 2001). The urban poor in India fears forced evictions since UNHABITAT has a
provision for security of tenure which provides them the security of land.

The Figure shows why major projects

of Slum Redevelopment fail.
Architects and their Social Responsibility

Architect play a very important part in the making up of the society. They are trained to create
sophisticated concepts by interpreting the ideas of the client. They have the ability to transform a
messy environment into a beautiful pieces of architecture. The ideas and designs of an Architect
have potential to raise the social status of a client as well as improve his/her way of living. It is their
duty to create responsive masterpieces which blends into society and the environment.

But the concern is that the Architect today is not able to look forward for the 1/3rd of the world’s
population which resides in slums. This section of society live on informally occupied area,
hazardous conditions, without basic services and security of tenure. Even the architects who are
taking part in designing for poor are using grid patterns, straight lined urban areas which are easy
to control and in this way imposing their design with aesthetical facade work. Design concepts,
standards and norms too, often serve the upper sections, there is nothing for the lower chunk of
the society.

Architects should be good listeners rather than talkers. The better listeners they would be, the more
subjective their design will be to the community they are serving. Through listening architecture
improves, not imposes, quality of life. The approach with the dwellers should be with an aim to
learn and in cooperate those lessons into their ideas which will lead to a technical solution and
drawing plans. For working with the urban poor, they should introspect their aesthetical ego and
avow that aesthetics are culture related and immanent. A good architect will respond to the needs
and aspirations of the urban poor instead of design for the third world. The greatest challenge in
the projects for the urban poor is the communication. An architect should use the common lingo
of the community and also make sure that the dweller understand his/her perspective. They must
be a part of collaborative architecture instead of trying to be dominant. The role of mediators is also
played by the architect where he acts as a link between funders, implementers and users. And this
has to be kept in mind that design of a collective urban poor will obviously take more time than a
design for individual client so patience is a key here.

The Biased Society

The beliefs and discourse of the society are the factors of such discrimination between the upper
sections of the society and the urban poor. Firstly, the common one, they think that the slum
dwellers are of no use to the society and are just wasting the area which has been encroached by
them. They forget that the maid that takes care of their household, the labours who construct their
houses, the sweepers who clean their toilets and streets, the drivers they need to move around, all
live in these communities. They are not “the others” but a strong part of the urban fabric. Secondly,
the bulk of public investment is on infrastructure and services for the high income economy. The
government promises to shift the slum area or improving it in the manifesto but when you take
a closure look you come to know that only a part of that slum was given benefit, not all. Another
component in the dominant discourse is that by ‘enabling’ the formal market, the city economy will
grow and wealth will be created for all to benefit.
Even after such biased thinking and approach towards the urban poor, they are surviving without
government support and market enabling policies. Moreover, the majority of slum dwellers live
in constant fear of eviction and other forms of random state-led violence. In spite of all this slum
dwellers are growing at a speed better than in past.
Slums : A Solution??

“Slums are indications that people have the ability and the willingness to solve their problems” - Ar.
Kirtee Shah

Slums are to be seen as solutions to the problems in urban planning. People encroach the spaces
like river front, waste lands, ruined areas where the elite class doesn’t want to live. They decrease
their circulation space yet they have the spaces for the recreational and community activities. They
have optimum spaces for the public transport system too within the neighbourhood.

The only problem they face is of the civic amenities and infrastructure. They can make up their
living on less than 50rs/day, which is a great challenge for an individual in cities like Delhi, Mumbai,
Hyderabad etc. If they are given proper electricity and sanitation options, they can also have a
habitable space as well as healthier neighbourhoods.The basic reason behind the formation of
slum colonies is poverty and lack of housing units. Add to it, the administrative procedures and
standards and there is a clear picture of why do people live in such areas.Instead of restricting
the urban growth the administration should increase the land supply services and amenties
appropriate for the urban poor as well as the elite class.

Conclusions

As an architect, we need to change our attitude and allow the uneducated section of our society
to question our “solutions”, to influence our designs and to participate in our projects. There
has to be a macle approach in the policies regarding the slum areas where one deals with the
improvement of slums while the other provides affordable and appropriate alternative. Architects
and planners should involve themselves in central and local governments to review and reform
the current framework of regulations for the urban poor and accept the modus operandi of
incremental housing. The educational system has brought up a big difference in the society and
divided them into planners and architects and most slum redevelopment projects suffer due to the
contradictions between these two section of professionals. The challenge of slum redevelopment
and rehabilitation for the urban poor surpasses the value of any profession so they should work
together rather than compete.

The understanding towards the slums have to be changed and the architects should manage their
projects with the same respect they have for their wealthy clients. There is a common approach of
using low cost materials and inefficient construction technologies for the poor with the justification
that they cannot afford good materials. Instead conventional and indigenous materials should be
used with efficient construction techniques to save materials wastage and provide the urban poor
with a affordable and quality housing. The low cost materials usage has been one of the reasons
behind the vacant social housing schemes.

There should be an adaptive approach towards these redevelopment schemes rather than
imposing your guidelines and design ideas. The advantages of adapted designs with participative
strategy and individual oriented design predominate the imposed standardised and conventional
Architectural methods. Here, the dwellers are given the security to live in a fair location without
forced evictions, where they can maintain social networks, have access to economic opportunities
and civic infrastructure, further revive their standard of living and follow the incremental regime
of development after the project is finished. The involved urban poor inculcates the sense of
ownership and responsibility which leads to all round development of the society which in itself
is a self sustained, and not imposed, because it builds the urban poor’s capacity to replicate and
improve their status in future. Plus, these participatory methods instils a learning approach in the
system, where both, the architect and the urban poor benefit.
Reference:

Sundari, S. “Quality Of Life Of Migrant Households In Urban Slums”.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2003, “Slums of the World”.

Retnaraj, D., 2001, “Fast Growing Cities, Spurt in Land Prices and Urban Slums: The Kerala
Experience”.

Nangia, Parveen and Gupta, Kamla, 1993-94, “Morphology of slums in Thane”.

Payne, Geoffery, 2008, “The Urban Challenge”.

Sanchez-Cuenca, Jordi, “ The Reflective Architect”.

Mundu, Grace Bahelen and Bhagat, R.B., “Slum Conditions in Mumbai with Reference to the Access
of Civic Amenities”.

Nickerson, Micheal, “The Role of Architects Working in Slums of the Developing World”.