India's Slum Population Rose by 130 Lakh in 11 Years

The slum population in India has increased by over 130 lakh between 2001 and 2011, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu stated in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In 2001, the country had 1,743 towns with slum tenements but the number of such towns with slum areas increased to 2,613 by 2011, the minister pointed out.

Maharashtra tops the list with a slum population of over 118 lakh, followed by the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh with 101 lakh, Naidu said.

The number of slum tenements in each state/union territory is as follows: West Bengal- 64 lakh, UP- 62 lakh, Tamil Nadu- 58 lakh, MP- 57 lakh, Karnataka- 33 lakh, Rajasthan- 21 lakh, Chattisgarh- 19 lakh, Delhi- 18 lakh, Gujarat- 17 lakh, Haryana- 16 lakh, Odisha- 15.6 lakh, Punjab- 14.6 lakh and Jammu and Kashmir- 6.6 lakh.

Gujarat reported the highest decline in slum population to 2,95,758 between 2001 and 2011 followed by Delhi 2.40 lakh, Maharashtra 1,27,520, Punjab 23,056, Haryana 18,812 and Chandigarh 11,990, Naidu explained.

Among the states that reported an increase in slum population, Andhra Pradesh topped the list with a hike of over 39 lakh, followed by MP with 19 lakh, West Bengal 17.54 lakh, Tamil Nadu 15.57 lakh, Chattisgarh 8 lakh, UP 4.83 lakh, Bihar 4.20 lakh, Odisha 4.71 lakh, J&K 2.88 lakh, Uttarakhand 1.37 lakh and Kerala 1.27 lakh, the minister stated.

No slum population has been reported in Manipur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshdweep in 2011.

Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, which had reported no slums in 2001 census, reported marginal slum dwellers in 2011.