Urban poverty is a form of poverty that is particularly visible in megacities, characterized by poor living circumstances and income, as well as a lack of essential utilities and a bad quality of life. It is a challenge to reduce exploitation, relieve misery, and provide more humane working, living, and growth conditions for individuals who have already made the city their home or are in the process of doing so. According to NITI Aayog estimates, nearly 8.81% of the Urban population are Multidimensional Poor. In this article, we will see the meaning of Urban Poverty, its causes, and the state response to address it.

Urban Poverty in India – Introduction

• Reducing poverty became a major goal in India's development strategy in the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-79).
• According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation's (2001) study, slum residents make up around 23.5 percent of urban families.
• Despite the fact that the total number of households living in slums increased from 10.5 million in 2001 to 13.75 million in 2011, this percentage had dropped to 17% by 2011.
• Megacities account for the majority of urban poverty increases.

Causes of Urban Poverty

Uncontrolled migration

• Due to a lack of infrastructure in rural areas, residents are forced to seek work in India's megacities.
• As the number of individuals who migrate increases, the amount of space available to house them decreases.
• The growth of informal settlers outpaces urban development, increasing the number of slums.

Lack of investment

• For the majority of the working-age population, urban poverty is a result of a lack of opportunity and skills training.
• A lack of significant investment in excellent education and essential services such as health, sanitation, waste management, and skill training has resulted in negative consequences over time.
• It has resulted in generations of malnourished, uneducated, unaware, and unskilled or semi-skilled people struggling to obtain decent-paying jobs.

Lack of infrastructure in villages

• People relocate to cities due to a lack of basic amenities and work opportunities in rural.
• In communities, agriculture is barely profitable, thus their sole job alternative is to look for work in the cities' informal economy.
• Every day, millions of people come to cities to work in low-wage professions such as domestic service, taxi driving, and construction site work.
• However, this contributes to the already overburdened metropolitan infrastructure.

Lack of affordable housing

• On paper, the urban poor is without an address due to a shortage of affordable housing.
• They make their homes wherever they can, but as more individuals join, a community of unauthorized settlers forms.
• This complicates the process of obtaining essential services like power, water, and sanitation, as authorities and public utilities can only serve those who have been registered on paper — this is where poverty begins.

State response to Urban Poor:

The government has introduced many programs and missions to reduce urban poverty, such as

• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation: In June 2015, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the country's first dedicated national water mission, was launched to make life easier for citizens in 500 cities by providing tap and sewer connections.
  • The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) aims to rejuvenate and transform the city.
    • Ensure that each residence has access to a water tap with a reliable supply of water as well as a sewerage connection.
    • Increase the amenity value of cities by creating greenery and well-maintained open spaces (e.g. parks), and reduce pollution by using public transportation or installing non-motorized transportation services (e.g. walking and cycling).
    • All of these results are valued by citizens, particularly women, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has established indicators and criteria in the form of Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs).
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (National Urban Livelihoods Mission): Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) was created to improve sustainable livelihood prospects for urban disadvantaged people via skill development. Skill development is critical for socioeconomic improvement, especially in light of the Make in India objective.
• Jal Jeevan Mission Urban: By Sustainable Development Goal- 6, the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) has been planned to offer universal coverage of water supply to all households through operable taps in all 4,378 statutory towns. The other focus area is providing sewerage/sewage management coverage in 500 AMRUT cities.
• Light House Projects: LHPs are model housing projects that feature homes created with alternate technology that is compatible with the region's geo-climatic and hazard circumstances. This will show and provide ready-to-live residences sustainably, with speed, economy, and higher building quality.
• Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme: The Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) was announced by the Prime Minister in Parliament.
• The scheme's goal is to allow MPs to propose developmental projects in their constituencies, with a focus on the establishment of long-term community assets, based on locally perceived needs.
• The Scheme creates long-term assets for national priorities like drinking water, elementary education, public health, sanitation, and roads, among others.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, or PMAY, was established in June 2015 to promote the concept of "Housing for All." The program aims to improve the lives of homeless individuals in India. The scheme's major plan is to build two crore homes for low-income families, middle-income groups, and economically disadvantaged persons. The government has approved 1.12 crore homes so far.
• Self Employment Programme of the urban poor: The National Urban Livelihoods Mission has a component called the Self Employment Program for the Urban Poor (NULM). It provides financial help to individuals and groups of urban poor to establish profitable self-employment ventures/micro-enterprises that are tailored to their skills, training, aptitude, and conditions of the area.

Way forward

1. Improving the quality of life in rural areas:

• The current state of rural infrastructure must be addressed to control large-scale migrations from rural to urban regions.

2. Boosting investments:

• The government should invest more in the education, skill development, and health infrastructure of the urban poor.
• Slum-dwellers should be provided with some type of credit and resources; otherwise, the roots of urban poverty will continue to be passed on to future generations.

3. Employment opportunities:

• Small and medium-scale industries, as well as other income-generating opportunities, should be promoted in India's rural areas.
• Opportunities in the tertiary or agricultural sectors may be able to alleviate the growing strain on urban infrastructure services.
• Skill-building training and job possibilities should be provided to the urban poor.

4. Slum redevelopment and better urban planning:

• Slums are the result of decades, if not centuries, of neglect and poor planning.
• More work needs to be done to rehabilitate and upgrade slums so that residents have access to clean water, power, better jobs (via skills training), and the right to stay in their dwellings.

Conclusion

In emerging countries, urban poverty is the most common development and management issue. In emerging countries like India, the problem is more acute and alarming. The task of adequately feeding, educating, housing, and employing a large and rapidly growing number of undernourished, semi-literate, semi-skilled, underemployed, and impoverished city dwellers who live on pavements, unsanitary slums, and inadequate settlements are one of the most difficult challenges. Therefore necessary policy decisions and schemes must be in place to address the urban poor.