Indian slums represent complex pol and social issues: research

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Aug 26 (PTI) Unlike the general impression,
slums in major Indian cities not only represent complex
political and social issues, but also generate a lot of local
economic activities, a latest research by the prestigious
Stanford Graduate School of Business has said.

"Indian slums are incredibly productive," said Saumitra
Jha, Assistant Professor of Political Economy at the Stanford
Graduate School of Business.

The project was funded by the World Bank's Research
Department. His work with the World Bank's Vijayendra Rao and
Michael Woolcock surveyed 802 households from 30 slums in
Delhi.

Mumbai, where much of "Slumdog" takes place, includes
the Dharavi slum, one of the largest leather producers in the
world. "People are becoming much more aware that slums are
where a lot of the economic activity is taking place," Jha
said.

"It's not just poor people who live there," he said.
Some more financially sound residents prefer living in the
slums because they are inexpensive and closer to their
workplaces. "It's remarkable how wide the discrepancy in
wealth is."

One area of Delhi, the report describes, as a "five-
star slum," has running water, electricity and other
amenities. "The only reason it is a slum was because it is an
illegal settlement. They just don't own the property,"he said.
MORE PTI