4
S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
as against the targeted 23.9 per cent by 2015.
The poverty gap ratio significantly declined
bymore than a half. However, the proportion
of underweight children continued to be at
33 per cent as compared to the targeted 26
per cent. School enrolments increased at the
primary level to 88 per cent.
Even with all these improvements, the
country did not do so well in reducing
poverty and improving access to basic needs
in education, health, sanitation and shelter
as some of the other developing countries.
The government has ambitious programmes
aimed at improving livelihoods on the
ground. The motto of ‘Wiping every tear in
every eye’ towards which the government’s
policies and programmes have started work-
ing at is very well taken.
In this context, the problems of those
who live in slums in towns and cities has to
be examined to understand how the quality
of life issues are dealt with. The National
Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)
7
esti-
mated that about 8.8million households live
in about 33,500 slums. The Survey found that
the situation in these slums had improved in
some aspects. But withmore slums cropping
up, the proportion of slums that lacked basic
amenities had increased between 2009 and
2012. Sixty six per cent of the slums had
pucca
internal roads. Twenty four per cent
of the slums benefited from slum improve-
ment programme, whereas 31 per cent had
not toilets and 30.9 per cent had no drainage.
Garbage disposal—which should have been
easier to arrange—was not available in 27
per cent of slums. Seventy one per cent slums
had access to piped water and 93 per cent
had electricity. But in case of water supply,
electricity supply, toilet facilities and roads,
the situation was better in 2009. Slumpopu-
lation is the most vulnerable, both in social
and economic sense. Apart fromdealingwith
income-producing livelihoods, attention to
quality of life issues is also necessary.
Devolution of resources to
states: Can development
burden be shifted from
centre?
The Union Budget of 2015–16 made sig-
nificant changes to the pattern of funding
state government for supporting different
projects and programmes. In the process of
changes to the funding patterns and devolu-
tion of revenues to states, significant reduc-
tions to key departments and the livelihood
initiatives have been noticed. Agriculture,
rural development and education-related
Millennium development targets
State of progress
Environmental Sustainability
Target 9: Integrate the principle of sustainable development into country policies and
programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
Moderately on-track
Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation
On-track for
drinking water, slow
in case of sanitation.
Target 11: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100
million slum dwellers
Slum Dweller
improvements
difficult measure
Fostering partnerships in development
Target 18: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new
technologies, especially information and communications
On track
Source:
MillenniumDevelopment Goals, India Country Report, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,
2015.
(Continued)
7
Key Indicators of Urban Slums in India, NSS
69th Round, Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI), GOI, December 2013.
