New slum programme to help eight million Indian poor

02 February 2010

A new scheme which will give eight million slum dwellers across Indian cities access to water, better sanitation and shelter was announced today by Gareth Thomas.

Speaking at a high level meeting on the future of cities across India and Africa, the International Development Minister said that the £14.5m funding would help to target poverty in some of India’s most overcrowded cities.

The DFID-funded programme will support India’s flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) programme. DFID support will initially be used in 20 Indian cities.

It will:

• Give 20% more slum households piped water in their homes. Many people currently use shared hand pumps and have no access to clean drinking water.
• Provide over a quarter of all households with better sanitation facilities through improved sewerage, waste management and drains.
• Allow 25% more households in slums to have a legally secure claim to their home, through tenancy or ownership.
• Enable some of India’s poorest people to become involved in consultations on how to improve housing, slum infrastructure and water in their area.

Although India has seen strong economic growth over the past few years, the scale of its need remains huge. 76 % of the population lives in poverty, and there are more people living on less than $1 a day in India than in sub-Saharan Africa.

Minister for Development Gareth Thomas today said:

“People often don’t realise that despite being an economic success story in many ways, India still faces huge poverty and is home to one third of the world’s poor.

“Poverty is particularly bad in larger cities. That’s why this funding is so important - it will make a huge difference in helping to meet the basic needs of some of India’s poorest people.

“Films like Slumdog Millionaire have helped to give British audiences a brief insight into the reality of how difficult daily life is for people in slums. It is right that we take action to help those people who need it most.”

DFID support will form part of a £6 billion Indian Government project.  As well as providing basic services to the poor in 20 Indian cities, it will help local governments and partners to deliver vital services to a further 43 cities – helping some 45% of the total slum population.

The Minister announced the funding at a high level seminar which brought together academics and key partners, like the World Bank, to discuss how Government thinking on cities in developing countries could be improved.