Mumbai houses the biggest slum in Asia, namely Dharavi, which houses approximately one million citizens. 28 percent of India’s population (1380 million citizens) lives below the poverty line, which being a serious concern, makes us question if we have enough workforce for the advancement of our country. India has spent decades trying to eradicate poverty and due to its undying efforts, it has successfully contained the struggle to only 60 million Indians, causing the poverty count to fall by 12.3 percent. However, when the coronavirus struck the world, this count doubled and the efforts invested were washed away.
Citizens found themselves without money to afford good food, let alone fund their children’s education, and weren’t able to keep up with their lifestyle. Some were forced to live on the streets as either their businesses shut down or they lost their jobs due to rapid company losses. This phase deeply awakened the realization that India needs to take an initiative to counter these losses by providing the affected with electricity, clean water, food and shelter. If eradicating poverty is India’s need, it must release schemes that motivate parents to get their children educated, increase employment opportunities, demolish social distinctions and look down upon gender inequality. It must take upon itself the building of houses for those who can’t afford to and lowering tax rates to accommodate citizens in structured homes with basic amenities. Public opinion also leans towards providing farmers with supplies to help agriculture thrive, in disaster relief and research.
Several municipal corporations are striving to take measures such as constructing buildings, animal shelters and rest houses, which not only help the needy, but also improve the ‘looks of the city’. Recently, the BMC has undertaken a major project, focusing on the construction of 148 shelter homes, where each shelter home is capable of housing one lakh citizens. This was unlike its previous project, wherein slum residents refused to accept a very liberal offer of shifting to solid houses, due to the singular fear of paying taxes. However, the BMC, more victorious in its new projects, is an excellent example of India’s spirit to talk about poverty as a ‘condition of the past’. If such dedication towards the development of one’s country shines through consistently, it is already halfway from any goal it wishes to achieve. This is why it is only so rightly said that “Development is transforming lives, not economies.”
An Indian region dotted with slums
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