Nestled between two well-developed, bustling roads in Bengaluru’s Muneshwara Nagar lies an unexpected slum. Mallikarjun, 37 years old, working as a waste picker, has lived in this slum for 15 years.
He still dreams of having basic civic services such as water, electricity, toilets, walkable roads, and decent-quality housing. Mallikarjun and his fellow slum dwellers have a unique aspiration: for their slum to be recognised officially.
“It is very difficult for us to live here. It will be very helpful if the government declares our slum. This is a humble request,” Mallikarjun told DH.
The slum located in East Bengaluru came up more than a decade ago. The voter list shows a little over 500 voters living in 150 houses.
More than 70 percent of the population here comes from historically marginalised communities, such as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
“We live in tin shed houses that keep leaking. We have to use candles because there’s no electricity. We do not have access to toilets either. We walk for half a kilometre and defecate in the open,” added Mallikarjun.
Residents in these slums frequently question why their living conditions cannot be upgraded.
Anupama, now 58, has lived there for over a decade. With age, the half-kilometre walk to the toilet is becoming increasingly difficult for her.
“For more than ten years, we have been waiting for the authorities to give us facilities. We have to walk far away if we want to use the toilet. When our children come back from school, there is no electricity. Buying water and candles daily is harsh on our pockets. Nobody cares for us,” she told DH.
Declared and undeclared slums
There are two categories of slums: declared and undeclared. Declared slums are officially recognised by municipalities, corporations, local bodies, or development authorities.
“According to the Karnataka Slum Development Act (KSDB), basic amenities need to be provided immediately once a slum is declared,” Isaac Arul Selva, Editor of Slum Jagatthu, told DH.
Clifton D’Rozario, state secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML-L), added, “According to the Karnataka Slum Development Act of 1973, it’s essential for a slum to be declared for access to basic facilities. The issue is that when a slum is not declared, the slum board can just throw its hands up and say people in those slums cannot be provided with basic amenities.”
On the other hand, undeclared slums lack formal recognition. Although the living conditions in undeclared slums are no different, people here lack basic facilities just because their slums are undeclared.
According to the Karnataka Slum Development Act of 1973, an area can be declared a slum if it is squalid, has unsanitary conditions, and has poor housing.
“So, all of these areas will meet the criteria. This is not a definitional crisis. There’s a lack of political will and a huge amount of political apathy. Providing people with basic amenities in housing cannot be contingent on an area being declared a slum,” Clifton told DH.
Under-counting undeclared slums
The data from the Karnataka Slum Development Board reveals that Bengaluru currently has 413 declared slums, and only 20 are undeclared.
However, Clifton D’Rozario contends that the official count fails to align with the real situation. As Bengaluru experiences rapid expansion, the number of undeclared slums appears to be increasing, reflecting a growing disparity between official records and the evolving urban reality.
“The figure of 20 is a joke. One can probably find 20 undeclared slums in one ward. There are thousands of such slums in the city,” he told DH.
Residents of undeclared slums frequently battle eviction and homelessness. This uncertainty often overshadows any hope for improved living conditions, underscoring the critical role of the Board.
The board is supposed to protect the rights of slum dwellers and provide them with the basic necessities for a decent life.
“144 slum areas have been identified across the state, and action has been taken to declare them under the KSDB Act,” sources in Karnataka Slum Development Board told DH.
“The main job of the slum board is to find undeclared slums and declare them to provide basic amenities, but there’s no proof that they have made an effort to do this. It now takes ten years to declare a slum,” Isaac Arul Selva told DH.
The Board seems to have a different way of declaring slums. “We do not go and do surveys or identify undeclared slums in the city. We declare a slum when people come to us and request it or when an MLA brings up the matter. It is difficult for us to go across the city and find undeclared slums,” said Athaulla Khan, a First Division Assistant (FDA) at the Board.
Delay in declaring slums
Isaac Arul Selva believes that declaring a slum involves a cost, which keeps the Karnataka Slum Development Board from doing so.
He elaborates on this further. “If a slum is declared, basic facilities must be provided immediately, and money is required. However, the slum board says it does have funds. They have funds for big housing projects but not for basic facilities for the poor,” he added.
Undeclared slums are often dismissed as “illegal spaces” particularly when situated on privately owned land. Land ownership is another issue that frequently prevents a slum from being declared.
“It’s absolutely inconsequential if the land is government or private land. The law is very settled on it. The courts have repeatedly held that a slum located on private land can be declared if it meets the criteria of Section 3 of the Act. According to Sec 17 of the Act, the slum board can ask the state government to acquire private land and provide housing. Due to this, the process could be longer if it is on private land,” Clifton told DH.
P P Appanna, state secretary of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) is a social worker who contested assembly polls from Krishnaraja Pura constituency. He has worked closely with undeclared slums for years.
He believes that the Slum Development Board has ignored slum dwellers, mostly garbage pickers, daily wage workers, house helpers, and the like.
“Nobody wants to live in such inhumane conditions, but they do not have a choice. They are prone to diseases such as Dengue which can even turn out to be fatal. The government needs to take note of this as soon as possible,” he added.
Slum dwellers in undeclared slums cannot apply to schemes related to improvement or basic facilities. “To provide schemes to an undeclared slum, first, the said area needs to be declared under the KSDB Act,” the board told DH.
The situation in declared slums
This would make you believe that slum dwellers in declared slums live a decent life, but the grass is not greener on the other side either.
Despite the official recognition, residents in these areas often struggle with unsanitary and unhealthy living conditions, highlighting the ongoing challenges in improving overall living standards in Bengaluru’s slums.
Residents of slums in Bengaluru’s Sudhama Nagar have been waiting for development for more than a decade. While they do have access to roads, water, electricity, and housing, the slum board has not been following up on the issues.
Brinda and her family moved to this slum around ten years ago. She claims that the situation was good only for the first two years.
“Roads are not proper. There are a lot of drainage issues, which in turn have also been causing health issues. Sewage water keeps overflowing, and with small children roaming around, there’s always a fear of diseases,” she told DH.
“Despite several complaints over the past ten years, nobody has tried to fix our situation. The slum board has been missing in action. We have all been left to die; how do we raise our children,” said Gracy, another resident.
Bengaluru’s slum dwellers play a crucial role in sustaining the IT Capital and supporting the lives of others. Yet, amidst the city’s modernity and progress, they still lack a sense of belonging. Bengaluru is yet to provide them with a place they can truly call home.
"Slum dwellers have a right to the city. They have a right to governance. They have a right to have a say in how decisions are made and what budgets are allocated,” Clifton D’Rozario told DH.