Changes in socio-economic and health condition of rehabilitated slum dwellers in Kolkata, West Bengal

Abstract

The cancerous spread of slum has been a rampant problem in urban areas worldwide. The acute shortage of housing facilities compels the poor to live in slums. Proper rehabilitation is considered as a very essential remedial measure to provide better living environment to slum peoples. This study is an essential attempt to gauge the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program, which studies the changes in socio-economic and health condition of rehabilitated slum dwellers since they got rehabilitated. In order to do so, a household survey was carried comprising 240 households in two rehabilitated sites in the city of Kolkata (ward no. 107 and 114) during the month of July, 2014. The results conforms a strand of a belief that in-situ rehabilitation or rehabilitation within short distance is more effective. A rehabilitation too far away area disrupts the existing social, economic and political ties of neighborhoods. Measures have also been proposed to overcome such problems and to make the slum dwellers an integral part of urban society.