India - Urban Slums Survey: NSS 65th Round, Schedule 0.21, July 2008- June 2009

IndiaUrban Slums Survey: NSS 65th Round, Schedule 0.21, July 2008- June 2009 Socio-Economic/Household Survey The first nationwide survey on the ‘economic condition of slum dwellers in urban cities’ was conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in its 31st round enquiry (July 1976 - June 1977). The survey was restricted to (i) all the Class I towns having 1971 census population one lakh or more and (ii) two Class II towns, viz. Shillong and Pondicherry. Only the cities proper and not the urban

agglomerations were considered for the survey coverage. For identifying ‘undeclared slums’, a slum was defined as an areal unit having twenty five or more katcha structures mostly of temporary nature, or fifty or more households residing mostly in katcha structures, huddled together, or inhabited by persons with practically no private latrine and inadequate public latrine and water facilities. The

survey results were published in NSS Report No. 290: Condition of Slum Areas in Cities.

The second nationwide survey on particulars of slums was conducted by the NSSO in its 49th round enquiry (January - June 1993), which covered rural as well as urban areas. Two kinds of slums – ‘declared’ and ‘undeclared’ – were covered. Certain areas declared as ‘slums’ by the appropriate municipality, corporation, local body or development authorities were the ‘declared slums’. Outside the declared slums, any compact area with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together – usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities – in unhygienic conditions was considered an ‘undeclared slum’, if at least 20 households lived in that area.

After a gap of nearly ten years, the third survey in the series was conducted in the 58th round enquiry (July-December 2002). The concept of slum being basically urban, the Governing Council of the NSSO decided, on the recommendation of the Working Group on NSS 58th round, to cover only urban slums in the survey. It is worth mentioning that the results of both the 49th and the 58th round survey reflect only the availability and not the adequacy of the facilities available in the slums.

The present survey – carried out in the 65th round of NSS – was thus the fourth nationwide NSS survey of slums. It relates to the period July 2008 to June 2009. Like the 49th and 58th round surveys, this survey, too, dealt with the availibility and not the adequacy of facilities available in the slums. The aim was to collect information on the present condition of the slums and on the change in the condition of some facilities available therein. Like the 58th round survey, this survey was confined to the urban sector. Only slums found in the randomly selected urban blocks were surveyed.

ID Number DDI-IND-MOSPI-NSSO-65Rnd-Sch-0dot21-2008-09

Schedule 0.21 has been framed to collect information on the present condition of the slums and on the change in the condition of some facilities available therein. The schedule was canvassed for each surveyed urban block having slum(s). Thus the schedule was canvassed in the urban sector only.

Information on each slum, notified or non-notified, found in the entire selected first stage unit (FSU) was collected even if sub-block formation was resorted to. In some cases, the slum covered such a large area that it cuts across more than one FSU, and the selected FSU was part of the slum. In such cases, all the slum particulars recorded was related to only that part of the slum, which fell in the selected FSU. However, if the FSU contained a part of a notified slum with at least 20 households, then the part of the slum falling in the FSU was regarded as a notified slum and the schedule was canvassed accordingly

Schedule 0.21 consisted of eight blocks. Blocks 0 and 1 meant to record the identification particulars of the selected urban FSU. Blocks 2, 5, 6 and 7 contained particulars of field operations, remarks by the investigator/senior investigator, comments by superintendent/senior superintendent and comments by other supervisory officer(s). In Blocks 3 and 4, data were recorded for each slum inside the selected FSU.

Some general features about the slum were recorded in Block 3. Information relating to the area where the slum is located, condition of the road / lane / constructed path within and surrounding the slum, and basic amenities like electricity, drinking water, sewerage, drainage, garbage disposal, etc. were collected in this block. In Block 4, information was collected on improvement/change, if any, in the condition of some amenities of the slum during the last 5 years.Notified slum, Flood risk, Approach Road, Slum dwellers, Living facilities, Garbage disposal, Drainage, NSS 65th Round,, Schedule 0.21, July 2006 - June 2007The survey covered the whole URBAN area of the Indian Union.

Name	Abbreviation	Affiliation	Role
Computer Centre	MOSPI, CC	M	Documentation of the study

2012-05-15Version 1.0 (May 2012)DDI-IND-MOSPI-NSSO-65Rnd-Sch-0.21-2008-09