A slum, is defined as a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. The main characteristics of slums are Urban Decay, High Rates of Poverty and Unemployment.

In the year 2001, for the first time in India's history Census Data was collected for Slums. The data was collected from cities and towns having a population of 50,000 and above. 640 towns/cities in 26 UTs/States have reported Slum population. Andhra Pradesh has the largest number of towns (77) reporting slums followed by Uttar Pradesh (69), Tamil Nadu (63) and Maharashtra (61).

According to this population of slums all over India is 42 million from the 607 cities/towns reporting slums. This comes to around 4% of total Indian population( India's population in 2001 was 1.2 Billion). It constitutes 15 percent of the total urban population of the country and 22.6 per cent of the urban population of the states/union territories reporting slums. 11.2 million of the total slum population of the country are in Maharashtra followed by Andhra Pradesh 5.2, Uttar Pradesh 4.4 and West Bengal 4.1 million.

The strange fact is that the first census of slums took place as late as in 2001, but to know that there is a problem is the beginning of solution of the problem. There is a particular pattern in growth of slums and they have some basic needs that need to be looked at. They are as much the citizens of our country as we are. The GDP increase will never help if these people are ignored.

THERE IS ONLY ONE SOLUTION

TO REMOVE POVERTY AND NOT THE POOR.
sources: censusindia.gov.in