Almost a third of the slum dwellers in Hyderabad live in rented accommodation and majority of them are concentrated in only a few slums.
As per a study conducted by Bharat Niti, a research organisation, titled ‘Tragedy of Hyderabad Slums’, 32.1 per cent slum population live in rented accommodation, which indicates that the original occupants do not live there any more.
Majority of the slum dwellers in rented accommodation are found in areas such as Rahmathnagar, Prem Nagar, Papireddy Colony and Hanuman Nagar, while Chilkanagar, Ellammabanda to have sizeable number.
The report was released by BJP legislator K.Laxman at an event here on Monday.
Major concern
Housing was identified by the study as a major concern for the slum residents, as majority of them are crammed in houses below 50 yards in plinth area. A total of 52.4 per cent live in homes less than 50 yards, and 23.8 per cent more in areas less than 75 yards. One or two room houses constitute over 73 per cent of the dwellings in city slums.
Provision of basic amenities, however, is praiseworthy, as close to 90 per cent of the dwellings have toilets attached to them, along with drainage connections. Nearly 83 per cent have tap water connections, and almost 95 per cent have electricity.
Majority of the respondents are using LPG for cooking, though concentrated majorities in the slums of Shivaji Nagar, Ellammabanda, Sri Ram nagar, Papireddy Colony, Hanuman Nagar-2, Maheta Nagar, Rahmat Nagar and Karmik Nagar still use firewood.
Televisions and fans are widely found, and mobiles are owned by over 66 per cent. Other appliances such as refrigerators, mixers and coolers are rarer. Two wheelers are owned by 65 per cent, while a small minority own cars too.
Roads, drainage lines, and other amenities, however, leave a lot to desire. Only 27 per cent respondents said they have government schools, while 16 per cent confirmed they have access to primary health care centres.
Indebtedness of the slum dwellers is one more issue of concern, as it was found that only 18 per cent of the borrowers were covered by banks. Private loans are rampant, and a total 21 per cent of the respondents depended on daily finance, and 12 per cent on micro-finance.
A total of 3,608 respondents were questioned in 10 circles of GHMC through the study conducted by V.Jagadeeshwar Rao, S.Lingamurthy and Solanky Sreenivas.