Geospatial Dynamics Of Informal Settlements: A Study Of Slums And Squatter Settlements Challenges In India Dr. Mohan Madan Associate Professor of Geography, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences – III, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Online published on 1 August, 2019. Abstract The Informal Settlements are considered as an unorganised sector of the economy. There are found a large number of persons involved in different kind of economic activities in this sector. The Informal Settlements contribute to about 7.53 per cent of the urban gross domestic product (GDP). Whereas, the urban GDP contribute to about 60.00 per cent of the total GDP of the country, India. The Slums and Squatter Settlements usually develop informally without following guidelines of the urban planning and comprises to form the informal settlements. The Slums have been earmarked in all the statutory towns irrespective of their population size. So, there are three types of slums which have been defined in the census, namely, the notified slums, the recognized slums and the identified slums. There is found wide gaps in terms of slum reported towns and their population size among the states of the country, India. Besides this, the urban population projection point out that by 2030 the India's urban population will be about 575 million persons which is constituting over 40 per cent of the total population. In lieu of this, most of the cities experience a steady decline in the quality of physical environment. In this context, there are number of challenges of the slums and squatter settlements, for instance, there is found lots of stress on the physical infrastructure, inadequate delivery of basic services, air and water pollution, uncollected wastes, etc. So, such challenges are to be efficiently tackled under the various development plans and policies for the sustainable urban life style in the country, India. Top Keywords Informal Settlements, Globalisation, Sustainable Development, Urban Plans and Policies. Top |