WHILE the government is repeatedly claiming its success in poverty reduction in the area of socio-economic development, the number of slums, a symbol of poverty and inequality, in major cities is only increasing. A vernacular daily on Tuesday reported that, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the slum dwellers in the country increased three times over the last 17 years, defying all initiatives, including social safety nets, taken to eradicate poverty and social inequality and other disequilibrium. The recently concluded but yet unreleased second census on slums and floating population stated that around 22.5 lakh people of the country are still living in shanties while 11 lakh live in around 5000 slums located in major city corporations areas. The rising number of slum dwellers tells us that the state has so far failed to level the social disparity, urban-rural inequality and increase employment generation focused on the poor segment of the population to create a pro-poor state, if not a welfare state for all.
According to the report, to be released soon, most slum dwellers are living in Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporations. The successive governments over the period evicted several big slums aiming at developing modern, clean and “poor-free” cities which resulted in overwhelmed number of small slums. There were around seven lakh slum dwellers in 2991 slums in 1997. But the number of slum is now around 14 thousands where more than 22.5 lakh people live. Slums in the country is considered as a symbol of social inequality, improper distribution of wealth and property, and a state failure in providing education and employment for the people in lower strata of life. In simple word, it is a big state failure. Experts said that the slum dwellers do not get all necessary amenities of life and their basic demands — food, clothes, shelter, education and health remain unmet. It is impossible for the government to achieve the cherished goal of “Poverty Free Bangladesh” without mainstreaming the slum dwellers.
The Government in every fiscal year allocates huge budget for social safety nets aiming at eradicating poverty, but the rising trend of slums and slum dwellers in the country tells us of the failure of the effectiveness of the tools. The budget allocation for the social safety nets is being laundered by the greedy bureaucrats and corrupt politicians. The people occupying the slums originally come from the rural areas to cities in search of jobs and other facilities – like education, health care and developed life. It is the result of increasing marginalisation of the rural economy. Many of them are victims of river bank erosion. The successive governments over the years could not minimize the urban-rural gap though most rural areas got connected with district headquarters.
We believe that the vision of poverty eradication, higher purchasing power, GDP growth rate and aspiration of a mid-income country could not be possible without creating the seed for an equitable and balanced development which focuses on rural Bangladesh. The slums in cities may be evacuated without force if the government creates employment in rural Bangladesh and facilitates healthcare, education, and other amenities essential for life in rural areas. We must therefore prioritise our development expenditures accordingly.
