SOCIAL TRENDS
Journal of the Department of Sociology of North Bengal University
Vol. 6, 31 March 2019; ISSN: 2348-6538
Peer-reviewed National Journal
UGC approved (Sl. No. 42176)
This research was published by the Journal of North Bengal University in 2019
Read full paper @ Informal Settlements: A Study of Displaced Living in a Kolkata Slum
Abstract: In the absence of a sound planning for the ever-growing population
and soaring real-estate prices in the city of Kolkata, a large number of people,
ranging from labourers in the informal sector to those who migrated to the city
in search of means of subsistence, are forced to live in informal settlements, as
encroachers of government lands, subject to eviction whenever the government
feels like cleaning up or developing urban facilities like flyovers or green parks.
Such evictions often do not offer any compensation, let alone rehabilitation. In
most cases, the argument made by the authorities for not providing rehabilitation
is that the inhabitants were illegal encroachers and did not possess any legal
documents. Again, rehabilitation provided by the government in distant places
away from the city fails to serve its purpose, since without income generating
infrastructure in the relocated area, the new settlers are forced to come back to
the city and set up new informal settlements, as the city offers livelihood
opportunities.