2001 Census conducted enumeration of slum population for the first time in the country. The Census of India, 2001 conducted the enumeration of slum population of 640 cities/towns with a population of 50,000 or more spread across 26 States/ Union Territories. This enumeration reported slum population of 42.6 million constituting 23.1 percent of the population of 640 cities/towns.
The people living in slums are subject to inadequate access to basic amenities like drinking water, sanitation and health facilities. The Government has launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) since December 3, 2005 to address the issues of provision of housing and basic civic amenities like clean drinking water, sanitation and health facilities to urban poor/slum dwellers, in addition to city-wide infrastructure facilities. The Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) programme under JNNURM addresses housing and civic amenities in 65 Mission cities. Similar problems of Non-Mission cities are addressed through the scheme of Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). The Mission period is 2005-2012.
Jan 11, 2010 – http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=56785
