Question

Several poor people in the city work as domestic servants as well as work for the Corporation, keeping the city clean. Yet the slums in which they live are quite filthy. This is because these slums seldom have any water and sanitation facilities. The reason often given by the Municipal Corporation is that the land in which the poor have set up their homes does not belong to them and that slum-dwellers do not pay taxes. However, people living in middle-class neighbourhoods pay very little in taxes compared to the amount of money the Corporation spends on them in setting up parks, street lighting facilities, regular garbage collection, etc. Also as you read in this chapter, the property taxes collected by the Municipality make up only 25-30 percent of its money.
Why do you think it is important that the Corporation should spend more money on slum localities? Why is it important that the Municipal Corporation provide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get?

Answer 1

The people living on the streets live in extremely unhygienic and filthy conditions. The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the welfare of all the people living in the city whether they live in posh localities or in slums. Slums are the breeding grounds of several diseases, and it is the municipal corporation’s job to keep the city clean and healthy. The presence of unequal living conditions is a factor that can add to the list of crimes taking place in the city. The Constitution of India talks about providing “equality of status and opportunity” to everyone. It also talks about providing “social, economic, and political justice” to each individual. Therefore, the problem of unequal living conditions has to be addressed. The Municipal Corporation should provide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get. They should ensure that the poor do not experience any discrimination. The Municipal Corporation should spend more money on slum localities so as to provide the poor with the basic needs of proper food, clothing, and shelter. It can collect this money by various methods; for example, by increasing the amount of property taxes and by making use of its unused lands and building for the proper settlement of the people living in the slums.