Now coming to Goa - Slums
I am always amazed how with every trip I make to Goa I find more and more of
the comforts and amenities that I am used to as a former Mumbaikar.
According to the 2001 India census, Goa also seems to have aquired some of
the not so desirable qualities of big city living - slums!!
According to the census there are 14529 people living in slums in Panjim
and Margao. I could scarcely believe this number, so I looked up the
definition of "slum", and here it is - All specified areas notified as
'Slum' by State/Local Government and UT Administration under any Act; All
areas recognized as 'Slum' by State/Local Government and UT Administration
which may have not been formally notified as slum under any Act; A compact
area of at least 300 population or about 60-70 households of poorly built
congested tenements, in unhygienic environment usually with inadequate
infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities.
While this is still a far cry from Mumbai where almost 1 in 2 people is a
slum dweller, slums didn't exist in Goa a few years ago, and with the
rapidly increasing urban population (already 55%), the situation will
probably get worse. In fact, this might be a timely reality check for those
lulled into copmplacency by India Today's ranking Goa the #1 place to live
in India. Here are some interesting statistics (also from the census) that
show that Goa is far from #1 in many respects. Rankings aside, the
percentages of people in Goa with access to basic services such as
sanitation, cooking fuel and drinking water. ranges from 30% to 70% behind
states like Kerala, Punjab and Himachal. The control of crime in Goa is only
the 9th best in India.
It will be interesting to see if next year Goa remains #1. I'm putting my
money (but not my heart) on Punjab or Kerala.
Households living in permanent type of houses #7 behind Uttranchal,
Punjab 70%
Households with source of drinking water within premises #6 behind Punjab
Kerala 62%
Households with source of lighting as electricity #5 behind Himachal 93.6%
Households with type of latrine as water closet #11 behind Kerala,
Sikkim,Gujrat 30%
Households using Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) as fuel for cooking #3 52.1%
Households having telephone #4 30%
Households having television #4 behind Punjab 63.5%
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