SOCIALSCI JOURNAL

Entitlements to Basics Services of Inter-State Migrants Living in Urban Slums of Bangalore City

Abstract

Suchismita Mishra, Rajendra Prasad

In urban areas, there is the availability of better employment, education, and health infrastructure, and hence, people forced to migrate from rural to urban area. Along with this, due to change in the occupational pattern and development of transport and communication, the interstate migration is found in an increasing trend. In some regions of India, three out of four households include a migrant. Despite this fact, internal migration has been accorded very low priority by the government, and existing policies in India have failed in providing social protection to this vulnerable group. This can be attributed in part to a serious data gap on the extent, nature, and magnitude of internal migration (UNESCO, 2013). Bangalore, officially called now as Bengaluru, is the capital of Indian state of Karnataka. It is the third most populous city in India. As per 2001 census of India, it was found that about 30.62 percent of the total population of the state is considered as migrants, and from 1971 to 2001, it is observed that the percentage of interstate migration found in an increasing trend i.e., 12.64 % in 1971, 13.95 % in 1981, 12.44 % in 1991 and 13.02 % in 2001. More than 85 percent of in-migrants are from the neighboring state, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala. All these points emphasize the importance of studying interstate migration in Karnataka in general and Bengaluru in particular. The migrant population tries to settle themselves in urban slums because of their poor financial condition. However, the recent migrants mostly settle themselves in unauthorized slums or migrant tents, which have no basic amenities. Along with this background, their migrant status put them into more vulnerability. UNESCO emphasized that there is a pressing need to ensure that urban settlements become inclusive spaces as they expand in size and diversity. This would require adequate and affordable housing, health and education services as well as infrastructure and sanitation. Improving migrants’ access to government services and welfare programs can improve the quality of life of migrants. This will, in turn, lay the foundations for a more inclusive and integrated society and balance economic prosperity and social diversity (UNESCO, 2013). Even though the interstate migrants contribute to the urban resources significantly, their contribution is not visible to the urban authorities, or they are ignoring, and this can be visible in their less accessibility which results in the lack of basic facilities. In this context, we report the status of these internal migrants in terms of entitlement to basic services in Bangalore city.