Land of a Billion- Ep 1: Mumbai has over 2 lakh vacant houses. Then what explains the slums?

Mumbai has over 2 lakh vacant houses.
Then what explains the slums?

 

Why do we have such a large population of Mumbai living in slums, even though Mumbai has over two lakh houses lying vacant? How does the government cope with the dilemma of condoning illegal squatters while also having the mandate to provide welfare for the poor?
In the first episode of The Quint’s new podcast series, ‘Land of a Billion’, produced in association with PRRC, host Abhishek Shah looks at Mumbai’s housing crisis as he speaks with Prithviraj Chavan, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a current member of Legislative Assembly, and Dr Amita Bhide, Professor and Dean of School of Habitat Studies, Centre for Environmental Health, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.

Two out of every five people in Mumbai live in slums today. The sight of large clusters of blue tarped sheets over tinned walls is one that Indians are largely familiar with, just as we are familiar with the stories of slum residents’ vulnerability to fires, forced evictions, and in recent times, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tune in as we unpack Mumbai’s housing paradox!

 

Prof. Amita Bhide is  Professor and Dean of School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Mr. Prithviraj Chavan is the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a current Member of Legislative Assembly.

 

Land of a Billion is the exclusive podcast for conversations about land and property rights in India, produced by PRRC in association with The Quint. New episodes out every alternate Monday. Available on all major streaming platforms, do subscribe! 
Don’t forget to catch the next episode, where we’ll have a senior bureaucrat from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj talking about one of the big-ticket schemes in land and property rights this year, the SVAMITVA Scheme.