The Minister for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that UN-Habitat Report entitled “State of the World ‘s Cities 2010/2011 –Bridging the Urban Divide” has revealed that India has been successful in improving the lives of slum dwellers, having helped 59.7 million of these out of dire conditions since the year 2000. Slum prevalence fell from 41.5 per cent in 2000 to an estimated 28.1 per cent in 2010, a relative decrease of 32 per cent.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today she said, the Government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) on December 3, 2005 aimed at provision of city-wide infrastructure and basic services to the urban poor especially slum dwellers. Under the Basic Services for the Urban Poor component of JNNURM, Additional Central Assistance is provided to 65 cities of national importance for undertaking affordable housing and basic amenities to the poor especially those residing in slums. Similar facilities are provided in small and medium towns under Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) of JNNURM. The Government has also announced Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) in June 2009 aimed at making the country slum free. Under this scheme Central support will be provided to cities that are willing to assign property rights to slum dwellers