Slums form at the other extreme of the socio-economic ladder of urban centres. These shanty structures are inhabited by those individuals who were forced to migrate from the rural areas to these urban centres in search of livelihood but could not afford proper housing due to high rent and high costs of land.

Thus, slums are residential areas of the last choice, dilapidated houses, poor hygienic conditions, poor ventilation, lack of basic amenities, like drinking water, light and toilet facilities, etc. Open defecation, unregulated drainage system and overcrowded narrow street patter are common to such places.

Most of the slum population works in low-paid, high risk-prone, unorganised sectors of the urban economy. Consequently, they are the undernourished, prone to different types of diseases and illness and cannot afford to give proper education to their children. In addition, the poverty makes them vulnerable to drug abuse, alcoholism, crime, vandalism, escapism, apathy and ultimately social exclusion.

In the larger scheme of things, slums develop because of the uneven distribution of opportunities over space. They would not have existed, in the first place, if the need to migrate never arose. Thus, the government must spend resources to bring a minimum economic parity between cities and rural towns.