New Delhi: Slum population in the country has increased by over 130 lakh between 2001 and 2011, the government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The population of slum dwellers has increased from 52,371,589 in 2001 to 65,494,604 in 2011 and the number of towns which reported slum dwellers increased from 1,743 to 2,613 during the same period, Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister Venkaiah Naidu said in a written reply.
He said Maharashtra tops the list with a slum population of over 118 lakh followed by the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh (101 lakh), West Bengal (64 lakh), UP (62 lakh), Tamil Nadu (58 lakh), MP (57 lakh), Karnataka (33 lakh), Rajasthan (21 lakh), Chhattisgarh (19 lakh), Delhi (18 lakh), Gujarat (17 lakh), Haryana (16 lakh), Odisha (15.60 lakh), Punjab (14.60 lakh) and J&K (6.60 lakh).
Gujarat reported the highest decline in slum population (2,95,758) between 2001 and 2011 followed by Delhi (2.40 lakh), Maharashtra (1,27,520), Punjab (23,056), Haryana (18,812) and Chandigarh (11,990).
No slum population has been reported in Manipur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshdweep in 2011, Naidu said.
Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, which had reported no slums in 2001 Census, reported marginal slum dwellers in 2011.
