Silchar is the headquarter of Cachar District in the state of Assam in India. At present it covers an area of 15.75 sq km. With the establishment of several institutes of higher education, ONGC and many other public & semi public organizations in surrounding vicinity of Silchar, urbanization has gained a rapid momentum. This town is also a feeding centre of tea industries of the district and a predominant commercial hub in the southern Assam region. The main problem associated with such a rapid growth in an unplanned way is the high rate of increasing flow of immigrant population from the neighbouring areas and growth of slums in the town. These poor people who rush to the town in search of jobs are employed on low wages and because of the high land value, high rental value and their financial constraints, they accommodate themselves in the public vacant land a low lying areas which are nearer to their places of work. This slowly gives rise to the existence of slums. In the present work the factors affecting the growth of slums in Silchar and their impact on the nearby areas will be studied on the basis of field observation and also secondary information.
Slum, formation, quality of life, impact
