Quality of Life of Labour Engaged in the Informal Economy in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, India

The informal economy has provided livelihood opportunities to the urban villages in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT-Delhi) and hence a better quality of life. At a global scale, the quality of life of these urban villagers may still occupy the bottom hierarchy in the ladder. However, in terms of their own comparative economic and social contexts, they consider their moves as logical, given the lack of opportunities in rural India, particularly for those with no land or other reliable sources of income. This paper analyses interviews completed with labour engaged in informal economy in NCT-Delhi to assess the quality of life as experienced by the urban villagers. By using semi-structured interviews and participant observations, I find that the pro-urban economic policies are promoting (un)sustainable rural-urban migration, even though it also provides a reasonable source of livelihood option for those engaged. The urban villagers perceive these moves as the right decision, and they agree that their adaptability with the new economic opportunities has provided them with certain levels of economic independence and flexibility to sway away from continued rural oppression and poverty. However, their responses also direct us to the argument that despite these positive stop-gap arrangements serving well for many urban villagers, there is a need to draw the attention of government and policy-makers to create pro-rural economic opportunities that can facilitate holistic development across all spaces.