Livelihood and well-being at the lower echelons of the economy: A study of slum dwellers in twin cities of Odisha

Improving quality of life in the slum is one of the development goals for new millennium. The existence of slums is essentially a manifestation of poverty; along with the economic and industrial development, slums will continue to exist and grow further. The experience of Odisha shows that the condition of the people can be improved even at low levels of economic development through appropriate public action for social provisioning and redistribution. Odisha has been able to provide for the basic needs of most of its citizen. This is revealed by comparative indicators of health, education and demographic transition. These average indicators hide the experience of communities that have been left out of the development process such as the fisher folk and the tribal's. Increasing numbers of slums constitute a major challenge to development. The result emphasises the need for measures to improve the physical environment of the dwelling places like basic amenities of toilets, proper drainage, sewerage system and adequate water supply.