Though they have most basic amenities, sanitation is missing

Slum residents have better access to drinking water and electricity than their counterparts in the urban non-slum areas, claims a report on ‘Housing Stock, Amenities and Assets in Slums’ released here on Thursday. The report also says the number of slums in the country has declined. The first-of-its-kind survey, based on Houselisting and Housing Census 2011 conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, has revealed that slum residents have most basic amenities like drinking water and electricity and even facilities like mobile phones, internet and private vehicles: the only service missing is sanitation.