The term “Informal city” is a polite expression, often used to describe a substantial section of the city population living in slums, unauthorised colonies, resettlement colonies and urban villages, mostly in sub human conditions. The case under study is the national capital which grew under the protective umbrella of the State, as noted above, at least during the first couple of decades after Independence. An analysis of the data over the past few decades suggests that the Delhi urban agglomeration and its surrounding towns and villages have experienced rapid population growth. The central city, however, has succeeded, although partially, in diverting population growth to geographic or socio-economic “periphery” of the metropolis. Large sections of poor migrants have been absorbed either in the hinterland or in the marginal areas within the agglomeration viz. sides of railway tracks, around factory sites, swampy lands etc, wherein the quality of life is low. Using instruments such as master plans, environmental legislations, slum clearance/rehabilitation projects etc, the state has off and on pushed out informal settlements to the “periphery”.
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