Policy Briefs & Reports

Competitive Clientelism: Indira Kalyan Vihar JJC

Subhadra Banda, Shahana Sheikh
Bijendra Jha, Ben Mandelkern

October 14, 2014

Indira Kalyan Vihar, a jhuggi jhopri cluster (JJC) located in one of Delhi’s prime industrial areas, houses a very large population—100,000 by some estimates—in some of the densest conditions of any JJC in the city. Many of the challenges faced by residents in Indira Kalyan Vihar are linked to this density, which makes provision of services difficult. It is also a community divided by political forces, which impede improvement at two levels, blocking internal community organisation and forestalling action by elected officials. While this competitive clientelism might result in better basic services for all, in Indira Kalyan Vihar there has been little material improvement.

A report of the Cities of Delhi project.