Busti(“Settlement”): In its most literal sense, a settlement, village, or community is a place where people dwell.
It has evolved to mean an unlawful colony in contemporary use, such as one constructed by squatters on empty property using whatever materials are available, from brick to cardboard to plastic.
Initially, such communities lack municipal facilities such as water, electricity, roads, or sewage, and living conditions are sometimes deplorable.
Many times, especially in Bombay, where real estate is exorbitantly costly, such "slums" become people's ancestral homes.
Typically, these people have obtained power and water via illegal connections.
Squatters have acquired title to property via political pressure in a few exceptional instances, following which conditions have usually improved.
