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THEME PAPER
increases in urban areas, putting
increasing pressure on land,
civic infrastructure, especially
transportation, water supply,
sewerage, drainage, open
spaces, etc. However, affordable
housing and basic amenities
have not grown at the same
pace as urbanization, and India
is struggling to deal with the
reality of its urban future.
With rising urban population
growth due to natural increase,
migration and reclassification
factors, the urban sector of
India is suffering from an
extreme housing shortage, the
bulk of which fall under the
Economically Weaker Section
(EWS) and Lower Income
Group (LIG) categories. The
biggest bottleneck in providing
affordable housing to the urban
poor, including migrants is
the lack of suitable, litigation- housing and inadequate housing
free, adequately serviced urban
land that is also located at a
reasonable commuting distance
from their workplaces (Mishra
and Mohanty, 2017). The poor
and low-income groups in cities
in India get completely weeded
out of formal urban land markets
in the process of urban planning,
which is based on the concept of
“master plan” and a “command
and control” paradigm.
Failure in planning has led to
large scale exclusion, resulting
in substitute systems outside
the formal frameworks. A
quarter of the urban population
lives in overcrowded slums in
sub-human living conditions THE GENESIS OF
with improper sanitation and AFFORDABLE
hygiene, inadequate drinking HOUSING SHORTAGE
water, and poor quality of shelter
(HPEC, 2011).The bulk of the As reported by Census 2011, 2.43
urban poor gets employed and million urban households had
accommodated in the informal no exclusive room, compared to
sector in these urban areas. 1.25 million in 2001; 25.34 million
Lack of affordable housing, were living in one room in 2011
workplaces and basic amenities, as against 18.85 million in 2001.
including public transport and The number residing in one room
or less constituted 35.2% of the
absence of skills for urban jobs, total number of households in
etc. affects their productivity and urban areas in 2011—marginally
remittance capacity adversely reduced from the figure of 37.4%
and accentuates misery in the in 2001 (Mishra and Mohanty,
countryside. Adequate housing 2017).14.99 million (80% of
in cities can alleviate poverty the urban households) live in
by improving people’s health congested houses and require
and making them productive, new houses, whereas 3% of
increasing their living standards the urban households live in
and increasing urban-rural homeless conditions. Around
money transfers. However, the 5% (0.99 million) and 12% (2.27
widening gaps between demand million) of the urban households
for and supply of affordable live in non-serviceable kutcha
and obsolescent houses.The
finance solutions have forced the Ministry of Housing and
urban poor to seek shelter in Urban Poverty Alleviation,
highly congested slums, making Government of India estimated
them subject to health hazards. housing shortage in India at 18.78
In this context, the paper explores million in 2010, with 96 percent
the genesis of the affordable or 17.6 million pertaining to
housing shortage and highlights Economically Weaker Sections
the failure of the city master and Lower Income Groups
plan. Given the significance of (MoHUPA 2010, Mohanty
affordable housing in the Habitat 2014). According to the Expert
III New Urban Agenda, the Committee of MoHUPA, only
paper dwells on an affordable 50% of the EWS live in pucca
housing strategy, with a focus houses; all the people living
on empirical experience and in the kutcha houses belong to
suggestions for the adoption of mostly EWS (10%) and LIG (2%);
IZ and IH in India. only 0.5% of Middle Income
Groups (MIG) live in kutcha
October 2020 Volume 21 No. 2-SHELTER 9