Urban Housing Shortages In India
Introduction:
Several policies and programs are being implemented in urban housing shortages India to tackle the housing problem with the mission of providing affordable housing for all, especially shelter and basic services to all slum-dwellers and urban poor such as National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy 2007, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Affordable Housing in Partnership Scheme (AHIP), Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), etc. RAY envisages a ‘Slum free India’ with inclusive and equitable cities in which every citizen has access to basic civic and social services and decent shelter.
According to the UN-Habitat, slums are groups of people living in urban areas that lack one or more of these amenities durable housing, sufficient living space, access to safe water, access to adequate sanitation, and security of tenure that prevents forced evictions. However, it is important to highlight that not all slum dwellers suffer from the same degree of deprivation. While slums are treated as black spots on the city canvas, it is the place that provides shelter to many low-cost service providers, be it maids, kabadiwala, motor repair mechanics, construction workers, etc. Cities cannot live without their services and it is for this reason that each city has pockets of slums at locations close to the economically active areas.
The greater the economic activity in a city, the more are the slum pockets. It is, therefore, important that cities device mechanisms to integrate slums with the urban scape and provide inclusive housing and social services; a safe and healthy living environment for all with particular consideration for children, youth, women, elderly and disabled; affordable and sustainable transport and energy; promotion, protection, and restoration of green urban spaces; safe and clean drinking water and sanitation; healthy air quality.
Urban Housing Shortages – 2012 As Per TG-12:
As per the Census 2011, the total number of Census houses2 in urban areas were 110.1 million of which 11.1 million were vacant and another 0.7 million were occupied but kept as locked. There were 76.1 million houses used for only residential purposes and 2.4 million houses used for residential-cum other uses, the two together giving the housing stock3 of 78.5 million.
Urban Housing Shortages – 2012 By Economic Categories:
The classification of various economic category households such as economically weaker section (EWS), low income group (LIG), middle and high income group were based on household income criteria prevalent in 2012. EWS households are those with income up to Rupees 5000 per month and LIG households are those with income between Rupees 5000 and 10000 per month. These figures were arrived at by the estimation of total urban housing shortages in 2012 by consumption expenditure deciles classes using NSS 65th Round (housing condition round) for 2008-09.
Estimation Of Urban Housing Shortages – 2012 By Caste And Ethnic Groups:
The shares of households in urban India during 2011 were 4.04 per cent, 14.34 per cent and 81.62 per cent for STs, SCs and Others respectively. Out of 81.35 million estimated urban households in 2012, the number of estimated households for STs, SCs and Others were 3.29, 11.66 and 66.40 million respectively. The urban housing shortage by caste and ethnic groups has been estimated taking into account the 4 factors as per the TG-12 estimation for urban housing shortages, as discussed in the following subsections.
Households living in Non-Serviceable Temporary Houses:Urban households living in non serviceable temporary houses in 2011 were 0.99 million. Among social groups, the urban households living in these non-serviceable temporary houses in 2011 were 9.23 per cent, 28.26 per cent and 62.51 per cent for STs, SCs and Others respectively.
Urban Housing Shortages due to Obsolescence excluding Temporary Houses:
The households living in obsolete houses excluding non-serviceable temporary houses in 2012 were estimated to be 2.27 million and the number of estimated households living in obsolete houses excluding non-serviceable temporary houses for STs, SCs and Others were 0.05, 0.30 and 1.89 million respectively.
Households living in Congested Conditions:
18.4 per cent of the urban households were living in congested conditions in 2008-09. Among social groups, the urban households living in congested conditions in 2008-09 were 16.77 per cent, 26.52 per cent and 17.08 per cent for STs, SCs and Others respectively.
Households in Homeless Conditions:
The households in homeless conditions in 2012 were estimated to be 0.53 million by TG-12 and the number of estimated households in homeless conditions for STs, SCs and Others were 0.03, 0.12 and 0.38 million respectively.
Total Urban Housing Shortages – 2012 across Caste and Ethnic Groups:
Total urban housing shortages in 2012 comes out to be 18.78 million by adding the four factors (non serviceable temporary houses, obsolete houses, congestion conditions and homeless conditions) as discussed before. Among social groups, the number of estimated urban housing shortages in 2012 for STs, SCs and Others were 0.72, 3.79 and 14.23 million respectively.
Conclusion:
This paper discussed the housing situations and shortages in urban India, and also focused on aspects of economic category, caste and ethnic groups. This paper also estimated the urban housing shortages in India in 2012 by caste and ethnic group, following the methodology of TG-12 and using data from Census 2001 and 2011 and NSS Housing Condition Rounds unit record data 2008-09. Given the magnitude of urban housing shortage, it is imperative that adequate and affordable urban housing has to be given immediate attention and thrust from the States, by allowing more housing supply to eradicate shelter deprivation and to enhance the quality of life.
Also Read: Role of Planning Mechanisms in Affordable Housing Delivery: Inclusionary Zoning