HOUSING

HOUSING SCENARIO- THE CURRENT SITUATION IN INDIA

Housing problem in India is very chronic, particularly among the low income and such other
marginalized groups who are beyond the reach of the formal institutional agencies for housing finance.
The housing problem has become acute in most industrial regions.
Over a number of years, shortages on a large-scale have developed and conditions worsened a great
deal.

In India the situation has become particularly serious on account of the large increase of population
since 1921.
The percentage increase of population in the last three censuses has been 11%, l4'3% and 13'4%
respectively.
During the same period the growth of population in urban areas is estimated at 21%, 32% and 54%
respectively.
The heavy shifts of population from the rural areas reflected in these figures have occurred on account
of the lack of adequate opportunities for employment in the villages and the growth of industry and
business in towns with the attraction of relatively high wages and various kinds of amenities.
Since 1947 when the country was partitioned there has been a very heavy influx of refugees who have,
on the whole, tried to settle in the urban areas.
The supply of houses on the other hand did not keep pace with the increasing demand.

Private enterprise, which has been the primary source of building activity so far, tended to shrink on
account of scarcity and high price of building materials.
The enactment of legislations controlling rents and requisitioning premises had also a deterrent effect
on private enterprise in building.
Pressure on the existing accommodation, therefore, progressively increased leading to evils of over-
crowding, deterioration of housing .estates and a variety of malpractices in relations between
landlords and tenants.

Most of the towns in India have grown up haphazardly.

They have a large proportion of sub-standard houses and slums containing insanitary mud-huts of
flimsy construction poorly ventilated, over-congested and often lacking in essential amenities such as
water and light.' This is specially so in the large industrial cities.
These conditions have developed because of insufficient control over building activity by the State or
municipal authorities.

Slums have grown up in practically all the major industrial cities of India as a result of laxity in enforcing
building regulations, the indifferent attitude, till recently, to conditions of living amongst industrial
workers and the high land values prevalent in certain cities which led the landlords to exploit their
advantage to the fullest.
These slums are a disgrace to the country and it is a matter of regret that Governments, both Central
and State, have so far paid little attention to this acute problem.
No city can be considered healthy which tolerates within itself the existence of a highly congested area
with only the minimum amenities of life where some of the poorest elements of population are
huddled together in almost sub-human conditions.

The problem of housing in rural areas is a vast one as even now 83% of the entire population of India
lives in villages.
Some opportunities for planning in the villages have arisen of late due to reforms in the land tenure
system and establishment of community development projects.
The problems which confront the rural areas are, however, somewhat different in character and do not
call for expenditure of large slums for individual housing units.
Unlike in towns, land value, and consequently congestion, is not a principal factor. The immediate
needs of the villagers are primarily adequate water-supply, improved communications and
arrangements for disposal of sewage and waste-products.
Improvement in standards of rural housing should be aimed at primarily by utilizing labor and materials
locally available with only a modicum of technical assistance.

The national building organization has estimated the housing shortage in 1991 at 8.23 million. The
housing shortage in 1997 has been estimated to be 7.57 million. The new housing demand during
1997-2002 has been estimated at 88 lakh units.

Generally there has been an improvement over the years in the quality of housing stock and more
pucca houses are being built both in urban and rural areas.
The proportion of pucca houses in rural areas registered a consistent increase from 1971 to 1991.
However, unserviceable kutcha houses in rural areas remained at 12 % in 1971 and 1981.

Rents have been generally high. The landlords, fully conscious of the scarcity value of accommodation,
began to realize rents at much higher rates, sometimes wholly out of proportion to the capital outlay.
The State Governments attempted to control rents and to prevent eviction of tenants by means of
special legislations.
While the tenants could be given some protection against eviction, the attempt to control rent,
especially in the case of new comers, did not prove very successful, generally for the same reasons
which led to the failure of price control of essential commodities.
Requisitioning of house properties by Governments, both Central and State, during and after the war
to accommodate their offices as well as officers and, in some cases, for allotment to private citizens led
to a further contraction of building activity of private landlords and thus aggravated the shortage.