HOUSING-PROBLEMS

AND SOLUTIONS IN
INDIA
RUKSARDEEP KAUR
1346461
WHAT IS HOUSING?

Introduction
Along with food and clothes, housing or a
shelter is one of the three most important
requirements of Human Being. If the total
population of about 1200 million population is
divided by 5, the average number of members
in a family, the country requires housing for
240 million families. Of this, 2.4 million around
30% are either house-less or live in thatched
collage or houses made of tree and plant live
in and bamboo and mud houses.
CAUSES:
The requirement of house building is a massive
program and the Indian Government is aware of it but
cannot do much about it because of the following
reasons:-

Lack of investment and funds.

Lack of building materials like red bricks, timber, steel
sections, flats, angles, rods etc. as well as glass, tiles,
sanitary-wares and cement and sand, as well as lime
and plaster.
Lack of a definite housing program.
Non-availability of low cost housing ideas to be built for
village and rural areas.
WHO ARE MAINLY
AFFECTED?
Theproblems of housing are most acute among the
lower-middle class and the villages. The various housing
estates made by private promoter, joint venture (PPP)
and small private contractors are very few compared to
the huge population particularly in rural areas where
people require houses but they do not have either the
finance or the other resources of materials.
PROBLEMS
PROBLEMS
UN-PLANNED GROWTH OF SETTLEMENTS

A number of housing clusters have mushroomed in and

around various metropolitan centres in haphazard and
unplanned manner, without a proper layout and devoid of
service lines and other essential facilities. These
unauthorized developments are encroachments on land
parcels belonging to Govt. bodies, public- private-institutions
or areas meant to be green belts. The removal/ re-settlement
of these overcrowded un-hygienic clusters, commanding
massive vote banks, is a serious challenge to correcting these
aberrations for a planned growth of cities, especially in our
democratic set-up? Therefore, massive concerted effort
needs to be made with best of administrative actions and
deft political handling for the sake of our future generations .
PROBLEMS
LACKOF EFFECTIVE MECHANISM TO HANDLE
LAND DISPUTES

Although land Acts are subjected to amendments

from time to time, implementation of these Acts
through government authorities creates a bottleneck
position to produce a favorable outcome in solving
land disputes. Authors of this review conceived that
since enough powers (especially judicial or semi
judicial) are not vested to the prime units of
government authorities which handle land disputes, it
creates procrastination and causes the
implementation to be less effective.
PROBLEMS
LACK OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES
 PROBLEMS
MIGRATION
Urbanization attracts people to cities and towns which lead
to high population increase. With the increase in the number
of people living in urban centers, there is continued scarcity
of houses. This is due to insufficient expansion space for
housing and public utilities, poverty, unemployment, and
costly building materials which can only be afforded by few
individualsThe cost of living in urban areas is very high.
When this is combined with random and unexpected growth
as well as unemployment, there is the spread of unlawful
resident settlements represented by slums and squatters.
The growth of slums and squatters in urban areas is even
further exacerbated by fast-paced industrialization, lack of
developed land for housing, large influx of rural immigrants
to the cities in search of better life, and the elevated prices of
land beyond the reach of the urban poor
, said to be available in plenty, is also prone to seasonal shortage during local festivals and harvesting times. Not just unskilled workers, t

PROBLEMS
GROWTH OF POPULATION

With rapid increase of population the problem of

housing is assuming enormous proportions in our
country. The problem of housing may arise owing
to the trend of population growth. The trend of
population growth determines the increase and
decrease in the demand for housing. The
demand for a house or dwelling unit is arrived at
on the standard of norm followed and accepted
in India - one dwelling unit for five persons .
PROBLEMS
MANPOWER SHORTAGE

There is a tremendous shortage of supervisory, as

also skilled manpower to meet the needs of the
construction sector. Even the availability of
unskilled labour, said to be available in plenty, is
also prone to seasonal shortage during local
festivals and harvesting times. Not just unskilled
workers, there is a severe shortage of
electricians, plumbers, fitters, carpenters, bar-
benders, etc to work on big infrastructure projects
and in the manufacturing sector
SOLUTIONS
SOLUTIONS
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
According to the KPMG Report on Affordable
Housing
A Key Growth Driver in the Real Estate Sector,
affordable housing is defined in terms of three
main parameters, namely income level, size of
dwelling unit and affordability.
SOLUTIONS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
The government has also introduced some schemes to curb the housing problem. They
are as follows.

i.Subsidized industrial housing scheme:

This scheme was started in September 1952, to provide houses to the labourers
who worked before 1948 and 1952. The Government of India gave loans to the extent
of 65 per cent to various industries, state government, legal housing construction
societies and cooperative societies to construct houses for the labourers. The
labourers could purchase these houses according to the rules framed by the
government.

But these houses could not be sold or alienated without prior permission of the
government. But this scheme did not succeed much because of the lack of
cooperation of mill owners. In the third Five-Year-Plan, it was made obligatory for mill
owners to provide housing facilities to their labourers. In the fourth Five-Year-Plan, a
provision of Rs. 45 crore was made for this purpose. The fifth plan also included
similar provisions. Apart from the central government, state governments have also
formed various Housing Boards and implemented societies and various schemes.
SOLUTIONS
ii.LIG housing schemes:
This scheme was started in 1954. Persons who have income less than
Rs. 600 per annum could get a loan up to 80 per cent. Local and
cooperative bodies are given such loans.

iii.
Slum clearance and improvement scheme:
This scheme was started in the year 1956 to give financial assistance to
the state governments and local bodies for improving the slum areas. It
was estimated then that about 12 lakh houses were not fit for dwelling.
Hence, the long-term and short-term schemes were started. But as it
was not possible to provide houses to all the people living in slum
areas, this scheme could not progress satisfactorily.

iv. Middle-income group housing scheme:

Under this scheme, the people of middle-income group are given loans
for constructing the houses. The state government also gives loans on
low rates of interest.
SOLUTIONS
vi. Rental housing schemes:
This scheme was started in 1959 to provide houses on rent to the
state government employees.

vi. Land acquisition and development scheme:

The government felt that the LIG and middle-income group people
could construct houses if land was made available to them on a
reasonable price. For this purpose, a plan was set up under which
the state governments could acquire land and plots at suitable
places, develop them and give them away to the needy people