Indian housing crisis
According to a Government of India report in 2012, an estimated 18.78 million more houses were required to cater to the housing demand in the country.
Post this, a study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) in 2020 found that India’s urban housing shortage rose by 54% from 2012 to become 29 million in 2018.
This included homeless populations, inadequate houses that could not be upgraded, obsolete houses and congested households.
However, an analysis by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress of the 2011 Census data noted that coexisting with an urban housing shortage of 19 million units were 11 million vacant units.
Seemingly, while houses are built, none of these cater to the class which needs it the most.
Per the government’s definition, affordable housing properties are those with an area not more than 60 sq.m, with the price capped at ₹45 lakh.
In the first quarter of 2024, housing sales were at an all-time quarterly high, with 1.30 lakh units sold across the top seven cities.
But in the new housing supply, it was mid-segment homes that continued to dominate with a 33% share.
Affordable housing was at a mere 18% share.
The share of affordable housing in overall sales during the first half of 2023 saw a sharp decline, to approximately 20% — an 11 percentage point decrease as compared to the first half of 2022.
Given the high cost of land and construction materials, “building low-cost houses for low-income people is not economically viable. The low-income class cannot afford the house unless the charges are subsidised.”
Urban congestion and lack of proper housing create another issue — slums.
The 2011 census found that over 65 million people, about 5% of India’s total population, lived in slums.
What policies have been implemented?
A right to housing has been held to be a part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution by the Supreme Court.
The first policy intervention from the Government came in 1985, with the Indira Awaas Yojana, which was focused on rural housing.
After 2004, urban housing came into focus with programmes such as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), launched in 2005.
In 2008, the Parekh Committee report on housing led to urban housing interventions such as the Rajiv Awas Yojana and Rajiv Rinn Yojna.
The Housing for All schemes (2015-22) were launched once the Modi government came to power.
The two wings under these are Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
PMAY-U and PMAY-G
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 to tackle urban homelessness.
The PMAY-U promised houses for 1.18 crore families by December 2024.
As of March 2024, it has only achieved around 67% of its target, that is, around 80 lakh.
The duration of the PMAY-U was initially seven years, from FY 2015-16 to FY 2021-22.
It has now been extended up to December 31, 2024 – with all verticals except Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme – to complete houses sanctioned up to March 31, 2022.
Around 83% of the houses to be constructed under PMAY-U are not meant for the urban landless poor, but rather for families having access to capital and land.
The slum rehabilitation scheme within PMAY-U has sanctioned only 2.96 lakh homes.
The PMAY-G was launched by the Modi government in 2016 with the aim of constructing 2.95 crore houses.
The scheme offers ₹1.3 lakh for each unit constructed under the scheme, with a 60:40 funding split between the Centre and State.
According to the PMAY-G dashboard, as of April 30, 2024, a total of 2.6 crore houses have been completed.
According to data shared by the government, as of September 29, 2022, over 69% of houses constructed under PMAY-G were either wholly or jointly owned by women.
Both components of the PMAY combined received ₹80,671 crore in the interim budget.
State schemes
States too have sought to introduce housing schemes.
In the run-up to the polls, the Andhra Pradesh government has undertaken schemes such as the Navaratnalu-Pedalandariki Illu.
Under this, the State had taken up construction of 21.76 lakh houses, with an outlay of ₹56,700 crore.
Of these, the construction of 7.43 lakh houses was completed as of October 2023, with the State reportedly acquiring more than 77,000 acres of land.
The State was chasing a target of building 1.79 lakh homes by a deadline of March 2024.
In a press release, it specifically mentioned that the government would register the houses in the names of women beneficiaries to empower them.
This is in line with the increasing focus on women as an important voting bloc.
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