Housing is one of the fundamental needs of any living being. Whether, rich or poor, all of us need a place to live. But if we look at the cost of purchasing a house across the country and metros in particular, its well beyond the affordable limit of the majority.
In a society where the majority cannot afford a place of their own because of the skyrocketing property prices, low cost housing assumes crucial importance. Moreover, the Government of India has a vision “Housing for all by the year 2010”.
Our country has a population of around 1.20 bn. Considering the vastness of the country, both in terms of area and population, the dwelling unit required to pocket such population would be around 16.8 m in the urban area and the fund requirement would be around Rs 1,213.7 bn (Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation)
This means that to address this problem we need low cost housing or cost effective housing. Cost effective does not mean low quality and low durability meant only for low-income or poor sections. On the contrary, there is a need for appropriate, intermediate, modern and alternative technologies, which are strong durable, functional and environment friendly. The Government machinery needs to ensure sustainability in housing delivery, involving mixed component of cash, savings, loans, and government subsidy. Propagating appropriate building materials and sustainable responsible construction practices in the country becomes government’s most important responsibility.
Lets look at the final cost of construction, it is not the cost of building technologies alone, but the cost of land, infrastructure, construction, all put together, that makes up the final cost. So, in the Indian context the model where government and private sector working together would be an ideal mix to ensure the demand of fund for construction and supply of land for the same. The synergies of the government for land and infrastructure and of the private sector for housing development will go a long way in fulfilling the demand for housing. The most important thing is that this will result in housing for all depending upon the individual’s income level.
A glance at the vast area of the country reveals that there is ample land for construction. The fact is that except in metros like Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and a few other big cities, there is no shortage of land for construction in other parts of the country. So, we don't have to necessarily go for skyscrapers, instead 3 or 4-storeys building will serve the purpose better. Moreover all these skyscrapers have higher requirement of power for lifts, pumping up water, fire hazard, etc which are in short supply in the country.
With housing cost beyond the reach of poor, low-income and even middle-income groups, there is need to identify cost effective technologies and more focused approach towards bringing down the property prices across the country, to an affordable limit. Otherwise “Housing for all by the year 2010” will remain a dream only.
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