The Indian Express            26.11.2013 

Civic body roots for mandatory affordable housing component

Taking inspiration from USA, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Italy and
other countries, the BMC has suggested policies which make it mandatory
for developers to provide affordable housing as part of their projects.

The BMC has suggested that “inclusionary housing” as a policy be
adopted to augment the need for affordable housing. Pegging the current
housing deficit at 10 lakh units, the report suggests a policy wherein
developers are required to devote a proportion of total floor space to
smaller dwelling units.

The median household income is only Rs 20,000 per month, while
the lowest price for even a single bedroom public housing unit starts
from Rs 14 lakh onwards, the report says. “It is apparent that nearly
half of the population is unable to afford a house even of minimum
standards,” it states.

Data shows that public sector housing has been providing about
7,000 to 8,000 units annually, while private sector supplies about
15,000 units annually to the Middle Income (MIG) and Higher Income
groups (HIG), while three lakh housing units are under various stages of
approval under slum rehabilitation schemes.

Citing past experience wherein the smaller dwelling units meant
for lower income groups did not reach the intended beneficiaries, the
civic administration has suggested inclusive housing.

In the current SRA model, existing slumdwellers are accommodated
in less than 50 per cent of the slum area making the rehabilitation
extremely dense. At present, 41.85 per cent of the population occupies
only 8.18 per cent (33.96 sq km) of the total planning area (415.05 sq
km). “Post-rehabilitation, the slum population is expected to reduce
drastically, so what is required is to ensure a steady supply of
affordable housing over a wide area,” the report states.