India’s capital grappling with housing crisis for the poor

According to a study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) in 2020, India’s urban housing shortage rose 54 percent to 29 million in 2018 from 18.78 million in 2012, Aljazeera reported in an article yesterday, August 30.

The Delhi government’s Economic Survey for 2020-2021 reveals that 6.75 million people lived in poor housing in low-income settlements only in New Delhi, India’s capital, which included 695 slum settlements, 1,797 unauthorized colonies and 362 urban villages.

The article mentions lack of affordable housing, reduced land entitlements and accelerated housing for the privileged as key factors driving the crisis.

India’s government has implemented a number of housing policies and projects in response to the perennial challenge, mainly among low and middle-income groups, trying to improve housing quality and provide shelter to the homeless in the city of nearly 20 million residents.

However, activists say the houses built under such projects are insufficient in number, often unaffordable, or unviable for those most in need.