http://m.timesofindia.com/city/pune/Affordable-housing-remains-a-distant-dream-for-many/articleshow/11227887.cms
The Times of India on Mobile
PUNE: In the last five years, elected representatives of the Pune Municipal Corporatio
n (PMC) discussed transfer and appointment of civic officers, shifting of statues and work tenders worth crores. Sadly, the topic of creating affordable housing for the lower middle class and the poor hardly ever came up.
One cannot deny the fact that Pune is among the fastest growing cities in the country, and among the best places to live in. Over the last few years, the educated class and businesspeople have made the city their home. This has been mainly due to the growth of education centres, manufacturing units, the Information Technology boom and the spurt in BPOs - which have vastly opened up career opportunities. The population escalation has led to a direct growth of the realty sector and property prices of the once pensioner"s paradise have rocketed.
But close on the heels of the educated class of job seekers and businessmen came the working class - the migrants from the state and the rest of India. They came looking for small-time jobs and began to work at construction sites, in offices, as drivers, as cooks, as night watchmen... and the list is endless. Despite the fact that they worked night and day to make others" lives easier, they did not have much of a choice for accommodation. The civic body remained mute on the subject.
"Urban growth is an inevitable development," say social experts, and many perceive it as a stepping stone to prosperity, thus boosting economic growth. However, fallouts of this very development are poverty, unemployment, lack of proper housing and sanitation.
"I came to the city a few years ago from Satara district. Last year, I got married and was looking for a small rental house or an affordable one-room flat. But my search was in vain. I continue to live in a shared room and my wife stays in Satara," says Anand Jagdale, who works as a driver in a private firm.
There are thousands like Anand in the city. These are the people, forming a big chunk of the populace in Pune, who do not want to live in slums, but cannot afford luxury residences, especially the kind advertised on huge hoardings across the city. The question posed to the PMC remains - where should these people go?
The Pune city has notched up some thought-provoking numbers in the last few years. There has been 30.34% growth in population in the last 10 years. The growth in the urban population in the last decade has been 36.63%. On the other hand, population in rural areas of the district increased by 21.62%. Urbanisation in Pune district is among the highest in the state with over 57.39 lakh city-dwellers, the newly released provisional Census 2011 data shows. Census data also shows that 60.88% people are concentrated in urban areas of Pune district, up from 58.08% in 2001. On the other hand, population in rural areas was 36.87 lakh, falling from 41.92% in 2001 to 39.11% in 2011. What comes out clearly from these numbers is that the urban population is growing by leaps and bounds and the civic body better start figuring out as to how these numbers will be accommodated within the city limits.
In fact, a recent study on housing conducted by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Mashal for the PMC has highlighted the lack of affordable housing in the city. It says there is a shortfall of 2.5 to 3 lakh affordable housing units - which is likely to double in the next few years, considering the rate of migration. According to experts, ongoing efforts on housing for the economically weaker sections are piecemeal and a comprehensive policy is needed, if anything is to be achieved.
The study states, "The most stark and visible sign of the severe shortage of affordable housing that afflicts Pune, and other fast-growing cities across India, is the incessant growth in the number of slums. In Pune, it is estimated that 40.56% of the city"s population lives in slums at present, as compared to fewer than 20% 15 years ago. The housing stock periodically created over the years, by both the public and private sectors, under labels like Economically Weaker Section (EWS) or Low Income Group (LIG) have proved to be grossly inadequate to provide for the growing squatter settlements and slums in urban areas."
The PMC remains unmoved. This is evident by the fact that in the last five year, no steps were taken by the civic body to have a master plan to assemble land for affordable housings through either the development plans or the development control rules.
According to the PMC and the Mashal survey, affordable housing remains a distant dream for many in the city even though a sizeable 18% vacancy exists in the housing sector. This vacancy, which is far higher than the state average of 12%, is despite the fact that more than 40% of the city"s population lives in slums. That the number of slum-dwellers in the city has increased over the years is a reflection of housing options being way out of their reach. This, despite many slum households having relatively stable incomes, reveals the survey report.
Meanwhile, the PMC General Body, in the last five years, hardly discussed and framed policies for affordable housing. City builders want that affordable housing schemes should be introduced by the PMC, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and the Housing Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). However, the PMC, which failed to acquire land reserved for the EWS, did not take any major initiatives in this regard.
In 2008, the PMC had made a feeble effort to promote construction of affordable housing in the city. The civic body decided to substantially reduce the premium charges incurred from developers if they constructed housing in the range of 30 sq m to 50 sq m and 50sq m to 80 sq m, but this didn"t help much.
The state government had declared 2009 as the year of "housing for the common man". The PMC had aped the effort and announced that it would focus its attention on providing affordable housing in the city. But, yet again, everything was limited to plans, the implementation never became a reality.
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said the state government is considering replicating the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority"s (MMRDA) rental housing policy in the Pune Metropolitan Region, once the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is formed. Under the Slum Prevention Programme (SPP), the MMRDA decided to take up construction of 5 lakh houses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). For development of rental housing stock, the MMRDA is exploring all the options, like public-private partnership model and it will also develop some housing stock on its own. However, the concept of rental housing built by the civic authorities did not find roots in Pune and the PMRDA remains on paper.
Accommodation for floating population remains on paper
An estimated over 1 lakh students come to Pune for education every year. The PMC had proposed construction of youth hostels for migrant students in the draft budget for 2010-11, but it never took off.
In the 2008-09 budget, then standing committee chairman Bapu Pathare had proposed the Rs 1-crore Dr Ambedkar hostel scheme, which never saw the light of the day.
In 2009-10, then standing committee chairman Sham Deshpande had proposed the Rajmata Jijau Gharkul project for rehabilitating hutment dwellers, the scheme has remained on paper.
The civic body also sought to address the problems of urban poor by constructing dormitories where migrant job-seekers could stay for a minimal rent, instead of living in slums. The central government approved the project, but the civic body failed to acquire the land.
According to a survey by the Shelter Associates, a city-based group working for the urban poor, about 25% to 30% of population of the city"s slums is floating and faces a major accommodation crisis. The survey stated that a policy to accommodate the floating population in the city is necessary.
Meanwhile, the state had also mooted the Mumbai model in Pune - wherein people travel to the city to work and then return to the satellite nodes and townships. This remains a non-starter. Pune has a comprehensive mobility plan which has suggestions for various mass transport modes so that the population moves out of the city. However, plans to set up the satellite townships around Pune for reasonable accommodation was not even touched by the state government and the PMC.
Home Truths
* Pune has been listed as one of the top seven Indian cities that will witness a spike in demand for affordable housing by 2015, way beyond the supply, according to the report by global property consultant Cushman & Wakefield titled "Embracing Change Scripting the Future of Indian Real Estate"
* The housing requirement for the lower- and middle-income groups is around 40%. But with the high rates and the unavailability of small houses, decent and legal affordable housing has remained an unfulfilled dream for many
* According to the housing study by NGO Mashal, past efforts at addressing this issue have been fragmented, reactive and narrowly focused on symptoms, rather than root causes. There is the general trend amongst developers to build larger and more expensive dwelling units, which tend to be more profitable
* Using the general thumb rule that one can afford a home no more than four times one"s annual income, the formal housing market only caters to the needs of those earning Rs 2 lakh or more per annum
* The problem of lack of affordable housing for those who want to buy, but have meagre or modest means, is compounded by the virtual lack of affordable housing on a rental basis, other than in slums, especially for those who do not have either the future stability or the down payment required to own a home
Developers" Argument
* Reduce the input costs and make a cohesive plan of action to get different types of licenses and approvals without any delay. The input cost comprises service tax, sales tax, VAT, octroi, cess from local governing bodies, premiums and other taxes. These taxes raise the flat prices by up to 30% to 35%
* The government should also give a nudge to "vertical development" in a few metropolitan cities
* Single-window clearance should be created to avoid delays
* The land prices that have risen are not likely to come down, so the increase the FSI, so the supply will rise proportionately
* Set a time limit to complete an affordable housing project. Additionally, the government can extend tax benefits
* The biggest hurdle in high property rates is the high cost of land. There is a short supply of land because of approval of the Development Plan is pending
* High taxes levied by the government and urban local body is another reason why property tax is high
* Explore the paid Floor Space Index, so that potential of land increases
