Shelter and Development are mutually supportive. Housing forms an important part of the strategy of the Government for the alleviation of poverty and employment generation, and is to be viewed as an integral part of overall improvement of human settlements and economic development. The Global Shelter Strategy adopted by the United Nations in November 1988 calls upon different governments to take steps for the formulation of a National Housing Policy to achieve the goals of the strategy. The Government has tabled in both Houses of Parliament in May 1988, the Draft National Housing Policy and it had been approved by the Rajya Sabha. In the light of the developments in the national and international scene after the presentation of the Draft and in the context of the formulation of the Eighth Plan, it has become imperative to elaborate and restate the National Housing Policy.

Despite considerable investment and efforts over successive Plan periods, the housing problem continues to be daunting in terms of

• the large number of homeless households,
• rapid growth of slums and unauthorised colonies,
• spiraling prices and rents of land and houses,
• rampant speculation,
• deficient availability of water, sanitation and basic services to bulk of the population and
• the increasing struggle of the poor and vulnerable sections to secure affordable and adequate shelter.

The housing shortage is estimated by the National Buildings Organisation in 1991 to be about 31 million units, composed of 20.6 million in rural areas, and 10.4 million in urban areas, with the bulk of the backlog consisting of kutcha unserviceable units. The rapid growth of urban population and its concentration in 300 cities with a population exceeding one lakh has led to:

• increasing congestion and overcrowding in small houses,
• steady growth of slums and informal settlements
• severe pressure on civic services, in the context of the inadequate supply of affordable housing by public and private sector
• acute shortage of funds for the development of settlements and
• extension of city level infrastructure.

This has been aggravated by institutional deficiencies of housing agencies and local bodies, and insufficient attention to the housing needs of the poor.

Over the Eighth Plan period, it has been projected that over and above the present backlog, the shelter requirement by way of upgradation and new construction would be 122.2 lakh units in rural areas and 955 lakh units in the urban areas. At the same time, bulk of the housing in the country is constructed by the people themselves with their own resources, and a major proportion of all housing in rural areas is based on bio-mass. The crucial role of government at different levels is not to seek to build houses itself but to make appropriate investment and create conditions where all women and men, especially the poor may gain and secure adequate housing, and to remove impediments to housing activity.

The objectives, goals and strategy for housing policy need to be considered in this context.

Objectives

The basic objectives of the policy are:

• To assist all people, and in particular the houseless, the inadequately housed and the vulnerable sections, to secure for them- selves affordable shelter through access to developed land building materials, finance and technology.

• To create an enabling environment for housing activity for various sections by eliminating constraints and by developing an efficient and equitable system for the delivery of housing inputs.

• To expand the provision of infrastructure facilities in rural and urban areas in order to improve the environment of human settlements, increase the access of poorer households to basic services and to increase the supply of developed land for housing.

• To undertake, within the overall context of policies for poverty alleviation and employment, steps for improving the housing situation of the poorest sections and vulnerable groups by direct initiative and financial support of the State.

• To help mobilise the resources and facilitate the expansion of investment in housing in order to meet the needs of housing construction and upgradation and augmentation of infrastructure.

• To promote a more equal distribution of land and houses in urban and rural areas, and to curb speculation in land and housing in consonance with macro-economic policies for efficient and equitable growth.

• To promote vernacular architecture and to preserve the nations rich heritage in the field of human settlements.

Goals

The main goals to be achieved in the next ten years would be

• to reduce houselessness;
• provide larger supply of developed land and finance to different income groups;
• promote use of appropriate and energy saving building materials and cost effective construction technologies;
• assist in the upgradation of all unserviceable houses in rural and urban areas, with a view to particularly improving the housing conditions of the rural homeless and the inadequately housed slum dwellers, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and other vulnerable sections;
• provide the minimum level of basic services and amenities to ensure a healthy environment within the framework of integrated development of rural and urban settlements.

Elements of Housing Policy

Housing Norms

Housing norms would be evolved at local levels with due regard to different geo-climatic conditions and life styles of the people. Efforts will be made to develop and promote use of cost-effective standardised housing designs for each geo-climatic region. In rural areas, except those on the periphery of large cities, the size of the plot would not ordinarily be less than 85 square metres, with a provision for built up accommodation of not less than 20 square metres, and with adequate provision of services. In urban areas, the size of the plot should ordinarily be less than 25 square metres with a provision permissible built-up accommodation and services on individual or share basis in a neighbourhood adequately served with community facilities. In devising building standards, the special needs of the handicapped would be taken into account by the local bodies.

Rural Housing

It is recognised that rural housing is qualitatively different from urban housing in that the housing activity in rural areas is not so much based on cash economy and depends much more on land rights and access to resources. The strategy for rural housing will be based on:

• support to varying needs of shelter including new construction, additions and upgradation; providing assistance by way of dissemination of appropriate technology and delivery system for promoting self-help housing;
• assuring land and tenure rights by enactment of enabling laws for conferment of homestead rights;
• prevention of alienation of homesteads on tribal land;
• avoiding unnecessary displacement or dehousing of rural settlements due to development projects;
• where unavoidable ensuring proper rehabilitation of the households, with full community involvement, according to the national norms in this regard;
• rehabilitation of households affected by natural calamities in terms of assistance for reconstruction and access to services, within the national scheme of calamity relief;
• preserving the customary and traditional rights of access to housing resources based on forest materials and common village resources;
• promoting the maximum use of indigenous building materials and construction techniques with due regard to geo-climatic variations in different regions;
• the coordinated provision of water supply, sanitation, roads, and other basic infrastructure services to existing and new habitations besides employment opportunities which will also help to reduce the migration in urban areas;
• the establishment of a suitable institutional structure including strengthening of existing organisations at the state, district and local levels, with responsibility for the implementation, supervision and monitoring of rural housing schemes, and with the full involvement of beneficiaries, voluntary agencies and village panchayats;
• giving special attention to the needs of the poorest segments of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other disadvantaged persons.

The development of house sites and the upgradation of rural housing will be linked activities under the mtesated Rural Development Programme, Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, and other programmes for the creation of rural assets and employment.

Slums and Squatter Settlements in Urban Areas and Housing for Urban Poor

Keeping in view the policies of planned growth of urbanisation, income support and poverty alleviation, and together with steps to arrest the growth of slums in urban areas, the Central and State Governments would take steps to:

• avoid forcible relocation or dehousing of slum dwellers;
• encourage in-site upgradation, slum renovation, and progressive housing development with conferment of occupancy rights wherever feasible, and to undertake selective relocation with community involvement only for clearance of priority sites in public interest;
• expand provision of water supply, sanitation and other basic services in slum and other settlements occupied by the poor; ensure proper maintenance of amenities through community involvement and decentralised institutional arrangements;
• integrate the provision of physical amenities with basic services including maternal and child welfare services and healthcare, structured on community participation and involvement of voluntary agencies and management by local bodies;
• promote international construction and upgradation by poorer households through access to land and services, through technical support, outlets for low cost technology and materials, opportunities for skill upgradation and access to housing finance on flexible terms;
• provide night shelters and sanitary facilities for the footpath dwellers and the homeless.

Supply and Management of land

Supply of serviced land at affordable prices is a critical input for housing activity. It is widely recognised that the effective operation of the land market has been affected by the existing legal and regulatory framework, lack of infrastructure, and the slow pace of release of serviced land by public agencies. This, along with other economic factors, has led to an unwarranted increase in land prices and housing costs, and widespread speculation and profiteering specially in larger cities. The exclusion of the majority of the poor from the formal market, and their inability to build or acquire legal shelter has led to the proliferation of squatter settlements and unauthorised colonies. The Central and State Governments would take initiative in:

1. promoting a balanced pattern of urbanisation in order to reduce the pressure on the metropolitan and large cities, with due regard to the need to control unregulated peripheral development on agricultural lands, unwarranted conversion of land use and degradation of land resources;
2. directing the activities of the public agencies towards increasing the supply of serviced land for various groups and essential public purposes, with a preponderant pro- portion for the poorer sections;
3. simplifying the existing legal provisions and procedures relating to the acquisition of land, to enable taking over the possession of land speedily with due regard to the payment of adequate and timely compensation to land owners on negotiated basis, or by schemes of participative development of infrastructure under the town planning law or otherwise;
4. modifying development control rules and norms of infrastructure provision and simplifying building approval procedures in order to facilitate the housing activity of different income groups especially the poor, and to reduce the cost of housing;
5. encouraging the involvement of licensed private developers in land development, construction and infrastructure provision, with adequate safeguards to protect the consumers and increased supply of developed land for lower income groups;
6. reviewing on a city-wise basis the use of land in the ownership of various public agencies and formulating specific plans for the efficient utilisation of these lands for the city's development.
7. devising through new legislation, or through the more effective use of existing laws, the optimum use of land as a resource for housing and urban services and suitable measures for the redevelopment of land occupied by industries in a state of decline and/or causing environmental pollution;
8. using fiscal and municipal taxation policy, including tax on vacant urban land, in order to curb speculative activities, and to increase the supply of land;
9. coordinating the assessment of valuation of land and property by different central, state and local agencies, for the levy of taxes, and for other purposes;
10. building up an effective information system of land and registration in the interest of efficient management of land; and
11. specifically increasing the access of the poorer sections, women and vulnerable groups to affordable service land in areas located near, or connected by cheap transport to their work places.

In the light of suggestions received from various sources such as the state governments and the affected parties, amendments to the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act will be introduced in order to remove the inhibiting effects of the legislation without diluting its social purpose, so as to make available additional land for housing, especially for the lower income groups.

Infrastructure

The National Commission on Urbanisation has advocated concentrated investment in settlements of various sites which can generate economic momentum, sustain economic growth, promote balanced urbanisation, expand housing: activity and facilitate equitable provision of services. It is recognised that public and private investment in infrastructure to expand the supply of service land needs to be stepped up through enhanced budget provision as well as institutional finance. Organisational arrangements would be strengthened for mobilising and increasing the flow of funds for infrastructure. The Housing Policy envisages actions to expand infrastructure facilities and services by:

1. Increased investments to be made by the Central, State and local agencies within the framework of regional plans as well as the development of growth centres in order to meet the rapidly increasing needs of serviced land, and to improve the availability of services in different settlements;
2. Adequate investments to increase the coverage of urban population to 100% for potable water supply and 75% for basic sanitation including the total elimination of manual scavenging with particular attention to the larger provision of basic amenities to the settlements inhabited by the poor.
3. Larger investments in public transport and traffic network to serve the needs of the poorer sections for cheaper and speedier access to workplaces and to integrate transport, land use and shelter;
4. Special attention to the development of small and medium towns by strengthening their linkages with the contiguous rural areas as a part of integrated planned development of the regions, and steps for reducing the migration to larger cities;
5. Encouraging use of construction technologies which are cost effective, incrementally upgradable and environmentally appropriate;
6. Support from state governments for extension of infrastructure based on the participation of the landowners or of enterprises in new growth centres or townships and private developers or on innovative systems of infrastructure leasing;
7. Assistance by the State Governments to the local bodies to ensure adequate cost recovery, proper maintenance of services and upgradation of the capability of the personnel in local bodies and functional agencies;
8. Securing community support in the design, installation and the upkeep of services within the framework of the urban basic services strategy and rural development programmes;
9. Strengthening the financial viability and implementation capacity of local bodies and functional agencies and augmenting their resources on the basis of the recommendations of the State Municipal Finance Commission.

Conservation of Housing Stock and Rental Housing

The National Housing Policy envisages steps to be taken by the Central and State Governments and the financial institutions for:

1. appropriate modifications in the building regulations;
2. special schemes for the repair and renewal of resident buildings having large number of occupants;
3. fiscal and property tax incentives and financial assists for expansion and upgradation of dwelling units and proper maintenance of buildings;
4. access to materials and technical assistance. Investment in rental housing, especially for the lower middle income groups will be stimulated by :

1. suitable amendments to rent control laws by state governments on the basis of the model Rent Control Law;
2. provision of houses for industrial workers in new in trial areas or growth centres, by public and private employers as a part of project cost, and for stimulating by appropriate fiscal concessions and institutional fin under industrial policy;
3. encouraging individuals and groups to construct house for partial for full letting by access to land, institution finance, enabling regulations and incentives in central, state and municipal taxation of property and incomes.

Housing Finance

It is envisaged that 20 per cent of the requirement of investment in housing would be met by specialised housing finance institutions, insurance and banking sector, provident fund mutual funds, etc, and additional mobilisation of household savings.

It is recognised that the formal system meets a small proportion of the finance required by different groups for a variety of housing activities, and that the bulk of the population is outside its reach owing to a variety of structural and operational inadequacies of the system. It will be the objective of the Housing Policy to promote easy access to finance for different housing activities and to evolve an elastic and widespread resource mobilisation strategy to tap household savings in the formal and informal sector. Steps would also he taken for the removal of constraints to the flow of finance into the housing sector, especially larger lending to the poor and the informal sector.

In the interest of long-term development of the mortgage market and assured resources for the housing finance system, increasing proportion of the resources of insurance sector, Unit Trust, Commercial Banks and Cooperative banks will be channelled into housing with lending rates reflecting the average yields of these resources.

Apart from diverting increasing proportions of annual provident fund accumulations for housing finance, housing-linked savings schemes for the provident fund subscribers, the workers in the organised sectors and public sector employees will be introduced.

It is envisaged that, as the apex agency charged with linking the housing finance system with the financial sector as a whole, the National Housing Bank (NHB)

1. facilitates the promotion and regulation of housing finance institutions in the public and private sector,
2. refinances their operations, and expands the spread of housing finance to different income groups all over the country, while functioning within the overall framework of housing policy.

The National Housing Policy recognises the need to strengthen the Housing and Urban development Corporation (HUDCO) and increase its resources for meeting in a larger measure the requirements for shelter provision for lower income groups in rural and urban areas including the shelters and the slum dwellers and for expanding infrastructure facilities in the urban areas.

The complementary roles of different agencies and institutions in public and private sector concerned with land development, house construction and finance will be supported.

Innovative savings and lending instruments will be introduced to integrate the housing finance system into the capital market by enabling access of housing finance institutions to the funds on a competitive basis with other financial institutions and by permitting NHB and HUDCO to set up mutual funds for housing, apart from their access to external aid. Steps would be taken in due course to introduce a secondary mortgage system in order to attract funds from a wide range of investors, including insurance and provident funds, and to integrate housing finance with the overall financial system.

The planning norms for housing at the neighbourhood and institutional land will be integrated with the lending guidelines of NHB and other financial institutions. Appropriate ceilings on plinth area and institutional finance will be stipulated in order to discourage large premises.

It is envisaged that the housing finance system as a wole became self-financing in the long run to meet the needs different income groups and purposes, with longer repayment periods, graduated payments and simplified procedure wherever necessary, to ensure affordable monthly installments and larger coverage across different urban and rural poor.

It is recognised that capital and interest subsidies for the urban and rural poor be targeted carefully, and that improvement be made in the housing finance procedures and shelter delivery system in order to bring down the cost of shelter for to affordable levels. The subsidized housing program like the Indira Awas Yojna for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and free bonded labourers will be restricted to absolutely poor and the disadvantaged groups. The housing finance systems will be so devised as to respond on fl terms to a variety of shelter needs of the rural and urban poor.

The Government recognises the need to make an in assessment of the role of informal credit network and community based savings systems for housing and to devise ways in establishing its links with the formal credit institutions to enhance the access of the rural and urban poor to housing finance.

The cooperative housing movement, especially, for lower and middle income groups, will he given assured access to institutional finance to supplement internal resources.

Building Materials and Technology

As part of the housing policy, it is proposed to take steps for:

Housing Policy would accord priority to the promotion of access to shelter for the houseless, inadequately housed and the disadvantaged groups such as;

1. households below the poverty line in all settlements;
2. rural landless labour including artisans;
3. the households dishoused by development projects and the victims of natural calamities;
4. scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and freed bonded labour;
5. widows, single women and women headed households including construction workers below the poverty line; and
6. physically handicapped.

Housing Needs of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes:

It will be ensured with the help of State Governments and Central Ministries that the developed land and housing units in rural and urban areas constructed by state and local agencies, and those constructed by private agencies with the help of financial institutions, are allotted to families belonging to the scheduled castes/scheduled tribes in proportion to the composition of the population, The ongoing schemes for these communities would be further expanded in consultation with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Housing Needs of Women: Adequate attention will be given while devising programmes, to meet the specific needs of women in disadvantaged circumstances, in terms of joint or exclusive title to land and house, access to credit, home-base employment, maternal and child welfare, hostels for working women, and involvement in the provision of shelter and services, access to education and income-generating opportunities.

Role of Government, Private Sector and the Community

The magnitude of the housing task calls for the involvement ofseveral agencies including the government at different levels, the cooperative, the community, and the private sector. The Government will devise and implement strategies, which will enable the various agencies to complement the efforts of one another and ensure the most efficient utilisation of resources consistent with National Environment Policy. It would be the endeavour of central and state governments:

• to act as the provider for the poorest and vulnerable sections and to facilitate the housing activity of lower and middle income groups;
• to control speculation and profiteering in land and housing; to modulate housing policy to the diverse needs and re- source endowments of different regions in the country;
• to encourage, within the framework of housing policy and local planning, voluntary agencies in efforts to upgrade shelter, extend basic services, augment incomes and promote environmental conservation;
• to promote decentralised execution of housing schemes in urban and rural areas under the supervision of local bodies which would be suitably strengthened within the constitutional framework to respond to the diverse needs of local population;
• to reorient the housing agencies at the Central, State and local levels to act more as promoters of housing activity rather than builders of houses and
• to concentrate increasingly on the supply of developed land and infrastructure, extension of appropriate technology, assisting people to take up construction and upgradation of houses, and disseminating information on housing schemes.

The Housing Policy recognises group-based or cooperative activity or community associations as the principal form of housing activity in many rural settlements and large urban areas facing shortage of land. Hence the cooperatives and other community-based organisations will be encouraged to take up various shelter-related activities, especially for slum dwellers and the rural poor, assisted through preferential allotment of land, access to finance and fiscal support.

The private developers and the organised sector will be encouraged to invest in various forms of housing and land development by access to finance, speedier approval of schemes and other forms of support, removal of constraints to assembly and development land, while they will be induced to devote a significant proportion of the investment in housing for lower and middle-income groups at affordable prices and conform to non-exploitative practices.

Government recognises the vital need to integrate housing activity and employment. Training, skill upgradation and promotion of labour intensive and decentralised manufacture of building materials and construction practices would be encouraged, in order to maximise the economic benefits of housing investment.

Environmental protection will be emphasized in terms of the basic norms and service for settlements, for neighbourhood planning and open spaces, control of pollution, removal, disposal and utilisation of liquid and solid wastes.

Through proper attention to planning and architecture, importance will be given to the preservation of built up heritage and monuments, structures of architectural value, and the preservation of special natural features.

Fiscal Policy

Fiscal incentives will be provided in order to promote desired investment in housing activity by the private sector and individuals, and to channel additional savings for housing activity from households and enterprises.

In order to induce employers in the organized sector including 1 industry to provide housing for their workers, incentives will be given for investment in rental or ownership housing, especially for low-income employees.

Incentives will be given to promote the manufacture of new building materials and components produced out of industrial wastes like slush, and agricultural wastes, and those which substitute the use of scarce resources like wood, and energy- intensive materials like cement and steel.

In consultation with the State Governments., the levy of stamp duties and registration fees will be rationalised, especially to reduce the burden on housing for lower income groups.

Government would encourage housing schemes with approved guidelines in major cities to channel investment of Non-Resident Indians in convertible foreign exchange in residential property, and would extend appropriate incentives including speedy clearance by Central, State and local governments to stimulate a sustained and large inflow of such investments.

Legal and Regulatory Framework

The measures for removing legal constraints would cover:

a) Provision in the Land Reforms and other relevant Acts to confer homestead rights on the occupants, ensure proper rehabilitation of those dishoused by projects, protect tribal families ham eviction, preserve user rights over forest and common lands, etc.

b) Revision of Master Plan standards, land use plans, building bye-laws, and infrastructure standards by the State Government and local authorities based on the National Building Code as the guide. This will help reduce the cost of shelter, enable efficient use of land and facilitate housing activity;

(c) Making suitable amendments in the laws and procedure governing land acquisition in urban areas to ensure speedy assembly of compact lands with due regard to the interests of landowners;

(d) Review and amendment of laws and regulations relating to town planning, particularly the norms and standards for in situ upgradation of low income settlements and housing;

(e) Incorporation of a separate chapter in the present cooperative laws on group or cooperative housing activity in order to streamline their operation and to remove existing constraints;

(f) Enactment of Apartment Ownership Act in States not having such a law and suitable amendments to the existing laws wherever necessary in order to provide for the transfer of occupancy rights of individual owners, management of common areas, and to enable the creation of charge on the apartment by lending institutions;

(g) Steps for the removal of constraints to the now of finance into housing and services especially larger lending to the poor and households in the informal sector through:- flexible procedures and collateral requirements as well as repayment schedules amendments to the National Housing Bank Act to pro- vide for speedy foreclosure of mortgages by housing finance institutions refinances by NHB, so as to augment the resources of housing finance institutions further and help in creating a secondary market for housing mortgage; universalisation of the system of English Mortgage, simplification of procedure for investigation of title and the introduction of the Torrens system of registration of title in a phased manner in urban and rural areas. The implementation of this agenda will be ensured through the joint efforts of Central and state governments as early as possible.

Human Resources Development

The development of human resources is a crucial component of the Housing Policy. Various steps are envisaged such as:

• the training and reorientation of architects, engineers, planners, administrators, and others to adopt low-cost and cost effective approaches to planning of settlements and housing;
• increased facilities in the technical institutions and colleges for the training of the various professions related to housing;
• promotion of a large scale of vocational courses at the school and post school levels;
• formal and non-formal training facilities on a widely decentralised basis to upgrade skills of construction workers, artisans and petty contractors;
• upgradation of the skills and improvement of the working conditions of women construction workers;
• greater involvement of non-governmental organisations in the training of construction workers, both in the formal and informal sectors and assistance to urban self employed to organise themselves in order to upgrade their techniques and get better access to working space, credit and marketing channels; and
• provision of non-formal training to facilitate maintenance and improvement of housing stock on a self-help basis.

Action Plan

Housing is a State subject. Given the wide variations in housing needs and resource endowments in the country, Governments of states and union territories would have to play the primary role in formulating action plans and programmes suited to local needs and conditions in consultation with local bodies and citizen groups. Perspective Plans of action and short term plans for the Eighth Plan will be formulated by the states and union territories taking into account the following factors:

(a) A complete estimate of the number, type (economic category), and standards of dwellings to be constructed or upgraded both by the private and public sector and the units to be offered in the rental market.

(b) Resources flow from the private, cooperative and public sectors, and the number and type of dwelling units to be constructed by each sector in states and union territories on ownership or rental basis.

(c) Separate projections for rural and urban housing needs, including the resources required for each sector.

(d) Distinguishing shelter needs of those in possession of a plot and desire to construct dwelling unit, those who are totally shelterless, those who can afford to acquire a built-up unit and those in need of additional amenities.

(e) The desired produce mix and the resources required from State budget, institutional finance and local contribution in order to provide adequate shelter for different sections of the population. The Action Plans would be formulated for each states/union territories within a time frame of one year for time bound implementation by state and local agencies with the involvement of Central institutions, private and cooperative agencies and build into the Five Year Plan, city and district development Plans. An appropriate management information system on housing and urban services will be developed at various levels of government under the supervision of an Inter-Ministerial Group and a comprehensive Housing Census will be taken up during the Eighth Fine Year Plan.

The National Housing Policy will be periodically revised in the light of emerging needs of different sections of the population and the demands of the changing socio-economic conditions in different parts of the country.