About 377 million people from India’s total population of
1.21 billion are urban dwellers. With more than 10 million people migrating to
cities and towns every year, the total urban population is expected to reach
about 600 million by 2031. Furthermore, between 2015 and 2031, the pace of
urbanisation is likely to increase at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of
2.1%, which is estimated to be almost double that of China.
The problem is further compounded as there are only a few
urban centres in India that promise better prospects than rest of the cities
and towns – leading to much more pressure on their infrastructure and housing –
and resulting in disordered urbanization. Disordered urbanisation is reflected
in almost 65.5 million Indians who, according to the country’s 2011 Census,
live in urban slums and sprawls.
‘Hidden’ Urbanization
In addition, according to the World Bank’s Agglomeration
Index, a globally applicable alternative measure of urban concentration, the
share of India’s population living in areas with urban-like features in 2010
was 55.3%. This compares to an official urban share of the population of just
over 31%, suggesting the existence of considerable hidden urbanisation. This
hidden urbanisation, particularly on the peripheries of major cities, is mostly
not captured by official statistics, and is symptomatic of the failure to
adequately address congestion constraints that arise from the pressure of urban
populations on infrastructure, basic services, land, housing, and the
environment.
Given this scenario, it becomes critical to fill the
existing gaps in the country’s strained urban infrastructure and in particular,
housing. As per Economic Survey of India, EWS (economically weaker sections)
and LIG (lower income groups) together account for 95.6% percent of urban
housing shortage in the country, and it would be important to address the need
of this significant segment of population.
Amid the growth of urbanisation, the housing shortage in
India has touched 18.78 million units. Approximately 56% of households in urban
India now have four or less members, which is a marked change in Indian housing
sector in the past 10 years. This trend has significantly increased the demand
for housing in the urban context with the growth of smaller families.
Interestingly, it is to be noted that although India’s
number of households increased by 60 million between 2001 and 2011, the number
of houses went up by almost 81 million over the same period. Despite this, the
latest official Economic Survey states that there is a shortage of nearly 20
million homes in India. One reason for this is that most builders are catering
only to the middle income and affluent population in India and home prices have
gone beyond the reach of many during past decade.
Challenges Galore
While the supply side constraints for low cost and
affordable housing include lack of availability of land and finance at
reasonable rates, the demand drivers include the growing middle class and
growing urbanisation. Real estate developers, private players in particular,
have primarily targeted luxury, high-end and upper-mid housing segment owing to
the higher returns that can be gained from such projects. In addition, several
structural issues, such as the high gestation period of housing projects,
limited and expensive capital, spiralling land and construction costs, high
fees and taxes as well as unfavourable development norms are bottlenecks
restricting the desired growth in housing stock in India.
The Road Ahead
The government has acknowledged the importance of the
housing issues in the country in the current five-year plan. Smart cities
programme is another attempt to improve the situation in urban areas. However,
the solution to affordable housing crisis would be focussed efforts on land and
housing policy reforms, delegation of power to urban local bodies, fostering
innovative housing finance and steps for reduction in project costs and
schedule overruns.
Additionally, planned urbanisation and other
initiatives of government should ensure that towns and cities are free from
slums and simultaneously provide for adequate opportunities for gainful
employment as also an optimum quality of life to all citizens, including the
marginalised sections of society. If, and when, this happens will be important
to see.
Contributed by: Manish Kumar, Managing Director - Strategic Consulting, JLL India.
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