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Affordable Housing: The Increasing Problem of Housing in India

• Categories: Affordable Housing Homelessness Overpopulation

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Words: 1781 |

Published: May 24, 2022

Words: 1781 | Pages: 4 | 9 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, demand for affordable housing in india, indian government’s affordable housing schemes, affordable housing, defining slums.

• Household waste over the appropriate stock of housing (people living in informal properties)
• Number of additional households due to congestion expected
• Number of additional households due to obsolescence needed
• Amount of households in Kutchcha that must be upgraded
• Integrated Subsidised Housing Scheme for Industrial workers and Economically Weaker Sections 1952
• Low Income Group Housing Scheme 1954
• Subsidized Housing Scheme for Plantation Workers 1956
• Middle Income Group Housing Scheme 1959
• Rental Housing Scheme for State Government Employees 1959
• Slum Clearance and Improvement Scheme 1956
• Village Housing Projects Scheme 1959
• Land Acquisition and Development Scheme 1959
• Provision of House Sites of Houseless Workers in Rural Areas 1971
• Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums 1972
• Sites and Services Schemes 1980
• Indira AwasYojana 1985
• Night Shelter Scheme for Pavement Dwellers 1990
• National Slum Development Programme 1996
• 2 Million Housing Programme 1998
• Valmiki Ambedkar Malin Basti Awas Yojana 2000
• Pradan Mantra GramodayaYojana 2001
• Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission 2005
• PradhanMantriAdarsh Gram Yojana (2009-10) 2009
• Rajiv AwasYojana 2011
• PradhanMantriAwasYojana- Housing for All (Urban) 2015
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Housing for All (Urban)

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Title: The Human Right to Adequate Housing in India: Obstacles and Challenges

On an early winter morning in 2015, Indian Railways leveled over 1,500 homes in Shakur Basti, Delhi without notice or rehabilitation, rendering over 6,000 people homeless in the bitter cold. A six-month-old girl died during the demolition. Eight more people, including four children, subsequently died from the cold and inadequate living conditions. No one has been held accountable and the state denies any causality between the eviction and the deaths.

The story of Shakur Basti is not an isolated one. Indian cities, towns, and villages routinely witness forced evictions. In 2017, state authorities across India demolished about 150 homes every day, violating laws and international human rights standards . India’s housing crisis is characterized by the politics of land; an acute shortage of low-cost housing, manifesting in rising homelessness and the prevalence of inadequate settlements with tenure insecurity and abysmal living conditions; forced evictions, land acquisition, and displacement; and real estate speculation. Though India has ratified international law guaranteeing housing as a basic human right – and while Indian courts have recognized the right to housing as an integral component of the right to life – successive governments have not complied with this legal and moral obligation. The notion of the poor as “encroachers” and “illegal” residents considered “dispensable” in the nation’s drive to modernize continues to underscore state interventions.

Since India’s independence in 1947, the state has labeled homes of lower-income groups “slums” and considered them a blight on the city’s image. The global “slum-free city” ideology has furthered this trend. Though state housing policies have adopted different forms over the years, they have largely focused on obliterating low-income settlements. National public discourse on housing and land is now dominated by notions of individual ownership, with state policy prioritizing market interventions. The growing reliance on the private sector to meet India’s housing shortage has financialized housing provision, reducing housing from a human right to a marketable commodity for those who can afford it and resulting in the failure of the state to invest in public housing. Over 17 percent of India’s urban population lives in inadequate settlements without access to essential services and over three million urban dwellers are homeless, unable to afford housing.

The government’s goal of providing “housing for all by 2022” is commendable, but the restrictive scope of this scheme has excluded beneficiaries such as people experiencing homelessness, and its focus on number of houses rather than on the adequacy of housing has limited its progress. Although “affordable housing” is much talked about, the lack of an income-based definition of “affordability” has fueled abuse. The real estate sector leverages the notion of “affordability” to obtain government funding for developments for the middle class instead of the low-income groups in dire need of adequate, low-cost housing. The Indian government’s continued destruction of self-constructed housing exacerbates the crisis.

State-provided housing and resettlement for low-income groups further fails to uphold the human right to adequate housing as an inalienable right linked to the rights to work, health, education, food, land, and security. The state uses the tool of “eligibility criteria” to discriminate and deny people their rights to housing and land. For instance, those who meet arbitrary “cut-off dates” and extensive documentation requirements are considered “eligible” for housing or resettlement, but still shunted to uninhabitable settlements, generally on city peripheries. Those declared “ineligible” are rendered homeless or left to fend for themselves. Mahul, Mumbai, where over 30,000 people have been resettled, is one such site . The toxic air and water have endangered residents’ health and over 100 have died . Such forced relocation and the provision of inadequate housing reveals the contradiction between state rhetoric of “inclusive development” and state actions that sanction dispossession and a rise in poverty and unemployment. Children, women, and older persons are most severely impacted by these phenomena.

Access to, control over, and use of land remain the crux of the housing crisis in India. The state increasingly usurps public land on which the majority of the urban poor lives for profitable enterprises. This is evident in the policies of the Delhi Development Authority and Mumbai’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority , which focus on forcibly moving residents into dense, poorly-constructed, high-rise structures, thereby freeing the land for public-private partnerships with commercial interests that benefit affluent residents and real estate developers. Instead of helping to improve living conditions of the urban poor, this redevelopment model entrenches prevalent poverty in high-rise structures, privatizes public land, and reduces the already minimal land area occupied by low-income residents. Across India, it is estimated that the urban poor live on less than five percent of the land.

To resolve the housing and land crisis, the Indian government must shift its focus from construction of houses to the provision of land with tenure security, from housing targets to housing justice, and from market-based interventions to a human rights-based approach. A rights-based approach will ensure that housing is affordable, accessible to all, habitable, and culturally appropriate. It will guarantee access to basic services and infrastructure and provide tenure security and freedom from dispossession.

People across India do not want state-constructed tenements. They want rights over the land on which they live, and access to housing finance and technical assistance to build their homes. They require legal security of tenure , which includes not only individual ownership but also rental and cooperative housing, community land trusts, and other collective tenure systems. Such tenure options would help address India’s housing shortage by placing solutions in people’s hands, preventing arbitrary evictions, and shifting away from the market-driven model of home ownership, which has failed to meet the housing needs of the most marginalized.

The country’s law and policy framework should incorporate the principle of the “social function of land,” which recognizes the importance of equality in land distribution as a means to promote social justice. In Brazil, land occupied by the urban poor for housing for an uninterrupted period of five years is transferred to them. India could adopt a similar policy and amend laws related to “adverse possession,” which currently do not provide secure tenure for the poor even when they live at a particular site for decades. Securing land and housing rights in the name of women would contribute to promoting gender equality while addressing gender-based discrimination.

India should promulgate right to housing legislation and invest in adequate, low-cost housing, including through the provision of rental housing. The homeless should be prioritized and allotted housing first. In addition, the government must impose a national moratorium on evictions and focus on in situ (on site) housing upgrades. Every home demolition contravenes the Housing for All scheme. To redress inequalities in land ownership and access, the government must prioritize human rights-based land reform in both urban and rural areas. As forced migration and displacement are serious problems, the government should address urban and rural as two points on a habitat continuum, invest in rural development and housing, and ensure greater policy cohesion. Finally, the state should develop durable, people-centered solutions along a continuum of housing rights, ranging from emergency humanitarian measures such as shelters to the provision of permanent adequate housing.

Such measures would mitigate India’s housing and land crisis, and achieve greater economic and social security while enabling everyone to live in peace, security, and dignity. India’s housing challenges, however, are not unique to the country. Globally, over 1.6 billion people are inadequately housed, while over 100 million are homeless. Violations of housing rights, especially through the financialization of housing and perpetuation of forced evictions, are prevalent across the world. Other states could thus use this human rights-based, people-centered approach to housing to ensure the realization of the human right to an adequate standard of living for all.

Shivani Chaudhry is the Executive Director of Housing and Land Rights Network India . She is based in New Delhi and can be reached at: [email protected]

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India’s housing paradox: Empty houses and housing shortages

Read the Working Paper | India’s housing vacancy paradox

Key takeaways

• The housing market in India suffers from distortions. The rate of vacancy is high (12.3%), as is the need for affordable housing (18.78 mn units).
• Landlords are disincentivised from renting their houses because of the legacy of stringent pro-tenant rent control and inadequate state capacity for enforcement of contracts.
• Improving rent control legislation and rationalising the process of contract enforcement could result in bringing vacant houses into the market.

Introduction

“India will contribute most to the urban population increment with the addition of 416 million urban dwellers, nearly doubling the size of its urban population between 2018 and 2050”, the World Urbanisation Prospects report noted in 2018 (United Nations 2018, p. 43). Over half of the Indian population will be facing a significant challenge soon — finding affordable and sufficient urban housing.

India will nearly double the size of its urban population between 2018 and 2050. Over half of the Indian population will be facing a significant challenge soon — finding affordable and sufficient housing.

On the other hand, in 2012, a Government of India report estimated that 18.78 million more houses were needed to bridge the housing gap (MHUPA 2012). Our analysis of 2011 Indian Census data reveals a paradox—an urban housing shortage of nearly 19 million units coexisting with 11 million vacant units. Every house brought into the market will better serve the population. So, why are these houses not occupied? What will it take to get them into the market?

As the Government of India turns its focus to developing affordable rental housing projects with the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Urban), we undertook a study on the existing distortions in the housing markets. This policy brief conveys the results of recent research published in a working paper at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, which investigates the reasons for vacant housing in India. In the working paper, we find that rent control measures and the state of contract enforcement in India lead to the high number of vacant houses—numbers that go well beyond the frictions typically seen in housing markets.

The problem

In 2011, 11.09 million urban housing units were empty, or 12 percent of the urban residential stock. This is sufficient stock to house as many as 50 million people – 13 percent of the urban population.

Not only are an alarming number of houses vacant in the country, but the number has also been rising between 1971 and 2011, while the proportion of rental dwellings to occupied residential stock declined from 53% in 1971 to 28% in 2011 (Tandel et al. 2016), as shown in Figure 1.

There is substantial variation in vacancy across districts in India, with districts in the western regions showing higher vacancy rates as compared to the rest of the country – it is as high as 19% of the urban residential stock in Gujarat and 16% in Maharashtra. Cities on the peripheries of metropolitan cities have higher vacancy rates than central cities.

Vacant housing has often been framed as a result of market frictions (“unintentional” vacancy) and as a result of rational decisions of landlords to withdraw their property from the market (“intentional” vacancy). In our study, we focus on the possible causes that lead to intentional vacancy, exploiting the variation in vacancy across cities, districts, and states in India. We specifically look at tenant protection laws and judicial infrastructure as policy instruments that could affect intentional vacancy.

Limitations

The primary limitation of the empirical study comes from the scarcity of data. The latest available data on vacant housing was from the Census of 2011, and no reasons for vacancy were noted. Therefore, it uses the regulatory context before 2011.

The study and, hence its recommendations, are limited to the formal private housing market. There exist a large number of informal or unregistered rental contracts, as well as rental contracts registered as leave and license contracts. However, little information is available regarding the proportion of these to formal contracts. Therefore, we limit ourselves to the formal private housing market. All policy recommendations put forth in this policy brief should be read in this context.

Empirical evidence

Rosen and Smith (1983) show that in well functioning markets, higher turnover leads to higher vacancy rates; however, we find the opposite to be true for India – indicating that the rental market is distorted. Delving further into these distortions, we find that vacancies in India are strongly related to pro-tenant rent control measures and poor contract enforcement.

In Gandhi et al. (2021), we use regressions to establish relationships between percent vacant housing with proxies of the strictness of rent control and state capacity to enforce contracts, controlling for a range of demographic factors, types of uses for buildings, and access to services. We also control for differences between states, using a fixed-effects model.

4.1. Rent control

India has a long legacy of rent control, initially stemming from a post-war shortage of housing and fears of exploitation of tenants. Over the years, the rent control laws have failed to keep up with the housing market. Instead of facilitating housing, they have become a hindrance to it. Our analysis finds that pro-tenant legislation is strongly related to high rates of vacancy.

4.2. Poor state capacity for contract enforcement

Legal disputes in India suffer from long-drawn-out court proceedings. The average commercial civil suit took 1445, days in a district court, according to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report (World Bank 2019). As a consequence, Indian firms face high resource inefficiencies (Boehm and Oberfield 2020) and tend to eschew formal contracts. Similarly, in rental markets, landlords often feel that it may be better to not rent their property at all, because rental contracts take time and resources to enforce and are, therefore, unattractive. We find strong empirical evidence that districts with fewer judges per thousand people tend to have higher vacancies, lending credibility to this hypothesis (Gandhi et. al. 2021, p.22)

The analysis of the impact of rent control on vacancy (Gandhi et. al. 2021, p.19) reveals that the following measures are vital to improving the housing market:

Legal disputes in India suffer from long-drawn-out court proceedings. The average commercial civil suit took 1445 days in a district court.

• Reduction in months of non-payment allowed: Landlords must be able to evict tenants in a short time if they fail to pay their rent (a one-month reduction in time to issuing eviction notice reduces vacancy by 0.78% to 1.31%). For example, in Vishakhapatnam (A.P.), 9% of the urban residential stock is vacant, where only one month of non-payment is allowed; while in Jaipur (R.J.), the vacancy rate is at 17.38% where five months of non-payment are permitted.
• Allow revision of rents. The landlord should be able to increase rents (districts with strict rent revisions have 0.69% to 1.87% more vacancy). For example, Lucknow (U.P.) has a pro-tenant rent revision clause, and 11.79 % vacant housing, while Madurai (T.N.) has a relatively pro-landlord clause, and 6.76 % vacant housing.
• Improve contract enforcement. Better contract enforcement measured by the number of judges will lead to faster resolution times, creating an enabling environment for formal rent contracts. (1 more judge per 1000 urban persons reduces vacancy by between 4.48% to 14.96%)

Recommendations and policy discussion

A challenge our study faced was the lack of a comprehensive database of vacant houses. The census is the only database that counts vacant houses. However, it is deficient on three fronts – geographical depth, reasons for the vacancy, and frequency.

International precedents

To give one contrast, the United States compiles and releases the American Community Survey, which includes data on housing characteristics, vacancies, and finely grained geography, every year. Further, the Housing Vacancies and Homeownership database is available both annually and quarterly, allowing for robust monitoring of the housing market. Additionally, cities collect information on the housing markets in their jurisdiction, an example being the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs [1] in the District of Columbia, USA.

Presently, we can also use data from administrative databases as proxies for vacant housing in India, e.g. water meter information was used by Prosper Australia [2] to study vacancy in Melbourne.

A one-time survey like the Technical Assistance for Policy Reform surveys in Egypt can also add to our knowledge of the market. This survey should include questions on the attitudes towards renting and the causes for withholding units from the market.

Data plan for India

We suggest a three-point plan for improved housing data for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Census authorities and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs [3] :

• To release data at the sub-city and sub-market level: Since the census collects housing and vacancy data at the sub-city level, it can release the data at this granular level. The data will help us understand the spatial distribution of vacant houses within the city, allowing for more informed policy discussions.
• To collect and disseminate reasons for vacancy: While the census surveyors in India note the reason for the vacancy in Column 7 of the house-listing questionnaire, the information is not digitised and released. If released, we can understand if a vacancy is for want of tenants or if properties are withheld from the market voluntarily.
• Generation of high-frequency data on housing: The census data is decadal, which further complicates the study of any housing market, making it impossible to do time-series analysis, or understanding the impact of specific policy reforms. As housing is a leading indicator for the overall economy, it would be critical to know vacancy data at a higher frequency. Data should be collected annually, at a minimum.

At present, one way forward is to leverage listing website data (e.g. magicbricks.com, 99acres.com) to gauge frictional vacancy.

5.2. An agenda for reform: Law and contract enforcement

The empirical results from Gandhi et al. (2021) imply that the governance of rental contracts and their enforcement needs to be overhauled.

We take into account the changes in rental regulations only till 2011 in our analysis because the latest estimates of vacant housing available are for that year. Between 2011 and 2020, nine states have passed new rent control laws or amended them. [4]

The Model Tenancy Act 1992 and 2020 [5] (MTA) take significant steps in the direction of policy reform that we suggest. While the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission mandated key areas of rental reform as part of a “Reform Checklist” [6] , the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – (Urban) [7] requires the adoption of the MTA as is or in a requisitely amended form. These fiscal incentives have played a part in the reform of the rent control acts in the last decade and a half.

Improving rental regulations and contract enforcement

Pro-tenant rent regulations reduce the incentives of landlords to provide their premises on the rental market. Specifically, states need to improve the incentives to landlords to rent their premises out and make it easier to revise the rent to improve rental yields.

On the other hand, tedious processes of litigation cause landlords to fear the loss of property and revenue if they do rent their houses. Poor state capacity in the form of too few tertiary judges harms the rental market, as well as all other markets.

Thus, any policy agenda to improve housing will require the following:

• Make it easier to penalise tenants for late rent payments. Landlords must be able to evict tenants if they do not pay their rent, in a short period.
• Remove impediments to the revision of rents. The landlord should be able to increase rents at a reasonable frequency, without an increase in taxes or physical additions to the premises or other conditions.
• Improve contract enforcement. More district level judges are required to ensure that rental contracts are fulfilled.

5.3. The Model Tenancy Act – a move in the right direction

The MTA 2020 takes positive steps towards solving the challenge of revising rents as well as improving contract enforcement. It removes government intervention in setting the rent, as well as revising it, stating, “Revision of rent between the landowner and the tenant shall be as per the terms set out in the Tenancy Agreement.” [8]

As noted in Table 6, the improvement of rent regulation alone may not solve the vacant housing challenge. Egypt presents a particular case since vacant housing there was attributed to stringent rent control laws. The Egyptian government abolished rent control in 1996, after half a century of rent control (World Bank 2007). In 2006, the vacancy rate was noted to be 32% in the census; this had fallen to 27% in 2016. However, the old contracts under rent control were grandfathered in and incentivised multi-generational rental agreements. [9] The abolition of rent control was noted to have a minimal effect. It is one of the few examples of policy focused on vacant housing in developing countries. The MTA 2020 is also envisioned to be applied prospectively [10] , keeping the legacy of rent control alive.

The MTA 2020 addresses contract enforcement by setting up a parallel system of dispute resolution in all matters falling under its jurisdiction. Further, the Act states that all cases under these tribunals would have to be disposed of within 60 days. This alternative time-bound structure may satisfactorily resolve the contract enforcement problem in the rental housing market. Prospectively, the old rent control system is removed under the MTA 2020 in a two-pronged manner – both the law, and the court systems that implemented the law are replaced.

5.4 Time for a vacant housing tax?

Vacant housing is not a problem limited to urban India. Many governments have implemented policy measures to address the issue. Table 1 summarises the experience of some of these cities/ countries.

As noted in the table, vacant housing taxes have been levied with some success. The reduction of vacant housing has been directly attributed to the tax only in Vancouver and France. While vacant housing in Washington D.C. fell after the introduction of the tax, Mallach (2018) notes that this decrease may also be attributed to improving real estate markets. Vacancy taxes have high investments attached to them (Vancouver Sun, 2019). Still, they have been seen to work, increasing supply in the rental market.

There is a widespread trend of housing policies with a focus on ownership across the developing world, but tackling high vacancy rates has not been a priority yet. For example, vacant housing is a well-documented problem in South America, with countries noting high rates of vacancy, viz. 18 % in Argentina, El Salvador, and Uruguay and 20% in Mexico (Cibils et al. 2014). To our knowledge, there exist no specific policy responses to address the issue of vacant housing in developing countries, barring the slow abolition of rent control in Egypt and the introduction of the MTA in India. However, some cities have experimented with vacant land taxes — Visakhapatnam, Sao Paulo [11] , Bogota, and Marikina City (Hass and Kopanyi, 2017), to name a few.

A vacancy tax bundled with incentives for homeowners who rent their homes, may be considered for India (Gandhi et al. 2021). However, further study in the matter is required before such a measure is adopted. The tax could encourage landlords to rent their vacant houses. This push is necessary, given the low rental yields. On the other hand, reforming rent control and contract enforcement would assure them of the security of their investments.

A policy plan to resolve India’s vacant housing paradox must push landlords to rent their houses by creating appropriate disincentives for leaving their property empty. It must allay their fears about lost investments by creating an institutional framework that protects their rights and possible returns from rental contracts. It must also ensure that tenants’ rights remain in balance.

In our study, we find two significant drivers of vacant housing:

• The legacy of rent control
• Poor contract enforcement

These two factors significantly increase the risk to landlords while renting out their property, leading to lower risk-adjusted returns on housing. However, there is still a need for further enquiry into the reasons for low rental yields in urban India. We may infer the impact of recent changes in rent control from the Census of 2021. As we wait on these data, it is essential to respond to the challenges highlighted by the data from the Census 2011, and ensure that no stone is left unturned to improve the urban housing markets in India.

Boehm, J., & Oberfield, E. (2020). Misallocation in the Market for Inputs: Enforcement and the Organization of Production. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(4), 2007-2058

Gandhi, S., and Munshi, M. (2017). Why are so many houses vacant, The Leap Blog, 3rd May.

Gandhi S., Green, K. R. & Patranabis, S. 2021. India’s housing vacancy paradox: How rent control and weak contract enforcement produce unoccupied units and a housing shortage at the same time. CSEP Research Foundation Working Paper No.3.

Hass, A., & Kopanyi, M. (2017). Taxation of Vacant Urban Land: From Theory to Practice. International Growth Center, London School of Economic and Political Science: London, UK.

Mallach, A. (2018). The empty house next door. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. https://www. lincolninst. edu/publications/policyfocus-reports/empty-house-next-door

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA) (2012). Report of the Technical Group on Urban Housing Shortage (TG-12) (2012-2017). September 2012. URL: nbo.nic.in/pdf/urban-housing-shortage.pdf

Rosen, K. T., & Smith, L. B. (1983). The price-adjustment process for rental housing and the natural vacancy rate. The American Economic Review, 73(4), 779-786.

Tandel, V., Patel, S., Gandhi, S., Pethe, A., & Agarwal, K. (2016). Decline of rental housing in India: the case of Mumbai. Environment and Urbanisation, 28(1), 259-274.

United-Nations (2018). World urbanisation prospects: The 2018 revision. URL: https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-Report.pdf, accessed 22nd September 2020.

World Bank. 2007. Arab Republic of Egypt: Analysis of Housing Supply Mechanisms, Final Note. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/7554 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO, accessed 21st September 2020

World Bank, Ease of Doing Business: India Report. 2019. URL: https://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/country/i/india/IND.pdf

Appendix 1: Sources for vacant housing policy

Peppercorn, I. G., & Taffin, C. (2013). Rental housing: Lessons from international experience and policies for emerging markets. (pp.39). The World Bank.

World Bank. 2007. Arab Republic of Egypt: Analysis of Housing Supply Mechanisms, Final Note. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/7554 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO, accessed 21st September 2020

The Built Environment Observatory. (2016). Statistics of Vacant units in Egypt. http://marsadomran.info/en/facts_budgets/2016/11/507/, accessed 23rd September 2020.

Cibils, V. F., Blanco, A. B., Miranda, A. M., Gilbert, A., Webb, S., Reese, E. & Mora, P. (2014). Rental Housing Wanted: Options for Expanding Housing Policy. Inter-American Development Bank.

Monkkonen, P. (2019). Empty houses across North America: Housing finance and Mexico’s vacancy crisis. Urban Studies, 56(10), 2075-2091.

Argentina, El Salvador and Uruguay

Cibils, V. F., Blanco, A. B., Miranda, A. M., Gilbert, A., Webb, S., Reese, E., & Mora, P. (2014). Rental Housing Wanted: Options for Expanding Housing Policy. Inter-American Development Bank.

Washington DC

Bell, M. (2018). Washington DC. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. https://www.lincolninst.edu/sites/default/files/dc_feb_2018.pdf , accessed 20th September 2020

Mallach, A. (2018). The empty house next door. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. https://www. lincolninst. edu/publications/policyfocus-reports/empty-house-next-door., accessed September 20, 2020

U.S. Census Bureau. (2019). 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year estimates Data Profiles [Online Data Profile]. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=washington%20dc&t=Housing%20Units%3AVacancy%3AVacancy%20Rates&g=310M400US47900 &tid=ACSDP1Y2019.DP04&moe=false&hidePreview=true, accessed 21st September 2020.

Measure W, the Oakland Vacant Property Tax (“VPT”). Oakland City Council Resolution. 24th February 2018: https://www.acvote.org/acvote-assets/02_election_information/PDFs/20181106/en/Measures/19%20-%20Measure%20W%20-%20City%20of%20Oakland.pdf, accessed 21st September 2020.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2019). 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year estimates Data Profiles [Online Data Profile]. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=oakland%20california&t=Housing%20Units%3AVacancy%3AVacancy%20Rates&g=310M400US47900 &tid=ACSCP1Y2019.CP04&moe=false&hidePreview=false, accessed 24th September 2020.

Amendments to Vacancy Tax By-Law. (2017). Administrative Report to the Select Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities, City of Vancouver. https://council.vancouver.ca/20170628/documents/pspc6.pdf, accessed 25th September 2020.

Housing Vancouver. (, 2020). Empty Homes Tax Annual Report 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 Tax Year, City of Vancouver. https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/vancouver-2019-empty-homes-tax-annual-report.pdf, accessed 21st September 2020

Vancouver Sun (2019) Andrey Pavlov: Vacancy tax a good idea that’s been badly implemented. Vancouver Sun, 1st February. URL: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/andrey-pavlov-vacancy-tax-a-good-idea-thats-been-badly-implemented, accessed 22nd September 2020.

Segú, M. (2020). The impact of taxing vacancy on housing markets: Evidence from France. Journal of Public Economics, 185, 104079.

[1]  The latest such data set is the “Vacant Buildings 2nd Half Fiscal Year FY 2019 – as of April 1, 2019” by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, District of Columbia. See: https://dcra.dc.gov/node/1409161, accessed September 22, 2020.

[2]  Prosper Australia. 2017. The economics of empty homes. See: https://www.prosper.org.au/2017/04/the-economics-of-empty-homes/, accessed September 22, 2020.

[3]  Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India

[4]  Jharkhand (2011), Jammu and Kashmir (2012), Madhya Pradesh (2012), Punjab (2012), Arunachal Pradesh (2014), Kerala (2014), Chhattisgarh (2015), Andhra Pradesh (2017) and Tamil Nadu (2017).

[5] Model Tenancy Act, 2019. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. See: http://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Draft%20Model%20Tenancy%20Act%2C%202019(1).pdf, accessed September 21, 2020.

[6]  From the Checklist of Reforms: Rent Control, MoHUA, http://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/16STATE_REFORM_CHECKLIST_RENT_CONTROL.pdf, accessed October 19th, 2020.

[7]  See: PMAY-U Guidelines, pg. 15, Clause 11.5. https://pmay-urban.gov.in/uploads/guidelines/18HFA_guidelines_March2016-English.pdf , accessed September 21, 2020.

[8]  The Model Tenancy Act, 2020, Section 9, Clause (I)

[9]  The old rent control legislation allowed rental contracts to be passed on to heirs. The tenants, thus have incentives to continue the old tenancies over generations.

[10]  See “Background note on MTA 2020” from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, at : http://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/1%20Background%20Note%20on%20MTA%20(English).pdf

[11]  Progressive Taxation of Vacant Land, The World Bank. See : https://urban-regeneration.worldbank.org/node/38, accessed September, 23, 2020.

[12]  Refer to appendix 1 for sources.

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Realities of the housing crisis in India

A two-volume publication, supported by the Tata Trusts, documents the intensive research conducted by the Urban Design Research Institute into the state of housing in India

Urban Design Research Institute’s three year project, supported by the Tata Trusts, to undertake intensive research, and the dissemination of said research via pedagogical exhibitions, on the state of architecture and housing in India, came to an end in December 2018.

The end of the project was marked by the publication of “Housing in India” a two-volume set that amalgamates all the research conducted for the State of Housing exhibition that was on display for two months at Gallery MMB, Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai between February and March 2018. As one of the key outputs of this project, the two volumes are the documentation arm of the pedagogic exhibition, bringing together the voluminous research conducted into the subject. Volume 1: “Housing in India: Aspirations, Imaginaries and Realities” presents a holistic timeline of the development of housing keeping in mind the political and economic ethos of the country through the decades. Prefaced by a comprehensive timeline of housing in India, some of the key writings in this volume explore the housing crisis as the result of growing urbanisation; question the very notion of ‘housing’ and its myriad meanings; debate the role of the State and its efficiency in providing housing; try to make an argument for inclusive housing, not just in terms of housing beneficiaries, but also in terms of inclusive disciplines that define housing policies. 

Volume 1 also brings together synopses of talks/lectures from the Opening and Closing conference sessions that sandwiched the two-month-long “State of Housing” exhibition, as well as independent essays on critical topics around housing in India. Written and presented by leading scholars, urban planners, architects, policy makers and cultural theorists, the writings and lecture synopses give insight into how housing is currently being understood, analysed and debated in India and the possible scenarios that can potentially mitigate the housing crisis in India. If Volume 1 is presented as a series of conversations and dialogues around housing, Volume 2 specifically focuses on the forms of dwelling in India, and takes the reader straight to the core of housing – the structure of the dwelling/house/home itself. The bulk of Volume 2 comprises 80 detailed case studies of seminal housing models from across the decades that were either State sponsored or privately built, or sometimes self-built. It captures the systematic study of individual housing types not only representing their physical form but also the protocols, procedures, forms of patronage, policy and financial arrangements that contribute to the final production of the housing project. It is the presentation of case studies that renders this volume unique in that, perhaps for the first time, a historical timeframe is appended along with a spatial analysis of the housing model making it possible for the reader to contextually understand experiments in housing in India through its history. 

Housing remains a critical need for India and understanding its nuances is a complex task. UDRI’s two-volume publication is a much-needed resource not only for all the stakeholders within the housing scenario, but also students, researchers and residents. In addition, UDRI also commissioned filmmaker Sanjiv Shah to additionally document the on-ground reality of the housing situation across India. The film, shown as part of the State of Housing exhibition, can be viewed here . A longer version of the film, titled “Place to Live”, can be accessed by contacting UDRI directly.

— Paroma Sadhana

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International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis

ISSN : 1753-8270

Article publication date: 6 May 2021

Issue publication date: 25 February 2022

In India – the largest democracy and second most populated country globally – the housing research domain is relatively under-researched and under-theorized. To support and advance research in this domain, this study aims to form and organize the repository of extant academic knowledge in the subject matter of housing research in India.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a scoping review methodology and a thematic analysis method. All the articles analyzed in this study were systematically searched by following the scoping review approach proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). An initial search found 365 articles and finally, 108 articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed using the thematic analysis method.

The data extracted from these 108 articles were analyzed using thematic analysis to arrive at four thematic areas, namely, housing policy, slum housing, housing finance and affordable housing. These thematic areas and 11 sub-themes present under them were used to present a thematic map of housing policy research in India.

Practical implications

This paper contributes to presenting an up-to-date literature review of the housing policy research in India.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this scoping review focused on housing research in India is the first of its kind. We hope that this study provides a repository of extant research on housing research in India to help current and future researchers.

• Thematic analysis
• Housing policy
• Scoping review
• Housing research

Khaire, M. and Muniappa, N. (2022), "Housing policy research in India: a scoping review and thematic analysis", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis , Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 339-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-12-2020-0143

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Concept, Status, and Progress of Affordable Housing in Urban India

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• Braj Raj Kumar Sinha   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2299-9815 13 &
• Prabhakar Nishad   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1558-0979 14  

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In urban area, the prices of real estate and land are very high. This forced the economically weaker section of the society to live in a marginal land with pitiable housing condition in combination with congestion and lack of basic amenities. The poor people can only afford cost of house up to five times of their annual income, and Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) or rent should be less than 30% of their monthly income. The high land price and cost of building materials are rising year by year especially in urban areas. So, making affordable housing and providing it to poor becomes a daunting task. The objectives of this paper are to i. throw light on the concept of affordable housing with special reference to India, ii. find out shortage of affordable urban housing among different economic categories, iii. demonstrate variation in the spatial pattern of shortage of affordable urban housing across different states in India, iv. map out progress of “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)—Housing for All” across different states in India, and v. point out problem and its possible solution relating to affordable housing for urban poor in India. Findings show that 88% of total shortage of affordable urban housing pertains to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and another 11% for Lower-Income Groups (LIG). There is state-wise variation in the shortage of affordable housing in urban India. The present rate of growth of PMAY-U is very less. Therefore, there is need for accelerating the present growth rate to achieve the target of building 18 million houses.

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Gangani MG, Suthar HN, Pitroda J, Singh AR (2016) A critical review on making low cost urban housing in India. Int J Constr Res Civil Eng (IJCRCE) 2(5):21–25

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United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) (2014) A practical guide to designing, planning, and executing citywide slum upgrading programmes

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Braj Raj Kumar Sinha

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Sinha, B.R.K., Nishad, P. (2021). Concept, Status, and Progress of Affordable Housing in Urban India. In: Huong, L.T.T., Pomeroy, G.M. (eds) AUC 2019. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5608-1_35

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India's Housing Conundrum

Urban areas today face multifaceted challenges such as population growth, changes in family patterns, growing numbers of urban residents living in slums and informal settlements, constrained urban services, emerging concerns of climate change and upsurge in migration. This has resulted in housing backlog, infrastructure deficit and mushrooming of informal settlements. There were 0.9 million homeless people in urban India [Census 2011], in addition to a slum population of roughly 65 million (or 17% of urban India). People from India’s rural areas, home to 833 million people, are migrating in large numbers to urban centres. As such, housing has gained paramount importance in government policies and private investments. Housing remains the biggest driver of economic growth with strong forward and backward linkages. Increasing the supply and quality of housing has a multiplier effect on the economy by boosting the primary sector (raw materials), manufacturing sector (construction materials) and the service sector (architects and engineers, skilled labours, banking and finance).

Historical Issues in Housing Sector:

The Indian housing market has, in the past, experienced a skewed demand–supply management. Housing backlogs co-exist with stressed assets and vacant housing stock. The development of affordable housing is constrained by economic and spatial issues. On the supply side, scarcity of developed and encumbrance-free urban land, increased cost of construction, growing informal housing options, absence of viable rental market and master-plan restraints have lowered the potential growth of formal affordable housing market. On the demand side, lower purchasing capacity, lack of cheaper loans, inaccessible formal lending options and lesser percolation of subsidy benefits have long been the cause of lower affordability for securing formal shelter.

Land-use plans are unable to keep pace with rapid urban population increase and land development. This leads to the growth of slums and prevents their rehabilitation, which is mired in insecure land tenures, and keep the land locked under litigation or off the market and, hence, sees little or no development/re-development. Low-income households therefore invest little in the betterment of the rudimentary house, which negates any transformation of the neighbourhood into vibrant space even with progress in income standards.

In addition, Development Control Regulations of lower Floor Area Ratio (FAR)/Floor Space Index (FSI) or arbitrary parameters of setbacks, building heights and width of access roads that constrain building development or full-realization of permitted FAR/FSI are not only anachronistic but has become redundant in the present times of burgeoning population and exacerbating need of land. These parameters are also responsible for creating sub-standard and inadequate ticket sizes, which finds no demand in the market and pile up as vacant stock.

Impact of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) – Housing for All Scheme:

To tackle the urban housing backlog, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) was launched in 2015 to provide housing for all by 2022 and focuses on in-situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers (ISSR), subsidy for beneficiary led construction/ enhancement of houses (BLC), providing institutional credit through credit-linked subsidy (CLSS) and affordable housing via a partnership model between the public and private sectors (AHP). A Technology Sub-mission had been introduced to bring in a basket of new technologies that can invigorate the construction market. The scheme has been progressive and largely holistic for ownership based housing in the country. The mission verticals, originally designed for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Lower Income Group (LIG) segment, have been protracted to include the Middle Income Group (MIG) as well, thus magnifying the total net of beneficiaries.

The PMAY (U) has been innovative in incorporating flexibility within the process and empowering the States/ UTs and ULBs to take ground level decisions to enable appropriate and time-bound clearance of projects. Such a comprehensive approach has enabled record number of sanctions of over 10.3 million houses in last five years with a total investment of INR 6.13 lakh crores involving central assistance of 27 per cent, beneficiary contribution of 49 per cent and States/UTs as well as ULB share of 24 per cent. Out of the total sanctioned strength, construction has started for approximately 60 lakh houses and the 32 lakh houses are ready for occupancy. As per the comparison drawn by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) between the progress under PMAY (U) (2014-20) with JNNURM (2004-14), the growth in investments have alone been more than fifteen times for the sanctioned strength, which is about 7.5 times that of houses sanctioned under JNNURM schemes. As per the report ‘Assessing Employment Generation under PMAY-Urban (February, 2019)’ by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, PMAY (U) has been able to generate 12 million jobs through forward and backward linkages in 21 sectors. The construction of sanctioned houses has consumption for more than 17 million metric tons of cement and 13 million tons of steel.

Probably, the single factor, which has contributed most to the housing problem, is the unavailability and the high cost of building materials. Under the Technology Sub-mission 33 alternate technologies have been identified, evaluated and promoted for use in the construction sector. Under the scheme, 1.5 million houses have made use of these identified technologies. Strengthening of domestic technological capability to produce sustainable alternate building materials from the available local materials is crucial to promote development of supply chains in the sector.  In addition, Government’s support through direct use of identified technologies under its scheme will address issues of user prejudices and accelerate market uptake. To promote seamless adoption of identified technologies, Schedule of Rates have been floated for 29 identified technologies by Central Public Works Department, which addresses both legal and procurement issues in use of alternate technologies.

Policy Interventions required and Way Forward:

Although PMAY (U) has been progressive in addressing some of the housing concerns in the ownership-type dwellings market, yet it has not been able to fathom the concerns of every citizen as it had aimed for. Lack of affordable rental market directly affects liveability in the city. Vienna, the most liveable city in the world as per both the Economist Intelligence Unit survey 2019 and Mercer’s Quality of Living survey 2019, has 80% of its population living in rental housing. Two-thirds of Viennese citizens live in municipal or publicly subsidised housing. India needs to create a viable formal renting market. Rental Housing at affordable rentals will provide houses to short-term/temporary settlers in towns as well as to those who cannot afford an ownership house. Additionally, rental housing will be able to prevent informal settlements, provide residential security, and will in particular address the housing concerns of single working-women, students and temporary job seekers.

Second, the development control regulations will have to be new-fangled. Most often, infrastructure constraints have been sighted as the reason for lower FAR/FSI. To adequately match the upward rise in FAR with the carrying capacity of city, a detailed infrastructure plan with details of water budget, expandable limits of sewer network, loading limits of electric supply may be prepared for a prospective design period population in order to arrive at a reasonable increase in FAR. Every land-constrained, populated city in the world has gone vertical be it Singapore, Canary Wharf or even Downtown Manhattan. Easing up FAR will not only ease space constraints but will also eliminate market distortions. This is especially true for land-constrained metropolises that are faced with issues of land shortage and reducing per capita built-up space.

Arguably, the need to improve land-use planning is perhaps the most urgent requirement. The economic efficiency of cities rests on the assumption that land is valued at market prices and that it is periodically recycled to its best and highest use as determined by market forces. The master planning approach needs to have flexibility. The town planning departments in the cities should periodically review the value of their land assets and change to a different use if the net return of the significant transaction costs is not optimum under the current use. Innovative financial models like value capture finance instruments of Transfer of development rights (TDR), betterment levies, and saleable FAR may also be explored in upcoming cities.

Given the complex nature of affordable housing conundrum, a multi-pronged approach will go a long way in breaking the incongruity of the issues in hand sustainably. Good quality urban panorama contributes to investment, strong economic performance and wealth creation, as it provides predictability and order in urban development from a wide range of perspectives, including spatial, societal, economic and environmental. Increase in the built-up stock and related infrastructures further leverages municipal finances and gives more autonomy to people-centric planning. The core of all these approach lies in creating a strong, sustainable and vibrant urban space where every household has a well-sheltered existence. Concentrated efforts in the identified areas will definitely catalyse the housing situation in India. This transition will also contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as laid out by the United Nations (UN), the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Climate Accord to which India is a signatory and other such international commitments.

*Richa Rashmi is a Young Professional at NITI Aayog. Views expressed are personal.

*This article was also published by News18: https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/faced-with-population-growth-climate-change-migration-a-look-at-indias-housing-conundrum-2527827.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/12/vienna-housing-policy-uk-rent-controls

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Housing Problems in India : Introduction, Causes, Effects, Solution

Housing problems in india : meaning, causes, effects, control measures (solution), housing problems in india introduction.

Housing Problems in India : We’ve grown up studying in our social science classes in childhood, that a man needs three basic amenities to survive in this world: Food, Clothing, and Shelter; shelter being the topic under the light today. Well, shelter then, in the time of apes, housing now, in the current concrete era. India, still being on the list of underdeveloped countries in the world, according to the 2011 census, still needs 18.78 million houses in India. 0.15 percent of the total population is homeless. We’ve all seen both the faces of our country’s housing conditions in an exaggerated and bright condition, thanks to Bollywood, especially, ‘ Slumdog Millionaire ’. The rare reality and promising future of our country.The real nightmare, 0.15% of our population faces.Delhi has the highest number of homeless in our country, followed by Chennai.

Cause of Housing Problems in India

• With our nation being the second most populated country in the world, it isn’t surprising to see the housing problems that are issued daily.
• Ours is an emerging country, unless the black money is dug out (hopefully soon, Thanks Mr Narendra Modi !). There’s no investment and proper funding when it comes to housing in India .
• We face a lack of resources, and factory set ups, to produce the necessary raw materials to Curb Housing Problems in India .
• We require a very well educated sect of architects and civil engineers, who stay in our country and come up with a proper infrastructure plan at low costs.
• Improper distribution of the population in our nation is another cause. People migrate within the country to already populated cities, in hopes of getting jobs into large MNCs, mostly in the cosmopolitan cities. This causes lack of housing facilities, and high price demands by the greedy landlords, resulting in the unethical torture of the tenants.
• Illegal immigration of foreign citizens, especially from Bangladesh, Nepal, etc., leads to a further rise in housing problems due to over population.
• Looking into a different dimension of housing problems , the landlords more often than not, discriminate towards renting their apartment to the people belonging to their religion or caste.

Effects of Housing Problems

The effects of Housing Problems in India have to be faced by almost every citizen of our country, directly, or indirectly, mildly, or extremely. In the rural over populated areas, due to lack of necessary infrastructure, or cheap support, many times there are cases of the building structures collapsing in harsh weather conditions, leading to loss of lives and many precious elements. How is corruption not mentioned yet, when the entire article is about housing! The assigned money for basic amenities to the government and organisations is usually utilised to buy cheap raw materials, and the rest of the money goes into the pockets of already wealthy class. The most concerned citizens who have fallen prey to housing issues in India are the people lying below the poverty line and lower middle classes. In the absence of proper housing, we observe open defecation in our country. 13% of Delhi’s population defecates in the open, and that is another chapter in itself. The rise of disease-causing bacteria and other pathogens, pollution of water bodies due to the improper drainage system, etc. are the adverse effects. Overall poor performance in our country’s GDP isn’t shocking when we have an enormous amount of unhealthy citizens in our country.

Control measures of Housing Problems in India

However, every sunset is followed by a sunrise. We really hope that the amount of money (approximately 64K rupees) recovered by this black money surgical strike, is put into the right places. Right now, what we can do is, educate as many citizens in our country as possible. A literate country is a developed country. Instead of emigrating to the foreign land, if we stay in our country and earn, we are ensuring a better development of our country. We need to come up with proper infrastructural plans at low costs, to ensure affordable and a healthy living of our citizen and to solve the problem of housing .

Questions related to Housing Problem

• Housing Problems in India Essay
• Speech on Housing Problems in India
• Article on Housing Problems in India
• Housing Problems Essay
• Essay on Housing Problems
• Composition : Housing Problems
• Housing Problems : A National issue

In Pictures

The housing crisis for the poor in India’s capital

Lack of affordable housing, reduced land entitlements and accelerated housing for the privileged are behind the crisis..

As India becomes the world’s most populated country with 1.4 billion people, housing, particularly for low-income urban households, remains a longstanding challenge.

According to a report by India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, there was a housing gap of about 19 million units throughout Indian cities in 2012. The study, done in light of the 2011 census, added that housing for low-income groups accounted for more than 95 percent of the deficit.

India’s 2021 census was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and is yet to be announced.

Another study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) in 2020 found that India’s urban housing shortage rose 54 percent to 29 million in 2018 from 18.78 million in 2012. It included households that were homeless, households that lived in inadequate houses that could not be upgraded, houses that were obsolete and those that lived in congested conditions.

According to the Delhi government’s Economic Survey for 2020-2021, 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 unauthorised colonies and 362 urban villages.

An additional 2.4 million new housing units were required to meet New Delhi’s housing deficit, it said.

“I have lived in Delhi for 40 years, worked hard my entire life, but I could never afford a better house for myself,” Shah Alam, an autorickshaw driver who lives in a single room with his family in a slum in the city’s Ghazipur area, told Al Jazeera.

Experts say the slow speed of building affordable housing, reduced land and space entitlements, accelerated housing production for the privileged classes, and large-scale demolitions and evictions have contributed to the urban housing crisis in India.

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.

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) says it is trying to improve housing quality and provide shelter to the homeless in the city of nearly 20 million residents.

“The board is implementing the approved plan schemes to improve the quality of housing in Delhi,” the board’s CEO Garima Gupta told Al Jazeera.

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

“Given the high cost of land and construction materials, building low-cost houses for low-income people is not economically viable. The low-income class cannot afford the house unless the charges are subsidised,” Abdul Shakeel, urban practitioner and member of a civil society group on housing in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera.

Housing Issues in Mumbai

From the 19th century, many developing countries imitated slum eradication schemes of the developed countries. Models and master plans were borrowed and applied in the underdeveloped or developing countries, but it only resulted in shifting the slums around the city. The western world followed public sector replacement apartment blocks, and when this was imitated in Mumbai it resulted in unaffordable housing. As a result of both, the number of homelessness increased to a very high number.

Challenges | Housing Issues

People living in Mumbai or willing to buy/ rent a flat in Mumbai often describe Mumbai as ‘Land of the expensive housing market.’ It is hard to believe that the Financial capital of India; Mumbai, has been addressed by the Reserve Bank of India as the highest among major Indian cities to have a house price-to-monthly income ratio. 60% of Mumbai’s population resides in slums with semi-pucca or kutcha houses. On the other hand, there are 1.09 lack unsold apartments in Mumbai, mostly in the upper-middle-class segment. Despite many discounts and promotions done by the builders, the houses are unsold and have hit the highest mark.

With the increase in migration of people towards the urban cities , the need for residences increased. As relocation kept increasing the future planning and development of the city was laid in the hands of builders who made it a ‘profit-based approach instead of affordable cluster development. Mumbai , having faced only linear expansion, being surrounded with water from all sides, the demand for land became more than the supply of land, and urban sprawl gave rise to transferrable rights.

Cotton Mill Industry in Mumbai

Mumbai as a city has always been a production-based city with a blooming cotton mill industry. The textile Mumbai as a city has always been a production-based city with a blooming cotton mill industry. The textile had strong connections with Europe and exported Cotton textiles to them through the famous Mumbai port. With the increase in the textile mill’s profits, many people started to migrate to Mumbai, and many more industries were set up seeing the potential of the textile industries. 

There were no specific schemes or development strategies proposed by the government which led to a chawl system of housing for the mill workers in Girgaon. Due to lack of intervention, the cotton mill textile started to collapse, and the mill workers had to face heavy rates of living in the island city. This led to people giving up their lands and selling them for higher profit. 

Today, the Mills have been occupied by shopping complexes, restaurants, and higher class buildings, and there is no trace of the industries at all. Government-appointed MHADA to build transit camps that are living in dilapidated buildings. 12 MHADA buildings were sold to the mill workers but most of them are rented out to pay off the home loan. Some of the mill workers sold the provided flat and purchased affordable housing in suburban Mumbai.

Also, the residents of the MHADA building recreated their old lifestyle using the corridors as common spaces, water drums, sofas, clotheslines, etc. During festivals, they tend to celebrate the event in these common passages.

In my opinion, the residency provided by MHADA helped the mill workers in terms of paying off their home loans or in some cases getting a roof over their heads but it did not satisfy their lifestyle or culture of routine life. The housing also did not fit their pockets, and by default, they had to shift or find new homes for themselves. Other than the financial drawback the living condition is also not fit for a healthy lifestyle. 

The buildings are tightly packed with the least wind circulation and sunlight to reach the ground. The building is placed in a locality with High Income Group residences in the surrounding which makes all the amenities available to the mill workers more expensive and thus, the livelihood becomes furthermore expensive.

Strategies | Housing Issues

In my opinion, housing strategies in Mumbai are based on only providing homes but ‘homes for whom’ are not catered to. Any housing strategy cannot be successful just by providing financial aid and construction of the structure ; the community space, open space, light and ventilation, neighborhood, and needs of the residents also have to be studied carefully. Typical modular layouts do not work out for all buildings in Mumbai, and vertical stacking is not the only solution to the lack of housing. The contextual analysis and stakeholders should be given attention to, and then a housing scheme should be proposed.

There should be only one governing body working on the laws and development schemes to avoid confusion. The schemes should be based on cluster development and future expansion. If the schemes continue to propose repetitive modular units there would come a time when the history of the city would be lost, and only boxes of the building would be seen with no satisfied resident.

“Little boxes on the hill side, little boxes made of ticky-tacky.

Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.

 There’s a green one and a pink one, And a blue one and a yellow one

And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky, And they all look just the same

And the boys go into business, And marry and raise a family

In boxes made of ticky tacky, And they all look just the same” .

— Malvina Reynold

Mass housing is an urgent need for cities around the world. Dense and repetitive living blocks will only be a temporary solution to the problem. Architecture housing is the need of the hour with proper parameters of the cultural lifestyle of the end-users, and contextual analysis of the plot is given attention to. Also, an attempt to sustain the richness of the place along with eradicating the problem of housing from its root should be taken.

Smriti considers Architecture to be an expression of art and is on the road of building many such expressions for the world to experience. She is passionate and motivated to explore the countless angles of architecture design and media. She stays positive and loves to travel.

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Essay on housing problems in urban areas (1683 words).

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Essay on Housing Problems in Urban Areas!

Shelter is the basic human requirement. Even after 57 years of independence, the country is still grappling with the growing shelter problem, especially of the poor. The problem has further been compounded by the rapid increase in urban population. Constant migration of rural population to cities in search of jobs is causing unbearable strain on urban housing and basic services.

There is a severe housing shortage in the urban areas with demand – supply gap increasing day-by-day. The National Building Organization (NBO) had estimated the 1991 urban housing shortage at 8.23 million, and had expected the absolute shortage to decline progressively to 7.57 million in 1997 and 6.64 million in 2001.

Image Courtesy : 3.bp.blogspot.com/-VFM4rMXp67U/UTW0Gf9_MtI/15.jpg

In some small towns in India, the problem is not the lack of housing facilities but the lack of adequate housing facilities. Here, there is a surplus of houses when compared with households but these houses are unfit to reside.

The people who are most likely to become homeless are those who have least resources as providing housing is a profit-oriented industry. They cannot purchase houses nor can they afford high rent, so they live in unfit accommodation, as the rents demanded for such an accommodation is much low. Some very poor people prefer to squat rather than even rent an accommodation, thus leading to the growth of slums.

Homelessne ss:

Homelessness is a complex problem; the circumstances of homeless people vary greatly. Homelessness is sometimes a product of shortage of houses, but in some cases homeless­ness is caused due to other reasons also. Four main issues are found to be the causes for homelessness:

(i) Shortages of housing:

If there are not enough places for people to live, then some­one has to go without and those who are excluded are generally the poorest people.

(ii) Entitlement to land:

People erect temporary shelters rather than be homeless. Squatters usually build temporary shelters at first, but over time these settlements are given concrete shape and become more established.

(iii) Entitlement to housing:

If people are not entitled to use the houses which exist, they may be homeless, even when there is no apparent shortage. Some people are excluded because of their circumstances—street children are an example. The main reason for exclusion, however, is financial—homeless people are those who cannot afford the housing which is available.

(iv) Personal situation of homeless people:

Homelessness is often attributed to the characteristics of the homeless person, such as alcoholism and psychiatric illness; or to the social situation of homeless people, such as unemployment and marital breakdown (this condition mostly happens with women in India). People in these situations only become homeless if they are excluded from housing, or do not have enough resources to secure alternative housing.

Congestion:

Many households in urban areas have to cope with increasingly crowded conditions, although this is certainly not true for everyone. The housing conditions improve when people build high buildings, sometimes more than five storeys, to increase the number of houses. Many urban centres have very high population densities. The house owners therefore rent out numerous rooms to migrants. Poor migrants five under the most crowded condi­tions. They do not have access to ancestral residential land.

Therefore, they depend on the rented accommodation, which they often share with many others to save money. Some poor households of the original population also live in very crowded dwellings for two other reasons. First, many families expand and split up into multiple households, while the land available for construction becomes unaffordable. They are thus forced to fit more people into the same space or house or else to split up the existing plots and dwellings to accom­modate a new household. Second, in the absence of sufficient income from other sources, some households are inclined to rent out a portion of their living space or sheds to tenants.

Consequences of Congestion:

Some of the consequences of congestion (over crowdedness) are as follows:

i. According to official estimates, the present shortage of houses is about 7 million in urban areas. About 19 per cent of the Indian families live in less than 10 square metres of space leading to congestion. For example, about 44 per cent of families in the urban areas live in one room only.

ii. The economics and health costs of congestion and haphazard movement of traffic are very heavy, besides exposing commuters and pedestrians to a high risk of accidents. Urban environment also suffers from degradation caused due to over­population. The dust load in the air in these cities is very high.

iii. Crowding (higher density of population) and peoples apathy to other persons’ problems is another problem growing out of city life. Some homes (which consist of one single room) are so overcrowded that five to six persons live in one room. Overcrowding has very deleterious effects. It encourages deviant behaviour, spreads diseases and creates conditions for mental illness, alcoholism and riots. One effect of dense urban living is people’s apathy and indifference. Most of the city dwellers do not want to get involved in others affairs even if others are involved in accidents, or are molested, assaulted, abducted and sometimes even murdered.

Means to Overcome the Problem:

In India, housing is essentially a private activity. The state intervenes only to provide legal status to the land. The state intervention is also necessary to meet the housing require­ments of the vulnerable sections and to create a positive environment in achieving the goal of ‘shelter for all’ on self-sustainable basis.

In view of the above aim, the government introduced Housing and Habitat Policy in 1998, which aimed at ensuring the basic need ‘Shelter for all’ and better quality of life to all citizens by harnessing the unused potentials in the public, private and household sectors. The central theme of the policy was creating strong Public/Private partnership for tackling the housing and habitat issues.

Under the new policy, government would provide fiscal concessions, carry out legal and regulatory reforms, in short government as a facilitator would create the environment in which access to all the requisite inputs will be in tune in adequate quantum and of appropriate quality and standards.

The private sector, as the other partner, would be encouraged to take up the land for housing construction and invest in infrastructure facilities. Cooperative sector and Public Housing Agencies are also being encouraged to share the responsibility of providing housing facilities. The government has even repealed the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA), 1976, to facilitate land for housing activity. Upgradation and renewal of old and dilapidated housing is also encouraged.

Another major problem is the lack of resources especially with people belonging to the middle class. To overcome this problem, housing finance institutions such as National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, was established in July 1988.

The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) also started functioning with the financial support provided by the Government of India. HUDCO’s focus is on provid­ing housing facilities for economically weaker sections (EWS) and for low income group (LIG). With the advent of many private banks, a number of schemes such as providing tax concessions and lower interest rates have been introduced to promote the housing sector.

The government has also introduced some schemes to curb the housing problem. They are as follows.

i. Subsidized industrial housing scheme:

This scheme was started in September 1952, to provide houses to the labourers who worked before 1948 and 1952. The Govern­ment of India gave loans to the extent of 65 per cent to various industries, state government, legal housing construction societies and cooperative societies to construct houses for the labourers. The labourers could purchase these houses according to the rules framed by the government.

But these houses could not be sold or alienated without prior permission of the government. But this scheme did not succeed much because of the lack of cooperation of mill owners. In the third Five-Year-Plan, it was made obligatory for mill owners to provide housing facilities to their labourers. In the fourth Five-Year-Plan, a provision of Rs. 45 crore was made for this purpose. The fifth plan also included similar provisions. Apart from the central government, state governments have also formed various Housing Boards and implemented societies and various schemes.

ii. LIG housing schemes:

This scheme was started in 1954. Persons who have income less than Rs. 600 per annum could get a loan up to 80 per cent. Local and cooperative bodies are given such loans.

iii. Slum clearance and improvement scheme:

This scheme was started in the year 1956 to give financial assistance to the state governments and local bodies for improving the slum areas. It was estimated then that about 12 lakh houses were not fit for dwelling. Hence, the long-term and short-term schemes were started. But as it was not possible to provide houses to all the people living in slum areas, this scheme could not progress satisfactorily.

iv. Middle-income group housing scheme:

Under this scheme, the people of middle-income group are given loans for constructing the houses. The state govern­ment also gives loans on low rates of interest.

vi. Rental housing schemes :

This scheme was started in 1959 to provide houses on rent to the state government employees.

vi. Land acquisition and development scheme:

The government felt that the LIG and middle-income group people could construct houses if land was made available to them on a reasonable price. For this purpose, a plan was set up under which the state governments could acquire land and plots at suitable places, develop them and give them away to the needy people.

Conclusion:

The government has now started focusing on providing housing facilities but has not thought much about solving problems that are connected with human settlements, such as the problems of improving and managing the civic services, constructing inexpensive houses and conserving energy and recycling waste. Lack of proper water supply and sanitation facilities for drainage system and garbage disposal are major problems in most of the modern urban centres of today.

Related Articles:

• Residential Areas in Cities and Problem of Housing
• Essay on The Conditions of the Urban Poor in India

Urbanization

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What is climate change mitigation and why is it urgent?

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• Climate change mitigation involves actions to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
• Mitigation efforts include transitioning to renewable energy sources, enhancing energy efficiency, adopting regenerative agricultural practices and protecting and restoring forests and critical ecosystems.
• Effective mitigation requires a whole-of-society approach and structural transformations to reduce emissions and limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
• International cooperation, for example through the Paris Agreement, is crucial in guiding and achieving global and national mitigation goals.
• Mitigation efforts face challenges such as the world's deep-rooted dependency on fossil fuels, the increased demand for new mineral resources and the difficulties in revamping our food systems.
• These challenges also offer opportunities to improve resilience and contribute to sustainable development.

What is climate change mitigation?

Climate change mitigation refers to any action taken by governments, businesses or people to reduce or prevent greenhouse gases, or to enhance carbon sinks that remove them from the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun in our planet’s atmosphere, keeping it warm. 

Since the industrial era began, human activities have led to the release of dangerous levels of greenhouse gases, causing global warming and climate change. However, despite unequivocal research about the impact of our activities on the planet’s climate and growing awareness of the severe danger climate change poses to our societies, greenhouse gas emissions keep rising. If we can slow down the rise in greenhouse gases, we can slow down the pace of climate change and avoid its worst consequences.

Reducing greenhouse gases can be achieved by:

• Shifting away from fossil fuels : Fossil fuels are the biggest source of greenhouse gases, so transitioning to modern renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power, and advancing sustainable modes of transportation, is crucial.
• Improving energy efficiency : Using less energy overall – in buildings, industries, public and private spaces, energy generation and transmission, and transportation – helps reduce emissions. This can be achieved by using thermal comfort standards, better insulation and energy efficient appliances, and by improving building design, energy transmission systems and vehicles.
• Changing agricultural practices : Certain farming methods release high amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, which are potent greenhouse gases. Regenerative agricultural practices – including enhancing soil health, reducing livestock-related emissions, direct seeding techniques and using cover crops – support mitigation, improve resilience and decrease the cost burden on farmers.
• The sustainable management and conservation of forests : Forests act as carbon sinks , absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing the overall concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation are key for climate mitigation and generate multiple additional benefits such as biodiversity conservation and improved water cycles.
• Restoring and conserving critical ecosystems : In addition to forests, ecosystems such as wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands, as well as coastal biomes such as mangrove forests, also contribute significantly to carbon sequestration, while supporting biodiversity and enhancing climate resilience.
• Creating a supportive environment : Investments, policies and regulations that encourage emission reductions, such as incentives, carbon pricing and limits on emissions from key sectors are crucial to driving climate change mitigation.

Photo: Stephane Bellerose/UNDP Mauritius

Photo: La Incre and Lizeth Jurado/PROAmazonia

What is the 1.5°C goal and why do we need to stick to it?

In 2015, 196 Parties to the UN Climate Convention in Paris adopted the Paris Agreement , a landmark international treaty, aimed at curbing global warming and addressing the effects of climate change. Its core ambition is to cap the rise in global average temperatures to well below 2°C above levels observed prior to the industrial era, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

The 1.5°C goal is extremely important, especially for vulnerable communities already experiencing severe climate change impacts. Limiting warming below 1.5°C will translate into less extreme weather events and sea level rise, less stress on food production and water access, less biodiversity and ecosystem loss, and a lower chance of irreversible climate consequences.

To limit global warming to the critical threshold of 1.5°C, it is imperative for the world to undertake significant mitigation action. This requires a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent before 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century.

What are the policy instruments that countries can use to drive mitigation?

Everyone has a role to play in climate change mitigation, from individuals adopting sustainable habits and advocating for change to governments implementing regulations, providing incentives and facilitating investments. The private sector, particularly those businesses and companies responsible for causing high emissions, should take a leading role in innovating, funding and driving climate change mitigation solutions. 

International collaboration and technology transfer is also crucial given the global nature and size of the challenge. As the main platform for international cooperation on climate action, the Paris Agreement has set forth a series of responsibilities and policy tools for its signatories. One of the primary instruments for achieving the goals of the treaty is Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) . These are the national climate pledges that each Party is required to develop and update every five years. NDCs articulate how each country will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience.   While NDCs include short- to medium-term targets, long-term low emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) are policy tools under the Paris Agreement through which countries must show how they plan to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. These strategies define a long-term vision that gives coherence and direction to shorter-term national climate targets.

Photo: Mucyo Serge/UNDP Rwanda

Photo: William Seal/UNDP Sudan

At the same time, the call for climate change mitigation has evolved into a call for reparative action, where high-income countries are urged to rectify past and ongoing contributions to the climate crisis. This approach reflects the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which advocates for climate justice, recognizing the unequal historical responsibility for the climate crisis, emphasizing that wealthier countries, having profited from high-emission activities, bear a greater obligation to lead in mitigating these impacts. This includes not only reducing their own emissions, but also supporting vulnerable countries in their transition to low-emission development pathways.

Another critical aspect is ensuring a just transition for workers and communities that depend on the fossil fuel industry and its many connected industries. This process must prioritize social equity and create alternative employment opportunities as part of the shift towards renewable energy and more sustainable practices.

For emerging economies, innovation and advancements in technology have now demonstrated that robust economic growth can be achieved with clean, sustainable energy sources. By integrating renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal power into their growth strategies, these economies can reduce their emissions, enhance energy security and create new economic opportunities and jobs. This shift not only contributes to global mitigation efforts but also sets a precedent for sustainable development.

What are some of the challenges slowing down climate change mitigation efforts?

Mitigating climate change is fraught with complexities, including the global economy's deep-rooted dependency on fossil fuels and the accompanying challenge of eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. This reliance – and the vested interests that have a stake in maintaining it – presents a significant barrier to transitioning to sustainable energy sources.

The shift towards decarbonization and renewable energy is driving increased demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth metals. Since new mining projects can take up to 15 years to yield output, mineral supply chains could become a bottleneck for decarbonization efforts. In addition, these minerals are predominantly found in a few, mostly low-income countries, which could heighten supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical tensions.

Furthermore, due to the significant demand for these minerals and the urgency of the energy transition, the scaled-up investment in the sector has the potential to exacerbate environmental degradation, economic and governance risks, and social inequalities, affecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and workers. Addressing these concerns necessitates implementing social and environmental safeguards, embracing circular economy principles, and establishing and enforcing responsible policies and regulations .

Agriculture is currently the largest driver of deforestation worldwide. A transformation in our food systems to reverse the impact that agriculture has on forests and biodiversity is undoubtedly a complex challenge. But it is also an important opportunity. The latest IPCC report highlights that adaptation and mitigation options related to land, water and food offer the greatest potential in responding to the climate crisis. Shifting to regenerative agricultural practices will not only ensure a healthy, fair and stable food supply for the world’s population, but also help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Photo: UNDP India

Photo: Nino Zedginidze/UNDP Georgia

What are some examples of climate change mitigation?

In Mauritius , UNDP, with funding from the Green Climate Fund, has supported the government to install battery energy storage capacity that has enabled 50 MW of intermittent renewable energy to be connected to the grid, helping to avoid 81,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. 

In Indonesia , UNDP has been working with the government for over a decade to support sustainable palm oil production. In 2019, the country adopted a National Action Plan on Sustainable Palm Oil, which was collaboratively developed by government, industry and civil society representatives. The plan increased the adoption of practices to minimize the adverse social and environmental effects of palm oil production and to protect forests. Since 2015, 37 million tonnes of direct greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided and 824,000 hectares of land with high conservation value have been protected.

In Moldova and Paraguay , UNDP has helped set up Green City Labs that are helping build more sustainable cities. This is achieved by implementing urban land use and mobility planning, prioritizing energy efficiency in residential buildings, introducing low-carbon public transport, implementing resource-efficient waste management, and switching to renewable energy sources. 

UNDP has supported the governments of Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Indonesia to implement results-based payments through the REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries) framework. These include payments for environmental services and community forest management programmes that channel international climate finance resources to local actors on the ground, specifically forest communities and Indigenous Peoples. 

UNDP is also supporting small island developing states like the Comoros to invest in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. Through the Africa Minigrids Program , solar minigrids will be installed in two priority communities, Grand Comore and Moheli, providing energy access through distributed renewable energy solutions to those hardest to reach.

And in South Africa , a UNDP initative to boost energy efficiency awareness among the general population and improve labelling standards has taken over commercial shopping malls.

What is UNDP’s role in supporting climate change mitigation?

UNDP aims to assist countries with their climate change mitigation efforts, guiding them towards sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient development. This support is in line with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to affordable and clean energy (SDG7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), and climate action (SDG13). Specifically, UNDP’s offer of support includes developing and improving legislation and policy, standards and regulations, capacity building, knowledge dissemination, and financial mobilization for countries to pilot and scale-up mitigation solutions such as renewable energy projects, energy efficiency initiatives and sustainable land-use practices. 

With financial support from the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund, UNDP has an active portfolio of 94 climate change mitigation projects in 69 countries. These initiatives are not only aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also at contributing to sustainable and resilient development pathways.

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Rick Scott's one-man rally for Trump exposes GOP abandonment

There has been remarkably little public support for donald trump during his first criminal trial, by heather digby parton.

There have been a lot of raised eyebrows over the fact that with the exception of one appearance by his son Eric, Donald Trump's family is not present to support him at his criminal trial in Manhattan. Normally you would see the wife and the adult kids lined up behind the defendant to show a united front, even if the subject at hand was uncomfortable.  There really isn't such a thing as a pleasant criminal trial but it's something that is commonly done and I would certainly have thought that it would be wise in this case, since he's running for president and all. It would have been especially useful to at least see Melania and Ivanka playing the trad-wife and loyal daughter, suggesting by their presence that their man can do no wrong in their eyes. They're supposed to be Republicans, after all. 

Why MAGA hasn't turned up to support him in his moment of need when there always seems to be a few thousand who like to go to his rallies is a mystery but it clearly has Trump feeling down in the dumps.

But how could they? Everyone knows that his cultivated image of a wealthy playboy who wined and dined beautiful women like he was some kind of matinee idol is another one of his lies. This man had a casting couch routine more in the mold of a creepy Harvey Weinstein than a glamorous Tony Stark and they know it. 

Trump is intensely frustrated over the fact that because of the judge's gag order, he is no longer allowed to verbally assault and threaten the witnesses or the jury. But since the judge told him this week that he will have no choice but to jail him for contempt if he violates it one more time, he's managed to keep it together and confine his insults and threats to the judge, the prosecutors and Joe Biden. But you can feel the tension in Trump when he makes his frequent forays into the strange echo chamber hallway where he rants about the proceedings and reads clippings from Fox News personalities saying the trial is a travesty. 

One can imagine how the thought of going to jail petrifies him. This is a man who has been pampered his entire life. His elaborate morning ablutions with the hair and the make-up routine alone make any kind of imprisonment unthinkable. But he really, really wants to go after Stormy Daniels, so much so that he had his lawyers ask the judge to lift the gag order for her specifically since she is now finished testifying. (The judge said no, that he was preserving the integrity of the court.) 

For Trump this goes against every fiber of his being, as was not so coincidentally conveyed to the jury yesterday afternoon when one of his book publishers testified and was asked to read aloud some passages from his books, including this charming commentary:

"For many years I've said that if someone screws you, screw them back. If somebody hurts you you just go after them as viciously and as violently as you can. Like it says in the Bible, an eye for an eye." 

Trump will just have to let his allies in the right-wing media do that for him for the moment — and they are more than eager to comply. 

It's doubtful that Trump wanted his family to be there to hear all these sordid details in person anyway. But he reportedly was quite upset that his political allies weren't in attendance during the first two weeks of the trial.  According to NBC News , he whined "no one is defending me" and pouted over the fact that there  wasn't a big crowd of protesters outside . He lied about that, of course, and said on camera that there were hundreds of people blocked from protesting.

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He actually  called  for his followers to come to the trial on his Truth Social platform — “GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST. RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY!” — but other than a dozen or so kooks, they haven't shown up. From the very beginning of his legal travails he's issued threats that his people "won't stand for it" saying  as far back as 2022,  “If these radical, vicious racist prosecutors do anything wrong, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protest we have ever had … in Washington, D.C, in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt." 

Why MAGA hasn't turned up to support him in his moment of need when there always seems to be a few thousand who like to go to his rallies is a mystery but it clearly has him feeling down in the dumps. So now he's got some of his employees, political cronies and right-wing media personalities attending the trial to give him a little boost. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Politico r eports  hangs around Trump as much as possible, was among the first to heed the call. Also showing up despite having much more important things to do were campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita along with advisor Boris Epshteyn and Natalie Harp, who t he New York Times describes this way:

Called “the human printer” by colleagues, Ms. Harp often carries a portable device so she can quickly provide Mr. Trump with hard copies of mood-boosting news articles and social media posts by people praising him.

That's just pathetic. 

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter , Crash Course.

The lawyer who has lost several cases for Trump but who defends him vociferously on TV, Alina Habba, has appeared in the courtroom. And on Thursday former judge and current Fox News member of "The Five," Jeanine Pirro was in attendance. The big name of the day, however, was Florida Senator Rick Scott who went the extra mile and held a press conference where he compared Trump to himself:

Scott's company paid $1.7 billion in fines to settle charges of rampant Medicare fraud, at the time the largest ever imposed, and Scott has previously  said , “I take responsibility for what happened on my watch as CEO.” Today he says he's a victim of the deep state. 

The ambitious senator is said to be angling for the VP slot or Senate majority leader and he knows that whining like a five-year-old about being victimized is the quickest way to Donald Trump's heart. Scott's the first contender to be there in his time of need and I'm sure Trump noticed. If the rest of them haven't figured out by now that job one is defending Dear Leader and singing his praises then they'd better just take their names off the list right now. Look for the whole crew to traipse up there over the next few weeks. Donald Trump needs cheering up and nothing makes him happier than lackeys begging for his favor. 

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• "He was bigger and blocking the way": Stormy Daniels takes the stand and reminds people who Trump is
• Trump's trial paints him as a clown — but MAGA sees a boss
• "Oh my god": Stormy Daniels lawyer texted "what have we done?" after seeing Trump win election

Heather Digby Parton, also known as " Digby ," is a contributing writer to Salon. She was the winner of the 2014 Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism.

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A Plan to Remake the Middle East

While talks for a cease-fire between israel and hamas continue, another set of negotiations is happening behind the scenes..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From New York Times, I’m Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Today, if and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a ceasefire fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East. My colleague Michael Crowley has been reporting on that plan and explains why those involved in it believe they have so little time left to get it done.

It’s Wednesday, May 8.

Michael, I want to start with what feels like a pretty dizzying set of developments in this conflict over the past few days. Just walk us through them?

Well, over the weekend, there was an intense round of negotiations in an effort, backed by the United States, to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

The latest ceasefire proposal would reportedly see as many as 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

US officials were very eager to get this deal.

Pressure for a ceasefire has been building ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah.

Because Israel has been threatening a military offensive in the Southern Palestinian city of Rafah, where a huge number of people are crowded.

Fleeing the violence to the North. And now they’re packed into Rafah. Exposed and vulnerable, they need to be protected.

And the US says it would be a humanitarian catastrophe on top of the emergency that’s already underway.

Breaking news this hour — very important breaking news. An official Hamas source has told The BBC that it does accept a proposal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

And for a few hours on Monday, it looked like there might have been a major breakthrough when Hamas put out a statement saying that it had accepted a negotiating proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire proposal does not meet his country’s requirements. But Netanyahu says he will send a delegation of mediators to continue those talks. Now, the terms —

But those hopes were dashed pretty quickly when the Israelis took a look at what Hamas was saying and said that it was not a proposal that they had agreed to. It had been modified.

And overnight —

Israeli troops stormed into Rafah. Video showing tanks crashing over a sign at the entrance of the city.

— the Israelis launched a partial invasion of Rafah.

It says Hamas used the area to launch a deadly attack on Israeli troops over the weekend.

And they have now secured a border crossing at the Southern end of Gaza and are conducting targeted strikes. This is not yet the full scale invasion that President Biden has adamantly warned Israel against undertaking, but it is an escalation by Israel.

So while all that drama might suggest that these talks are in big trouble, these talks are very much still alive and ongoing and there is still a possibility of a ceasefire deal.

And the reason that’s so important is not just to stop the fighting in Gaza and relieve the suffering there, but a ceasefire also opens the door to a grand diplomatic bargain, one that involves Israel and its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians, and would have very far-reaching implications.

And what is that grand bargain. Describe what you’re talking about?

Well, it’s incredibly ambitious. It would reshape Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, principally Saudi Arabia. But it’s important to understand that this is a vision that has actually been around since well before October 7. This was a diplomatic project that President Biden had been investing in and negotiating actually in a very real and tangible way long before the Hamas attacks and the Gaza war.

And President Biden was looking to build on something that President Trump had done, which was a series of agreements that the Trump administration struck in which Israel and some of its Arab neighbors agreed to have normal diplomatic relations for the first time.

Right, they’re called the Abraham Accords.

That’s right. And, you know, Biden doesn’t like a lot of things, most things that Trump did. But he actually likes this, because the idea is that they contribute to stability and economic integration in the Middle East, the US likes Israel having friends and likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

President Biden agrees with the Saudis and with the Israelis, that Iran is really the top threat to everybody here. So, how can you build on this? How can you expand it? Well, the next and biggest step would be normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

And the Saudis have made clear that they want to do this and that they’re ready to do this. They weren’t ready to do it in the Trump years. But Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has made clear he wants to do it now.

So this kind of triangular deal began to take shape before October 7, in which the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would enter this three way agreement in which everyone would get something that they wanted.

And just walk through what each side gets in this pre-October 7th version of these negotiations?

So for Israel, you get normalized ties with its most important Arab neighbor and really the country that sets the tone for the whole Muslim world, which is Saudi Arabia of course. It makes Israel feel safer and more secure. Again, it helps to build this alliance against Iran, which Israel considers its greatest threat, and it comes with benefits like economic ties and travel and tourism. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very open, at least before October 7th, that this was his highest diplomatic and foreign policy priority.

For the Saudis, the rationale is similar when it comes to Israel. They think that it will bring stability. They like having a more explicitly close ally against Iran. There are economic and cultural benefits. Saudi Arabia is opening itself up in general, encouraging more tourism.

But I think that what’s most important to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is what he can get from the United States. And what he has been asking for are a couple of essential things. One is a security agreement whose details have always been a little bit vague, but I think essentially come down to reliable arms supplies from the United States that are not going to be cut off or paused on a whim, as he felt happened when President Biden stopped arms deliveries in 2021 because of how Saudi was conducting its war in Yemen. The Saudis were furious about that.

Saudi Arabia also wants to start a domestic nuclear power program. They are planning for a very long-term future, possibly a post-oil future. And they need help getting a nuclear program off the ground.

And they want that from the US?

And they want that from the US.

Now, those are big asks from the us. But from the perspective of President Biden, there are some really enticing things about this possible agreement. One is that it will hopefully produce more stability in the region. Again, the US likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

The US also wants to have a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. You know, despite the anger at Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration recognizes that given the Saudis control over global oil production and their strategic importance in the Middle East, they need to have a good relationship with them. And the administration has been worried about the influence of China in the region and with the Saudis in particular.

So this is an opportunity for the US to draw the Saudis closer. Whatever our moral qualms might be about bin Salman and the Saudi government, this is an opportunity to bring the Saudis closer, which is something the Biden administration sees as a strategic benefit.

All three of these countries — big, disparate countries that normally don’t see eye-to-eye, this was a win-win-win on a military, economic, and strategic front.

That’s right. But there was one important actor in the region that did not see itself as winning, and that was the Palestinians.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

First, it’s important to understand that the Palestinians have always expected that the Arab countries in the Middle East would insist that Israel recognize a Palestinian state before those countries were willing to essentially make total peace and have normal relations with Israel.

So when the Abraham Accords happened in the Trump administration, the Palestinians felt like they’d been thrown under the bus because the Abraham Accords gave them virtually nothing. But the Palestinians did still hold out hope that Saudi Arabia would be their savior. And for years, Saudi Arabia has said that Israel must give the Palestinians a state if there’s going to be a normal relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Now the Palestinians see the Saudis in discussions with the US and Israel about a normalization agreement, and there appears to be very little on offer for the Palestinians. And they are feeling like they’re going to be left out in the cold here.

Right. And in the minds of the Palestinians, having already been essentially sold out by all their other Arab neighbors, the prospect that Saudi Arabia, of all countries, the most important Muslim Arab country in the region, would sell them out, had to be extremely painful.

It was a nightmare scenario for them. And in the minds of many analysts and US officials, this was a factor, one of many, in Hamas’s decision to stage the October 7th attacks.

Hamas, like other Palestinian leaders, was seeing the prospect that the Middle East was moving on and essentially, in their view, giving up on the Palestinian cause, and that Israel would be able to have friendly, normal relations with Arab countries around the region, and that it could continue with hardline policies toward the Palestinians and a refusal, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said publicly, to accept a Palestinian state.

Right. So Michael, once Hamas carries out the October 7th attacks in an effort to destroy a status quo that it thinks is leaving them less and less relevant, more and more hopeless, including potentially this prospect that Saudi Arabia is going to normalize relations with Israel, what happens to these pre-October 7th negotiations between the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel?

Well, I think there was a snap assumption that these talks were dead and buried. That they couldn’t possibly survive a cataclysm like this.

But then something surprising happened. It became clear that all the parties were still determined to pull-off the normalization.

And most surprisingly of all, perhaps, was the continued eagerness of Saudi Arabia, which publicly was professing outrage over the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks, but privately was still very much engaged in these conversations and trying to move them forward.

And in fact, what has happened is that the scope of this effort has grown substantially. October 7th didn’t kill these talks. It actually made them bigger, more complicated, and some people would argue, more important than ever.

We’ll be right back.

Michael, walk us through what exactly happens to these three-way negotiations after October 7th that ends up making them, as you just said, more complicated and more important than ever?

Well, it’s more important than ever because of the incredible need in Gaza. And it’s going to take a deal like this and the approval of Saudi Arabia to unlock the kind of massive reconstruction project required to essentially rebuild Gaza from the rubble. Saudi Arabia and its Arab friends are also going to be instrumental in figuring out how Gaza is governed, and they might even provide troops to help secure it. None of those things are going to happen without a deal like this.

Fascinating.

But this is all much more complicated now because the price for a deal like this has gone up.

And by price, you mean?

What Israel would have to give up. [MUSIC PLAYING]

From Saudi Arabia’s perspective, you have an Arab population that is furious at Israel. It now feels like a really hard time to do a normalization deal with the Israelis. It was never going to be easy, but this is about as bad a time to do it as there has been in a generation at least. And I think that President Biden and the people around him understand that the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians is intolerable and it is going to lead to chaos and violence indefinitely.

So now you have two of the three parties to this agreement, the Saudis and the Americans, basically asking a new price after October 7th, and saying to the Israelis, if we’re going to do this deal, it has to not only do something for the Palestinians, it has to do something really big. You have to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, I’ll be specific and say that what you hear the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, say is that the agreement has to include an irreversible time-bound path to a Palestinian state.

We don’t know exactly what that looks like, but it’s some kind of a firm commitment, the likes of which the world and certainly the Israelis have not made before.

Something that was very much not present in the pre-October 7th vision of this negotiation. So much so that, as we just talked about, the Palestinians were left feeling completely out in the cold and furious at it.

That’s right. There was no sign that people were thinking that ambitiously about the Palestinians in this deal before October 7th. And the Palestinians certainly felt like they weren’t going to get much out of it. And that has completely changed now.

So, Michael, once this big new dimension after October 7th, which is the insistence by Saudi Arabia and the US that there be a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state, what is the reaction specifically from Israel, which is, of course, the third major party to this entire conversation?

Well, Israel, or at least its political leadership, hates it. You know, this is just an extremely tough sell in Israel. It would have been a tough sell before October 7th. It’s even harder now.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is completely unrepentantly open in saying that there’s not going to be a Palestinian state on his watch. He won’t accept it. He says that it’s a strategic risk to his country. He says that it would, in effect, reward Hamas.

His argument is that terrorism has forced a conversation about statehood onto the table that wasn’t there before October 7th. Sure, it’s always in the background. It’s a perennial issue in global affairs, but it was not something certainly that the US and Israel’s Arab neighbors were actively pushing. Netanyahu also has — you know, he governs with the support of very right-wing members of a political coalition that he has cobbled together. And that coalition is quite likely to fall apart if he does embrace a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state.

Now, he might be able to cobble together some sort of alternative, but it creates a political crisis for him.

And finally, you know, I think in any conversation about Israel, it’s worth bearing in mind something you hear from senior US officials these days, which is that although there is often finger pointing at Netanyahu and a desire to blame Netanyahu as this obstructionist who won’t agree to deals, what they say is Netanyahu is largely reflecting his population and the political establishment of his country, not just the right-wingers in his coalition who are clearly extremist.

But actually the prevailing views of the Israeli public. And the Israeli public and their political leaders across the spectrum right now with few exceptions, are not interested in talking about a Palestinian state when there are still dozens and dozens of Israeli hostages in tunnels beneath Gaza.

So it very much looks like this giant agreement that once seemed doable before October 7th might be more important to everyone involved than ever, given that it’s a plan for rebuilding Gaza and potentially preventing future October 7th’s from happening, but because of this higher price that Israel would have to pay, which is the acceptance of a Palestinian state, it seems from everything you’re saying, that this is more and more out of reach than ever before and hard to imagine happening in the immediate future. So if the people negotiating it are being honest, Michael, are they ready to acknowledge that it doesn’t look like this is going to happen?

Well, not quite yet. As time goes by, they certainly say it’s getting harder and harder, but they’re still trying, and they still think there’s a chance. But both the Saudis and the Biden administration understand that there’s very little time left to do this.

Well, what do you mean there’s very little time left? It would seem like time might benefit this negotiation in that it might give Israel distance from October 7th to think potentially differently about a Palestinian state?

Potentially. But Saudi Arabia wants to get this deal done in the Biden administration because Mohammed bin Salman has concluded this has to be done under a Democratic president.

Because Democrats in Congress are going to be very reluctant to approve a security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

It’s important to understand that if there is a security agreement, that’s something Congress is going to have to approve. And you’re just not going to get enough Democrats in Congress to support a deal with Saudi Arabia, who a lot of Democrats don’t like to begin with, because they see them as human rights abusers.

But if a Democratic president is asking them to do it, they’re much more likely to go along.

Right. So Saudi Arabia fears that if Biden loses and Trump is president, that those same Democrats would balk at this deal in a way that they wouldn’t if it were being negotiated under President Biden?

Exactly. Now, from President Biden’s perspective, politically, think about a president who’s running for re-election, who is presiding right now over chaos in the Middle East, who doesn’t seem to have good answers for the Israeli-Palestinian question, this is an opportunity for President Biden to deliver what could be at least what he would present as a diplomatic masterstroke that does multiple things at once, including creating a new pathway for Israel and the Palestinians to coexist, to break through the logjam, even as he is also improving Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

So Biden and the Crown Prince hope that they can somehow persuade Bibi Netanyahu that in spite of all the reasons that he thinks this is a terrible idea, that this is a bet worth taking on Israel’s and the region’s long-term security and future?

That’s right. Now, no one has explained very clearly exactly how this is going to work, and it’s probably going to require artful diplomacy, possibly even a scenario where the Israelis would agree to something that maybe means one thing to them and means something else to other people. But Biden officials refuse to say that it’s hopeless and they refuse to essentially take Netanyahu’s preliminary no’s for an answer. And they still see some way that they can thread this incredibly narrow needle.

Michael, I’m curious about a constituency that we haven’t been talking about because they’re not at the table in these discussions that we are talking about here. And that would be Hamas. How does Hamas feel about the prospect of such a deal like this ever taking shape. Do they see it as any kind of a victory and vindication for what they did on October 7th?

So it’s hard to know exactly what Hamas’s leadership is thinking. I think they can feel two things. I think they can feel on the one hand, that they have established themselves as the champions of the Palestinian people who struck a blow against Israel and against a diplomatic process that was potentially going to leave the Palestinians out in the cold.

At the same time, Hamas has no interest in the kind of two-state solution that the US is trying to promote. They think Israel should be destroyed. They think the Palestinian state should cover the entire geography of what is now Israel, and they want to lead a state like that. And that’s not something that the US, Saudi Arabia, or anyone else is going to tolerate.

So what Hamas wants is to fight, to be the leader of the Palestinian people, and to destroy Israel. And they’re not interested in any sort of a peace process or statehood process.

It seems very clear from everything you’ve said here that neither Israel nor Hamas is ready to have the conversation about a grand bargain diplomatic program. And I wonder if that inevitably has any bearing on the ceasefire negotiations that are going on right now between the two of them that are supposed to bring this conflict to some sort of an end, even if it’s just temporary?

Because if, as you said, Michael, a ceasefire opens the door to this larger diplomatic solution, and these two players don’t necessarily want that larger diplomatic solution, doesn’t that inevitably impact their enthusiasm for even reaching a ceasefire?

Well, it certainly doesn’t help. You know, this is such a hellish problem. And of course, you first have the question of whether Israel and Hamas can make a deal on these immediate issues, including the hostages, Palestinian prisoners, and what the Israeli military is going to do, how long a ceasefire might last.

But on top of that, you have these much bigger diplomatic questions that are looming over them. And it’s not clear that either side is ready to turn and face those bigger questions.

So while for the Biden administration and for Saudi Arabia, this is a way out of this crisis, these larger diplomatic solutions, it’s not clear that it’s a conversation that the two parties that are actually at war here are prepared to start having.

Well, Michael, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

On Tuesday afternoon, under intense pressure from the US, delegations from Israel and Hamas arrived in Cairo to resume negotiations over a potential ceasefire. But in a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that even with the talks underway, his government would, quote, “continue to wage war against Hamas.”

Here’s what else you need to know today. In a dramatic day of testimony, Stormy Daniels offered explicit details about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump that ultimately led to the hush money payment at the center of his trial. Daniels testified that Trump answered the door in pajamas, that he told her not to worry that he was married, and that he did not use a condom when they had sex.

That prompted lawyers for Trump to seek a mistrial based on what they called prejudicial testimony. But the judge in the case rejected that request. And,

We’ve seen a ferocious surge of anti-Semitism in America and around the world.

In a speech on Tuesday honoring victims of the Holocaust, President Biden condemned what he said was the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States after the October 7th attacks on Israel. And he expressed worry that too many Americans were already forgetting the horrors of that attack.

The Jewish community, I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain. Let me reassure you, as your president, you’re not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will.

Today’s episode was produced by Nina Feldman, Clare Toeniskoetter, and Rikki Novetsky. It was edited by Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for The Daily. I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

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Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Michael Crowley

Produced by Nina Feldman ,  Clare Toeniskoetter and Rikki Novetsky

Edited by Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

If and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a cease-fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East.

Michael Crowley, who covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times, explains why those involved in this plan believe they have so little time left to get it done.

On today’s episode

Michael Crowley , a reporter covering the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The New York Times.

Background reading :

Talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza war are once again at an uncertain stage .

Here’s how the push for a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia looked before Oct. 7 .

From early in the war, President Biden has said that a lasting resolution requires a “real” Palestinian state .

Here’s what Israeli officials are discussing about postwar Gaza.

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Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Michael Crowley covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times. He has reported from nearly three dozen countries and often travels with the secretary of state. More about Michael Crowley

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