A Review of Rural Housing Schemes in India for Sustainable Habitats

Abstract

Specialization in economic activities, production of goods and services, and changes in nature of consumption have created and widened the distinction between urban and rural areas over time. These variations are embedded within the settlement morphologies to exhibit various types of settlement patterns. Every geographical region is unique in terms of its environmental characteristics and therefore, the settlements and housing associated with it have distinctiveness of their own which is an important input, for sustainable human habitation. The present scenario of rural housing in India is conditioned by several policies like the National Housing Policy, and the National Housing and Habitat Policy and various Government schemes are implemented mainly to meet the demand for a growing population without proper regard to the nature of the households. Over time, the gap between housing stock and the number of households has been decreasing, which is a positive sign no doubt but the dwelling units often do not do justice to the nature of requirements of the rural society. As per different estimates, the rural housing shortage is still quite high and on many occasions, the quality of housing is highly compromised due to a lack of sufficient funds and allegedly corrupt practices in the implementation of the schemes. Proper identification of beneficiaries, allotment of the required fund, a judicious mix of modern technology with traditional knowledge system, provisioning of related amenities and community participation in project implementation and maintenance could make the schemes more cost-effective and viable in terms of the creation of local employment opportunities too, which have been critically analysed in this paper.