Affordable housing, urban villages must for the urban poor

According to a report - ‘Gurugram: A framework for sustainable development’ - on challenges staring at the city and possible solutions, over 10% of people in Haryana’s slums are in Gurgaon.

For ensuring sustainable development of Gurgaon, the development of the urban poor is much needed, officials at the Gurugram Environment Conclave said on Thursday. They suggested a need to revise Haryana’s affordable housing policy in order to develop urban villages.

Over 10% of people in Haryana’s slums are in Gurgaon, according to a joint report by CSE and MCG. (HT File Photo)

According to a report on challenges staring at Gurgaon and possible solutions prepared by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Gurgaon First, a city-based NGO, over 10% of people in Haryana’s slums are in Gurgaon. About 72% of the migrant workforce share basic facilities, and in some parts of the city, migrants make up over 60% of the population.

“The move to ensure that a developer reserves 20% land for the construction of Economic Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) houses has assisted mobility of the urban poor. A need for revising the affordable housing policy is also needed to guarantee the needs of the urban poor and provide basic amenities,” said Dr Srikant Panigrahi, director general, Indian Institute of Sustainable Development.

As per officials, three years ago, Haryana government had launched an affordable housing scheme in the state.

The introduction of the scheme led to over 40,000 buildings being offered to residents of Gurgaon for around Rs20-25 lakh. Most of these buildings are based in Sohna and areas bordering Manesar. They will be completed by 2018.

Officials also stressed on developing the city’s villages into urban villages as there is a sizeable population of the city that lives in villages in the vicinity of condominiums and gated communities.

They added that although there is co-dependency between the urban rich and poor, facilities in the villages remained appalling and needed immediate focus of the public bodies for establishing basic facilities.