During last more than seven decades of Independence from British Rule in 1947, India has been struggling to find solution to appropriate housing for the ever increasing pressure of population and rapid urban and rural migration. Stating with 1947, with more than 6 million people, under forced migration led by the division of India by creation of Pakistan as a separate nation, India has been grappling with finding appropriate solutions to the ever evolving, ever devolving problem of appropriate shelter for its ever rising population. With Five year plans dictating the national physical, social and economic growth agenda, attempt has been made to create housing and overcoming poverty through various schemes and programs launched through various Five year Plans by the respective governments, heading the Indian democratic structure. The contents, scope and approach of these program, policies and schemes have varied during various plan periods, depending upon the resources available, felt need of the community, priority for development, emerging problems facing the country etc. However, despite housing and poverty remaining a major issue, allocation of adequate resources allocated remained disproportionate to the need and requirement of the community. Based on the available data and the texts already written, attempt has been made to bring out various programs launched during the various plan periods, to showcase the approach adopted by India , as a nation, in meeting with its agenda of making accessible housing for all, managing poverty and reform agenda taken up in the urban context. Text also describes the agencies created for promoting planning, development, management and financing of shelter at the national, state and local levels.Indian journey during last more than seven decades makes an interesting reading with numerous lessons and learning, which remain valuable.

1. Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation
Through Five Year Plans in India
Jit Kumar Gupta
*jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
Housing, as a sector, has always commanded priority on the welfare agenda of
the various national governments, India , as a nation, does not remain an
exception. During last more than seven decades of Independence from British
Rule in 1947, India has been struggling to find solution to appropriate housing for
the ever increasing pressure of population and rapid urban and rural migration.
Stating with 1947, with more than 6 million people, under forced migration led by
the division of India by creation of Pakistan as a separate nation, India has been
grappling with finding appropriate solutions to the ever evolving, ever devolving
problem of appropriate shelter for its ever rising population. With Five year plans
dictating the national physical, social and economic growth agenda, attempt has
been made to create housing and overcoming poverty through various schemes
and programs launched through various Five year Plans by the respective
governments, heading the Indian democratic structure. The contents, scope and
approach of these program, policies and schemes have varied during various
plan periods, depending upon the resources available, felt need of the community,
priority for development, emerging problems facing the country etc. However,
despite housing and poverty remaining a major issue, allocation of adequate
resources allocated remained disproportionate to the need and requirement of
the community. Based on the available data and the texts already written, attempt
has been made to bring out various programs launched during the various plan
periods, to showcase the approach adopted by India , as a nation, in meeting
with its agenda of making accessible housing for all, managing poverty and
reform agenda taken up in the urban context. Text also describes the agencies
created for promoting planning, development, management and financing of
shelter at the national, state and local levels.
First Five-Year Plan (1951-1955)
▪ Housing, as a problem, was recognized and brought into the policy planning
framework along with urbanization
▪ Independent Ministry of Works and Housing was established along with
National Buildings Organisation to formulate low-cost housing designs and build up a
database for the formulation of housing strategies and plans.
▪ Providing housing to refugees from Pakistan made priority area, with number
of new towns established in different parts of the country for housing refugees.

2. ▪ Affordability identified as the problem /key issue in the housing sector specially
for the low-income groups;
▪ Making construction cost-effective; through efficient use of building materials
and minimising wasteful use of labour; recommended as solutions to improve
affordability;
▪ Two Social housing schemes; Integrated Subsidized Industrial Housing
Scheme (1952) and Low-Income Housing Scheme (1954), were launched for creating
housing stock for these categories.
Second Five Year Plan (1956-1961)
▪ Schemes launched in the first plan for Subsidized Industrial Housing and Low-
Income Group (LIG) further strengthened. New schemes like Plantation Labour Housing
Scheme, VillageHousingSchemeandLand Acquisitionand DevelopmentScheme were
launched;
▪ Schemes for slum clearance; for Scheduled Caste, other backward classes in
rural villages launched.
▪ LIC and Government jointly launched scheme to provide loans to the middle-
income groups (MIG);
▪ Employees Housing programmes for Central/State government agencies
undertaken;
▪ Delhi Development Authority (DDA) established under an act of Parliament for
implementing the Master Plan/development of Delhi.
▪ Government shifted its policy of granting direct loans for the development of
sites and plots to individuals to giving assistance to state governments and local
authorities.
▪ Statement on the Housing Policy was made on the 14th August 1957 in the
Parliament regarding; Providing subsidy to those who needed; setting up housing
corporations in the states to provide loan with central government providing necessary
subsidy; using indigenous building material for construction; setting up of a separate
department to expedite the implementation of housing scheme

3. Third Five-Year Plan (1961-1966)
▪ Linking Housing policies with economic development and industrialization
policies
▪ Increasing housing stock by various agencies – public, private or cooperative
▪ Creating enabling environment for public/private sector for promoting LIG
Housing
▪ Making land acquisition and development priority for making addition to housing
▪ Setting up of Housing Boards by states to eliminate housing shortages with
focus on meeting housing needs of LIG and slum-dwellers;
▪ Setting up of financial institutions to provide financial/technical assistance to
metropolitan authorities/state housing boards/other urban institutions for financing the
development of housing and urban development projects
Annual Plan (1966-1969)
▪ Concept of economically weaker section (EWS) introduced and integrated with
Subsidised Industrial Housing Scheme
Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-1974)
▪ Emphasised empowering/strengthening public agencies for meeting the
housing needs and application of planning principles for orderly development of urban
centres;
▪ Focus on self-help for improving the housing situation;
▪ Slum clearance replaced by slum improvement.Urban authorities asked to take
a more positive and realistic view of the people living in slums and their problems.
▪ Changing strategies for slums from formal housing to sites and services
programmes and environmental improvement of slums;
▪ Environmental improvement of slums introduced in 1972 in selected cities to
provide the basic services
▪ 1950s, 1960s and 1970s may be described as years of institution-building in
the field of human settlement financing
▪ For meeting the challenge of providing housing finance/loan to low-income
families with longer repayment period on soft terms; dealing with problem of growing
housing shortages and rising number of slums. HUDCO was established.
Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-1979):
Addressed following limited objectives in the housing sector:
▪ Preservation and improvement of the existing housing stock;
▪ Making provision of house sites to a million landless labourers as part of the
Minimum Needs Programme
▪ Continuance of the existing schemes to provide subsidized houses to certain
weaker sections of the community
▪ Extension of support to institutional agencies;
▪ Intensification of research in and development of cost-effective building
materials.

4. ▪ In 1977, a draft Fifth Five Year Plan was reformulated with emphasis on; self-
help housing, provision of house sites and assistance to rural landless labourer;
▪ Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) set up in 1977 to provide
finance for new residential housing to individuals, association of individuals and co-
operative societies and to companies for staff housing.
Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-1985)
▪ Accorded priority for housing activities in small and medium towns, adoption of
cost-cutting technologies, evolving of rational and people focussed/friendly buildingbye-
laws
▪ Shifting strategy from providing direct subsidy for EWS, to provide serviced
plots/sites and services.
▪ Increased recognition of the remarkable role played by HUDCO in the domain
of social housing in urban/ rural areas.
Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985-1990)
▪ Promotion and encouraging self-help housing;
▪ Identification of rural families for assistance for construction of dwellings for
families already provided with house sites;
▪ Limiting Cost of housing units under social housing scheme within paying
capacity of beneficiaries.
▪ Providing stimulus and support to private housing for MIG and LIG
▪ Making housing cost-effective by adopting low-cost housing techniques and
standards through modifications in building bye-laws, land use control and minimum plot
requirements
▪ Harnessing science and technology to improve building technology and
development of cheap building materials
▪ Proactive role by HUDCO for providing finance to weaker sections for house-
building activity in conjunction with state governments.
▪ Housing authorities and housing boards to concentrate on land acquisition and
development in urban areas; making provision of house sites in rural areas rather than
going for direct construction of houses.
▪ To continue various housing schemes initiated under the Minimum Needs
Programme; rural housing and slum improvement efforts.
▪ Draft NHP was prepared by the Ministry of Urban Development as mandated
by The Global Shelter Strategy adopted by the United Nations in 1988 calling
government to take steps for formulation of a National Housing Policy (NHP).
▪ Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) set up for
bridging gap between laboratory development and large-scale field application of
innovative materials and technologies; Setting up a network of Building Centres as a
Centrally sponsored scheme to effect savings in construction cost through promotion of
low-cost and innovative building materials and technologies and building of local delivery
system.

5. The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97)
Housing agenda of Eighth Plan was framed considering the objectives of then
operational National Housing Policy , to be achieved through following
tasks/instruments:
▪ Expand basic infrastructure facilities in rural and urban areas for improving
habitat and create enabling environment for majority of the households to have access
to housing.
▪ Removelegal constraints to increase supply of serviced land and rental housing.
▪ Extend stimulus and support for private housing on an expanded scale through
increased flow of credit to housing sector through housing finance institutions (HFIs),
and tax incentives.
▪ Encouraging use of low-cost building materials and cost-effective technologies.
▪ Promote self-help housing as well as shelter upgradation by providing better
access to finance, land, materials and technology through appropriate delivery systems
to the poorer segment of the rural population.
▪ Provide financial and institutional support through formal and informal systems
for environmental improvement.
▪ Establish an effective Management Information System for making housing
and urban infrastructure accessible to both private and public development agencies.
▪ Evolve special assistance programmes in the form of subsidy, preferably in
kind, differential rate of interest and delivery support for disadvantaged groups.
▪ Already operational Social/other schemes of earlier plans to be continued
either in existing/modified forms including;
i. The scheme of house sites-cum-construction assistance initiated for housing in
rural areas during the Seventh Plan and included in the State Sector within the Minimum
Needs Programme;
ii. The Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) introduced in the Central Sector in 1985-86,
forming part of Rural Landless Employment Generation Programme (RLEGP), for
construction of houses for SCs/STs/freed bonded labour;
iii. The Centrally sponsored scheme for the establishment of building centres
(1988), to promote technology transfer to the grassroots level and encourage use of new
alternative materials;
iv. To tackle the problem of housing in urban areas, including improvement of
slums and squatter settlements, the State shall assist in:
- Increasing the availability of residential land, with particular reference to the
needs of poor sections;
- Support incremental self-building through financial and technical support;
- Encouraging upgradation and progressive development of low-income
settlements; and
- Promotion of appropriate technologies that maximize the use of locally
available and recycled materials.

6. Ninth Plan (1997-2002)
▪ Meeting housing needs of all with focus on economically weaker household
below the poverty line, SC/ST, and women –headed households;
▪ Continue providing direct subsidy to lower segments of society/selected
disadvantaged groups for some more time with flow mechanism made more transparent
and increasingly routed outside the financial system;
▪ Strengthening linkages & inter-dependency between shelter and income
upgradation through the use of composite credit instrument; modified land-use patterns;
city master plans; between farm and the non-farm sector in the rural and semi-urban
areas with NGOs and other voluntary organizations playing role of a catalyst.
Tenth Plan (2002-2007)
▪ Working Group on Housing observed that around 90 per cent of housing
shortage pertains to the weaker sections. Need to increase supply of affordable housing
to the economically weaker sections and the low-income category through allocation of
land, extension of funding assistance, and provision of support services.
▪ For larger housing delivery for the weaker sections/ low income groups, the
on-going programme for providing additional 2-million houses annually needs to be
continued;
▪ Valmiki Ambedkar Aawas Yojana (VAMBAY) & total city sanitation component
of Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan(NBA) for meeting the housing and sanitation requirements of
the urban poor need to be taken up in all urban areas, so as to promote ‘cities without
slums’. Provision to be made for a central subsidy of Rs.1000 crores annually during
the tenth plan period with the matching contribution made by state governments/local
bodies or as loan from HUDCO.
▪ For investing household savings in the housing sector & providing houses to
those who cannot as yet afford to have their own houses, needs encouraging promotion
of rental housing by private sector, public sector, as well as cooperatives and individuals
by amending existing rent control laws,
▪ To strengthen Building Centre Movement in 200 uncovered districts in the
country by allocating central grant allocation of Rs.20 crores.
▪ Role of HUDCO needs to be made operationally more efficient by removing
roadblocks in their operations and dealings with states for creating housing for
economically weaker sections; disaster affected households, disaster rehabilitation;
construction of houses for earthquake, cyclone, and flood victims.
▪ Launching strengthening and Retro-Fitting of Housing Stock in Vulnerable
Regions threatened by Natural Hazards with the participation of the state governments,
BMTPC and HUDCO.

7. Eleventh Plan (2007-12)
● Accounting for about 99% of deficiency; Housing shortage remains most acute
in the EWS and LIG categories.
● Urgent need to provide affordable housing through JNNURM, Affordable
Housing in partnership, ISHUP and RAY
Evolution of different programmes on urban poverty alleviation through the plan
periods:
Five
Year/
Annua
l Plan
Year (s) Major Thrust Areas / Programmes
II 1956-61 Urban Community Development (UCD) project (pilot),
started in 1958, based on an area-oriented approach.
IV 1969-74 Scheme for Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums
(EIUS) launched in 1972, to provide basic amenities like safe
drinking water supply, sewerage, storm water drainage,
pavements, community baths and latrines, street lighting etc.
to slum-dwellers. In 1974, scheme was transferred to State
Governments for implementation.
V 1974-79 The Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act (ULCRA),
enacted to prevent concentration of land holding in urban
areas, & for construction of houses for LIG.
VI 1980-85 Emphasised integrated provision of services along with
shelter, particularly for the poor.
Launch of Integrated Development of Small and Medium
Towns (IDSMT), and initiation of Urban Basic Services
(UBS) programme in 1981, with an aim to cater to the basic
physical and social needs of the urban poor with a view to
improving their living conditions.

8. VII 1985-90 Based on the recommendations made by the National
Commission on Urbanization (NCU), GoI adopted a four-
pronged strategy for addressing the issues of growing
incidence of urban poverty namely;
i. Employment creation for low- income communities
through promotion of micro- enterprises and public works;
ii. Housing and shelter up-gradation;
iii. Social development planning with special focus on
development of children and women; and
iv. Environmental up-gradation of slums.
Consequently, two schemes were started, namely
i. The Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY), 1989 for
employment/livelihoods promotion; and
ii. The Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP), 1990,
which was a modified UBS Programme. The UBSP
Programme envisaged fostering community structures
comprising urban poor for ensuring their effective participation
in their developmental activities.
Annual 1990-92 The Constitution 74th
Amendment Act was passed by
Parliament, which envisaged urban poverty alleviation, slum
up-gradation and protection of interests of weaker sections as
amongst the functions of Urban Local Bodies.
VIII 1992-97 Start of Prime Minister’s Integrated Urban Poverty
Eradication Programme (PMIUPEP) in 1995, for improving
the quality of life of urban poor by creating a facilitating
environment through community-based planning and
implementation. The PMIUPEP incorporated within itself all
the components of UBSP & NRY.
Launch of National Slum Development Programme (NSDP)
in 1996, covering physical infrastructure like water supply,
storm water drains, sewer, community latrines, widening and
paving of existing lanes, street lights etc. and social
infrastructure pre-school education, non-formal education,
adult education, maternity, child health and primary health
care including immunization etc.

9. IX 1997-
2002
Launch of Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY),
in 1997, after subsuming existing schemes like NRY, UBSP
and PMIUPEP.
X 2002-
2007
Launch of Jawharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM) a flagship programme of the GoI, in 2005.
(Source –Report of Working- Source; Group on Urban Poverty , Slums
and Service Delivery System - Steering Committee on Urbanization
Planning Commission, New Delhi; 19 September, 2011)
Urban Reforms
Led by globalization, liberalization of economies and following the global trends of
population distribution among rural and urban centres, India is also rapidly marching
towards higher level of urbanization and concentration of population in few major urban
centres. Enhancing the productivity and efficiency of urban areas remains central and
higher on the agenda of the government both in policies framed and program initiated
by the Ministry of Urban Development. Cities hold tremendous potential as engines of
economic and social development, creating jobs, generating wealth through economies
of scale. They need to be sustained and augmented through the high urban productivity
for ensuring and launching India on the fast trajectory of economic growth. Growth of
national economy and reduction of poverty will be largely contingent on the productivity
of the cities and towns. For Indian cities to become growth oriented and productive, it will
be essential and critical to create an urban system, which is most effective and efficient.
This in turn will depends on attaining efficiency and equity in the delivery and financing
of urban infrastructure.
The Thirteenth Finance Commission has, for the first time in the history of Finance
Commissions, brought in an element of performance-based grant in addition to basic
grant, in which the onus is placed on the State Governments to empower and build
capacity in the local bodies through carrying out nine identified reforms. High-Powered
Expert Committee HPEC, appointed by the Ministry of Urban Development,
recommended to the Government (2011), that there is a requirement of investment in
urban infrastructure to the tune of ₹ 39 Billion -₹ 39.2 lakh crore at 2009-2010 prices over

10. the next 20 years for making available identified services including water, sanitation, solid
waste management, traffic and transportation, roads, electricity etc. in the urban
settlements. In addition, Rs 19.9 billion will be required to meet the operation and
maintenance cost of the existing services and new services to be provided. To overcome
constraints and challenges, posed by enormous requirements of funds the Ministry of
Urban Development initiated institutional, fiscal financial reforms. The 74th Constitutional
Amendment Act of 1992, already recognized the role and importance of local self-
governments in the process of service delivery in the urban sector at local level.
In August, 1996, the Central Government also framed guidelines entitled 'Urban
Development Plans Formulation Implementation UDPFI', which were made available to
all State Governments for adoption, which were later reviewed and revised in the year
2014 to include the Regional Planning also and were called Urban and Regional
Development Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines (URDPFI).These
guidelines, apart from other issues, suggest approaches to be adopted for resource
mobilization for urban development, using land as a resource. However, guidelines have
its limitation which are purely based on the Delhi model. India being a diverse country,
has large physical, cultural, social and economic variations and accordingly need local
solutions for promoting planned and orderly development of urban and rural areas. India
needs simple, effective and efficient system of planning and development to make urban
centres more productive. Legal framework operating at state level needs review, revision
and redefinition to make planning and implementation process more effective and
efficient. Bureaucratization of urban laws needs to be dispensed with. Instead of making
subject specific laws and creating multiplicity of planning and development agencies,
there is an urgent need of creating integrated laws dealing with the issues related to
urban-rural planning and development in a holistic manner. Priority must go to Regional
planning rather than Urban planning. Urban-rural planning needs to be integrated through
Regional Planning, in order to launch urban and rural centres on fast trajectory of
development in a mutually supportive manner and not competing against and cutting one
another.
In the backdrop of the New Economic Policy in the nineteen nineties, it was suggested
that the traditional system of funding based on Plan budgetary allocations be reduced
and ultimately withdrawn due to existence of large fiscal deficit in the national budget due
to widening gap between income and expenditure and export and imports. Subsidies
need to be rationalized and urban development plans /projects need to be placed on a
commercial format by designing commercially viable urban infrastructure services/ area
development projects. This was sought to be achieved by restoring a proper match
between functions and source of revenue by giving additional tax measures. Other
innovative resource mobilization measures included using land as a resource, increase
in the non-property taxes and using Public-Private Partnership in service delivery.

11. Reforms through decades
Municipal Accounting System
The Task Force constituted by the O/o C&AG of India had recommended for introduction
of accrual basis of accounting system for the urban local bodies( ULBs ) and suggested
model budgeting accounting formats for that purpose. The Task Force Report was
circulated to all States/UTs for adoption of accrual-based accounting system as well as
the budget accounting formats. Further to provide a simplified tool kit to the ULBs for
recording the accounting entries, Ministry of Urban Development in cooperation with the
Office of C&AG of India prepared a National Municipal Accounting Manual NMAM and
circulated to all States/UTs in January, 2005. The Manual comprehensively detailed the
accounting policies, procedures, guidelines designed to ensure correct, complete timely
recording of municipal transactions to produce accurate relevant financial reports. The
NMAM was intended to help the States prepare their state-level accounting manuals in
accordance with their own requirements for use by the ULBs. This initiative expected not
only to enhance the capacities of ULBs in municipal accounting leading to increased
transparency accountability of utilization of public funds for the development of urban
sector but also to help in creating an environment in which urban local bodies can play
their role more effectively to ensure better service - delivery.
Service Level Benchmarks
Ministry of Urban Development also laid down Service Level Benchmarks for urban
services like water supply, sanitation urban transport. Working towards achieving these
Benchmarks would bring about a paradigm shift in working of the urban local bodies to
provide world class urban services.
Public-Private Participation Guidelines
Central Government also developed guidelines for involvement of the private sector in
infrastructure, which will ensure competitive biding process in a transparent manner.
These guidelines will not only protect the consumers but also ensure integrity of the
process. This would support municipalities in designing the PPP process on the lines of
the BOT Centre in Philippines or the PPP in the Ministry of Finance in South Africa.
Push to Reforms through Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
JNNURM
JNNURM, launched for a period of seven years in December 2005,to promote state of art
development in 63 identified major cities of India, including all the metropolitan centres,
state capitals and historic cities, made it mandatory that , release of additional central
assistance under the Mission would be made conditional to the urban local bodies,
carrying out defined urban reforms. The reforms included:

12.  Implementation of 73rd 74th Constitutional Amendments for decentralization
 Repeal of /Urban Land Ceilings Regulation Act
 Reform in Rent Control Laws
 Rationalization of Stamp Duty
 Enactment of Public Disclosure law
 Enactment of Community Participation Law
 Assigning/associating urban local bodies in planning function
 Accrual based double entry system of accounting
 E -governance
 Property Tax calibration with GIS
 Recovery of User Charge
 Internal earmarking of budget for basic service to urban poor
 Provision of basic services to urban poor
 Revision of bye-laws for streamlining approval process for building construction
 Simplification of law for change in land use
 Introducing property title certification
 Earmarking developed land for housing for the economically weaker sections
 Computerization of registration of land & property
 Revision of bye- laws for rain water harvesting/ water conservation
 Bylaws for recycled water
 Administrative reforms like reduction in establishment cost
 Structural reforms
 Encouraging private - public partnership