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indicated that every additional rupee of ones in extreme poverty and the task of invest in slum improvement pro-
capital invested in the housing sector poverty alleviation became even more grammes. The Companies Act 2013,
adds 1.54 to the GDP and every 1 lakh difficult. Considering the links between which requires companies to give at
invested in residential housing creates landlessness and poverty or the need to least two percent of profits towards
2.69 new jobs in the economy. score better successes against poverty, Corporate Social Responsibility, has
The lack of official land titles is a it is important to put a hard brake on already been amended to include
major impediment to the acquisition the process of becoming landless. Land slum area development and housing.
of housing finance. People do not have is a very price-sensitive commodity and Government can consider mandat-
documentary proof of being owners its current shortage in most city-centric ing a specific percentage for slum
of the land on which they live. Many areas is an impediment towards creat- development.
low-income villagers have owned their ing affordable housing in urban areas In response to the non-availability
land for generations. Landlessness and where it is most needed. Some sugges- of tangible collateral from low-income
the lack of secure property rights are tions from experts can serve as useful households, as required by the for-
among those inequities that perpetu- markers for policy-makers while de- mal financial sector, a new stream of
ate poverty hold back economic devel- signing Government programmes for lending has emerged, called ‘housing
opment and generate social tensions. housing. micro-finance’. Institutionalised micro-
Demographic shifts, combined with ♦ Governments should improve the finance systems have come up with
legal and regulatory environment
related to housing and increase the
Demographic shifts, supply of affordable, legal shelter
combined with poor with tenure security and access to ba-
sic amenities.
or non-existent land ♦ Government must undertake physi-
ownership policies cal upgradation of informal settle-
ments. Informal urban settlements
and insufficient can be provided with infrastructure
resources, have by widening roads, creating play-
grounds, laying sewage pipes and in-
resulted in a surge stalling water taps and toilets. These
of slum creation and services create a high-level of tenure
security without a formal change of
further deteriorated legal status and encourage local im-
living conditions of provements which can transform
these slums into livable habitats.
the poor segment ♦ Making in situ improvements to these
settlements would allow slum resi-
of the society dents to remain connected to their
own critical social and economic
networks.
poor or non-existent land ownership ♦ Government can consider converting
policies, have spawned huge slums under-utilised urban land for afford-
across the country. able housing and economic devel-
For most of India’s poor and the vul- opment with realistic standards for
nerable, secure property rights, includ- development. It can recognise semi-
ing land tenure, are a rare accessible formal titles of land as workable col-
luxury. Land tenure determines who lateral for home improvement loans.
can use land, under what conditions ♦ Government should actively explore
and for how long. Tenure arrangements endowing slum dwellers with land
may be based both on official laws and rights for residential use that are
policies, and on informal customs. inheritable, mortgageable and non-
There was a time when landlessness transferable. Endowing them with
affected a smaller chunk of the popula- mortgageable titles can open the
tion. However, the number of landless gates for improving health, education
people has been rising. The ones with- and employment.
out land joined the ranks of the worst ♦ Corporate should be encouraged to

Tehelka / 15 march 2019 48 www.Tehelka.com