Land Ownership – The Key to Upliftment

What is the issue?

• FSG - A social consultancy, recently published its research on urban housing in India.
• It finds that ‘land ownership’ holds the key for millions to access associated social benefits.

Why is Ownership the Key?

• An estimated additional 1.8 million people are homeless in India.
• A quarter of India’s urban population (37 million households) live in slums. 
• Many people in slums have little control over the property they live on - which usually is their only asset. 
• Therefore, a publicly recognition of ownership becomes necessary for access to many social benefits and formal sector loans.
• Owning land boosts health profiles, educational outcomes and gender equality and the converse is equally true.
• Hence, housing ought to rank higher than education and health in priority and is the first step for providing a decent life & livihood.
• A decent habitat for the poor will not only contribute towards their well-being but also catalyse overall social and economic growth.

What are the challenges for India?

• Slums - An estimated 58% of slum areas have open drainages, 43% transport water from outside, 34% have no public toilets.
• There is an extensive need to repair existing housing stock and enhance essential services as presently they are seriously defecient.
• Growing Demand - India is urbanising fast and around 38% of India (540 million people) will be urbanised by 2025.
• Experts estimate that 18 million households in India are in dire need of better low-income housing.
• All these, when paired with a shrinking supply of land and high construction costs - leads to a growing slum population.
• Relocation - Several attempts to relocate slum dwellers to better housing have failed.
• This is mainly because new sites are usually in the outskirts that hampers access of residents to employment, schools and other amenities.
• Slum-dwellers hence favour upgradation of existing facilities and secure tenancy in-situ (in the same place).

What are the FSG Recommendations for Improved Housing?

• Increasing Legal Supply - Government should create an environment that increases the supply of affordable, legal shelters with tenure security.
• Slum upgradation - Informal settlements that isn’t a hinderance for the larger public need to be upgraded through public services.
• Services such as roads, electricity, water supply and sanitation need to be taken up.
• Such actions are found to create a high level of perceived tenure security without a formal change of legal status.
• This will als0 encouraged local private investments & locality improvisation activities.
• Ownership - There is also a recommendation for providing basic ownership and property rights to traditional dwellers.
• Recognition of ownership eliminates the fear of eviction and incentivises area improvisation by owners themselves.

What are the proposed Ownership Modules?

• Property rights has conventionally meant the right to use, develop and transfer property.
• But FSG advocates a variation for regularised slum property.

• It envisions Property rights for informal housing that guarentee the owner-occupant a heritable & mortgageable document only.
• While securing the property for residential use, it denies the sale or rental rights to the owner.
• Alternatively, giving property rights on time stipulated lease can be considered.
• Also, certain restricted property transfer modules such as only between low-income groups can be considered.
• Restrictions on ownership are mainly intended to prevent misuse and deter prolefereation of slums in future.

Source: Businessline