By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The recently released World Cities Report 2026 by UN-Habitat and World Urban Forum showed that 40% of the global population is affected by a housing crisis, with living conditions totally unsatisfactory, lacking access to water and sanitation. Housing prices increased faster than incomes – the average price-to-income ratio increased from 9.3 in 2010 to 11.2 globally and 16.8 for Central and South Asia in 2023. Obviously, the worst sufferers are Third World populous countries like India.
An estimate on the UN’s Degree of Urbanisation framework suggests that nearly 84% of India’s population in 2025 resided in urban settlements, much higher than government’s estimate of 36%. This is because at present the framework for urbanisation falls under two categories – Census towns (over 5,000 population) and Statutory towns with municipal entities.
A recent study by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) recommended the new national settlement classification framework — Functional Urban Settlements — to adequately capture the rapidly evolving urban landscape. The extent of actual urbanisation is greater than is officially recorded and there are several areas that exhibit urban characteristics but continue to be governed as rural areas, creating significant gaps between geography of urbanisation and governance structures.
As of 2021, 35% of India’s population resided in urban areas, a figure projected to reach 50% by 2050. This rapid growth is expected to lead to a significant increase in the demand for urban housing. Urban population estimated at 50 crore in 2021 is expected to reach 85 crore by 2050. The dynamics of real estate sector would, amongst others, play a significant role in creating the demand for urban housing.
Affordable housing in India declined in the eight largest metropolises from 52% of new builds in 2018 to just 17% in 2025. The Economic Survey highlighted that India has an estimated urban affordable housing deficit of 9.4 million units, a gap that is projected to rise to nearly 20 million by 2030. However, according to unofficial estimates, the present deficit is around 15 million in urban areas and may be anything around 22-23 million in rural and backward areas.
In most metros, slums are an integral part of urbanisation, housing millions of people in conditions of extreme poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of basic civic amenities. Effective urban planning plays a crucial role in improving the living standards of slum dwellers by ensuring development of sustainable and well-integrated civic amenities.
The rise of slums and squatter settlements is intrinsically related to the problem of homelessness, which is a severe cause for concern in India. Government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana have attempted to address the shortage, but the scale, financing and land constraints continue to limit impact.
Homelessness brings with it several problems which includes sanitation, pollution, crime, vulnerability and various social problems. As per official reports, India has 13 homeless persons per 10,000 people but, if unauthorised colonies, squatter settlements and jhuggi jhopris are considered, the figure would be more than double.
Conceptual limits in understanding homelessness lead one to witness a lack of effective policy interventions of the most vulnerable and penurious. The conventional understanding of homelessness employed by both the policymakers and the state is limited to ‘rooflessness’. However, the socio-economic dimension of homelessness is often overlooked while the weak rural economy has forced people to migrate to urban centres for employment and shelter needs.
The occurrence of floods, cyclones and landslides is another aspect of homelessness, as it leads to the destruction of houses and that rehabilitation is not forthcoming. People have to take shelter in make-shift thatched houses on government land.
The issue is quite complex, and a lot hinges on adequate funds and availability of land.
Yet another aspect of providing houses is that of government schemes, which are quite manifest in rural and semi-urban areas. Though the awas yojanas have had some positive effect, these would do better if corruption at grassroots level is effectively tackled.
A case in point would be West Bengal, among other states, wherein instead of actual beneficiaries, it was the ruling party cadres who got most of the funds.
In coming years, it’s critical both central and state governments raise funds and involve private sector too. Business houses should be asked to build homes for the homeless in places where they undertake projects.
Further, from the human development perspective, where India fares poor, sincere efforts must be made in improving and expanding shelter programmes for the poor and marginalised sections in a time-bound manner. A somewhat decent shelter for the lower strata of society is a crying need, but sadly successive governments have not given it the attention it deserves. This can’t go on if Swachh Bharat has to become a reality in metros and big cities!