STAMPED IMPRESSIONS
Home truths
Reeta Sharma

When I see a rag plastic sheet erected on two bamboo sticks on a filthy sewer tank, my typical middle class mentality makes me utter, "Oh my God, how can people live in such a place." But this is the ugly truth in our country, where nearly 50 per cent of the people live below the poverty line. It does not matter to them whether they have a sewer beneath them or a plastic sheet for a roof.

There is a very definite and underlined difference between the developed countries and the developing countries. In the developed countries, every citizen has a home or a roof either self acquired or provided for by the government. If there is any person who is penniless and homeless, the social security system comes forward to provide shelter. However, the majority of the citizens either can rent a house or are in a position to own one. In contrast, 50 crore Indians live without a roof over their head or a place they can call their home.

After Independence, the Government of India floated a number of housing schemes for the poor. In our country with a population of 110 crore, any housing scheme is lapped-up eagerly. Thus, whenever the government floats a scheme the supply always falls short of the demand.

In the past four decades, organisations like the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), and state bodies such as the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) have built millions of houses for the poor all over the country. HUDCO, which has taken a lead in housing projects in the country, has built 1.23 crore houses. In Chandigarh, when the CHB was conceived, the situation was comparably more challenging.

"Le Corbusier was no doubt an extremely creative architect, who gifted India a model city like Chandigarh . But unfortunately, he was not familiar with the socio-economic status and culture of its people. He unknowingly presumed that only well-off people would live in Chandigarh. Hence, the city is devoid of a place where various classes could live in harmony, as in the rest of the country. Thankfully, the CHB was conceived and is making amends in this regard. The Board is largely building houses for the people who cannot afford to buy a house off the shelf in the market," reflects the present CHB chairperson S C Poddar.

The CHB, set up in 1976, shows an impressive growth record, despite many hiccups. Its major target was to enable lower, lower middle and middle classes to fulfil their dreams of owning a ‘home.’

"In 28 years, the CHB has constructed more than 43,000 dwelling units. I personally feel," says Poddar, "that the responsibility of the upkeep of these houses and their surrounding areas was never fixed and assigned. So till date, the residents and their associations are struggling to maintain these areas. These multi-storey houses have some inbuilt problems. Although under Section 8, the CHB can intervene in case of a complaint, yet in three decades we have not succeeded in evolving peaceful community living.

"Indian families have some typical, unique features, which are not comparable with any community in the world. We have to be considerate about the need-based construction and adopt a realistic approach. In fact, a lot of changes have been allowed in the construction but we need to be more liberal. Every Indian, irrespective of their financial status, dreams of a home. Organisations like the CHB may be like a drop in the ocean but at least we fulfil the dream of many a Chandigarhian."

It is for the first time in the history of the CHB that the ‘application money’ — Rs 120 crore — of the public was returned within one month of the declaration of the results. The CHB had floated a scheme for 70 houses in November 2004, for which more than 6,000 applications were received. Each applicant had to deposit a draft of Rs 2 lakh along with the application. After the draw was taken out for the houses in January this year, the amount of the rest of the unsuccessful applicants was refunded to them immediately. "We had not deposited the drafts in the bank. So once the 70 applicants were selected, we returned the drafts of the other candidates. This, in fact, helped both parties. On the one hand the public was not harassed, and on the other hand the CHB did not have to pay interest on the deposited money or face any court cases in this regard," Poddar said in a matter-of-fact way.