Urban Housing Challenges in India: Addressing Affordability, Informal Settlements, and Policy Gaps

This paper examines the critical challenges of urban housing in India, with a focus on informal settlements, land use regulations, affordability, infrastructure, housing finance, and governance.Rapid urbanization and economic growth have led to the proliferation of slums, where millions reside without access to basic services and secure tenure.Land availability is constrained by inefficient management and exclusionary regulations, driving low-income populations to the informal sector.Despite rising incomes, housing affordability remains a major issue, particularly for economically weaker sections (EWS), leading to a severe shortage in the supply of affordable housing.Inadequate infrastructure, such as sanitation and water supply, further exacerbates living conditions.Housing finance systems, largely inaccessible to low-income groups, perpetuate inequalities, while government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) have struggled to meet their ambitious targets.The paper calls for a comprehensive approach involving policy revisions, improved governance, and greater collaboration between formal and informal sectors to address the housing crisis and achieve the goal of "Housing for All."