public housing


Housing is a welfare weapon: it can help people escape poverty

By on August 31st 2021

Governments have come up with several schemes to address the housing deficit for low-income households, including the construction and sale of public housing at subsidised prices, which are then allocated to applicants by lottery. This piece presents the findings of a recent study of 834 total winners and non-winners of such lotteries run by the Maharashtra Housing And Development Authority in Mumbai. The study finds large differences between winners and non-winners three to five years after the lotteries were held. It finds that the provision of this housing, as an asset, changed the lives of beneficiaries positively, and identifies the lack of involuntary displacement as a key component to this change.

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The Geography of Affordable Housing in Chennai

By , and on June 4th 2021

Affordable housing in Chennai means a unit costing between ₹ 8 and 20 lakh (₹8-10.2 lakh for EWS and ₹16-20 lakh for LIG households), based on the Deepak Parekh Committee’s definition of affordability. In practice, however, state agencies as well as private builders define affordable housing by size, referring to units of 300 to 600 square feet.  This approach has contributed to making most “affordable” housing produced in the city unaffordable to EWS and LIG households.

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PMAY: Variations across city size categories

By on July 24th 2020

What does project sanctions data tell us about how the PMAY Urban is faring in small, medium and large cities?

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