Social Housing - 07/11/2007

Ref.No: QRLD/2007-08:

S. Prakash Singh Badal Ji,
Hon. Chief Minister Punjab
CM Punjab Residence
House 45 Sector 2,
Chandigarh.
07 November 2007

Dear Mr. Badal,

What About Social Housing for the Poor, Mr Badal ?

Not withstanding that large house projects, which were deemed to be “fraudulent” on your assumption of power, earlier this year, are now “acceptable”, it remains to be seen whether any changes to these projects have been made in the public interest. You owe to the people of Punjab an explanation of your precise reasons for your about turn on these projects.

What you have certainly failed to do is to mandate any social housing obligation from these projects.

In most developed economies governmental sanction for large housing projects is conditional on the provision of low cost social housing.

Private sector developers are required to commit a particular percentage (based on either residential units or habitable rooms) for housing the economically weaker sections of society.

In the UK, where until recently I lived, this percentage can vary between 15% and 50%. The provision of social housing can be on-site or off-site.

With India undergoing a process of rapid urbanisation, largely on account of the employment prospects and environmental preferences of the younger generation, you may consider this for inclusion in your policy framework.

Punjab has never urbanised faster, not even during the days of terrorism. More than 300,000 persons move annually from Punjab’s villages to our towns and cities. I doubt that your government is prepared for this challenge.

The need of the hour is to mandate developers to provide a percentage of the floor area for social housing (where units would tend to be smaller in size) either

on site or within a specified radius, dependent on the urban profile. For Punjab’s major cities this could be 5 kilometres.

We could start by keeping the social housing obligation low, possibly 5% to gain early stage acceptance from the developers, increasing it later in stages to 15% or even 20%.

London currently has a 50% social housing provision on all housing projects above 20 units.

It is time to campaign for an equitable allocation of the developers’ profit for social housing.

You are requested to seriously consider specifying the provision of social housing, possibly retrospectively for large housing projects of more than, say, 50 units.

The rich can take care of themselves. It is the poor that need your support!

Kind regards,

Yours sincerely

JASBIR SINGH KHANGURA MLA
HALQA QILA RAIPUR

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