REDEFINING INCLUSIVE URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: AN ENQUIRY IN TERMS OF HOUSING AND BASIC SERVICES

The well-advertised inclusive urban agenda in India in the past few years has severely questioned. The present study attempts to trace out the new forms of vulnerability and social insecurity faced by the poor and more crucially, the population bordering the poverty line in terms of increasing cost to afford housing and access to basic services. The NSSO unit level data pertaining to consumption expenditure, housing and other amenities are used to show the interdependence between poverty and availability of amenities for three consecutive periods (1993-’94, 2002-’03, and 2008-’09). Distribution of availability and adequacy of basic services have shown according to different ‘Relative MPCE Classes to the poverty line.’ Results of the analysis show three important facts. First, the possession of affordable housing and basic amenities has become essentially a service cornered by middle-classes. The next finding is that the validity of the present official poverty line appears to be also questionable that grants very minimal weightages to the basic services needs and the rising cost to maintain these needs in urban areas. The third factor underscores the growing informality in housing arrangements that is regarded as one of the main economic burden of the poor and marginally poor people.

Keywords: Vulnerability, Poverty Line