Commentary on the special issue titled ‘Housing policy and governance in India: orthodoxies, challenges and power’

the scenario of house construction and the role of the state in it has undergone significant changes in india during recent years. in the decades since independence, housing was predominately left to the initiative of households, with the state playing a limited role in construction but designing and managing the larger regulatory and administrative framework with regard to density, layout, quality of construction, usage etc. in the case of certain public sector undertakings, metro authorities and large projects, housing was a designated responsibility of the concerned agency, but at the national level, their total contribution was small. civic bodies and other public agencies at the local level were given the responsibility of issuing permits, approving designs, ensuring compliance with building bylaws and issuance of completion certificates, but direct construction by them was small and limited to social/affordable housing or staff accommodation. in slum locations, the state’s role under various schemes, launched from to time, was playing a proactive role in providing land titles, designing the layout, providing critical infrastructure and amenities along with the basic foundation of the dwelling units and facilitating the ‘beneficiaries’ to complete their units incrementally, as per their requirements and affordability.