RURAL HOUSING: Policies & Practices

This book aims at unfolding the problem of housing security of the people settled in rural Uttar Pradesh. Housing in this book connotes not only dwelling units but also utility services like approach roads, water supply system, sewage and garbage disposal systems, electricity and fuel, and facilities such as markets, and health centres. It presents a comparative picture of the housing programmes that cover both government-supported housing and self-initiated housing. It also establishes that rural housing-led fulfilment of basic needs may show the roadmap for giving time and space to the assetless income-poor households to use labour power in other productive areas. The provision of housing as a free gift will enhance the real income of such households by saving the money and labour that would otherwise have been spent on housing. Provision of low-cost environment-friendly housing for this section of society will maintain their security and identity, and will also enable them to have improve human living.

Bhaskar Majumder is a senior faculty in Economics at G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad. He is also a visiting faculty at the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has a flair for writing and has published four books and several research papers in journals of repute. He has also contributed chapters to volumes on social sciences edited by eminent scholars. He has completed a large number of research projects supported by Planning Commission, ICSSR, World Bank etc.