Housing for the urban poor is a vote-catching proposition, it is a state subject and the 12-18 months left before the next elections is too short a period for construction to happen.

The government has calculated that there is a shortfall of 18.78 million homes in the country, mostly in the low-income category. The poor in India usually live in unregulated areas, especially slum developments in big cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi alone has more than 50,000 slums units on railway land and between 5,000 and 10,000 on defence properties.......Read More