Urmi Sengupta’s research while affiliated with University of Ulster and other places

The paper is the outcome of a systematic effort to study and analyze the experiences of the Kirtipur Housing Project (KHP), the first ever grassroots-led squatter resettlement project in Kathmandu. It is widely hailed as a success story as it has been able to provide a legal, affordable and good quality housing solution to the Sukumbasis through grassroots mobilization. The paper analyses the dynamics of this mobilization and the roles of different actors to show how community empowerment, civil actions and local government interests have converged to create a constructive partnership in line with wider enabling principles. Apart from meeting the narrowly defined objective to rehouse 44 households, the project reflects capacity of the community, quite apart from lobbying and protest, in areas of project planning and management. While no grassroots mobilisation can be expected to replicate in a dynamic environment, the paper draws some policy insights that indicate the ability of the grassroots mobilization in Kathmandu to continue and grow. Conversely, the lessons learned from the project also point to limitations in terms lack of prerequisite critical mass or economic benefits to influence the government to prepare a policy framework under which it can foster in a more structured way.

The paper reviews the Kirtipur Housing Project (KHP), the first ever initiative to relocate 44 households evicted from their settlement as a result of Visnumati Link Road project in Kathmandu. The KHP is widely hailed as a success story as it has been able to provide legal, affordable and adequate quality of housing units to the poor Sukumbasis in line with the United Nation's MDG 7, Target 11 that aims to improve the living conditions of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. The paper analyses key challenges confronting the 'relocation' in terms of effectiveness of partnership, livelihood strategies and employment opportunities of the relocatees and financial viability of the project. It is observed that network of successful partnership, speedy release of funds and motivated beneficiaries who have agreed to pay for the services and infrastructure to ensure cost recovery show how community empowerment, civil actions and local government interests can converge to secure a solution to the longstanding problem of squatters in the city. They also reflect some of the key ingredients of enabling principles mechanism for a successful low-income housing project. While no grassroots mobilisation can be expected to replicate in a dynamic environment, the paper draws some policy insights that could be useful in wider application of the concept of 'relocation' to address the problems of squatters in the city.

Since 1991 the housing sector in Kolkata has been the subject of significant reforms based on profound changes in the political economy of the State of West Bengal. The paper reviews four reform initiatives: public-private partnership, privatisation of public rental housing, development of New Towns, and the finance sector deregulation in Kolkata and discusses their relevance to the urban context of the city. It is observed that the new reform measures have been successful in reviving the housing market by attracting private and foreign investment and producing housing for the middle- and upper-income population, but have led to the loss of safety nets, and ignored the informal urban context of the city, resulting in the exclusion of about a third of the city population who live in slums and bustees. As a result, the benefits of housing market growth have been offset by the failure to meet the broader social agenda. While a general consensus in favour of the reform is evident, there is growing concern that the broader ideology of housing the poor is being discounted in favour of capital-driven development fuelled by globalisation and privatisation.

The public sector has been a prominent actor in the urban housing sector in the State of West Bengal for the past three decades. Reform measures introduced since 1990 have led to a shift in the mode of public housing delivery from direct provision to providing housing in the market model. The concept of private-sector participation in construction and finance has emerged as a natural response to meet the colossal demand for housing within government's dwindling budgetary capacity and a need for a catalyst to boost macroeconomic conditions. Paradoxically, the public-sector agencies are leading the reform initiatives by assuming the role of a real estate developer. The paper reviews the housing output in Kolkata in the pre- and post-reform eras in terms of housing quantity, quality, price and affordability. It is argued that new reforms have been successful in stimulating the overall housing market, but more targeted programmes are needed to improve the supply, quality and affordability for low-income families in the city.

Public–private partnership (PPP) is the most prominent urban housing policy that has emerged in the last decade in India. Housing reforms in Kolkata, under the flagship of PPP has taken the city into a different league after decades of ineffective housing policy. This paper investigates the dynamics of PPP policy in Kolkata, where public housing agencies have assumed both facilitator and regulator roles within a socialist institutional setting to achieve a balance between market forces and the needs of the low-income people. At the performance level, the joint sector brings together the efficiency in production and technical and marketing expertise of the private sector with the accountability and righteousness of the public sector. However, and despite some reform attempts, at the operational level, major bottlenecks are identified including antiquated legislation, besides high municipal taxes, stamp duties and sanction fees. Housing production under the PPP model to date is impressive in terms of costs and quality, but minuscule in terms of numbers. It is still early to comment on the likely long-term success of such partnerships. However, given the huge housing stock deficiency, high proportion of low-income groups in the city and slow pace of regulatory reforms, it is argued that future success is contingent upon the inclusion of low-income communities, which comprise half of the population of Kolkata.

The paper focuses on the privatization of public rental housing in Kolkata. The State government has decided to sell to its sitting tenants, due to high maintenance costs and loopholes in the rent setting and allocation processes. The success of privatization of public housing in Kolkata is contingent upon the government’s capacity to turn its liabilities into assets for the future, fending off possible negative externalities of privatization on the low income households that constitute the majority population in the city. The paper suggests that considerable benefits can be accrued from the privatization and concludes with two possible alternatives, within a conducive liberalized environment. The alternatives are not conclusive, but designed to promote alternatives in future research.

Squatter settlements and slums have become widespread in many Third World cities. Numerous squatter settlements have emerged in different urban centres across Nepal in the last two decades, with Kathmandu, the capital city, being the epicentre. Increasingly, new migrants are clustering in diminishing prime open spaces and environmentally sensitive areas. Though the proportion of squatter housing is low compared to other Third World cities, it is growing rapidly. The aim of this paper is to highlight the inherent gap between the common perception of squatter settlements as unsustainable and squatters' survival strategies manifested through their claim on urban land. This is done by discussing security of tenure, finance and affordability issues associated with land and housing and the legal standing that squatters have in Nepalese law. The final section of the paper presents policy options to stir some thoughts towards planning interventions in the context of the presents policy vacuum concerning squatters in Kathmandu.

This paper deals with the shifting emphasis in housing policies of developing countries since the 1970s and subsequent changes in the role of the state to address complicated issues of housing choice, numbers, affordability and finance in the context of increasingly liberalized economic environment. It is argued that the debate on whether the government should act as an 'enabler' or 'provider' is not of much significance given the enormous need to scale up and diversify housing production in developing countries. Successful housing programmes in Shanghai reflect a unique collaboration of enabler and provider roles of the state generating a 'hybrid strategy' involving active but different roles for the public and private sectors. The lesson to be learned is that the enabler and provider oriented policies may signify two separate ways of housing provision but are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. Since the outcome of the new strategy remains uncertain, countries will need to continue to exploit new opportunities and multiple possibilities.