Housing problem widens in the urban areas

By Indra Adhikari

KATHMANDU, Oct. 7: Providing shelter to the poor in the towns and cities is one of the most difficult problems facing the country today.

The housing problem in the urban centres is getting more and more acute by the day as people from the rural areas are migrating in ever greater numbers. Most of them are poor and job seekers.
Altogether 5,333 households were displaced from the villages in 2000, 9,250 households in 2001 and 1,666 more in 2002 due to the Maoist problem. This has only added to the housing problem in the urban areas.

According to urban planning expert Shankar Man Pradhan, people with a monthly income of Rs. 2,250 are termed poor. If these people were to spend a substantial amount of their income on shelter, they would not be able to provide for their health, education and food. "So construction of new houses must come cheap."

Although a programme to build affordable houses started in 1985, the target has yet to be achieved.
At a programme to discuss the challenges and opportunities of providing shelter to the poor, Jagdish Chandra Pokhrel, Member of the National Planning Commission said that because of the differences in geography and the nature of villages and towns, making policies to suit them all have been difficult. He admitted the government had not carried out any studies nor made any investments to build affordable homes for the poor. So the need of local institutions to take up such activities has increased, he said.

The programme was organised by the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) to mark International Habitat Day.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhuwaneswor Lal Shrestha of Shelter and Local Technology Development Centre said that not only investments and policies, but also political will was needed to meet the challenge. "We have been trying to build houses in different parts of the country using locally available raw materials that the poor people can afford," he added.

Deputy director of DUDBC Kishore Thapa said that the government does not provide loans to poor people to build homes. "However, we give loans for income-generating activities so that they can make money to build a home."

Director of Lumanti, Lajana Manandhar demanded that the people displaced while constructing the link road along the Bishnumati River be resettled.

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