Living conditions in multi-storey flats for low
income
The
study design will include these headings as follows:
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
Instrument
(interview guide)
• Data analysis
• Conclusion and Recommendation
Introduction:
“Buildings or structures that individuals and
their family may live in that meet certain federal regulations. Different
housing situations vary for individuals and may depend on age, family, and
geographic location.” This was the brief definition of housing. As the world’s
population is increasing terribly especially under develop countries are
suffering with this serious problem. Housing is considered as the basic
necessity of Life. Every one need a shelter and it is state’s responsibility to
provide basic necessities of life to their citizens. Housing is defined as
urban issue but now all parts of countries are suffering with this problem.
Everyone needs a shelter and safety there and depends on the economic condition
of person or it's the tact of person's to choose owns houses. Some people prefer to live in a house, while
others feel that there are more advantages to living in an apartment/flat.
With the advancement of science and
technology, there is a vast improvement in the structural and architectural
engineering. In the modern world, we could see the people staying in
independent houses as well as in the apartments based on their necessity,
comfort and social needs.
Firstly, security is one of the primary
concerns of the people. In the houses, features like security, sanitation
provisions, gardening, taking care of any other requirements will be whole
responsibility of the house owner. Whereas, apartments are built for a group of
families, who can stay in flat and form a community. They themselves will
establish a small body which governs the community by taking care of providing
all the provisions required like security guard, employing the workers to keep
the apartment clean and neat, taking care of water facilities, sanitation,
providing escalators, parking slots, etc. This provides lot of scope, thereby
distributing the work among the respective families.
Secondly, in apartments people can develop
socialization, celebrate festivals, can organize events etc. In a small area of
land, large number of families can stay, by having the basic amenities like
gymnasium, garden, swimming pool, jogging track, conventional hall to have
parties, playground, etc.
In case of houses, having all the facilities
available in the apartment's scales up the cost of maintenance, increasing the
burden of the house owner. But individual houses will have the privacy,
ownership of the property, no disturbance from the neighbor’s and there won't
be any restrictions. With the help of this study we will be able to know the
problems of low income housing, their social and financial, environmental
factor.
The shortfall of five million units around
the country has increased the housing problem in Pakistan, particularly in big
cities. The government has also failed to devise a comprehensive and long-term
strategy to cope with the problem that has resulted in congestion and
overcrowding in cities, consultant engineers of different organizations told
PPI on Saturday.
The 1998 census showed that there were 19.3
million housing units in Pakistan. Among them, 67.7 percent were located in
rural areas and 32.3 percent in urban areas. The fifth housing census revealed
that 34.8 percent houses in the country were made from the mud of unbaked
bricks, 58.2 percent were made from baked bricks, concrete blocks or stones
while 7.3 percent houses in the rural areas and 1.4 percent in urban areas were
made from bamboo or wood covered with thatching.
The representatives of the Punjab Contractors
Association said that the government should provide soft loans to people for
the construction of houses and also the interest rate on loans given by the
House Building Finance Corporation should be reduced. They also demanded that
the construction industry should be given incentives to help end the slump in
this sector.
Literature
Review:
Apartments
or flats seem to be not a popular choice in Lahore. In general people prefer to
have single storey houses. The weather of Lahore and the lack of constant winds
make flats very harsh choice. In Lahore there also seems to be a social
perspective of people, they want to live in single storey houses because of the
dominant social views.
Muhammad
Nisar said that the housing problem in big cities including Karachi, Lahore,
Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Multan and Hyderabad was getting
complex. He said that the government should construct housing schemes in the
suburbs of big cities. He added that the housing problem could not be solved
without the government’s support.(Daily Times) http://www.dailytimes.com.pk
The
consultant engineers said that the housing problems were increasing in the
country owing to the concerned authorities’ lack of interest. They stated that
if immediate steps were not taken, the problem would become more
complicated.(Daily Times) http://www.dailytimes.com.pk
The
rate of rural-urban migration in Pakistan is rapidly increasing. According to
Murtaza Haider Assistant Professor of the school of urban planning, McGill
University:
“Over the
next 25 years the urban population in Pakistan is likely to increase by 140%.
This dramatic increase in urban populations will add another 80 million to the
urban population in Pakistan bringing the total urban population to 130 million
people.”
According to Dr. Nouman Ahmad, 45 percent
population in urban Sindh and 50% in urban Punjab lives in one room house.(An overview of present housing
crisis in Pakistan and a way forward by Dr. Noman Ahmed)
Currently, Pakistan has an overall housing backlog
exceeding 6 million units with an annual addition of 300,000 units – based upon
conservative estimates from the Population Census of 1998 and the National
Housing Policy of 2001. Roughly 30-40 percent of the demand is addressed by
mainstream developers who cater to the high-end market. The remaining units
fall under the category of the low-income segment.
Objectives:
The objective of this study is to know about
the living conditions of the residents of flats in Lahore, to know about their
environmental or social issues.
Methodology:
The survey was carried out in the flats in
Lahore, two flat housing schemes are selected which are:
1-
Model Town Q Block Dhalay Flats
2-
Rewaz Garden Flats Lahore.
5% of population
was selected from each. I visited both Model town Q block and Rewaz Garden flats
and selected 5% of population as sample. My total population was 1514 and
randomly selected sample was 77.
|
Schemes
|
Category
|
Numbers
|
Company
|
|
Rewaz
Garden
|
Flats
|
380
|
Housing
and physical planning department 1974.
|
|
Model
Town Q block(Dhala stop)
|
Flats
|
1138
|
Lahore
Development Authority
|
A Chronological
review of housing policies:
• 1949
a.
Newly formed Ministry of Rehabilitation was entrusted the
responsibility of housing the refugees.
b.
Locations identified.
c.
Blue prints made for refugee colonies and displaced
people’s townships.
·
1955-60 First Five
year Plan
a.
– Major emphasis was laid on housing.
b.
– 10 percent of public sector spending was allocated for
the purpose.
c.
– Government focused on direct inputs/expenditures in the
housing sector.
·
1960-65 Second
Five Year Plan
a.
Approach remained the same as first five-year plan.
b.
Government remained directly involved in the planning,
execution and management of the housing.
c.
Shortfall started appearing in urban sectors.
d. First generation
of squatter settlements became prominent as a repercussion of policy failure.
·
1965-70 Third Five Year Plan
a. Private sector was encouraged to participate in
housing development.
b. Tax incentives were provided.
c. Government spending shrank.
d. Public funds were diverted to the construction of
capitals in Islamabad and Dhaka.
·
Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans
a. Maintained
emphasis on public sector control of housing development.
b. Land development and allocation was a key control
in this respect.
c. Credit facilities from HBFC started expanding.
·
1983-88 Sixth Five Year Plan
a. Sharp decline appeared in housing related public
investment.
b. Policy makers concluded that housing is a capital
intensive exercise where government alone cannot play a direct role.
c. However land allotment and supply remained tightly
controlled by the government.
·
1988-93 Seventh Five Year Plan
a.
Support to housing
process.
b.
Government formally
recognized the informal housing/squatters programmes for KATCHI ABADI
UP-GRADATION formed.
c.
Informal supply of
land was thus formally accepted.
• 1993-98 Eight
Five Year Plan
a. Aimed at increasing the provision of land. Land
acquisition programmes were planned for local agencies.
b. Comprehensive land information system was planned.
c. Reforms in land registration laws were proposed.
·
1998-2003 Ninth Five Year Plan
a. Emphasis on private sector participation.
b. Reduction in the direct support of the government
in housing Provision
·
National Housing Policy 2002
a. Recognition of prevailing housing conditions in the
country.
b. Emphasis of implementation on local bodies.
c.
Federal government
limiting its role to a ‘facilitator’.
Number
of Houses in Lahore
According to the
1998 Census there are 881,708 units in Lahore District. Out of these 82.9% are
in URBAN Areas and the remaining stock is in RURAL Areas. Whereas the 1980
Census gave the total figure of units as 536,724 in the whole District which
included 83.4%of housing units in urban areas.
It will be
interesting to note that between 1981 and 1998 population increased 3.46% per
annum whereas the stock during this period increased 2.79% only. This shows
that the increase in the stock has not kept pace with the growth in population.
This depicts the non- affordability of housing by the lower income group
resulting in the increase in household size.
|
LAHORE
|
1980
|
1998
|
INCREASE/ANNUM (%)
|
||
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
||
|
District
|
536,724
|
100.0
|
881,708
|
100.0
|
2.79
|
|
Urban
|
447,509
|
83.4
|
731,348
|
82.9
|
2.76
|
|
Rural
|
89,215
|
16.6
|
150,360
|
17.1
|
2.94
|
Housing
Demand:
Based on last inter-census
population growth rate, the demand for housing in the LMA has been worked out.
The annual requirement would be around 30,000 housing units just to take care
of the increase in population.
Average Annual Demand for Housing Units in Urban
and Rural Areas of Lahore District (March 1998-June2001)
|
Sr No
|
Locality
|
Population
|
Average Housing Size
|
Housing units
|
Average annual Demand
|
||
|
1998
|
2001
|
Increase
|
|||||
|
1
|
Ex-Mcl
|
4577744
|
5652507
|
464760
|
7.1
|
65459
|
20,141
|
|
2
|
Cantonment
|
565751
|
659074
|
93327
|
6.9
|
13526
|
4162
|
|
3
|
Other urban Areas
|
65593
|
73305
|
7712
|
7.3
|
1056
|
325
|
|
4
|
All urban Areas
|
5209088
|
5774886
|
565799
|
7.1
|
80,004
|
24628
|
|
5
|
Rural Areas
|
1109657
|
1266953
|
197296
|
7.4
|
21256
|
6540
|
The supply in the formal housing market does not
exceed 2500 plots per annum. Out of this meager a large number is held by the
speculators resulting in further distortions in the housing market.
|
Historical Population
Lahore
|
The gap between demand and supply
results in illegal sub-division of agricultural lands situated in the
peripheral areas, especially between Ferozpur Road and Harike Road in the
South-East. This is how to shelter needs of the middle and lower income group
who are in immediate need of Land to construct houses is largely being met.
Those who do not afford to buy a piece of Land they tend to squat and live in
Jhuggies thus making addition to the ever increasing housing backlog.
Various estimates have been made
to indicate housing backlog in Lahore. The Master Plan for Greater Lahore
(1966) estimated housing shortage to be between 39,086 and 80,399 dwelling
units, whereas the LUDTS (1980) estimated this backlog to be as high as 300,000
dwelling units. The recent (2001) estimated worked out by NESPAK indicate the
present backlog in Lahore District (Urban) to be around 154,000 house units as
detailed below:
|
Urban Population in Lahore
district
|
5, 774, 886
|
|
Houses required (assuming
optimum HH size of 6)
|
962, 481
|
|
Existing housing stock
|
808, 484
|
|
Housing backlog
|
153, 997
|
Government Housing Schemes
Government
housing schemes are provided by PHATA,
LDA and PHA.
|
Provision of Serviced Plots by LDA
|
||
|
Plot Size
|
Plots
|
Percentage
|
|
2 K
|
5,237
|
4.8
|
|
1 K
|
17,897
|
16.4
|
|
10 M
|
32,557
|
29.8
|
|
7 M
|
6,702
|
6.1
|
|
5 M
|
23,195
|
21.2
|
|
3 M
|
20,936
|
19.2
|
|
2.5 M
|
2,701
|
2.5
|
|
Total
|
109,225
|
100
|
MOHLANWAL
SCHEME, LAHORE
Punjab
Government Servants Housing Foundation (PGSHF) was established as a corporate
body under the Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation Act, 2004,
promulgated on 10.03.2004, to introduce a scheme for providing houses or plots
on “no profit no loss” basis to Government Servants on their retirement or to
their families in case of death during service.
Mohlanwal
Scheme, Lahore Map
|
Tatal
Area
|
1241
Kanals
|
|
Type
of House
|
No.
of Houses
|
|
Type ‘D’ (5-Marla)
|
597
|
|
Type ‘C’ (7-Marla)
|
334
|
|
Type ‘B’ (10-Marla)
|
303
|
|
Type ‘A’ (1-Kanal)
|
107
|
Ashiana
Housing Project (AHP):
Objectives:
1. Increase and improve the supply of housing,
available and affordable to low and moderate income groups
2. Establishment of a sustainable community living
3. Ensuring decent and modern ambiance in each housing
scheme
4. Bringing down the cost of the houses while not
compromising on the quality
5. Making the project affordable for the target groups
through easy installment plans
6. Ensuring transparency and fair play at every step
Allotment/Eligibility Criteria:
1.
Target Population
will be individuals having income less than Rs. 20,000 p.m.
2.
Monthly Installment
of the allotted house not to exceed the monthly rent of same size of house.
3.
Speculation will be
curbed at all cost.
4.
Special quota for
widows, orphans and disabled.
5.
Nuclear Family
6.
Age Between 25 &
60 years. (Applicable for bank loan only)
7.
Living in a rented
house or in joint family, the applicant should not posses his/her own house.
8.
Physical verification
of the credentials of each applicant through third party
Salient
Features of the Project:
External
Infrastructure:
Transport
(Lahore Only)
Internal
infrastructure to cater for all the needs of decent and modern living:
·
Carpeted roads
·
Sewerage
·
Drainage
·
Water supply
·
Electrification
Amenities:
·
School
·
Open
Spaces/Landscaping/Parks
·
Commercial Area
·
Graveyard
·
Entertainment
·
Community Centers
·
Health Clubs
·
Playing Grounds
·
Food Chains/Stalls
·
Management of Schemes
by the community itself – Community
·
Executive Committees
Payment
Plan:
1. 25% Advance, remaining amount to be paid in easy
installments.
2. Subsidy by the Government of Punjab on monthly
installments.
Data
Anylsis:
The survey showed that about 80% residents are female,
whereas 20% male.
About 80% were housewives, about 15% had their own business,
about 5% were students and a negligible number had private jobs.
Over 60% had 6-9 members, over 20% 3-6 and a negligible 1-3.
About 50% had 2 working members, 40% 1, 5% 3-4 and about 8%
none.
Over 60% had rented flats and below 40% owned.
Over 50% had been living for 11-15 years, about 18% 16-20
and 1-5 years, about 10% 21-25 years and 5% 5-10 years.
Over 60% were from other areas of Lahore and below 40% were
from outside Lahore.
Over 80% were from Punjab, and about 5% from Sindh and
Balochistan.
100% had basic facilities.
Over 80% didn’t have internet and below 20% had.
50% were nutral, 40% had normal relationships and 10%
werefriendly.
Over 60% found it uncomfortable, 20% dirty, 10% peaceful and
about 5% noisy.
Conclusion:
From
all the data collected and analysis of it, I’ve come to conclude that the
living standard differs significantly in Rewaz garden and Q block, Model town
flats. The people of Rewaz garden have a better life compared to that of Q
block. The difference is based mainly on the structure and size of flats which
is far better and spacious in Rewaz garden. The flats in Rewaz are mostly owned
whereas that in Q-block are rented. This could also be because the people in
Rewaz belong to middle class and that in Q block are either students or belong to lower middle class. The people of
Rewaz were satisfied with the ambiance and size of their apartments where as
that from Q-block had contrary opinions.
Although government has provided both these places with basic facilites,
the major cause of difference is the socio-economic conditions of people
dwelling in these areas.
Special
Thanks:
·
Zahid Bukhari,
Architecture PHATA Lahore
·
Shaker Mahmood,
Assistant Professor
Department
of City and Regional Planning UET Lahore.
·
Irfan Bashir
Assistant Director, State development, LDA.
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