The estimates are collected by the Office of Registrar General of India based on 2001 Census. The situation is no better in urban areas too. In the beginning of the 11th Plan period in 2007, India was in need of 247 lakh houses.
Out of this, about 99 per cent shortage estimated for the economically weaker section category of the population living in the urban areas. In Andhra Pradesh the urban housing shortage has been estimated 1.95 million houses.
Migration is one of the major reasons for the shortage of houses in urban areas.
"Migration of people from rural areas to urban areas is one of the factors in increase of numbers of urban poor," Kumari Selja said in the Parliament.
The government has come up with various schemes for providing housing for the urban poor.
There are schemes like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) which provides Central assistance to States/ Union Territories to undertake housing and slum infrastructure projects and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) to provide financial assistance to States that are willing to assign property rights to slum dwellers for provision of shelter and basic civic and social services for slum redevelopment, and for creation of affordable housing stock.
The minister also said in the Parliament that since the Central Government is providing the grants, it is the duty of the states to successfully implement the schemes.
