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September 1, 2002
REVIEWS: Home for the homeless
Housing is one of the basic needs of human beings. Since the time when man lived in caves to modern times man has always made attempts to protect himself from the vagaries of nature and put a roof over his head. The rich can build palaces but the poor find it difficult to acquire formal housing, especially in large cities. In the absence of proper affordable housing for the low-income groups, they settle anywhere they can find space. This leads to the proliferation of unplanned housing and squatter settlements, more commonly known as kachhi abadis.
Over the years, development authorities all over the country launched several housing schemes ostensibly to meet the needs of the poor. But for one reason or another they failed to serve their purpose.
Tasneem A. Siddiqui, director general, Hyderabad Development Authority, in the eighties, was convinced that planned housing units and plots could be provided to the poor if the project was undertaken with integrity and proper planning. Reviewing the various earlier schemes — even though most had proved to be failures — he reached the conclusion that in almost all the schemes people had paid the initial deposit required and had then left their plot of land vacant for speculation.
Most of these speculators were well off and didn’t need a shelter. The plots were acquired for profiteering. This trend deprived the poor of the opportunity to take advantage of the schemes initially designed for them. After thorough research the HDA in 1986 launched a sites-and-services scheme known as Khuda ki busti.
The book The story of khuda ki busti edited by Aquila Ismail and compiled from various documents and evaluation reports, written over a 10-year period (1986-1996) by well known experts and development consultants, such as Arif Hasan, Dr Jan van der Linden and Tasneem Siddiqui, traces the progress of the scheme from inception to development. It explains the concepts behind this imaginative scheme and analyzes the hard realities the planners faced during the course of development.
Sites-and-services schemes are an attempt to provide affordable and acceptable housing to the urban poor in developing countries, where a fully serviced plot is provided, leaving the owner to construct his house incrementally according to his needs, priorities and resources. In khuda ki busti the planners deviated from the sites-and-services approach in the sense that they made people settle on unserviced land and develop their housing and infrastructure incrementally. The services were provided when people felt the need for them and had accumulated funds to pay for them.
Initially only the basic services were provided, that is, common water supply and public transport to the city. The initial price covered only the price of land and communal water supply. Other services such as house-to-house water connections, sewerage, electricity and gas were to be provided gradually as the allottees collected sufficient funds through monthly deposits. In this way the project proved to be self financing without any subsidy from the government or any financial risk to the public agency.
To ensure that plots were allotted only to those who really needed them, strict screening was required. After some unsuccessful attempts at screening it was decided that those genuinely interested in owning shelter in the scheme would have to live in the area for 15 days with their families and belongings. If considered genuine, they would be allotted a plot where they had to start construction immediately. Full ownership documents were issued only after the house had been built and the allottee had paid all his deposits for development.
If the plot was found vacant the HDA was at liberty to cancel the allotment and give possession of the land to another eligible applicant. The scheme also took care of major connecting roads and bulk sewage disposal, which is ignored in case of the informal development. The HDA also gave loan on behalf of HBFC.
An important aspect was that no standards were imposed in respect of the quality or plan of the house, and no building by-laws regulated house construction in the basti. All kinds of construction material could be used. Unlike the informal sector where the authorities develop the land and then leave the site, the HDA stayed on and got involved with the setting up of facilities such as schools, clinics, etc. in the area.
But before the social services were provided for, the HDA made arrangements for the provision of transport, post office, banks and a police station.
The scheme had its fair share of problems specially during the initial phase, yet it proved to be a success and has all possibilities and potential for replication. Khuda ki basti was experimental in nature, but replication is easy. When replicating, the lessons learned can be applied while weaknesses and errors found in the experiment can be avoided.
A comparison with Karachi Master Plan’s Metroville sites-and-services scheme shows that the approach adopted in Khuda ki basti has been a major step forward. Khuda ki basti stands out as the first public sector scheme to successfully address the needs of the lowest income group. The scheme has received considerable attention at both national and international level for its innovative approach.
A couple of attempts in Karachi and one in Islamabad have been initiated on the lines of Khuda ki basti. The scheme is gradually being understood and slowly being accepted by the government for housing the low-income groups.
Shelter for the shelterless: the story of khuda ki busti
Edited by Aquila Ismail
Published by City Press, 316 Madina City Mall, Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar, Karachi-74400
Tel: 21-5650623, 5213916
Email:
cp@citypress.cc
Web:
www.citypress.cc
ISBN 969-8350-53-1
123pp. Rs245
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