The shortage of housing units in the urban areas was 2.147 million while the all-India figure was 8.23 million in 1991. The total number of homeless people in the country was 1.3 million in the same year while the total slum population was 45.7 million.
Housing shortage was worst in Delhi with 0.377 million, followed by Greater Mumbai (0.318), Kolkata (0.245) and Chennai (0.224). Chennai and Hyderabad had a shortage of 0.106 million each while Bangalore had a housing shortage of only 0.91 million in 1991.
In the country as a whole, there were a total of 159.4 million living quarters available, of which 27.3 per cent were in urban areas. While the average size of urban households was 5.3, the average number of people per living quarters was five in 1991, down from 5.3 in 1981.
Between 1981 and 1991, there was a sharp drop in the number of one room housing units occupied at the all India level, accompanied by an increase in the occupancy of larger houses.
According to the Compendium of Environmental Statistics data, recently released by the Central Statistical Organisation, among the four metros, Mumbai had the highest proportion of one room housing units among occupied housing units, followed by Kolkata and Delhi.
While 70.8 per cent of the occupied housing units in Mumbai were one room units, in Kolkata the figure was 55.2 per cent and in Delhi, 44.8 per cent.
In Chennai, only 41.2 per cent of occupied housing units were one room units.
In Mumbai, between 1981 and 1991, there was an increase in the precentage of one and two room units occupied. In Delhi, on the other hand, there was a sharp decline in one room housing units and a corresponding increase in three, four and five room unit occupancy.
