The crux of the housing issue, as pointed out in ‘A roof over one’s head’ (June 13), is the costs which are very high. But I have my doubts as to whether labour costs can be brought down for two obvious reasons. One, replacing labour entirely by deploying machines is difficult due to the inherent nature of the industry and such replacement in a labour-surplus country like India, even if possible, is not desirable.
In any case, machines do not come free. They have capital costs as well as operating expenses. Second, labour cost per hour is naturally expected to go up in absolute terms when we honestly focus and sincerely execute our objective of inclusive growth. This means higher labour cost in absolute terms. However, it does not mean that there is no room for improvement in labour cost per square foot of construction. This can be achieved by efficiency improvement and not by an ad hoc reduction in headcount. The construction industry needs to do some soul searching on this front.
As for the politician-babu nexus in keeping supplies of land restricted, this has to be managed transparently by bringing more changes in the country with respect to ownership of land. Builders have to buy freehold land at prohibitive prices as the buyers want to be co-owners of the freehold land on which the flats are constructed. Instead, a new model can be developed where the flat-owners own the buildings only and not the land which is to be leased to them for a certain period at a nominal rent. Land in a designated area can either be owned by the municipal authorities or private land-leasing companies or by both. The land laws, especially the archaic stamp duty laws and Transfer of Property Act etc need to be suitably modified.
We also need to look at our present model of living space-utilisation with an open mind, shedding our shyness and inhibitions. Such effective space utilisation already exists in our offices and factories (where we spend more than 50 per cent of our living day) — we always have common toilets and bathrooms in these places. Similarly, in public places like bus stands, multiplexes, railway stations and hospitals, we also use only common toilets and bathrooms. Then why is there a need to have private loos and bathrooms in low-cost housing complexes?
Ravi Swaminathan, Chennai
