Urban Scene in India

Only 15% of dwellings in urban slums have drinking water, toilet and electricity within their premises. A quick view of urban habitats
The following statistics provide a glimpse of building practices by urban dwellers in India .
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, reports on housing conditions in India through a nationwide household survey carried out by it during July 2002-December 2002. It took a sample of 97,882 households spread over 4,769 villages and 3,538 urban blocks to obtain information regarding the conditions of dwellings in which the rural and urban population of the country live and the number, size, structure, cost and financing of residential constructions undertaken by the households.
Some of its findings that pertain to urban areas can be summarised as follows:
* In urban areas, 77 in every 100 households lived in pucca (permanent) structures, 20 in semi-pucca structures and only 3 in kutcha (temporary) structures.
* In urban slum areas, 67% of the dwellings were pucca. Rural areas of Delhi and Haryana, urban slums in Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, and urban areas (excluding the slums and squatter settlements) of Sikkim , Delhi , Uttaranchal, Jammu & Kashmir and Gujarat reported the prevalence of more pucca structures than the rest of the country.
* The floor area available to the average urban household was 37 square metres.
* 11 out of every 100 structures in urban areas were in bad condition and required immediate major repairs.
* 60% of urban households owned their dwelling units.
* As for the facilities of drinking water, toilets and electricity for lighting, about 15% of the dwellings in urban slums and squatter settlements and 63% of dwelling units in other urban areas, had all the three facilities within their premises. At the other extreme, none of the three facilities were available within the premises of about 11% of dwelling units in urban slums and squatter settlements, and 4% of dwelling units in other urban areas of the country.
* About 99% of urban dwellings had drinking water within half a kilometre of their premises.
* Residents of around 18% of urban dwellings did not have access to any sanitation facility.
* About one in seven urban households had undertaken some construction activity during the last five years. In urban areas 8.5 million constructions had been initiated and 7.2 million completed during this five-year period.
* In urban India , there was a fall in kutcha constructions from 18% during 1989-93 to 12% during 1998-2002 and a rise in pucca constructions from 64% to 74%.
* On an average, households living in urban areas other than slums, spent about Rs 2.63 lakh to build a new pucca dwelling unit, which had an average floor area of 53 sq.m. In urban slums, it cost about Rs 80,000 to build a new pucca house, and the average floor area was 24 sq m.
* About 72% of expenditure on residential construction by households was on materials alone. Another 21% was spent on labour.