Sample Text For DTA 1

Read the passage and Identify the main Idea

The housing shortage in India, according to conservative ofcial estimates of the Tenth Five Year
Plan, is approximately 22.4 million. In urban areas alone the demand-supply gap is about 17
million units. According to the National Housing Boards projections, the shortage of housing units
in India is expected to further shoot up to 80 million units between 2007 and 2012. Over 90 per
cent of this housing demand is from low-income families. These statistics give a sense of the
current and future demands in the affordable housing sector. The investment estimated to cover
the current shortfall alone is Rs 150,000 crore on housing and Rs 250,000 crore on related
infrastructures.

Nonetheless, even with such high demands in the sector, the market-driven private developer
doesnt nd it economically viable to create affordable social housing due to sky-high urban land
costs. It is easier for a developer to create premium housing products, recover costs and book
prots. Government also has not been able to successfully carry out social housing programmes
due to lack of funds and poor execution skills. Even individuals wanting to build their own homes
face a mammoth task due to high initial land costs. Slums in most Indian cities are an evidence of
the massive shortage of low-cost housing. The census states that 42.6 million people lived in
slums in 2001. This constitutes 15 per cent of the total urban population of the country.

It is well known that restrictions on supply of land and density of residential development greatly
affect land costs leading to unaffordable housing across all segments. Urban regulations certainly
have a bearing on the cost of land, amount of housing production and the eventual realty price.
Alain Bertaud, former principal urban planner of the World Bank, has repeatedly said that strictly
controlled FSI and other ill-devised laws like urban land ceiling and rent control have created
todays urban problems.
Government should realise the gravity of the situation and embrace social housing initiatives. It is
important to create a regulatory environment where private enterprise is tempted to get involved in
affordable housing development and redevelopment is most benecial to the common man. There
is a need to subsidise land prices towards development focused on social housing. It is also
important to offer incentives like low-interest loans or tax holidays to builders who work in the
affordable housing segment. Another solution is to offer subsidised quality housing, funded by the
speculative market. Private enterprises that seek to create affordable housing should be allowed to
acquire additional area (extra FSI) for their commercial projects equal to the area constructed in
the social housing programme.

Today, government doesnt seem to give enough importance to reshaping urban approaches within
existing urban conglomerations. Instead they are depending too heavily on greeneld development
with special economic zones (SEZs). But redevelopment of dilapidated or underused industrial or
commercial facility in older areas or replacing existing structures with higher-density development
is a better solution than just focusing entirely on greeneld development. Constantly renewing and
adapting land-use and buildings of downtown areas to ever-changing economic conditions are
benecial in promoting compact urban development. A broader policy to encourage browneld
development by offering tax holidays and higher developmental incentives can revitalise decaying
cores of our cities. It is also important to discourage sprawl and growth in outlying areas by
protecting green spaces and rural hinterland.

Although it is very important to use tools like SEZs to propel economic growth, it has to be used in
a sensible manner. We have to acknowledge that land is a non-renewable resource and should be
utilised in a pragmatic manner. We should strictly avoid any development in arable or prime
agricultural land. Going by current trends in population growth and land-use around the world, it is
projected that by 2050 the amount of available arable land will be just over onetenth of a hectare
per person which translates into a future with signicant shortages of foodstocks. Therefore, we
have to ercely protect prime agricultural land and allow urbanisation only in strategic areas.
Further, we should also promote policies that push higher density and compact urban
conglomerations. This opportunity of creating a compact urban form should be especially exploited
in all greeneld developments in coming years. Today, SEZs have not been given any direction in
terms of urban planning. It is extremely important to lay out some basic guidelines that encourage
sustainable and environmentally friendly development.

A number of experts have promoted the compact urban form as an ideal response to sustainability
challenges. Compact urban patterns make use of less land area, help reduce travel distances,
encourage walking, stimulate public transit, preserve open green spaces, wildlife habitat and
farmland, and reduce impervious surface areas thereby improving drainage and water quality in
the long term.

Several cities in Europe and the US have engaged in policies of urban concentration. The compact
city was raised to a national planning strategy in the Netherlands in 1988. The aim was to preserve
precious open space around existing cities and positioning of new development so as to minimise
transport needs. Even when greeneld urbanisation was considered indispensable, it was
positioned adjacent to existing municipal areas. The policy was assisted by a determined
administration that regulated and harmonised the location of future job creation arenas around
transport corridors.

Which of the following is the main idea of the article ?

a. Housing shortage

b. Slums as indicator of housing shortage

c. Government should focus on SEZ development and let private builders manage urban growth

d. Urban Compaction must be given priority to tackle the growing housing shortage

2. Which of the following is not true according to the passage ?

a. Greeneld developments should be done in conjunction with urban compaction programmes

b. Browneld developments should not be preferred over Greeneld developments

c. Housing shortage is to a certain extent a result of land regulation

d. Slums are an indicator of massive low cost housing shortage





















Answer:
1. d
2. b