1. Describe about the housing scheme for industrial workers.

Under the subsidised industrial housing scheme which was formulated in 1952 for providing
housing to industrial workers employed in factories and mines, mainly in the private sector, the
Central Government provides to State Governments, State Housing Boards and municipal bodies
50 per cent of the cost as loan and 50 per cent as subsidy. Industrial employers and cooperative
societies of industrial workers are given financial assistance to the extent of 75 per cent and 90
per cent respectively, the extent of subsidy in both cases being 25 per cent. To enable industrial
workers to provide the remaining 10 per cent of the cost, they have been allowed to draw non-
refundable loans from their provident fund accounts. By the end of the Second Plan, the
construction of about 140,000 tenements costing Rs. 45 crores had been approved. About
100,000 tenements had been completed and the rest were under different stages of
construction. The scheme should have made greater progress if even the subsidised rate of rent
had not proved a comparatively high charge for workers, with the result that in some areas the
tenements which have been constructed have not been occupied by industrial workers. The
question of bringing down the rent so that it should be within the paying capacity of workers
needs further study. Along with it, arrangements should be made to provide cheap transport for
taking workers to their places of work. Certain aspects of the scheme have been revised already.
Workers have a larger measure of choice as between different types of accommodation. Open
developed and demarcated plots of land along with some building and roofing materials can be
taken up by workers, so that they may build huts of the prescribed pattern themselves. For
those who do not wish to go in for 'self-built' huts on open developed plots, 'skeletal' housing
with the necessary foundation, plinth and roof to form a stable structure is provided. The rent
for open developed plots is about Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 per month, whereas for skeletal housing it is
about Rs. 8 per month. For non-family workers hostel or dormitory accommodation is built. A
few other modifications such as extension in the period of repayment of loan, increase in the
ceilings of standard costs to fit in with the rise in prices of building materials and labour,
liberalisation of allotment rules and provision of developed sites to employers and cooperatives
have been introduced. Recently employers have been granted a concession in income-tax in the
shape of an initial depreciation allowance of 20 per cent on the cost of construction of new
houses for their low-paid employees, in addition to exemption for three years from payment of
income tax on the rental value of small houses. Despite the steps which have been taken to
make the industrial housing scheme more attractive to employers, much progress cannot be
achieved without the employers generally accepting the housing of a substantial portion of
workers as an essential obligation. It is necessary to remember that housing conditions for
industrial workers have continued to deteriorate and that without improvements in this
direction efforts to increase industrial efficiency and productivity will also be affected. The
problem is, therefore, one of working out arrangements for new industries as well as for the
established industries which might be feasible from the financial and other aspects and would
also result in an effective contribution towards the solution of the housing problem. For
instance, new establishments with a prescribed limit of paid-up capital (say, Rs. 20 lakhs or
more) could be placed tinder the obligation of constructing one-half of the housing required by
their labour over a period of perhaps 10 years. In the case of the older establishments, in any
 specific scheme that is worked out the contribution already made by an employer to provide
housing for their workers should be taken into account. In these industries also, over a period,
the aim might be to ensure that about 50 per cent of the housing required is made available
directly by the industries and the rest as part of the general scheme of housing development. To
the extent the employers are unable to construct directly the Government or the Housing
Boards may take up construction. In such cases, the employers could contribute towards the
cost of construction. These and other suggestions should be considered Jointly in consultation
with representatives of employers and workers with a view to evolving a satisfactory scheme.

2. State the provisions relevant to housing in DCR for any one metropolitan area in India and
critically evaluate them
CMDA has proposed a set of Development control rules for various categories of buildings In
general, , the entire Chennai Metropolitan Area is classified under three categories, namely,
i)Continuous building areas (CBA), ii)Chennai City, Municipal and Town Panchayat area and iii)
rest of CMA. For residential buildings, a fourth category has been introduced which is
Economically Weaker Section areas. The buildings are grouped under three categories, namely,
Ordinary buildings, Special buildings and Multi-storeyed buildings based on the height or
intensity of activity and the regulations proposed have been dealt separately for each of them.
Ordinary residential Buildings Ordinary residential / predominantly residential buildings are
buildings with floor area not exceeding 300 sq.m. and G+1 floor in height.
Special buildings (SB) As per the DCR , a residential building with more than six dwelling units
will be considered as a SB. There is no change in the other 2 possibilities, namely, a residential or
commercial building with more than 2 floors and commercial building exceeding a floor area of
300 M2. Special Buildings are now classified under three distinct categories namely, i)
Predominantly residential SB, ii) Residential buildings with more than six dwelling units up to
ground + one floor and iii) Predominantly commercial SB. The planning parameters for each
have been tabulated quite distinctly. The minimum required width of road on which the site
abuts or gains access is retained as 10 M with the exception that on a 9M road, building for a
residential use up to three storeys (G +2 floors) is permissible. This is a major concession which
would facilitate increase in density in most residential layouts having 9M road width. A notable
inclusion is that if the plot has an extent of more than 1100 M2, (nearly 5 grounds) then Special
building of residential use will be permitted on roads having 9 M wide. The rationale behind this
move cannot be appreciated, as this is likely to pave the way for taller buildings in such areas
and alter their character. It is observed that the requirements for the minimum plot extent,
minimum plot frontage and the maximum permissible height of buildings are the same as that
of the ordinary buildings. The rationale behind adopting the same provisions for the ordinary
and special buildings is not understandable. If the Special buildings are ‘Special’ because of the
density or intensity of activity, should these norms be not different? Is it practical to have a four-
storeyed building in a plot of size 90- 100 sqM with the prescribed set backs? Is it possible to
have a plot width of 6M and still construct a special building when the minimum required side
set back is 3.5M? Floor space index (FSI) The FSI for all categories of special buildings in the
entire CMA is retained as 1.5. However, the following structures necessary for the principal use
subject to a maximum of 10 % of the total floor area are to be excluded from the FSI
computation: a) An office room not exceeding 15 sqM for co-operative housing society or
association of apartment owners. b) Servant’s room bath room and water closet not exceeding
20 sqM at ground floor or stilt floor. c) Gymnasium of 150 sqM. d) Areas covered by service
areas such as air conditioned plant room, electrical room generator room etc., In addition the
area of balcony to an extent of 5% of each dwelling unit area, lift wells in all floors, staircase and
lift rooms in stilt floor and area of one room in ground floor for separate letter boxes are
excluded from FSI calculations. With the concessions offered, the FSI can be close to 1.75 which
will be welcomed by the developers. For plots in MRTS influence area the FSI has been increased
to 2.0 Since MRTS traverses mostly along the Buckingham Canal, one wonders whether this
influence area is capable of meeting the other infrastructure requirements such as water supply,
drainage and sewerage and road network to the railway stations. However this increase may be
a boon as it can be capitalised in bigger plots which are beyond 100 M from Buckingham Canal
as CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) restrictions are likely to operate for 100M on either side of
canal. With 50 % plot coverage, it is possible to achieve FSI of 2.0. The maximum height of
special buildings is stipulated as one and half times the width of abutting road or 15.25 M which
ever is less. Multistoreyed buildings Any building that exceeds four dwelling floor is classfied as
multi storey building. Set back spaces The setback spaces have been defined separately for each
type of special buildings. The front setback is governed by the width of the abutting road as in
the case of present rules. In the case of side setbacks, the present system of relating the side set
back to the height of the building has been dispensed with. For residential buildings with more
than 2 floors and commercial building exceeding 300 sqM in CBA no side back is required. For
other areas in CMA the set back required is only 3.5 M. This drastic revision is likely to reduce
the spaces between adjoining buildings thus depriving the residents and the neighbours of the
required light, ventilation and privacy. For residential buildings with more than six dwelling units
up to G+ 1 floor, no side set back is required if they are proposed in CBA. If they are proposed in
other areas in CMA, the set back is dependent on the width of the plot and the same varies from
1 M to 1.5 M only. It is seen that they are no different from the ordinary buildings. The rear set
back is longer related to the depth of the property and in the case of residential special buildings
in CBA no rear setback is required and for other areas in CMA a minimum of 1.5 M as in the case
of ordinary buildings alone is sufficient. As per the present DCR, for apartment buildings, the
rear setback varies from 1.5 M to 4.5 M depending on the depth of the plot. The rationale
behind reducing the rear setback to a uniform 1.5 M is not understandable, particularly with
cantilevered balconies of 1.2 M width being permitted in all setbacks including the rear set back.
The light, ventilation, privacy and security would be drastically affected and the fire safety in
apartment buildings would become a question mark. Even though this move may be welcomed
by developers or owners of small plots, CMDA must review this provision in the larger interest
of urban development. For commercial special building the rear setback has been stipulated as
3.5 M. It is to be noted that except for the staircases and lumber rooms etc., which are
permitted in the rear set back in the ordinary buildings, all other provisions are the same for
ordinary building and special buildings of residential use.