Bengaluru housing schemes still fail to serve the urban poor

Bengaluru: In a city like Bengaluru, migrant labourers arrive in large numbers and play a crucial role in construction and keeping the city running. Yet, their housing needs remain a blind spot, rarely discussed or addressed by the authorities.

The issue surfaces mainly during encroachment drives, like the Kogilu clearance in December 2025. With State housing woefully inadequate and delayed, encroachments are inevitable, activists say.

Data provided by the Karnataka Housing Department indicates the same. The department provides housing to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Lower Income Groups (LIG) under two schemes — Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and the CM’s Multi-Storied Bengaluru Housing Scheme. Nearly a decade later, sanctioned houses remain fewer than the homeless population, and progress is below 30%.

Under the CM’s scheme, 45,124 houses were sanctioned, with only 7,890 completed and 34,054 under progress. Under PMAY (U), 34,898 were sanctioned, of which only 15,481 are complete. Overall, of 80,022 houses sanctioned since 2015, less than 30% have been completed.

“In a city like Bengaluru, where demand is so high, if projects take so long to complete, encroachments will only increase. The government has also not fully followed the guidelines of PMAY (U). There are many gaps in the process, and these need to be addressed to ensure the housing schemes have an impact on the ground,” said Narasimha Murthy, convenor, Slum Janandolana, Karnataka.

According to a survey conducted by the housing department in 2017, there are 98,487 homeless people in Bengaluru Urban district. This is a gross undercount, Murthy argued. “These figures do not reflect the ground reality. The survey counted only those living on the roadside. However, many people live in small tents and pay rent. They also need to be considered. Including them, the number of homeless may go up to 20 lakh in Bengaluru,” he said.

What makes the situation worse is that only around 80,000 houses were sanctioned in the last decade, while the survey itself estimated nearly one lakh homeless people, and the pace of completion remains very low.

Issac Amrutha Raj, state president of the Slum Janara Sangatane-Karnataka, said even the reported 23,000 completed houses may be inflated. “On the ground, we do not see so many completed houses or beneficiaries. These numbers appear to be an eyewash,” he said.

Further, although PMAY (U) mandates that a demand survey be conducted in 2025, the exercise has not yet been taken up, Murthy said.

Why the delay?

Senior officials from Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Limited (RGHCL), which implements both housing projects in Bengaluru, said delays are partly due to beneficiaries failing to make payments.

“With government grants, we can begin construction. However, to complete projects, we depend on contributions from beneficiaries. While many pay the initial amount, they often do not pay the remaining balance, which affects progress. Despite this, we have tried to use available funds to complete as many houses as possible,” a senior RGHCL official said.

Raj noted that policy changes have also affected uptake. “Earlier, combined state and central government grants covered nearly 90% of the cost. However, over the last decade, this has changed, and the burden on beneficiaries has increased to around 50%. This has made it expensive, and many are unable to pay,” he said.

Sources added that the cost of land acquisition and related legal issues have also affected project locations and contributed to delays.

Are the houses adequate?

DH visited a few of these housing complexes. While the houses had basic amenities and construction quality was satisfactory, location and access to public transport remain major concerns.

For instance, at a housing complex in Baiyappanahalli in Byatarayanapura, the approach road runs past sand and cement factories, making commuting difficult. The nearest bus stop is over 5 km away.

While the houses themselves are adequate, these projects are often poorly integrated into the cityscape.