Homelessness is fast emerging as a urban centric curse having presence in all developed and developing nations/cities. Urbanization, poverty, social conflicts, social taboos and migration remain the propeller of such urban problem. Despite all efforts made, homelessness is fast emerging as the greatest challenge in the urban setting, in the domain of providing affordable shelter. Indian metropolises, housing larger proportion of such population, having enormous wealth, best of infrastructure and services are unable to provide basic shelter to them. Cities need to evolve and devolve to create options for appropriate shelter for such population and enabling / empowering them to become integral part of the society. Homelessness is not merely a physical problem and a curse ,but has larger economic, health, social and environmental connotations. Victims of homelessness need to be understood and appreciated in terms of the problems they face, causes which lead to making them to live on footpaths and the challenges of survival they encounter while being on the roads in day to day living. In the absence of any privacy and non-availability of basic amenities essential for human living, pavement dwellers are forced to do activities which are beyond the human dignity. Drugs, sexual abuse and crime remain the greatest challenge and threat posed by pavement living. They are treated more as criminals rather than part of the civic society. They are chased and hounded by both civic authorities and the law enforcing agencies, which make them run from place to place. In the absence of any identity, they become invisible, making them remain outside all the government run program/policies evolved and put in pace for the benefit of the poor. They have no access to assured living, food and employment. Being treated as Inhumans they need, care and support for making them lead a normal human life and become productive part of human society. Urban local bodies need to work with community based and voluntary organizations to map such invisible population, work with them to make them integral part of social network. Cities, society and human centric organizations need to innovate to find appropriate solutions to overcome this fast spreading problems

1. Homelessness-Shelter Associated problems of Footpath
Dwellers
 Jit Kumar Gupta; jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
Providing security, identity, safety and creating space for the family and individuals to interact and
socialize, have been recognized as the best dividends, provided and made available by the
shelter/home for the human living. In the absence of an appropriate shelter, human beings are
known to face numerous physical, social and environmental challenges. These challenges become
all the more pronounced for the persons living on the street without a roof. Homelessness has
emerged as one of the biggest social problems and challenge facing humanity, civil society,
communities, states, nations and the world in the twenty-first century.
Homelessness remains one of the major physical, social, environmental and economic threat,
issue and challenge for all nations, both developed and developing. Issue remains most pronounced
in the under-developed economies where poverty and employment invariably occupy the central
stage in the society. Statistics show that even in the most developed country, accounting for more
than 24% global GDP, on an average day human count living on the streets of USA has been
found to be of the order of about 1 million people. Number of human beings without shelter in
USA, appears to be quite on the higher side considering the economy and resources available.
Number of people living without a shelter has been found to be much higher in developing and
underdeveloped economies. As per 2011 census, India , as a nation, had 17.7 lakh people housed
on streets , living on pavements and residing under the road/rail bridges. This shows that
homelessness remains a major issue facing humanity and should not be taken casually. If
providing , ‘shelter for all’, remains the agenda for all welfare focused governments , then
pavement dwellers should command highest priority in getting shelter. Homelessness, remains a
serious issue and a social curse, adversely impacting human living, dignity, security, safety,
privacy, place in society, health and hygiene, which needs serious attention at all levels of
governance, for finding realistic solutions to house such people in appropriate and affordable
shelter.
Homeless/Pavement Dwellers;
Wikipedia defines Pavement dwelling, ‘As informal housing built on the footpaths/pavements of
city streets. The structures use the walls or fences which separate properties from the pavement
and street outside. Materials include cloth, corrugated iron, cardboard, wood, plastic, and
sometimes also bricks or cement’. Footpath/pavement dwellers have also been defined as the
persons who stay and live on footpaths/pavements, the space provided along the roads for
walking of the pedestrians without any permanent structure, A majority of the houseless in the
urban areas comprise and include footpath dwellers who are unable to secure any kind of shelter
to protect them against the vagaries of weather including rain and winter. They generally include
single women and children, who are made to bear the consequences arising out of non-availability
of shelter while living on footpath Homeless people have also been defined ,’As people who
don’t have a permanent dwelling /shelter. People who stay in homeless shelters during the night
are also known as homeless. Despite the fact issue has received considerable attention of print ,
TV and NGOs, but majority of people still remain ignorant and have no idea about the
numerous problems/challenges faced by homeless people, living on streets. It must be understood
and appreciated that homelessness is more than just a health risk; it slows countries’ development,

2. diminishes the quality of life and reduces incomes, makes human settlements inefficient and less
productive and promote poverty and anxiety.
Indian context;
Homelessness is a burning issue of the entire world, since in almost every country sizeable number
of homeless people are found .In case of India, Census 2011, has put the number of houseless
families living in the country at 4.5 lakh and number of human beings, living without any support
of roof cover, at 17.73 Lakh, accounting for 0.15% of country’s total population. Numbers
includes 2.7 lakh homeless children in the age 0-6. Highest number of homeless are found to be
living in the state of Uttar Pradesh followed by the state of Maharashtra. The Sex Ratio of
houseless population of India is placed at 694 females per 1000 males, whereas level of literacy in
houseless people was placed at 56.07%, which was comparatively much lower than national
average of 74.04%.( Census of India,2011)
The number of homeless have been found to be at variance during different census conducted in
India. Prevailing trends of homelessness were found to be in contradiction in urban India and
rural India. While trend of homelessness was on the rise in urban areas, numbers of homeless
recorded a decline in rural areas. During last 50 years(1961-2011), number of homeless people
recorded a decrease from 9.7 lakh to 8.34 lakh in rural areas, whereas homeless population
recorded about five- fold increase from 1.95 lakh to 9.38 lakh, during the same period. Highest
number of homeless people were recorded in the census count of 1981, when number of such
people was placed at 23.43 lakh, which was primarily due to massive immigration from East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh) due to Indo-Pak conflict. The number of homeless people recorded
were lower in subsequent period with their count placed at 17.73 lakh in the year 2011. Number
of homeless people showed a decline of 28 percent in rural areas , on the other hand homeless
people recorded an increase of 20 percent in urban areas, during the decade 2001-2011.
Large disparity was found to exist among different states and cities regarding homeless people.
In case of cities , it was observed that size of city remained positively co-related with number of
homeless. Top five metros of the country , housed urban India’s one -fourth(26%) homeless
population, (Kumuda, 2014), whereas 65.3 percent homeless population of India was found to
be concentrated in six states namely; Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Largest population of homeless was found in the most populated
state of Uttar Pradesh, where number of homeless recorded were 3,29,125. Minimum number of
homeless were found in the Andaman- Nicobar, where their number stood merely at 95. (Sumit
Kar- Pavement Dwellers of Kolkata: A Geographical Description)
Despite best of the efforts made by the, government of India and efforts made by large number
of community based organization, houselessness has eluded realistic solution and the number of
homeless people is on the rise.. Homelessness is not something which happens overnight. It has
been in existence in all the societies and countries in the past for decades . Majority of people
and parastatal agencies choose to ignore it even when they come face to face with such people.
The society usually believes that if someone is living on the street, he/she must be mentally
unstable. This belief is partially true; there are many mentally unstable people who can be found

3. on the streets but one can also find people on streets who suffer from no abnormality and are
perfectly normal as human beings. Major reasons causing homelessness include; domestic
violence which often forces people to move away from the house; divorce which breaks up a family
and one of the partners has to find a new place to stay which is not easily available; and mental
illnesses which makes him/her ultimately land on the street. Rising number of shelter-less people
is the outcome of people leaving their home due to poverty and unemployment
In a study/survey carried out in Mumbai for the homeless/pavement dwellers , it was observed
that many migrants came as victims of drought, famine, earthquakes, religious
persecution or riots. Others came as a result of a complete breakdown in their livelihoods where
they had been living. Migrants sleep on or near pavements often pay to keep their belongings in
shops, kiosks, or other buildings. Pavement dwellers migrate to Mumbai hoping to capitalize on
the wealth and job opportunities that the city offers. They remain typically forward-thinking,
seeking to build lives in the city that give the next generation better opportunities than would have
been possible in the village.
Problems faced by Homeless
Footpath dwellers and homeless people face numerous physical, social, environmental and health
related challenges/issues. The homeless people are in the worst living condition as they have to
stay under the flyovers, on the footpaths and do their daily activity without basic amenities. Three
major problems suffered by homeless persons include poverty, hunger and loneliness . These
people also face many problems in terms of identification, nutrition, health, sanitation, income
etc. They have limited access to education as they have limited money. In addition, other problems
and difficulties faced by the displaced people, on daily basis, can be enumerated under;
 Pollution; Access to clean air remains a basic human right. Air pollution is known
to kills millions and costs the world economy billions. tackling the problem is not
just a technological issue, but a social-economic and social-political challenge that
requires a new approach. World Health Organization (WHO) 2018 study indicates
that nine out of 10 world’s most polluted cities are located in India ,which include
all the big metropolises .Considering the adverse consequences, as per experts; air
pollution needs to be treated as a disaster, no less than a natural event than
earthquake and forest fire. Due to large concentration of homeless people in large
cities, community facing the biggest air pollution risk includes pavement dwellers
and homeless people in such cities. Accordingly, homeless / pavement dwellers
face the greatest health related challenge due to high degree of air pollution.
Exposure to dangerous pollution levels could lead to acute or chronic lung disease
which is recognized as the most common causes of death among this group of
citizens.
 Health; High incidence of disease prevailing among the homeless people is
considered the most adverse effect of homelessness. Since majority of people
remain undernourished, which makes them vulnerable to different types of life
threatening diseases. As per study made by IIT Delhi; People without homes have
limited access to health-care facilities in case of an emergency. Homeless have no
access to any sort of health services, even though 45% of the homeless live within
one km of a clinic/hospital, The problem is especially acute for

4. homeless women who have malnutrition and various other diseases, mental health
issues and risky pregnancies. Study also highlighted the health threat to an
estimated 46,000 or more people living and working on the streets of Delhi
 Security; Living without a home is both dangerous and insecure, as such people
can be made easy target by antisocial elements and can be subjected to violent
activities Since homeless people remain unsettled and without a permanent address,
they have to carry all their belongings and supplies everywhere they go.
 Toilets;Since these people are poor and located on streets, they have limited access
to bathrooms and are forced to use public spaces as toilets/space for bathing besides
living in unhygienic conditions which makes them vulnerable to life-threatening
diseases.
 Support; Homeless people and footpath dwellers, having no permanent place of
residence, invariably remain on move from one place to another; making difficult
for non-profit and government agencies to help or track them .
 Hostility; Homeless families/ people are often ill-treated by society, promoting
hostility and making them hostile. Lack of respect and hostility from society turn
them towards crime for respect and money.
 Unemployment; Families/individuals without homes stand little chance of
securing a good job. Accordingly, lack of gainful employment makes them indulge
in criminal activities like selling drugs, alcohol etc
 Sexual Abuse; In the absence of a secure and safe place, children and girls, of
homeless families and pavement dwellers remain most vulnerable ;become easy
targets of anti-social elements and are often subjected to physical and sexual abuse.
In addition, large number of women, driven out of home due to domestic violence,
living on streets also get subjected to sexual abuse and are often kidnapped or
forced into prostitution.
 Invisibility; Homeless and pavement dwellers find no space in the civil society and
remain invisible. The invisible population or the ghost people are considered illegal
encroachers and are charged against their illegal congestion by the urban
administrative authority and the elite class residents as well as the pedestrians.
Invisibility also leads to absence of any specific intervention for the urban homeless
by the parastatal agencies. Inadequate information about the homeless population
and its multi-dimensional socio-economic vulnerabilities is also a contributing
factor for their exclusion, as per findings made study made by the IIT, Delhi.
 Access to food; Homeless and pavement dwellers remain most vulnerable, so far
as access to food is concerned. Based on the Delhi study, it has been revealed
only 18% of the homeless could avail of ration through PDS benefits and for them,
especially the women and children, there always exists a barrier in securing a
healthy and nutritional diet. With no money and no documents to help them access
relief measures related to food, health, water, sanitation, shelter and livelihood, the
homeless have become the most vulnerable to the immediate impact and aftermath
of the COVID-19 crisis(IIT, Delhi).
 Privacy; Temporary nature of shelter having minimal/ perforated enclosure and
its location on the public street, invariably exposes the pavement dwellers to the
passersby and people in the neighborhood. This leads to lack of privacy for the

5. family, women and children. Lack of privacy, has been considered to be biggest
curse in the domain of human living adversely impacting human dignity.
Options for Empowering Homeless
Problem of housing homeless/pavement dwellers remains both complex and multi-dimensional.
Homelessness has been part of human history, growth and development. However, it has grown
rapidly over the years. Poverty, rapid migration, urbanization, industrialization, unemployment,
social issues/taboos and practices remain the force behind this problem. Homeless is not merely a
physical problem , it also has social and economic dimensions. Accordingly, solving the problem
of homeless would require a muti-dimensional approach . Various facets of homelessness need
detailed study and analysis before charting the agenda for its resolution. Besides generic reasons,
there remain regional and specific cultural reasons for the existence/spread of this human centric
problem. The first and foremost option would be to provide pavement dwellers/homeless a dignity
befitting the human living. They need to be provided with a shelter, where solutions for their other
problems could be generated and made operational. For empowering the homeless/ pavement
dwellers, support of parastatal agencies; actively involving civil society groups will remain
valuable to help tackle problem of homelessness. Following options would facilitate the process
of finding appropriate strategies; to address the issue of homelessness;
 Creating Shelters across the major cities; would remain critical for solving the
problem of homeless and for providing shelter on temporary basis to every
individual/family arriving in city without a shelter besides facilitating them to
source appropriate shelter and employment through consultation. In addition,
detailed survey needs to be carried out of homeless/pavement dwellers for the
existing homeless and working out detailed agenda for overcoming the curse of
homelessness in India.
 Making housing for homeless integral part of planning and development
process of human settlements; for ensuring that the invisible population also
find space in the planning process and issues related to them are appropriately
identified as part of planning and development strategies framed for the city.
 Making housing for homeless part of national program of housing for all;
by shifting the context of housing for homeless from National Livelihood
Mission to Prime Minister Awaas Yojna , both for urban and rural India, in
order to integrate homeless with main stream of housing program.
 Improving capacity of Urban/Rural local bodies; for identifying the homeless
and pavement dwellers at the local level and making available resources, both
technical and financial, to create options for providing shelter and employment
for them.
 Identification of pavement dwellers and provision of voter IDs and Aadhar
Cards: would remain critical to bring homeless into the social mainstream;
save them from harassments; help them availing benefits provided by
government; bring them under the Public Distribution System (PDS); help them
satisfy hunger / eradicate various unsocial and antisocial activities like begging,
stealing etc.

6.  Organizing regular health camp and setting up more toilets:- to maintain
health status and create health awareness through group counselling and
providing facility for use of public toilets.
 Rehabilitation: Creating dedicated markets across city, for hawkers/
pavement dwellers / and people coming from outside engaged in selling items
in markets, duly supported by providing appropriate shelter, as integral part of
the markets.
 Creating Way out to a permanent income: by skilling the homeless/pavement
dwellers in repairing; rendering household related services; setting up various
types of cottage industries; employment in construction sector in collaboration
, co-operation and guidance of local NGOs/CBOs.
 Adopting a three pronged strategy; involving short-term, mid-term and long-
term strategies for finding appropriate solutions for the homeless people. Short
term strategy should include; making provision of food; creating temporary
shelters, providing basic amenities of toilet/water/sanitation; providing
healthcare support; involving them in productive activities and appropriate
counselling. Medium term options should involve; looking at the options for
permanent housing providing psycho-social counselling support; focusing on
children, women and senior citizens; addressing livelihood issues; skilling the
identified beneficiaries; making provision for financial support to make them
self-reliant.
 Long term strategy shall be to enable and empower them; to find a permanent
shelter based on agenda defined in the various mission and Yojnas launched by
central/state and local level agencies; skilling them appropriately to make them
more productive and self-reliant
Recent Initiative for Homeless people
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM);
For taking care of the needs of the employment and shelter of homeless people, Government of
India has launched Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission
(DAY-NULM). Mission has been launched with focus on skilling poor; improving the
poverty level; enhancing standard of living of poor; providing self-employment; creating
wage opportunities; providing shelter for the homeless urban poor, addressing livelihood of
the street vendors, institutional credit, social security etc.
One of the mission objectives is to provide Shelter for Urban Homeless. Under this
objective, Government of India, with the help and support of state government ,aims at
providing shelter for all to urban homeless people. Scheme for providing shelter is divided
into creating two distinct types of shelters, which include; special shelters and general
shelters. Under Special Shelters, the scheme takes care of the special needs of shelter like
providing shelter to the older people, the mentally ill, recovering patients and their families
whereas General Shelters covers all kinds of shelters such as men shelters, women shelters
and family shelters. It is hoped that with effective implementation of the scheme, India shall
be better placed and empowered to tackle the emerging social, physical and environmental
challenges faced by the homeless people in the country. However, the issues remain local
and accordingly it will be important that urban local bodies ,operating at settlement level,

7. should be actively involved to take up the challenge of homeless/ footpath dwellers to ensure
that cities remain free from the social problem of homelessness. Shifting the shelter of
homeless from NuLM to the PMAY will help in promoting synergy in the domain of creating
affordable housing in all settlements.
 Based on the decision taken and mandate given by the Supreme Court of India to provide
shelter for the orphans and other downtrodden people in the state, Rajasthan government
started a special drive to ensure availability of shelter for the orphans and footpath dwellers
benefitting around 3340 persons,”
 Hyderabad has also launched dedicated program of intensifying efforts to make Hyderabad
free from homeless and pavement dwellers by creating appropriate shelter and opportunities
for gainful employment.
 Different states are also taking appropriate steps in resolving the issues facing the homeless/
pavement dwellers relate to shelter.
Despite all efforts made, homelessness is fast emerging as the greatest challenge in the urban
setting, in the domain of providing affordable shelter. Indian metropolises, housing larger
proportion of such population, having enormous wealth, best of infrastructure and services are
unable to provide basic shelter to them. Cities need to evolve and devolve to create options for
appropriate shelter for such population and enabling / empowering them to become integral part
of the society. Homelessness is not merely a physical problem and a curse ,but has larger
economic, health, social and environmental connotations. Victims of homelessness need to be
understood and appreciated in terms of the problems they face, causes which lead to making them
to live on footpaths and the challenges of survival they encounter while being on the roads in day
to day living. In the absence of any privacy and non-availability of basic amenities essential for
human living, pavement dwellers are forced to do activities which are beyond the human dignity.
Drugs, sexual abuse and crime remain the greatest challenge and threat posed by pavement living.
They are treated more as criminals rather than part of the civic society. They are chased and
hounded by both civic authorities and the law enforcing agencies, which make them run from
place to place. In the absence of any identity, they become invisible, making them remain outside
all the government run program/policies evolved and put in pace for the benefit of the poor. They
have no access to assured living, food and employment. Being treated as Inhumans they need,
care and support for making them lead a normal human life and become productive part of human
society. Urban local bodies need to work with community based and voluntary organizations to
map such invisible population, work with them to make them integral part of social network. Cities,
society and human centric organizations need to innovate to find appropriate solutions to
overcome this fast spreading problems
Author;
*Ar Jit Kumar Gupta
Founder Director, College of Architecture, IET Bhaddal
#344, Sector 40-A, Chandigarh-160036
Email -- jit.kumar1944@gmail.com,,Mob- 090410-26414