Psychological and Social Impact of Slum Housing Rehabilitation

The major objective of the study was to analyze the impact of Government of India sponsored rehabilitation programme for poors. In the present study semi structured interview schedule was used to record the spontaneous reactions of three hundred and twenty respondents residing in squatter colonies and apartment complexes on various issues pertaining to their present housing conditions. The focus of interview was to understand the good and bad features of their present housing. The suggestions for improvement in their housing conditions were also noted down. Qualitative analysis was performed to analyze the results. The major results of content analysis revealed that a large majority of residents residing in squatter colonies reported the problems pertaining to unavailability of closed toilet, water logging in the rainy season and fear of dislocation, while major problems reported by respondents shifted in apartment complexes were related to substandard quality of construction which resulted in cracks, dampness on walls, insufficient space, chocking in pipelines, and financial burden of installments. Furthermore, with regard to good features the respondents of squatter colonies reported no financial burden, cohesive neighborhood and closeness to workplace. In contrast, respondents rehabilitated in the apartment complexes expressed happiness and stated that after rehabilitation from slum to apartment complex their fear of dislocation was permanently over, which was a big mental relief. The facilities of closed toilet and water supply were reported as additional good features. Various suggestions for improvement were given by the respondents. Finally, the results were explained with the framework of adaptation theory. Implications of the study were discussed.