Students: For purposes of higher education or for getting coaching for preparations for competitive examinations for such education or for getting coaching for competitive examinations for services such as Union or State civil services, banking services, railway services etc. students move from their native place to the place where they get admission. In certain cases, particularly in the case of college admissions, hostel facilities are provided and they stay in the hostels. It is, however, observed that in many cases with the increase in demand for such courses, the number of seats have been increased without corresponding increase in the hostel facilities. This has created demand for housing suitable for these students. Their number is increasing by the day.

Currently, this demand is being met by the owners of the houses in the vicinity of such colleges or coaching centres, which is also suitable to the students as they save on time and travel expenses. These house owners usually spares one or two rooms in their own house itself and accommodate students therein. In this manner, house owners also get some additional income. In some cases, a complete housing unit has been constructed or re-designed to meet this requirement.

However, there is no planned exercise to meet this requirement. There is totally unplanned and haphazard growth of dwelling units in certain areas where the demand is high leading to increase in congestion and demand for high rentals.

Patients/ their attendants /hospital staff : Patients load in hospitals of the country is increasing despite increase in the number of hospitals. Many a time it is also not possible to provide bed to the patient and therefore he is to be treated as out-door patient. In some of the illness, his daily presence in the hospital is required for treatment, but his stay in the hospital is not required for the whole day. Many times patients visits from far off places and it is not possible for them to visit daily from their native place and therefore they have to find place to stay near to the hospital.

Many a times hospitals do not have facilities for the attendant/s or some time the facility is available only for one attendant and the patient is accompanied by more than one attendant. They, therefore, also require temporary residential facilities near to the hospitals.

Many hospitals do have provision for housing doctors, nurses and other health workers within the compound of the hospital. However with the increase in patient load, there is increase in the strength of doctors, nurses and other health workers but there is no corresponding increase in the area of hospital to accommodate more health workers within the hospital compound. it is observed that the same has become highly inadequate.

Many a time we come across the patients or their attendants squattered in the corridors of the hospitals or in the open outside the hospitals or on roads near such hospitals. People living in the vicinity of the hospitals have also now started providing accommodation on temporary basis by sparing one or two rooms within their house.

Doctors /nurses /hospital staff also is always in search of accommodation in the vicinity of the hospital to save on time and expenses. Currently, they also take on lease available units within the vicinity normally at very high rent. One may come across number of hospital/nursing staff getting accommodated in one or two rooms to save on cost. At some places, owners have constructed/ tied up with the hospitals to provide such accommodation for their staff. Here again, there is no consideration for this additional requirement. As a result, we find lot of congestion and over crowding near to the hospitals.

Construction workers: We find gatherings of construction workers such as mansion, carpenter, painter, electricians, plumbers, labourer etc. at prominent market places or on chowk in every city in the country daily in the morning. They appear in large numbers at the fixed sites every day morning for work and disperse by noon or so. Either they get the work or remain unemployed for the day.

They are sort of migratory labour who come for work to the cities with or without their families. They stay with their acquaintances who might have come earlier and acquired some sort of accommodation on rent or spent their night on foot path or in shelter homes or near to the temples or at railway station or bus stand etc. At times, in the absence of work they have to go without food. Many a times and in the absence of work they resort to petty crimes.

They are daily wage earners. They come to cities during the period they do not have work at their native places. Many a time some member of the family come to cities to support their families who normally stays behind at the native place. They need temporary accommodation. Shelter homes are the best option for them. However, the same are either not available or if available are not adequate.

Domestic Helps : Domestic helps such as maids, car cleaners, watchman or security guards, electricians, plumbers, sanitary workers, washerman stays near to each pockets in the city. Normally they stay with their families where both husband and wife work in the neighbourhood. They stay in Kacchi Colonies near to their place of work or public park or in the street with in the cities. We do not find any provision for them even in planned colonies.

They also constitute a large group in cities and need low cost accommodation on permanent or temporary basis near to their place of work.

Single Working women/Men : Many young educated persons in search of employment or on getting employment come to cities. Normally they come alone and need single accommodation. Similarly many a times on transfer people come to other cities but for some reason do not wish to transfer their families.

Their numbers are also increasing by the day. At some places we find there are working women’s/men’s hostels. However, their number is highly inadequate. They are in need for single room accommodations with facilities of breakfast, dinner etc. They can afford to pay slightly higher rentals and form a different class.

Industrial workers : Large work force is also employed in our industries be it small or large industries. These industries are scattered all over the cities. The workers travel from one corner of the city to the other to reach their place of work. There is no provision for their housing nor the industry owner can afford to provide them housing near to the place of work or even within the city.

The position in the planned industrial areas are not different. Either there is no provision for housing for such industrial workers or where some provisions have been made the same is highly inadequate. Consequently, many a time workers are forced to stay within the factory premises with no facilities whatsoever and expose themselves to various kinds of risk. Hence, there is need for adequate housing at subsidized rates near to the location of industries/ industrial estates.

Old aged citizens : With the increase in life expectancy and the compulsions for the children to move away from the parents due to their occupation, the number of old aged persons is increasing in the country. They need to be taken care of for their social needs as also for the medical emergencies. The house which they may have constructed and in which they were staying earlier is becoming unsuitable to them. They find it difficult to maintain them. Some time they do not feel secure and find themselves vulnerable. They, therefore, are looking for some place where they can socialize themselves and where they can be taken care of in case of medical emergencies.

Old age home offers some sort of solution to their problems. However, number of such homes are very less in the country. Group Housing Requirement

In all the above cases, what we may find is that they need some sort of temporary and group accommodation. Such accommodation depending upon the requirements may be (i) shelter homes say for construction workers or migratory labour (ii) single rooms for hospital staff, students, working men /woman (iii) EWS/LIG type of housing say for industrial workers, domestic help etc. or (iv) community accommodation say for old age persons where all amenities as required by them can be provided.