Housing conditions among below poverty line households in the rural areas of the district of Palakkad

Abstract

The state of Kerala is well acclaimed for its density of population and it is reflected in the housing scenario of the state. Housing conditions among the rural population Below Poverty Line (hereafter BPL) households of Palakkad district are assessed in the study. House is the fundamental requirement for every household which affects the day-to-day activities of household members. The role ‘housing’ plays in the overall well-being of the household and the factors affecting the quality of rural housing are investigated in this study. The current study focuses on housing conditions of BPL households in rural areas of the district of Palakkad of the state of Kerala. Capability theory of Amarthya Sen is applied in this study as the theoretical frame work. Capability theory is an open-ended framework, and therefore named as “an approach” instead of “a theory”. It proposes that social arrangements should be primarily evaluated according to the extent of freedom people have to promote or achieve functioning they value. It offers capabilities as a tool for evaluating or comparing deprivations and advantages of individuals instead of resources and utility. ‘Capability’ refers to the set of valuable functioning that are feasible for a person to achieve. Thus, a person’s capability represents the effective freedom of an individual to choose between different functioning combinations. The capability approach is generally conceived as a flexible and multi-purpose framework, rather than a precise theory of well-being. The resources provide a possibility of a set of capabilities or opportunities. Individuals or households convert these resources into their valued functioning. The conversion factors represent the individual characteristics which affect the capabilities achieved. Here resources are not the indicators of how well the households are doing, but the outcomes in the form of the functioning they choose to achieve. Two models are used in this study based on capability theory. The first model deals with the effects of physical and financial condition of housing on well-being while the second model deals with the effect of quality of rural housing on ‘life’ satisfaction and ‘housing’ satisfaction. In Capability approach framework for well- being, the housing conditions and financial conditions of the household are conceptualized as a resource which in turn facilitates other five capabilities like health, education, material well-being, social interaction and personnel safety. These five capabilities are coined together under the umbrella term overall well-being. The model of the Effect of Quality of Rural Housing on Life Satisfaction and Housing Satisfaction, considers the quality of rural housing as the capability based on which the households achieve the functioning in the form of life satisfaction and housing satisfaction. The first objective of the present research work was to study the rural and urban housing conditions in India and Kerala based on secondary data in detail and found out that there exists a wide gap in housing between rural and urban households. The rural and urban differences in the housing and related facilities are significant and the characteristics examined included the house ownership status, the number of dwelling rooms, the availability of power, latrine facility, and safe drinking water as well as the materials used in building, the house, habitability and the type of cooking fuel. The rural households are deprived of electricity, latrine, safe drinking water, permanent materials for house construction, good condition houses and clean cooking fuel. These deprivations have ripple effects on the overall well-being of the household as well as the socio-economic and cultural development of the society. The second objective as per the objective set up of the study was to assess the physical conditions of housing and the financial conditions among BPL households in the Palakkad district based on the primary data. Analysis of primary data was carried out using the attributes for physical and financial conditions and well-being. Three taluks namely Alathur, Mannarkad, and Palakkad were selected from Palakkad district for the study. The study proved that the poor physical conditions of the rural households had significant association with gender, education and marital status of the head of the household. Household characteristics like total income of the household, community and type of family affected the physical conditions of housing. The financial condition of households explicated the similar trend. The gender, educational and marital status of the household head portrayed a significant relationship on the financial condition of the rural BPL household. Community of household exhibited significant link with the financial condition of household. There should be emphasis on policy circles in providing education and employment opportunities to the rural poor households alongside the interventions in housing. The Structural equation model applied in the study proved that Physical condition of the rural housing and financial conditions among BPL household had a positive effect on their overall well-being. Physical and financial conditions of the rural BPL households in the district of Palakkad, are important for predicting the overall well-being of the Rural BPL households. The third objective of the study focused on the factors affecting the quality of rural houses among the BPL households in the rural areas of the district of Palakkad. The characteristics like age, gender and marital status, and education of the head of the household as well as the characteristics like total income, community, type of family, assets and type of ration card in determining the housing quality were found to be significant. The Structural Equation Mediation Model applied in the study brought out a direct and positive effect on quality of rural houses and life satisfaction and indirect and positive effect of quality of rural houses and life satisfaction of BPL households via housing satisfaction. The study also found out that the physical and financial conditions of the rural BPL households in Palakkad, are important for predicting the overall well- being of the rural BPL households in Palakkad. Study indicates that the housing quality is a multifactorial problem and needs a personalised solution. Each household has its own unique hurdle to cross when they plan to build a house. The policy makers and programme implementers should consider the above factors affecting housing before initiating any new programme.