| dc.description.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. | en_US |
