Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

The area, Shela, located off Ahmedabad on the way to Sanand, is now filled with "multi-storey buildings," which was not what the Modi scheme, called Prime Minister Awas Yojna (Urban), had envisioned. The area has what are called 3 and 4 bedroom luxurious apartments, whatever that may mean.

"One of my acquaintances, who lived in a dilapidated housing society built decades ago, sold his house for ₹40 lakh, added more than ₹30 lakh, and bought a flat in Shela," he told me. "The flat is 80 square meters in area, but after deducting 40% for super built-up space, it has three bedrooms. Compared to the floor space index (FSI) of 1.5 for affordable housing, the apartments being built here have an FSI of 4.0." The consultant I quoted emphasized that affordable housing should cost a maximum of ₹40 lakh.

Meanwhile, in another reaction to my piece, Mansee Bal Bhargava, a town planning consultant, remarked that affordable housing has already become a thing of the past. She pointed out that the entire Dharavi slum area in Mumbai, the largest in Asia, has been "handed over to the Ambanis."

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DigiLocker's 'mismatch' problem: When technology defies government policy

DigiLocker has been functioning in rather strange ways, at least in my experience over the past year. For quite some time now, I have been trying to retrieve various documents from the Government of India's official app, but every attempt ends with an inexplicable "mismatch" error. I even lodged a complaint through its official email ID, explaining that I was unable to retrieve or download essential documents such as my PAN card , driving licence, and the registration certificates of my car and scooter. The response has remained the same: the system refuses access on the grounds of a so-called mismatch.

Caste, class, and Patidar agitation: Veteran academic 'unearths' Gujarat’s social history

Recently, I was talking with a veteran Gujarat-based academic who is the author of several books, including "Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature", "Untouchability in Rural India", "Public Health and Urban Development: The Study of Surat Plague", and "Dalit Identity and Politics", apart from many erudite articles and papers in research and popular journals.

'Rethink' Kalpasar, 'end civil engineering mindset' in Gujarat's water strategy

Prof. Vidyut Joshi, a prominent sociologist and one of the leading protagonists of the mega Narmada dam project, has raised critical questions regarding the viability of Gujarat’s ambitious Kalpasar project. Writing in the Gujarati daily Sandesh under the headline "Let us consider alternatives scientifically for the Kalpasar project," Joshi argues that rather than remaining trapped in a "civil engineering mindset" focused solely on constructing massive dams, the state must pivot to modern, sustainable, and technologically viable alternatives to quench the thirst of the arid Saurashtra region.

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