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Economic Times
4 days ago
- General
- Economic Times
No roof, no rest for over 3 lakh people: Why Delhi still can't house its homeless
Despite years of state and central schemes, Delhi's homeless population remains dangerously underserved. Over 3 lakh people are estimated to be without permanent shelter, with many relying on footpaths and flyovers to survive. Experts cite deep flaws in implementation, manpower shortages, and a lack of long-term planning. Official surveys and testimonies reveal that shelters fall short by nearly 90% of need. Voices from the ground urge urgent policy reform, better housing plans and job creation to address the root causes of homelessness. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A city's count, a city's gap Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Life on the pavement Shelters that empty by morning Supreme Court steps in Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Gaps in policy and politics What locals see, what they want Under Delhi's bridges, on its pavements, and near its markets, thousands sleep in the open every night. They sell balloons and trinkets at crossings by day. By night, they huddle beneath tarpaulin sheets, battling hunger, dust, noise and weather, as reported by arrived in the capital hoping for work. They stay back after dreams collapse, left with no roof over their heads. Some are alone. Others are with families. All try to carve out a life on efforts like the Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) and the National Urban Livelihood Mission 's Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) promised change. Yet the numbers sleeping rough say otherwise.A major count conducted in August 2024 revealed that 1,56,369 people were sleeping on the streets between 11pm and 5.30am. The city's estimated homeless population is over 3,00,000, according to Dr Indu Prakash Singh, member of the State Level Shelter Monitoring Committee (SLSMC).'The current shelters are not enough,' said Dr Singh told TOI. 'Delhi has more shelters than many cities in the world. Govt also provides food and medicines at the shelters. But, there are not enough of them, and many people still sleep outside.'Dr Singh noted that despite a decade since the launch of the SUH scheme, shelter provision is still 90% below the requirement set by the Master Plan for Delhi city's footpaths double up as kitchens. Boundary grills become clotheslines. The underside of flyovers serve as bedrooms. Entire families survive this way—elderly people, disabled individuals, pregnant women and children alike.'Remove poverty, bring jobs everywhere, and homelessness will disappear,' said Dr Singh. 'The tragedy of this country is that the poor are persecuted and not supported. If poverty schemes truly worked, we wouldn't be here discussing this.'He added, 'Homelessness isn't the issue. The lack of work is. The real problem is a govt deficit — not of money, but of care and commitment.'Despite government funding and court directives, shelters often stand underused or overwhelmed. A senior Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) official explained, 'The court has assigned us responsibility, but the challenge remains. Many homeless people return to the streets despite food and shelter. Some families stay for decades, others never come. We rescue at least 40–50 people daily. They use the night shelters but leave by morning. We urge donors to give to shelters.... We've proposed skill-based programmes for employment.'He said the issue was not just infrastructure. 'The lack of manpower (at the shelters) is a big issue. The key is creating jobs in home states to reduce migration to Delhi.'In February 2025, during a hearing on urban homelessness, the Supreme Court posed a pointed question: should jobs take precedence over handouts?While recognising the urgency of shelter, the court asked for a balance in welfare policies. It challenged whether one-time benefits were sustainable, especially when structural gaps in employment and housing BJP, ahead of its election promises, had pledged to remove homelessness entirely if it formed the government. Yet realities on the ground suggest long-term plans remain to Dr Singh, DUSIB—primarily an engineering body—has been burdened with social responsibilities that should fall under welfare departments. 'Govt must come up with a holistic policy on this — at central and state levels,' he Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) also believes that short-term schemes aren't Kumar Aledia, executive director of CHD, said: 'The cityscape may be important, but addressing the problem of homelessness is also crucial.' He stressed the need for structured efforts: 'Long-term planning, like the five-year plans we had earlier. There were discussions about housing rights for the homeless then.... We need at least five years of dedicated effort, especially for housing policies. Marginalised sections can contribute to the Smart City projects too.'He added, 'Homeless people would have to be brought to the mainstream.'Suchita Kacker Meena, a Delhi resident, offered a citizen's perspective. 'Sustainable solutions to homelessness lie in building more shelters, creating job opportunities and ensuring effective implementation of rehabilitation programmes.'This sentiment is echoed in many neighbourhoods where the homeless have become part of the local landscape—visible but largely there are schemes, food vans, medicines, and occasional rescue drives, the core issue remains unaddressed—how does a city care for those it sees every day but rarely notices?With half the required shelters missing and few clear roadmaps ahead, Delhi's homeless continue to survive in fragments—half-visible in crowded streets and half-forgotten in public plans.(With inputs from TOI)
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
No roof, no rest for over 3 lakh people: Why Delhi still can't house its homeless
A city's count, a city's gap Live Events Life on the pavement Shelters that empty by morning Supreme Court steps in Gaps in policy and politics What locals see, what they want (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Under Delhi's bridges, on its pavements, and near its markets, thousands sleep in the open every night. They sell balloons and trinkets at crossings by day. By night, they huddle beneath tarpaulin sheets, battling hunger, dust, noise and weather, as reported by arrived in the capital hoping for work. They stay back after dreams collapse, left with no roof over their heads. Some are alone. Others are with families. All try to carve out a life on efforts like the Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) and the National Urban Livelihood Mission 's Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) promised change. Yet the numbers sleeping rough say otherwise.A major count conducted in August 2024 revealed that 1,56,369 people were sleeping on the streets between 11pm and 5.30am. The city's estimated homeless population is over 3,00,000, according to Dr Indu Prakash Singh, member of the State Level Shelter Monitoring Committee (SLSMC).'The current shelters are not enough,' said Dr Singh told TOI. 'Delhi has more shelters than many cities in the world. Govt also provides food and medicines at the shelters. But, there are not enough of them, and many people still sleep outside.'Dr Singh noted that despite a decade since the launch of the SUH scheme, shelter provision is still 90% below the requirement set by the Master Plan for Delhi city's footpaths double up as kitchens. Boundary grills become clotheslines. The underside of flyovers serve as bedrooms. Entire families survive this way—elderly people, disabled individuals, pregnant women and children alike.'Remove poverty, bring jobs everywhere, and homelessness will disappear,' said Dr Singh. 'The tragedy of this country is that the poor are persecuted and not supported. If poverty schemes truly worked, we wouldn't be here discussing this.'He added, 'Homelessness isn't the issue. The lack of work is. The real problem is a govt deficit — not of money, but of care and commitment.'Despite government funding and court directives, shelters often stand underused or overwhelmed. A senior Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) official explained, 'The court has assigned us responsibility, but the challenge remains. Many homeless people return to the streets despite food and shelter. Some families stay for decades, others never come. We rescue at least 40–50 people daily. They use the night shelters but leave by morning. We urge donors to give to shelters.... We've proposed skill-based programmes for employment.'He said the issue was not just infrastructure. 'The lack of manpower (at the shelters) is a big issue. The key is creating jobs in home states to reduce migration to Delhi.'In February 2025, during a hearing on urban homelessness, the Supreme Court posed a pointed question: should jobs take precedence over handouts?While recognising the urgency of shelter, the court asked for a balance in welfare policies. It challenged whether one-time benefits were sustainable, especially when structural gaps in employment and housing BJP, ahead of its election promises, had pledged to remove homelessness entirely if it formed the government. Yet realities on the ground suggest long-term plans remain to Dr Singh, DUSIB—primarily an engineering body—has been burdened with social responsibilities that should fall under welfare departments. 'Govt must come up with a holistic policy on this — at central and state levels,' he Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) also believes that short-term schemes aren't Kumar Aledia, executive director of CHD, said: 'The cityscape may be important, but addressing the problem of homelessness is also crucial.' He stressed the need for structured efforts: 'Long-term planning, like the five-year plans we had earlier. There were discussions about housing rights for the homeless then.... We need at least five years of dedicated effort, especially for housing policies. Marginalised sections can contribute to the Smart City projects too.'He added, 'Homeless people would have to be brought to the mainstream.'Suchita Kacker Meena, a Delhi resident, offered a citizen's perspective. 'Sustainable solutions to homelessness lie in building more shelters, creating job opportunities and ensuring effective implementation of rehabilitation programmes.'This sentiment is echoed in many neighbourhoods where the homeless have become part of the local landscape—visible but largely there are schemes, food vans, medicines, and occasional rescue drives, the core issue remains unaddressed—how does a city care for those it sees every day but rarely notices?With half the required shelters missing and few clear roadmaps ahead, Delhi's homeless continue to survive in fragments—half-visible in crowded streets and half-forgotten in public plans.(With inputs from TOI)
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Lakhs homeless in Delhi, little planning on their relief
New Delhi: Below the city's flyovers, across busy pavements and near markets, there are faces we pass by every day. They are Delhi's homeless hundreds — barefoot, faces streaked with dust, squatting on the hard ground under torn tarpaulin or selling their wares at traffic crossings. Among those who end up on the streets, many come to the city seeking a better life but end up on the pavement. There have been talks of schemes to make their lot better, such as the Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE). There are night shelters for the homeless, but thousands still sleep on the roadside, battling hunger, harsh weather and cold concrete. Dr Indu Prakash Singh, a member of the State Level Shelter Monitoring Committee (SLSMC), Delhi, in inputs for the UN-Habitat global report, has highlighted the scale of the issue. He cited a survey from Aug 2024. During this survey, 1,56,369 people were counted as sleeping on Delhi's streets between 11pm and 5.30am. The estimated homeless population in the city is over 3,00,000. Women, children, the elderly, the disabled, pregnant women, the mentally ill and those recovering from addiction or illnesses are the most vulnerable. "The current shelters are not enough," he said. "Delhi has more shelters than many cities in the world. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Govt also provides food and medicines at the shelters. But, there are not enough of them, and many people still sleep outside. The National Urban Livelihood Mission's Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) scheme, launched in 2013, was meant to change this. But even after 10 years, the challenge remains." Dr Singh added that the city's shelter capacity falls short by almost 90% of the requirement under the Master Plan for Delhi, 2021. The impact of the homeless on the city's landscape is visible. Suchita Kacker Meena, a Delhi resident, said: "Sustainable solutions to homelessness lie in building more shelters, creating job opportunities and ensuring effective implementation of rehabilitation programmes." For the homeless, boundary grills become clotheslines, footpaths become kitchens, and spaces under flyovers are makeshift homes. The homeless sell balloons, toys and trinkets on the road. A DUSIB official said: "The court has assigned us responsibility, but the challenge remains. Many homeless people return to the streets despite food and shelter. Some families stay for decades, others never come. We rescue at least 40–50 people daily. They use the night shelters but leave by morning. We urge donors to give to shelters.... We've proposed skill-based programmes for employment." He added that the "lack of manpower (at the shelters) is a big issue. The key is creating jobs in home states to reduce migration to Delhi." BJP had guaranteed removing homelessness if it formed a govt. In Feb 2025, while hearing a case on urban homelessness, Supreme Court questioned if offering jobs would be better than giving freebies. While it acknowledged the need for shelter for the homeless was a priority, it stressed the importance of a balance in welfare policies. Experts say the root of the issue is deeper — gaps in housing policies, long-term support and lack of inclusion. "Remove poverty, bring jobs everywhere, and homelessness will disappear," Dr Singh said. "The tragedy of this country is that the poor are persecuted and not supported. If poverty schemes truly worked, we wouldn't be here discussing this." He said that homelessness "isn't the issue. The lack of work is. The real problem is a govt deficit — not of money, but of care and commitment." Many times, the social welfare department puts all responsibility on DUSIB, he said. "but DUSIB is an engineering body, not a welfare body.... Govt must come up with a holistic policy on this — at central and state levels." Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director of the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), said: "The cityscape may be important, but addressing the problem of homelessness is also crucial." He added that the solution lay in "long-term planning, like the five-year plans we had earlier. There were discussions about housing rights for the homeless then.... We need at least five years of dedicated effort, especially for housing policies. Marginalised sections can contribute to the Smart City projects too." He added that homeless people would have to be "brought to the mainstream."
