Legal Right to Housing in India

"The fact that housing is a basic human need is rarely questioned. In recent times, it has found its place in the pantheon of basic rights. In India, however, it is difficult to discern what the legal standing of the right to housing is. Laws that are used to routinely de-house people co-exist with progressive 'right to shelter' jurisprudence from courts. From time to time, a need is felt to enact a legislation guaranteeing the right in order to settle its position in the law, and draft statutes abound. This book, on constructing a legal right to housing in India, seeks to achieve three ends: first, to examine the costs incurred in translating a moral right into the language of the law; second, to unpack the ways in which existing laws and policies impact the realisation of the right to housing and situate any attempt to legally guarantee the right within this context; and finally, to begin thinking through the many complexities that will arise should the right be articulated within the law. A comprehensive chronology of central housing law and policy provides the descriptive background for this analytical text, while also acting as a rich introductory resource on the subject. Asserting a need as a right and then seeking legislative recognition"--