The Available data on the housing in India suggests two glaring facts: A. there is a serious shortage of housing in the country, and b. the quality of housing stock is very poor. As per the Census of India 2001, rural areas account for about 65% housing shortage in the country. Of the 71% of the rural population in India, only 41% live in pucca (or permanent) houses. A survey carried out by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) suggests that three-fifths of the houses in rural areas are made of mud, thatch or other low quality material. even in urban areas, only about 57 percent houses are built of high quality material which is of a lasting nature. 19 out of every 100 structures in the rural areas and 11 in the urban areas were in bad condition and required major repair.

The poor quality of housing as well as the absence / nonenforcement of regulations regarding the land use and building permissions have increased the vulnerability of population to homelessness whenever a natural disaster strikes. In India, a large number of people have lost their homes in the recent earthquakes in biha r-Nepa l e a r thquake (1988), Uttarkashi (1991), latur (1993), Jabalpur (1997), Chamoli (1999), bhuj (2002), tsunami in South India (2004), Jammu & Kashmir (2005). Cyclones too have caused havoc, primarily in Orissa (1999) and Andhra Pradesh (1977, 1990, and 1996). However, the floods in the Indo- Gangetic-brahmaputra plains are an annual feature, and more than a million kutcha houses are destroyed each year.