Chennai
If quality of housing is an indicator of the finances of households, the middle class and the rich are on the rise in Tamil Nadu. And, going by the household details in the latest census data released on Tuesday, the number of poorest of the poor and the super rich is on the wane.
A comparative study of the 2001 and 2011 census figures shows that the percentage of households in the state with no exclusive bedroom has dropped from 11.1% to 8.4%. Similarly, single bedroom houses have reduced from 42.3% to 39.7%. Though five bedroom houses have also decreased marginally from 1.6% to 1.5%, in actual terms they have increased by 56,000 units. Those with six bedrooms and more have dropped from 1.8% to 0.9%, marking a fall of 86,000 units in actual numbers.
On the contrary, there has been a considerable increase of two bedroom and three bedroom households. While the two bedroom households has gone up by 3.7%, from 26.8% to 30.5%, those with three bedrooms have gone up by 1.8%, from 11.9% to 13.8%. Those with four bedrooms too have gone up marginally, from 4.6% to 5%.
Still, it is a matter of concern that Tamil Nadu’s share of households without a separate bedroom is more than double that of the national average of 3.9%. As regards houses with one bedroom too, the state average is slightly above the national average of 37.1%. In all other categories of houses – two bedrooms and upwards – which are indicators of upbeat finances, the state is below the national average by 0.7% to 2.5%.
But these figures do not always reflect the ground reality, because the addition in the middle class and upper middle class may partly be due to the migrant population. Also, these figures have to be seen in the light of a 31% decadal increase in the overall households, from 1.4 crore to 1.84 crore, in the state, said an official.
In actual terms, the households with no exclusive bedrooms has decreased by only 14,439 units over the past one decade, whereas those with one bedroom has gone up by 13.46 lakh units during the same period. In the two bedroom segment, there has been an addition of 18.46 lakh units in 10 years. The increase is 8.66 lakh units in the three bedroom segment. Still, overall, the parameters are positive, said the official.
“People who were in the low income group earlier are able to afford better houses of their choice with more space now owing to a hike in their income. On the other hand, there is a marginal decrease in big houses. This could be owing to a breakup of joint families,” said D K Srivastava, director, Madras School of Economics.
Source: The Times of India, Chennai
