Disempowering the Urban Poor: Housing Rights and Basic Services for Squatters in Amritsar

By : Manjit Singh , Sandeep Kumar

Page No: 315-328

Abstract
The article examines the challenges faced by squatters in Punjab, including limited access to basic services, threats of demolition, and lack of property rights. The Punjab government’s Improvement and Clearance Act 1961 obstructs the provision of land and basic services to non-notified squatters, causing poor environmental conditions and preventing them from investing in shelter upgrading. Western elitists’ perspectives on the urban poor have shaped national and provincial legal systems, housing policies, and city planning. The present article calls for immediate government intervention to amplify the voices of the marginalised, describing the Punjab government’s approach as exclusionist and undemocratic, particularly regarding the refusal to grant property rights on land held by the government and local bodies.

Authors
Dr. Manjit Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India.
Dr. Sandeep Kumar, Assistant Professor, Guru Ramdas School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/NL.2025.57.03.4