Articles by Malay Kotal

Malay Kotal is an urban researcher working on issues of housing and migration. He is currently working as a research associate at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi.

Rental housing in India is predominantly an urban phenomenon. This is largely due to the concentration of large numbers of migrant population in urban clusters. It enables migrants to continuously shift places with changing job locations, manage their household finances, locate proximity to worksites, and remit more money back to their homes. The NCR of Delhi is one of those few urbanized states that have a higher percentage of households (28%) residing in rental accommodation, over and above the national urban average (27%).     Rental housing market in Delhi is characterized by co-existence of several sub-markets. Low-cost rental housing is mostly available…

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Pisavali is a densely populated, low income neighbourhood. Most residents of the low income settlement are working in the informal sector. Many of the temporary residents in the basti are migrants from states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal without a permanent home in the city. After the sudden declaration of a nationwide lockdown starting on the 24th of March, only a few of the migrants were able to go back to their native villages. The majority however was stranded in Pisavali.  Map of Pisavali. Source: Google Earth Life became difficult given the precarious nature of employment for residents…

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Pisavali is a densely populated, low income neighbourhood. Most residents of the low income settlement are working in the informal sector. Many of the temporary residents in the basti are migrants from states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal without a permanent home in the city. After the sudden declaration of a nationwide lockdown starting on the 24th of March, only a few of the migrants were able to go back to their native villages. The majority however was stranded in Pisavali.  Map of Pisavali. Source: Google Earth Life became difficult given the precarious nature of employment for residents…

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