Working Paper: 354

Own House and Dalit: Selected Villages in Karnataka State

I Maruthi
Pesala Busenna

 

Abstract

A house is very important for rural and urban people. A house is a needy economic asset for human beings. It gives dignity and privacy to the families. In India 13 per cent of the people do not own a house. In Karnataka 26 per cent of the people do not own a house. The objectives of this study are i) to investigate the factors which determine the construction of a good house ii) to identify the factors which influence the non-preference for construction of a house in the village? and iii) to record the socio-economic conditions of Dalits in Karnataka. The study followed the multi-stage random sampling method. The total sample size was 1,800 SC (Dalit) households in Karnataka.

The main findings of the study are i) two villages have sufficient water resources and that is one of the main reasons for the construction of good houses and the economic status of these villages is also better than other villages ii) among the selected villages, in Srinivasa Saradgi village of Kalaburagi district the condition of Dalits’ houses is very pathetic. Due to lack of financial support the Dalits are unable to construct houses and ii) some of the Dalits are unable to sleep during nights in the rainy season because of water seepage.

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