MHFC Customer Profiles

Bhairav Township, Jaipur

Feb 2013

The Government of Rajasthan has initiated several affordable housing projects
under the the guidelines of the 2009 Affordable Housing Policy, following the
PPP model for construction of homes for economically weaker and lower income
sections of society.

One of the big challenges we face is making housing finance available to

individual customers purchasing homes in these projects. I greatly appreciate
Micro Housing Finance Corporation Limiteds initiative in providing housing loans
to EWS and LIG customers.

I look forward to their continued support in financing customers in several of our

affordable housing projects, and wish them success in their mission to provide
housing finance to the needy and financially excluded.

Shri G S Sandhu
Additional Chief Secretary
Urban Development & Housing
Government of Rajasthan
bhairav township
affordable housing
In December 2009, the Government of Rajasthan introduced an Affordable Housing
Policy to encourage the construction of low cost housing, and reduce the housing
deficit for low income families (defined as LIG or EWS families) living in urban areas in
Rajasthan.

The Policy outlined five different models through which different actors within the
affordable housing space, including private developers, the State Housing Board, the
Jaipur Development Authority, and a nodal agency (Avas Vikas), could work together
to fulfil the Policys objectives.

Bhairav Township is a successful example of the 2009 Affordable Housing Policy in

practice. Following the scheme highlighted in Model No. 2* of the Policy (private
developers constructing affordable housing on land owned by them), the developers
(Bhairav Township Pvt. Ltd.) constructed 1 BHK homes for EWS and LIG families in
Ramla ka Bas, Jaipur, under the supervision of the Jaipur Development Authority.
Project marketing, invitations for applications and booking of flats was undertaken by
the nodal agency, Avas Vikas, while provision of peripheral project infrastructure and
financing was undertaken by the Jaipur Development Authority.

Consequently, over 4,000 families among Jaipurs urban poor have been able to
purchase newly constructed homes for themselves at extremely affordable prices.
MHFC is one of the housing finance companies identified by the Jaipur Development
Authority to finance lower income families, particularly from the informal sector, that
have been allotted homes in this project, and require home loans to fully finance their
purchase.

The following photo essay tells the stories of some of the families that have been able
to buy homes in Bhairav Township, with the help of a mortgage from MHFC.

* further details regarding the schemes outlined in the Government of Rajasthans

Affordable Housing Policy can be found in the 2009 Affordable Housing Policy Report,
published by the Department of Urban Development, Housing and Local Self Government,
Government of Rajasthan.
As per the Government of Rajasthans
2009 Affordable Housing Policy, Bhairav
Township offers 1 BHK flats of 325 sq ft
and 500 sq ft for EWS and MIG customers
respectively.
The flats are priced at `2,40,000 for EWS
customers and `3,75,000 for LIG customers.
The project is located in Ramla ka Bas,
Jaipur, approximately 25 km outside of the
city and well connected by road.
Construction of buildings in Phase 1 of
the project is nearly complete; flats are
expected to be delivered to customers by
the middle of 2013.
bhairav township
ramla ka bas
jaipur
 babulal mulchandani
Babulal Mulchandanis scrap vending business occupies three consecutive garage
spaces along a dusty lane in Vidyadhadhar Nagar, Jaipur. A red, hand painted sign on
top of the middle garage door reads: Deepak Old Scrap ke Kreta Vikreta Babulals
dealership, named after his older son, Deepak.
Babulal started off as a scrap collector - going from door to door with a pull cart and
collecting scrap that he would finally sell to dealers. He soon realised that dealing in
scrap was far more lucrative than collecting it, and decided to open his own scrap
dealing enterprise, instead.
It has been 15 years since he started this business, which he now runs with Deepaks
help. They purchase approx `2,500 worth of scrap every day, mainly from local
feriwalas, but occasionally from customers who come directly to the garage to sell
their junk. The scrap is then sorted based on type, and sold on a weekly basis to the
appropriate purchaser (e.g., paper scrap to pulp mills, metal scrap to foundries, etc.).
On average, the business brings in approx `15,000 a month - enough to cover their
expenses, including the rent they pay for the garages as well as for their home, a single
room apartment located a few streets away.
With Deepak turning 20 this year, Babulal jokes about the difficulty of finding a girl
willing to marry the son of a scrap dealer but is proud of the business he has set up.
His 15 years of hard work has paid off; Babulal has finally been able to purchase a home
for his family in Bhairav Township, with the help of an MHFC loan.

Left: Babulal standing

outside his garages.

Facing: Babulal and his

family outside Deepak
Scrap Vikrete.

Not everyone
understands that even
waste can be valuable.

scrap dealer
Laxminarayan lives with his wife and 2 sons in a
rented single room apartment on the terrace of a
two storeyed house off Sikar Road. They share a
bathroom with the other 3 families living on the
same floor.

bamboo straightener
laxminarayan sharma
Tall stacks of bamboo line a small dirt track just off Sikar Road, which leads to Jai Shree
Enterprises bamboo processing unit, where Lakshminarayan Sharma is employed. The
unit is a large outdoor shed with no flooring, its roof and walls constructed with a mix of
kaccha materials like straw, thatch and bamboo.
A big, earthen chulha stands in the middle of the shed, where bamboos brought in by
agriculturalists from surrounding regions are reshaped, straightened out from their
naturally curved forms into linear rods that can be used for industrial purposes. The
bamboos are first subjected to high heat, until they become pliable enough to be
straightened out manually. Once straightened, they are finally polished and ready for sale.
As a supervisor of the unit, Laxminarayan earns a salary of `8,000 per month, just enough
to pay the rent on the 200 sq ft room he shares with his family, and the tuition bills for
his two young sons. Previously, Laxminarayan tried his hand at setting up his own stone
trading business, but it never took off, forcing him to sell his stock and shut down the
enterprise entirely. At the processing unit, his salary is modest, but is a steady source of
income that he can safely rely on to pay the bills, including his childrens education.
Hailing from a small village in Rajasthans Bhiwara district, Laxminarayan never had the
opportunity complete his schooling, and consequently had limited options to choose
from in order to earn a living. He is determined to ensure a better future for his children,
one that includes both a proper education, as well as a real home with decent living
conditions. He looks forward to finding the latter in his newly purchased flat in Bhairav
Township, bought with the help of an MHFC loan.

Right: A stack of bamboos

that have been processed
and are ready for sale.

Facing: Laxminarayan at
work, standing next to
the chulha and bamboo
straightening apparatus.
kishan chand gurnani
Lehar Electronics is a small extension of Kishan Gurnanis familys home in a quiet
residential neighbourhood in Shastri Nagar, Jaipur. Filled with a mix of various home
appliances, from radio sets to computers, the shop offers both servicing and repairs, as
well as sale of various domestic electric supplies like light bulbs, plugs, etc.
Kishan, however, spends most of his time away from the shop and on the field,
providing his services on demand. He has a few regular clients - mainly offices in the
Shastri Nagar area that require their coolers to be serviced every now and then - but
much of his business comes from local home visits to repair appliances such as mixers,
ovens and television sets.
Although it is convenient that his work is currently quite literally, behind his home,
Kishan and his wife, Rashmi, are two of the seventeen family members that share
the space that they live in. Allotted to his father under a Refugee Quota by the state
housing board, the house is shared by both his father and his uncles family - and so
Kishan decided that when he found both the resources and the right opportunity, he
would buy his family a home of their own.
When he heard about the flats on offer at Bhairav Township, Kishan realized that this
was his chance to buy a home for him and Rashmi. With decent savings and a steady
monthly income of approximately `20,000 in hand, Kishan could afford to buy the flat
with a help of a loan from MHFC. The couple have recently registered the flat under
Rashmis name, and are now looking forward to moving in to their new home.

Left: Lehar Electronics in

Shastri Nagar.

Facing: Kishan sitting at

the foyer of his electronics
shop.
 `
Kishans electronics shop brings in an average
income of `20,000 per month; generated in
part by servicing and repairs and in part by
sale of electronic supplies.

electrician
`
Vasudev earns approx `10,000 per month during peak
season, when Jaipur is most visited by tourists. In the
summer, when tourist traffic slows down, he sells berries.

cycle rickshaw driver

vasudev sindhi
Jaipurs Walled City is as much a labyrinth of chaos as it is a maze of delightfully
curious Rajasthani antiquity, or so Vasudev Sindhi likes to have tourists believe. He
convinces them to let him take them on a cycle rickshaw tour through the city, instead
of braving the commotion inside by themselves. His sales pitch usually works - and
ends up being a decent source of income for Vasudev, averaging approximately `8,000
to `10,000 per month.

Vasudevs rickshaw seats only 2 people, but he usually tours in a group of 2 or 3 other
rickshaws, frequently at the behest of a local guide. Given that Jaipur is a big tourist
destination, Vasudevs rickshaw business flourishes through most of the year, except
in the summer months when temperatures in Rajasthan begin to rise. During the off
season period, Vasudev sells an assortment of berries locally, in order to make up for
the drop in income from his cycle rickshaw business.

Currently living on rent with his family, Vasudev purchased a flat in Bhairav Township
to fulfil a longstanding dream of owning his own home. With the help of an MHFC
loan, he has been able to do just that, and is presently awaiting possession of his
new 1 BHK flat. In the mean while, Vasudev is in the process of figuring out how to
accomplish his next, more recent goal - purchasing a motor rickshaw. He claims,
however, that even if it does does come through, he will never completely give up his
faithful old cycle rickshaw, or the pleasure of showing off the marvels of the walled
city to any willing, trusting tourist.

Right & Facing: Vasudev

Sindhi and his cycle
rickshaw inside the Walled
City, Jaipur
rashid akhtar hussain
Hussain Medical and Provision Store is a small medical shop located on a mainly
residential street in the Bhatta Basti slum in Shastri Nagar, Jaipur. Named after its
owner, Rashid Akhtar Hussain, the shop sells medicines and medical supplies locally
in both retail as well as wholesale. A small room behind the shop serves as Rashids
go-down, stocked with supplies purchased directly from the distributors of various
pharmaceutical companies, and sold to small scale retailers whose orders are too small
to be considered by the distributors themselves.
It has been 5 years since Rashid set up his own business, after the pharmaceutical
company he previously worked for wound up their operations in Rajasthan. He
works hard from - 9 in the morning until 11 at night - but his long hours have
paid off; Rashids income has increased substantially over the years. He now earns
approximately `5,000 per month from retail sales and `20,000 per month from
wholesale transactions.
Rashid lives with his wife, Tuba Khatun, and their two young children, Kashif and
Sharin, in a small house in the same slum. He decided to purchase a flat in Bhairav
Township so that he would be able to move out of the slum and raise his children
in a proper home with improved living conditions. However, depsite earning steady
income, Rashid was worried that he would have trouble acquiring a mortgage to help
him finance the purchase, primarily because he both lived and worked in Bhatta Basti
- a recognized Jaipur slum. Fortunately, he was referred to MHFC for financing, and is
now a proud new owner of a 1 BHK flat in Bhairav Township, Jaipur.

Left: Hussain Medical &

Provision Store, selling
angrezi medicines at the
right prices.

Facing: Rashid outside his

medical store.
 Rashid and his wife, Tuba
Khatun, presently live with
their 2 children in a small
home in Bhatta Basti slum.
They hope to improve their
living conditions by moving
to their new home in Bhairav
Township.

medical shop owner

Abdul currently lives with his
wife and family in a joint family
system - sharing their living
space with 12 other family
members.

general store owner

abdul aziz khan
It is easy to miss Abdul Aziz Khan in his tiny grocery shop in Meerji Ka Bagh, hidden
behind the rows of colourful chips, chewing gum and shampoo packets hanging in
the front. The 150 sq ft shop is packed with a wide variety of grocery stock - ranging
from chips and buscuits, to cosmetic sachets, to packets of milk. Its customers are
mainly local, living in or around the Meerji Ka Bagh neighbourhood.
The grocery shop fetches Abdul an income of between `15,000 to `20,000 per
month. Apart from the purchase bills issued by his dairy supplier (Saras Dairy),
Abdul has no paper records of any of his transactions, particularly his sales, which
are entirely cash based. His cash box, emptied every night, is the only record of his
sales every day.
Abdul set up his kirana store over 15 years ago, after working for many years as a
delivery truck driver in and around Jaipur. The shop is located on the ground floor
of the three storeyed building in which he presently lives, with his parents, three
brothers and each of their families. The constant struggle for space resulting from
twelve family members sharing a single apartment, and the gradually deteriorating
living conditions in the Khan family home, are what pushed Abdul into looking for a
new place for just himself and his immediate kin.
Bhairav Townships 1 BHK apartments afforded Abdul the opportunity to buy a flat
for his family, improve their living conditions, and most importantly, own their own
home. Financed in part by his own savings and in part by a loan from MHFC, Abdul
is due to move in to the new flat by the end of this year.

Right: The ground floor

area outside the Khan
family residence.

Facing: Abdul inside his

grocery shop.
 dilipkumar lalwani
When Dilipkumar Lalwani was 10 years old, his father took apart a watch in front of
him, showed him its various pieces, and explained to him the mechanics behind the
art of watch repairing. It is no wonder, then, that nearly 40 years later, Dilipkumar
runs a watch shop of his own, selling various time pieces (including watches and
clocks), as well as repairing and servicing them.
However, it has only been a few months since Dilipkumar was able to open up his
own shop. Until very recently, he worked on a salaried basis for a well established
watch shop, Mayur Watch Company, primarily as their watch mechanic. With
adequate savings in hand, Dilipkumar thought it was time he started his own
business; he decided to take over the watch shop by renting it from its previous
owners, and has now started afresh with a new name, a new look for the shop and
fresh stock.
Dilipkumar and his family - his wife, Gayatri, and their two children, a son (age 21)
and a daughter (age 15) - lived on rent for a few years in an apartment in Vidyadhar
Nagar before moving in to his father in laws home, where they presently live.
Dilipkumar has long wanted to buy a home of his own for his family - so when he
heard about the affordably priced 1 BHK flats on offer at Bhairav Township, he leapt
at the opportunity. With the help of an MHFC loan, some savings, and the earnings
from his new business in hand, Dilipkumar hopes to fulfil his home-ownership
dreams, and move his family into their own flat by the end of this year.

Left & Facing: Dilipkumar

in his newly opened watch
shop.

My father was also a
watch mechanic. I started
learning how to repair
watches when I was 10
years old.

watch shop owner

 Ramprasad Sharma has run his own

`
marble statue making business for over
30 years in Kartarpura, Jaipur. Receiving
orders from across the country, he earns
approx `15,000 a month.

marble statue maker

ramprasad sharma
The lanes in and around the Kartarpura neighbourhood in Jaipur are coated with a
thick layer of white dust, generated by the many marble statue making workshops
located in the area. Among these is Ramprasad Sharmas family owned marble
statue making business, a 120 sq ft space with pale blue walls, opening out directly
on to a side street. Dozens of marble statues of different shapes, sizes and types,
and at various stages of completion, fill up most of the room, leaving just enough
space for Ramprasad and his tools to work with.
Ramprasad arrived in Jaipur from his home town in Bhilwara district 32 years ago,
and decided to set up a marble statue making workshop on the ground floor of his
new Kartarpura home. He started off creating smaller statues for locally sourced
orders; now his orders come in bulk, primarily from big retail shops in Jaipur and
frequently from other cities in India, as well. After passing on the craft of statue
making to two of his older sons (Ramprasad is a father of five), he now jointly runs
the workshop with them.
As his business grew over the years, Ramprasad was able to gradually build his
savings. With enough money in his account through a steady income from his
marble business, Ramprasad decided to purchase a flat in Bhairav Township when
the opportunity arose. Although he has a home of his own (shared by 8 family
members in a joint family system, with more on the way), Ramprasad feels that
the new flat will soon be put to good use - either as a home for him and his wife to
retire in, or a new place for one of his many children.

Right: Some examples of

Ramprasads marble statue
work.

Facing: Ramprasad busy

at work in his Kartarpura
workshop.
Micro Housing Finance Corporation Limited
# 3 Victoria Building, S. A. Brelvi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001
Phone: +91 22 2266 0130 / 0427
Email: contact@mhfcindia.com
www.mhfcindia.com