India’s Problem of Slow, Messy and Hidden Urbanisation
The process of slow, messy and partly hidden urbanisation has been a concern for India and neighbours for several years. This is evident from serious problems of livability and congestion that makes the cities unattractive for rural migrants. The World Bank report on urbanisation in South Asia reports that whatever benefits urban agglomerations could have offered in terms of economic advance are getting diluted.
The report tries to provide some solutions to problems faced by the country over messy urbanisation. Money for infrastructure comes out as a main factor for developing a better future. The report taking in account the recent growth trends provides that during the period 2010–2050, urban population in India is expected to increase by approximately 497 million. Therefore, nearly $600 billion (at 2004 prices) will be required just to get an access to adequate water, sanitation and roads.
At current exchange rates, it is estimated that about `40 lakh crore for 40 years or about Rs 1 lakh crore per year will be required. This does not include housing, electricity, transportation, education or health, to name a few essential requirements for a decent life. The costs are expected to double, if above requirements are included. As per recent trends, local bodies will be responsible for raising at least a third of this amount.
The World Bank debates in this report that ‘urbanisation leads to concentration of economic activity, improves productivity and spurs job creation, specifically in manufacturing and services’. This has the ‘potential to transform economies to join the ranks of richer nations in both prosperity and livability’, it says.
As per the World Bank data not incorporated in this report, more than 54 per cent of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, creating 80 per cent of global GDP, consuming two-thirds of global energy and accounting for 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Almost billion urban people are poor and deprived of decent housing and basic services.
This report delves with some exciting perceptions on the growth of Indian cities. The main being that the pace at which the physical space of cities is increasing is outpacing the rate at which the population has been increasing. Satellite analysis of night lights reveals this ‘messy’ nature of sub-continental urbanisation, with an observed growth rate in urban areas of more than 5 per cent per year in contrast to population growth of under 2.5 per cent per year, which means low-density sprawls at the peripheries. As per the night lights data, multi-city agglomerations of two or more 100,000+ cities went to 45 in 2010 from 37 in 1999 in India.
The ‘hidden’ nature of Indian urbanisation has come to fore while scrutinising Census 2011 data. Between 2001 and 2011, the country has seen an increase in the number of census towns from 1,362 to 3,894 because of reclassification, resulting in approximately 30 per cent urban population increase. In contrast, majority of these towns are still considered as rural for all other purposes.
After many years of uncertainty to the issue of urbanisation, it is observed that it has been increasingly at a significant rate in India. It is evident by the importance these cities have seen in the distinct ‘worlds’ of government, business, think tanks, academia and civil society. Each of these ‘worlds’ comprises specialists in specific ‘fields’ within the urban sphere such as planning, environment, transport, housing, finance and health. The multiple ‘fields’ within these parallel ‘worlds’ act as storehouse and do not relate with the other ‘fields’ and ‘worlds’.