INDIAN CITIES AND CHALLENGES
1. Context
October 31 is observed every year as World Cities Day. The world’s urban population has reached an estimated 4.7 billion, or 57.5% of the world’s total population, with projections to double by 2050. The theme for this year’s World Cities Day is ‘Youth Climate Changemakers: Catalysing Local Action for Urban Sustainability’.
2. Challenges faced by Cities
The United Nations highlights that cities are encountering unprecedented challenges, particularly due to climate change. Although progress has been achieved in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), urban areas continue to grapple with issues like poverty, inequality, and environmental decline. In the Global South, these difficulties are exacerbated by swift urbanization, insufficient infrastructure, and scarce resources. As a result, cities in this region frequently experience shortages in housing, limited access to clean water and sanitation, and heightened susceptibility to climate-related disasters
3. Indian Urbanisation
India's path of urbanization is distinct from that of cities in the Global North. In Western nations, urbanization occurred alongside industrialization, creating jobs that absorbed the rural workforce. Additionally, their urban growth was supported by significant economic transfers from their colonies. Economist Utsa Patnaik has pointed out that India contributed more than $45 trillion to the British economy during the colonial period. In contrast, India's urbanization is primarily driven by economic hardship, leading to what is termed "poverty-driven urbanization," which includes both rural-to-urban and urban-to-urban migration. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the pressures on urban planning, as reverse migration trends exposed deficiencies in infrastructure
4. What are the Urban Challenges in India?
- In the absence of a 2021 Census, India lacks accurate data on its urban population. Estimates from the World Bank indicate that approximately 40% of India’s population resides in urban areas across around 9,000 statutory and census towns. Indian cities face significant challenges, including poor spatial planning, climate change, high levels of migration, increasing inequality and social segregation, and governance issues.
- Urban planning agencies have encountered difficulties due to two primary factors. First, spatial and temporal plans are often outdated and do not keep pace with population growth. Since the 1980s, deindustrialization has resulted in job losses in cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi, Surat, and Mumbai, leading many displaced workers to migrate to peri-urban areas where they live in overcrowded conditions.
- Currently, about 40% of India’s urban population lives in slums. Second, planning efforts frequently prioritize capital growth over the needs of the community, which diminishes local ownership and involvement in the planning process.
- This has contributed to widening inequality, with upscale developments catering to the affluent while millions lack access to basic housing.
- Climate change also poses a significant threat to Indian cities, which are grappling with severe pollution and are increasingly vulnerable to urban flooding and the “heat island effect.” Notably, eight of the ten most polluted cities in India are located in the National Capital Region (NCR) surrounding Delhi.
- Despite the provisions of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, many Indian cities are still governed by undemocratic bodies. Although cities have elected representatives, they rarely have authority over urban planning, which is frequently delegated to parastatals and private organizations.
- For instance, fewer than three of the 18 functions listed in the 12th Schedule have been fully transferred to urban governments, and cities receive only 0.5% of the GDP in intergovernmental transfers.
- As we mark World Cities Day, these challenges underscore the urgent need for comprehensive national interventions
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Previous Year Questions
1.Discuss the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanisation in India. (UPSC CSE 2013)
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Source: The Hindu
