The Modi government’s plan to develop 100 smart cities has stirred a debate on its strategy or lack of it on the fate of the existing cities in the country. Over the years, lack of infrastructure and unplanned growth have turned Indian cities into a real mess. While urbanisation has enhanced economic, social and political progress, it has resulted in socio-economic mismatch among people. Also, rapid growth of urban population has put enormous pressure on public utilities like housing, sanitation, transport, water and electricity besides pushing unemployment among rural immigrants. Urbanisation deserves immediate attention as by 2030, more than 50 per cent of India’s population is expected to live in urban areas.
Urban sprawl, the expansion of the cities in terms of population and geographical area (which is rapidly encroaching the precious agricultural land) has been one of the key problems which authorities failed to tackle. Continuous immigration from rural areas has consistently added to the size of the cities. This led to a situation where economic base of most cities is incapable of dealing with the problems created by the huge growth of urban population. Metro cities are clear examples urban sprawl due to large scale migration of people from the different states, seeking employment opportunities.
Unplanned growth has also resulted in overcrowding—a situation where too many people live in too little space. For instance, Mumbai has one-sixth of an acre open space per thousand people though four acre is considered normal. This kind of overcrowding leads to tremendous pressure on infrastructural facilities.
Overcrowding leads to shortage of houses in urban areas. Housing is a bigger issue in those cities where there is large influx of unemployed or underemployed immigrants who have no place to live in when they enter cities from villages. According to a recent study, 39 per cent of all married couples in India do not have an independent room for themselves. As many as 35 per cent urban families live in one-room houses. For about a third of urban Indian families, a house does not include a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet—and in many cases there is no power and water supply.
Overcrowded cities are a breeding ground for unemployment. It is estimated that about half of all educated urban unemployed are concentrated in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Though those living in cities earn more than those in the villages, their incomes are low in view of high cost of living in urban areas. Unless government streamlines the large-scale migration to cities, unemployment in cities will continue to rise.
Another consequence of unplanned growth of urban areas is the spread of slums. The rapid urbanisation in conjunction with industrialisation has resulted in undeterred growth of slums. A slew of reasons such as the large influx of rural migrants to the cities, the shortage of developed land for housing and high prices of land beyond the reach of urban poor contribute to the growth of slums which has been exerting huge pressure on civic amenities and infrastructure. Inadequate transportation facilities is another challenge faced by people living in cities. As cities grow, more people are required to travel to work or shop, leading to clogged roads and unending traffic jams.
Scarcity of drinking water is perhaps the biggest challenge thrown up by haphazard development of cities in India. In fact, no city in India gets sufficient water to meet the needs of city dwellers. In many cities, people get water from the municipal sources for less than half an hour every alternative day. In dry summer season, taps remain dry for days together.
This is addition to growing problems of lack of proper sewerage management, trash disposal and pollution besides surging crime rates in cities. It is high time the government figured out whether developing select smart cities or solving the litany of problems faced by people living in existing cities should be its priority.
Urban sprawl, the expansion of the cities in terms of population and geographical area (which is rapidly encroaching the precious agricultural land) has been one of the key problems which authorities failed to tackle. Continuous immigration from rural areas has consistently added to the size of the cities. This led to a situation where economic base of most cities is incapable of dealing with the problems created by the huge growth of urban population. Metro cities are clear examples urban sprawl due to large scale migration of people from the different states, seeking employment opportunities.
Unplanned growth has also resulted in overcrowding—a situation where too many people live in too little space. For instance, Mumbai has one-sixth of an acre open space per thousand people though four acre is considered normal. This kind of overcrowding leads to tremendous pressure on infrastructural facilities.
Overcrowding leads to shortage of houses in urban areas. Housing is a bigger issue in those cities where there is large influx of unemployed or underemployed immigrants who have no place to live in when they enter cities from villages. According to a recent study, 39 per cent of all married couples in India do not have an independent room for themselves. As many as 35 per cent urban families live in one-room houses. For about a third of urban Indian families, a house does not include a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet—and in many cases there is no power and water supply.
Overcrowded cities are a breeding ground for unemployment. It is estimated that about half of all educated urban unemployed are concentrated in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Though those living in cities earn more than those in the villages, their incomes are low in view of high cost of living in urban areas. Unless government streamlines the large-scale migration to cities, unemployment in cities will continue to rise.
Another consequence of unplanned growth of urban areas is the spread of slums. The rapid urbanisation in conjunction with industrialisation has resulted in undeterred growth of slums. A slew of reasons such as the large influx of rural migrants to the cities, the shortage of developed land for housing and high prices of land beyond the reach of urban poor contribute to the growth of slums which has been exerting huge pressure on civic amenities and infrastructure. Inadequate transportation facilities is another challenge faced by people living in cities. As cities grow, more people are required to travel to work or shop, leading to clogged roads and unending traffic jams.
Scarcity of drinking water is perhaps the biggest challenge thrown up by haphazard development of cities in India. In fact, no city in India gets sufficient water to meet the needs of city dwellers. In many cities, people get water from the municipal sources for less than half an hour every alternative day. In dry summer season, taps remain dry for days together.
This is addition to growing problems of lack of proper sewerage management, trash disposal and pollution besides surging crime rates in cities. It is high time the government figured out whether developing select smart cities or solving the litany of problems faced by people living in existing cities should be its priority.
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