Urban Planning

Module-3
Chapter-7
Urbanization in India
Background;
At the time of India’s independence the population of undivided India in 1947 was approx 390
million. After partition, there were 330 million people in India,, 30 million in West Pakistan, and 30
million people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The nation was poverty stricken due to economic
exploitation of India during British regime.
The India was scattered into 11 British Provinces and 565 Princely states. The republic of India was
established
ablished with 14 linguistic states
states. Today (2020) we have 28 states.. Each state has a capital city
and further divided into district head quarters, and Taluka.
The priority of the visionary leaders of the country was to make India hunger
unger free and economically
independent. Several programmes es and schemes were implemented. Important plans were five years
planning, Establishment of national & regional important institutions & Laboratories, development
of agriculture
griculture and irrigation projec
projects,
ts, establishment of Heavy and Core Industries, improvements in
health facilities, Education, High ways etc, etc.
Due to the improvement in health conditions, birth rate, survival rate became better and death rate
declined. Longitivity in the life expectancy increased. The population increase rapidly. The decadal
variation was above 20% from 1961 onwards. ( ref: Table Below)

The second five year planning schemes initiated rapid industrialization, led to establishment of
variety of industries in and around major cities. This led to migration of population from rural areas
to urban areas.. To accommodate growing population new towns and extensions to the existing cities
were planned. New towns were planned for new Industrial cites, state capitals and other purposes.
Urban areas have been recognized as “engines of inclusive economic growth”. Of the 130 1 crore
Indians, 88 crore live in rural areas while 42 crore stay in urban areas, i.e approx 32 % of the
population. That is more than the population of India at the time of independence in 1947,
1947 now live
in urban areas.
Urbanization: Meaning & Definition:
• Urbanization is the process where an increasing percentage of a population lives in cities and
suburbs.
• This process is often linked to industrialization and modernization, as large numbers of people
leave farms to work and live in cities.
• Urbanization is also facilitated by improvements in surplus agriculture, as cities are always
dependent upon external farming for food Rural-urban migration continued to spread globally.
• Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities.
The census of India, 2011 defines urban settlement as:
All the places which have municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area
committee and all the other places which satisfy following criteria:

a. A minimum population of 5000 persons;

b. At least 75 % of male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits;
and
c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometre.

Urbanisation in India:
• Urbanisation in India was mainly caused after independence, due to adoption of mixed system of
economy by the country which gave rise to the development of private sector.
• Urbanisation is taking place at a faster rate in India. Population residing in urban areas in India,
according to 1901 census, was 11.4%.
• This count increased to 28.53% according to 2001 census, and crossing 30% as per 2011 census,
standing at 31.16%.According to a survey by UN State of the World Population report in 2007, by
2030, 40.76% of country's population is expected to reside in urban areas.

Causes of Urbanization in India:

The main causes of urbanisation in India are:
• Expansion in government services.
• Migration of people from Pakistan after partition of India.
• The Industrial Revolution.
• Eleventh five year plan that aimed at urbanisation for the economic development of India
*Economic opportunities are just one reason people move into cities.
• Infrastructure facilities in the urban areas.
• Growth of private sector after 1990.

Census classification of Indian Cities:

The first categories of urban units are known as statutory town. These towns are notified
under law by respective State/UT government and have local bodies like municipal
corporation, municipality, etc, irrespective of demographic characteristics. For example-
Vadodara (Municipal corporation), Shimla (Municipal corporation)

The second category of towns is known as Census Town. These were identified on the basis
of census 2001 data. Cities are urban areas with more than 100,000 population. Urban areas
below 100,000 are called towns in India.
Similarly Census of India defines:
Urban Agglomeration (UA): An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread
constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths (OGs), or two or more physically
contiguous towns together with or without outgrowths of such towns. An Urban
Agglomeration must consist of at least a statutory town and its total population (i.e. all the
constituents put together) should not be less than 20,000 as per the 2001 Census. In varying
local conditions, there were similar other combinations which have been treated as urban
agglomerations satisfying the basic condition of contiguity. Examples: Greater Mumbai UA,
Delhi UA, etc.
Out Growths (OG): An Out Growth (OG) is a viable unit such as a village or a hamlet or an
enumeration block made up of such village or hamlet and clearly identifiable in terms of its
boundaries and location. Some of the examples are railway colony, university campus, port
area, military camps, etc., which have come up near a statutory town outside its statutory
limits but within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town.

While determining the outgrowth of a town, it has been ensured that it possesses the urban
features in terms of infrastructure and amenities such as pucca roads, electricity, taps,
drainage system for disposal of waste water etc. educational institutions, post offices,
medical facilities, banks etc. and physically contiguous with the core town of the UA.
Examples: Central Railway Colony (OG), Triveni Nagar, (Prayagraj, near Allahabad), etc.
Each such town together with its outgrowth(s) is treated as an integrated urban area and is
designated as an ‘urban agglomeration’. Numbers of towns/UA/OG, according to Census
2011 Census are:
1 Statutory Towns — 4,041
2 Census Towns — 3,894
3 Urban Agglomerations — 475
4 Out Growths — 981

Census Classification of Towns & Cities :( 1981?)

Class of Range of Population No of Towns
Cities/Towns
Class I 100,000 and above 393
Class-II 50,000 to 99,999 401
Class-III 20,000 to 49,999 1151
Class-IV 10,000 to 19,999 1344
Class-V 5,000 to 9,999 888
Class-VI Below 5000 191
Total 4368
(Ref: National commission of Urbanization vol-1)
Growth, issues and management of Metropolitan cities;
Back ground:
Today, more than half of the world’s population (54%) lives in an urban setting and this figure is
expected to double by 2050, with nearly 90% of the increase occurring in Asia and Africa alone. The
rapid growth of urban population in Asian countries during the second half of the twentieth century
has ushered a scenario of urban explosion in this region.

India has been earmarked as a major supplier to the incremental urban populace, owing to both her
tremendous demographic pressure and her dynamics of urbanization. As compared to the other
developing nations of the World, India’s urban structure is remarkably ‘top-heavy’ in nature, since
more than 70% of her urbanites are residing in cities today.

The latest Indian Census of 2011 has revealed some crucial facts such as for the first time since
independence; the absolute urban population has grown more than its rural counterpart and is
slightly higher than expected. In absolute terms, no country in the world has ever encountered such
colossal urbanization, with the exception of China.

Furthermore, India is now in an escalating phase of urbanization and the pace will become even
more rapid in the times ahead. Secondly, the urban demographic growth rate, which fell in the
preceding two decades, has also risen in the last census. The major surprise has been, however, the
huge increase in the number of the Census Towns from 1362 to 3894, while the number of Statutory
Towns increased only marginally from 3799 to 4041. Simultaneously, the quantum jump in the
number of metro cities (cities with population greater than one million) during 2001–2011 to 52,
compared to there being just 35 in 2001, and which today house about 42.31% of the national urban
population is an unprecedented phenomena.

These 52 million plus cities are estimated to produce about one-third (32%) of the nation’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) though occupying only 0.2% of India’s land area. As a result, the regional
patterns of economy and urbanization are heavily influenced by these large cities, as they are India’s
engines of growth and its magnets, attracting people from the adjoining rural areas, small and
medium towns, and from comparatively regressive regions.

Prior to 1981, the focus on million plus cities (Metro city) was marginal as they were few in number
(12 in 1981), with their numbers growing slowly. In the wake of the 1990’s economic reforms, India
has, however, experienced a substantial growth in the number of million plus cities, which is now
four times greater than since 1980s. By and large, the growth of metro cities has escalated. It is
estimated that 19 new cities/UAs are poised to join in the existing list of million plus cities, giving
71 metros by 2021.

Issues of Management Problems of metro cities:

The lopsided growth in urban population arises from the concentration of economic activities in a
handful of cities. Such massive scale metropolitan growth seems to create several challenges. Many
cities encountering over-urbanization have reached saturation point (for example, Kolkata, Mumbai).
The high concentration of people in these big cities has precipitated a haphazard urban sprawl,
exceeding the city’s municipal limits, leading to further unplanned peripheralizations. City councils
thus struggle to provide adequate and quality civic amenities and services, constrained by creaking
infrastructure, due to huge scarcity and deficits in budgets, in the face of the ever escalating demand
for services.
 1) Inadequate and affordable housing for poor and middle class people.

2) Heavy traffic on roads leads to delayed trips and risk for life due to accidents.

3) Strain on basic infrastructures like water supply, sewage disposal, and solid waste
management.

4) Growth of slums in no man lands, crime, juvenile delinquencies, etc.

5) Lack of proper jobs may lead to unrest in public.

6) High escalation in urban land values and speculation.

7) Encroachment upon agricultural lands and water bodies.

8) Sewage & Industrial waste disposal in natural water courses, thus making them un-potable.

9) Over exploitation and contamination of ground water. Lowering the water table.

Reference;
Research Paper in research Gate; Growth of metro cities in India: trends, patterns and determinants Ismail
Haque & Priyank Pravin Patel.