Urbanisation growth in India

In Context 

Cities in India are feeling the heat due to a combination of factors, including the urban heat island effect, but largely on account of ill-conceived urbanisation.

Current process of “urbanisation” and urban growth in India

• India is rapidly urbanising and is estimated to host 50 per cent of its population in cities by 2050. 
• India is witnessing one of the largest urban growth spurts in history. 
  • This presents Indian cities with an unprecedented opportunity to look at urban planning and development through a long-term strategic lens to enable economic, environment and social impact.

Importance 

• Urbanisation is an inevitable process of development that has the potential to provide privileged social and economic advantages, including better education, health, housing and employment opportunities. 

• Green spaces in cities and towns besides providing various ecosystem services and public health benefits also offer services of psychological relaxation, stress reduction, physical activities and reduction of climate-related vagaries such as pollution, heat waves, etc. 
  • Green space and other nature-based solutions are an essential component for the development of sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities. 

Issues/Challenges  linked to it

• Indian cities already suffer from high population density, unaffordable housing, improper waste disposal, water scarcity most of the year and flooding during the rains, pollution and attendant illnesses, food and nutritional insecurity and urban poverty, among others. 
• Densification-prompted activities causing a rapid loss and fragmentation of both public and private green space .
• Other challenges
  • Town and country planning acts in India have largely remained unchanged over the past 50 years, relying on techniques set up by the British. 
  • Cities still create land use and regulatory control-based master plans which are ineffective in planning and managing cities. 
• The soaring temperatures  of cities adversely affect health, cause a dip in agricultural production, and also dry up rivers. 

• Indian cities  are consuming a huge quantity of natural resources and they are also generating almost 70% of all greenhouse emissions from an urban built environment. 

Government Efforts 

• The Union budget 2022 had announced the formation of a high-level committee of planners, economists and institutions to make recommendations on urban sector policies. 
  • This presents an opportune moment to critically engage with urban land-use planning (ULP), especially urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), as one of the essential elements of sustainable urbanisation.

• The role of green infrastructure (GI) in combating pollution and climate mitigation and adaptation is well recognised, as are the health and recreational benefits. 

• The Centre’s 2015 AMRUT programme, for instance, included green spaces and parks as a thrust area. 

• India’s Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) guidelines mention Green Cities under the urban planning approach, with prevention of damage to “productivity of agricultural land” listed as a key benefit. 
•  The Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) recognised Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA) as a significant contributor to food security; livelihood generation, especially for women; poverty alleviation; and urban resilience and sustainability.

Conclusion & Way Forward 

• Multi-stakeholder involvement, adequate financial resources, and institutional support  will strengthen urban governance to reorient our strategy of urban planning and management. 
  • In the end, this will ensure desired green cover in cities for our current generations as well as for the future.
• ULP for few areas must prioritise estimation of waste management capacity, build infrastructure for it and regulate industrial installations to this capacity. 
• Adequate political will for financial inputs and enforcement of regulations will be essential for often fund-starved urban administrations and for curbing violations of environmental norms. 
• Urgent attention to UPA and its incorporation into ULP with enabling support will also go a long way in achieving urban food security and even a circular bioeconomy.  
• Indian cities should transition to using master plans for developing a shared vision and stating desired long-term outcomes as a regulatory control tool. 
• Cities should also aim to mainstream the use of spatialised social, economic and environmental data to create robust links across the urban- rural continuum.

Source:IE