URBANISATION IN INDIA: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Prof. D. Pulla Rao, Department of Economics, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, A.P.

ABSTRACT
Almost half of the world population lives in the urban areas and the cities are growing rapidly, both in size and in numbers. Globally, the urban population has been growing at an average rate of 4.2 per cent per annum in the past two decades. Number of urban agglomeration / towns had grown from 1827 in 1901 to 5161 in 2001. Number of total population has increased from 238 million in 1901 to 1027 millions in 2001 whereas number of population residing in urban areas has increased from 26 millions in 1901 to 285 millions in 2001. cent urban population. per cent in 2001. Degree of urbanisation varies widely among the According to 1991 Census, 65 per cent of the States of the country. Goa is the most urbanized state in India with 49.77 per countrys urban population lived in Class I cities and it has increased to 69 There are many factors that are responsible for development of cities. The main determinants of the growth of cities are (i) industrialisation, (ii) educational centers, (iii) means of transportation, (iv) natural factors, (v) marriage migration, and (vi) business. influx of population to cities, there arose several problems. Due to heavy They are (i)

problem of urban housing, , (ii) problem of urban slums, (iii) urban environmental pollution, (iv) problem of urban poverty (v) problem of urban unemployment, and (vi) problem of urban social problems. These problems arise due to the gap between the supply and demand of basic infrastructure services in the urban areas. The government has to adopt appropriate measures to solve the problems and provide peace of life to urban people.

1. Introduction

Urbanisation is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial one. It is a long term process. Widespread urbanisation is a twentieth century phenomenon. Although some cities in the world did exist in antiquity, there is little evidence of widespread urbanisation in the early years of civilization. Rome was probably the first settlement to reach one million people in 5 B.C; only in 1800 did London become the second. The urban population of the world was not more than 250 million in 1900, less than 15 per cent of the total population. The Indian urban population today is itself greater than this number. A hundred years later, in 2000, the worlds urban population had increased to almost 2.9 billion, about 47 per cent of the total. The 21st Century is therefore an urban century and this sets it apart from the all the centuries that have gone before it. For the first time in human history, more people will be living in cities than in the villages. The trend is especially stronger in developing world, where the rate of rural to urban migration is high as people flock to cities in search of employment and higher standards of living. According to the 2001 Census of India, out of the total population of 1027 million about 285 million live in urban areas and 742 million in rural areas. Nearly twenty eight out of every one hundred persons in India live in urban areas. Today there is more emphasis on economic reforms, It generates a substantial modernization and urbanisation. Urbanisation is a phenomenon, which is a part and parcel of economic development. proportion of total jobs and as such makes a significant contribution to national economy. With increase in per capita income, demand for non-food goods accelerates and, consequently, the demand for non-agricultural activities increases. This heightened demand for labour stimulates urbanisation. Urbanisation is an incessant trend and its pace is accelerating. Poverty and lack of employment in the villages lead to migration from rural to urban areas; increasing industrialization has contributed to the growth of new towns; the expansion of means of transport has facilitated easy movement of men and material and, above all, cities provide a better quality of life, in terms of education and health facilities.

2. Definition of Urban Area In Census of India, 2001 two types of towns were identified. (i) Statutory towns: cantonment board or notified town area committee etc. so declared by (ii) Census towns: State Law. Places which satisfy following criteria: (a) a minimum population of 5000; (b) at least 75 per cent of male working population engaged non-agricultural pursuits; and (c) a density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km. 3. Urbanization in the World It can be seen from Table-1 that the degree of urbanisation in the world, regions and continents in the world. The two measures of degree of urbanisation included are the present urban population and per cent of urban population to total. The urban population (UN, 1993) was estimated to be 2.96 billion in 2000 and 3.77 billion in 2010. It was estimated that nearly 50 million people are added to the worlds urban population and about 35 million to the rural population each year. The share of worlds population living in urban centres has increased from 39 per cent in 1980 to 48 per cent in 2000. In the developed countries the urbanisation level is 76 per cent in 2000 as compared with developing countries is 40 per cent in 2000. The urbanisation level has almost stabilized in developed countries. Africa and Asian countries are in the process of urbanisation. All places with a municipality, corporation,

Table - 1: Percentage of World Population Residing in Urban Areas by Region World/ Region 1980 In billio n World 1.752 39. 4 More develope d Region Less Develop ed Region Africa 0.130 27. 3 Asia 0.678 26. 2 Latin America 0.233 65. 0 0.273 0.813 0.164 29. 6 28. 6 68. 4 0.315 0.974 0.205 32. 0 31. 2 71. 5 0.400 1.369 0.322 37. 6 37. 1 76. 6 0.482 1.845 0.493 44. 2 43. 8 80. 4 0.954 28. 8 1.159 31. 5 1.401 34. 3 1.993 40. 3 2.717 46. 8 0.797 70. 2 0.838 % 1985 In billio n 1.997 41. 2 71. 5 0.880 % 1990 In billio n 2.282 43. 1 72. 7 0.968 % 2000 In billio n 2.962 47. 6 75. 8 1.060 % 2010 In billio n 3.779 52. 8 79. 1 %

Source: World Urbanisation Prospects The 1992 Revision, United Nations, New York, 1993. 4. Trends of Urbanisation in India The growth of urbanization during pre-independence period was slow. Urbanization in India has shown its phenomenal growth during postindependence years because of pressure of growing population, rapid industrialization, rural to urban migration and the growing tempo of

modernization. As a result, new towns are coming up; already existing towns are expanding to accommodate the continuing influx of the rural population. Thus, the census figure of 10.8 per cent of Indian urban population in 1901 had shown a marked increase to 27.8 per cent in 2001 (Figure -1 & Table - 2). The rate of urbanization varies over time and space. In the earlier part of 20th century, in 1901, the level of urbanization was only 10.8 per cent with only 26 million people in 1827 towns. urban population. In 1951, at the starting point of planned economic development, the level was 17.3 per cent with 62 million The 2001 population census has recorded 285 million urban population which accounts for 27.8 per cent of 1027 million total population, distributed over 5161 urban agglomerations/towns. Number of total population has increased from 238 millions in 1901 to 1027 millions in 2001. The number of persons living in urban area for every hundred population of the country increased from about eleven to twenty-eight between 1901 and 2001, registering an increase of seventeen per hundred during the time span of a country. When measured in terms of urban-rural ratio, only twelve persons lived in urban areas for every hundred persons living in rural areas in 1901, and this number increased to thirty-nine in rural areas in 2001. Urbanisation in India has been relatively slow compared to many developing countries. The percentage of annual exponential growth rate of urban population reveals that in India it grew at faster pace from the decade 1921-31 to until 1951. Thereafter in 1951-61 it registered a sharp drop. The decades 1961-71 and 1971-81 showed an improvement but has steadily dropped to the present level at 2.8 per cent. The sharp drop in urban rate during 1951-61 was mainly due to declassification of a very large number of towns during that period.

Figure - 1: Total Population and Percentage of Urban Population: 1901-2001

Table - 2: Population of India by Residence: 1901-2001 Census Years Total Populatio n (in million) Urban Populatio n (in million) Number of Urban agglomeration/tow n Urban Population as percentag e of total populatio n (%) 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 238 252 251 279 319 361 439 548 683 847 26 26 28 33 44 62 79 109 159 217 1827 1825 1949 2072 2250 2843 2363 2590 3378 3768 10.8 10.3 11.2 12.0 13.9 17.3 18.0 19.9 23.3 25.7 14 14 14 16 20 22 34 42 47 58 212 226 223 246 275 299 360 489 524 630 12 12 13 14 16 21 22 25 30 35 0.03 0.80 1.77 2.81 3.53 2.37 3.29 3.87 3.08 Populatio n per town (000) Rural Populatio n (in millions) Urbanrural Ratio Per Annum Growth Rate of Urban Population

2001

1027

285

5161

27.8

65

742

39

2.85

Source: Various Census Reports.

5. Urbanisation in India by States India is a large country with sub-continental proportions. country is urbanized. It has 28

states, 6 union territories and 1 national capital territory. About a third of the However, in times to come, it is believed that urbanization will increase. The prediction is that in a few decades, half of Indias population will come to live in urban areas. Obviously, this is going to have serious implications on the manner in which cities are governed in the country. Degree of urbanisation varies widely among the States of the country. Goa is the most urbanized state in India with 49.77 per cent urban population followed by Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. All union territories are highly urbanized except Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The degree of urbanisation is high in southern, western and north eastern states whereas low urbanisation level is found in northern, central states. Maximum concentration of the countrys urban population is found in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. It is essential to mention that Uttar Pradesh figures in Table-3, although it is one of the least urbanized states. large (36,682,874). This is because its urban population is Next five states namely, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Remaining states and six union

Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar and Union Territory of Delhi together account for 34.3 per cent of urban population. territories contain only 18.2 per cent of urban population in the country. Table -3: Urban Population and Level Of Urbanization in India -2001

States

Urban Population (Number) 2001

Level of Urbanisation (%) 2001

Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Union Territories Andaman and Nicobar Is. Chandigarh Dadra and Haveli Daman and Diu Delhi Lakshadweep Pondicherry Total

20503597 222688 3389413 14665897 668869 18899377 6114139 594881 2505309 17919858 8267135 20277919 41019734 570410 452612 441040 352821 5496318 8245566 13205444 60005 27241553 543094 36682874 22486481 116407 808796 50456 57319 12819761 26948 648233 285354954

27.07 20.41 12.72 13.36 49.77 37.35 29.00 9.79 24.88 33.98 25.96 24.98 42.40 23.88 19.62 49.49 17.74 14.97 33.95 23.38 11.10 43.86 17.02 21.02 28.03 32.67 89.77 22.89 36.26 93.01 44.47 66.56 27.78

Nagar

Source: Compiled from the Census of India Reports, Government of India.

6. Classification of Towns and Cities Census of India classifies urban centres into six classes. Urban centre with population of more than one lakh is called a city and less than one lakh is called a town. mega cities. Cities accommodating population between one to five of Metropolitan and Mega cities are urban million are called metropolitan cities and more than five million are called Majority agglomerations. An urban agglomeration may consist of any one of the

following three combinations: (i) a town and its adjoining urban outgrowth, (ii) two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowth, and (iii) a city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread. Table - 4 shows Class-wide number of towns and cities and percentage of urban population by size class of city during 1901-2001. The pattern of urbanisation in India is characterized by continuous concentration of population and activities in large cities. This is manifested in a high percentage of urban population being concentrated in Class I cities and its population has systematically gone up over the decades in the last century. As per 1901 Census the percentage of population in Class I, IV, and V were 26 per cent, 21 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. According to 1991 Census, about two third (65%) of the countrys urban population lived in Class I cities with more than 100,000 population. In 2001 it has increased to 69 per cent. Over the years there has been continuous concentration of population in class I towns. On the contrary the concentration of population in medium and small town either fluctuated or declined. Indeed basic reason for the increasing dominance of class I cities is graduation of lower order towns into class I categories. It may be observed that in 1901 there were only 24 Class I cities that have gone up to 393 in 2001 which explains largely the increase in the share of population in this six category over the years. The graduation of number of urban centres from lower population six

categories to Class I cities has resulted top heavy structure of urban population in India. However, in addition to factor of increase in number of large cities, the importance of a faster demographic growth, poverty induced migration to urban informal sector should be taken into account in making urban structure top heavy. The share of Class I towns or cities, with population size of 100,000 or more, has gone up significantly from 26 per cent in 1901 to 69 per cent in 2001. The percentage share of Class IV, V and VI towns, having less than 20,000 people, on the other hand, has gone down drastically from 47 to 10 only. This is largely due to the fact that the towns in lower categories have grown in size and entered the next higher category. Table - 4: Number of Towns and Percentage of Urban Population by Size Class Census/ Year Class 1 1901 24 Class 2 43 Class 3 130 Class 4 391 Class 5 744 Class 6 479 Class 1 26.0 0 1911 23 40 135 364 707 485 27.4 8 1921 29 45 145 370 734 571 29.7 0 1931 35 56 183 434 800 509 31.2 0 1941 49 74 242 498 920 407 38.2 3 1951 76 91 327 608 1124 569 44.6 3 1961 102 129 437 719 711 172 51.4 2 11.2 3 Class 2 11.2 9 10.5 1 10.3 9 11.6 5 11.4 2 9.96 3 15.6 4 16.4 0 15.9 2 16.8 0 16.3 5 15.7 2 16.9 4 Number of Towns by Size Class Percentage of Urban Population by Size Class Class Class 4 20.8 3 19.7 3 18.2 9 18.0 0 15.7 8 13.6 3 12.7 7 Class 5 20.1 4 19.3 1 18.6 7 17.1 4 15.0 8 12.9 7 6.87 0.77 3.09 3.14 5.21 7.03 6.57 Class 6 6.10

1971

148

173

558

827

623

147

57.2 4

10.9 2 11.6 3 10.9 5 9.67

16.0 1 14.3 3 13.1 9 12.2

10.9 4 9.54

4.45

0.44

1981

218

270

743

1059

758

253

60.3 7

3.58

0.50

1991

300

345

947

1167

740

197

65.2 0

7.77

2.60

2.29

2001

393

401

1151

1344

888

191

68.6

6.84

2.36

0.23

7 3 Note: The Towns have been placed in Six categories, following demographic criteria as given below: Class 1 Towns 1, 00,000 or more Class 3 From 20,000 to 49,999 Class 5 From 5,000 to 9,999 Source: Various Census Reports Class 2 From 50,000 to 99,999 Class 4 From 10,000 to 19,999 Class 6 Below 5,000

7. Causes of Urbanisation There are a number of factors responsible for the development of cities. This is because every city has its own history and certain causes for its development. Broadly the following factors may be regarded as the main causes of the growth of cities. (i). Industrialization People migrate from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment in industrial centres of urban areas. Due to industrialization, The there is more production, which in turn leads to division of labour.

produce has to be put to market for sale for which it is sent to other places and countries, and it is done through transport, godowns, markets etc. are needed for this purpose. The establishment of manufacturing and processing industries like iron and steel, textiles, jute, cement, fertilizers, automobile

industry etc., requires the services of highly technical and skilled man power. They also require the services of millions of rural wage labour to work in factories and construction activities. Massive rural-urbanisation leads to reduction in the size of rural population with a corresponding increase in urban population. All these factors are instrumental to the development of cities. (ii). Educational Centres If a University, High Court, or medical college is set up anywhere, there is great influx of population to that area. With this influx of population, many shops, markets, hotels, restaurants, clubs, cinema theatres etc. are established and in this way the foundation of city is laid down. (iii). Means of Transportation If the place is situated on the sea-coast, it also turns into a big city or town due to industrialization. Industrialization implies enhancement of import and export and it is done by ships. If the coastal town has good harbour facilities, traffic through it is bound to increase. The greater the traffic through harbour, greater is the increase in population and also greater would be the turnover of handling of goods. All these things help in the rapid development of cities. (iv). Natural Factors Similarly, the hill resorts are liable to become cities if they have good climate and good sceneries. Due to availability of medical facilities in towns and cities the death rate is less in urban areas compared to rural areas. There is no significant variation in the birth rates between rural and urban communities. This is because the rural people are increasingly adopting family welfare methods. More than 60 per cent of increase in urban population is attributed to natural increase in urban population in India. (v). Net Rate of Urban Migration

When the number of immigrants into urban areas from the rural areas is more than the out migrants from urban areas into rural areas to net urban migration will be higher. This means reduction in the size of rural population and increase in the size of urban population. The large scale migration of rural people to urban areas may be due to push factors in villages like poverty, unemployment, low wages and caste conflicts. The urban areas act as pull factors. They provide better employment, higher wages, educational and training facilities to millions of rural people. (vi). Marriage The number of females who migrate to the urban areas because of marriage is nearly 40-50 per cent of the total female migrants. So, the marital status also plays an important role in migration to urban areas. (vii). Business People migrate to urban areas in search of high business in order to make huge money and wealth for themselves. For example, most of the Marvaries of rural Rajasthan have migrated to cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Calcutta for business purpose. Hence, in short, it may be said that wherever there is industrialization, location of government office, good climate or scenic beauty, educational, medical and cultural institutions, such places would be developed into cities. 8. Consequences of Urbanisation Due to influx of population to cities, which is mainly due to industrialization and progress in trade and commerce, development in transportation and communication and also due to various other reasons a sizeable managerial cadre is required. In developing nations of the world, one or the other new industrial unit is set up almost daily. This increase in urban population has resulted into over-crowding. Many other grave problems have also cropped up and by more problems are springing up. They are all the consequences of industrialization and change in the life in cities. (i). Problem of Urban Housing

Due to increasing urbanisation, providing houses to all the people have become a serious problem. The problem of housing has two dimensions. Quantitatively it refers to shortage of houses, and qualitatively it refers to living in sub-standard houses, unfit for human habitation. Rents are high in the urban areas and even middle class families live in slums. There are too many married couples in a room. (ii). Problem of Urban Slums Growth of urban slums is a serious consequence of urbanisation is the mushroom growth slums in towns and cities. Slums are regarded as the major problem of urban life. They are found in all our towns and cities. They represent the highest form of human degradation. They reflect the failure of our urban planners, municipal authorities and urban technology to provide basic services like water supply, toilets, drainage, and garbage disposed etc. In many of our cities the water supply, especially in summer, does not meet the minimum needs of bathing, cleaning, washing and cooking. in urban poor settlements. (iii). Urban Environmental Pollution Industrialisation and urbanisation are the two major sources of environmental pollution in our towns and cities. Establishment of industries led to the growth of large industrial cities and rapid growth of urban population has also increased the pressure of population on the large metropolitan cities. The large industrial and high density metropolitan cities halve also become the major centre of environmental pollution. Increasing exploitation of natural resources for industrial and economic development has adversely affected the urban ecological balance between man, air, water and land resources. This ecological imbalance caused by human activity is known as environmental pollution. There is lot of congestion and unhealthy conditions due to slums. Water pollution leads to the outbreak of epidemics. High traffic on roads in towns and cities leads to lot of noise and air pollution. Most of sewers are open and smelly. There is high incidence of deaths and diseases

(iv). Problem of Urban Poverty In absolute sense poverty refers to lack of resources or opportunities for a person to maintain himself and his family. industrialization and urbanisation. In relative sense poverty refers to inequalities in income and opportunities. It reflects the dark side to In India no town or city is free from A vast majority of vendors, domestic poverty it is more acute in large metropolitan cities. building construction, kalasis, fruit and vegetable

workers work in unorganized informal sector as casual wage labour in servants, rickshaw pullers, scavengers, sweepers etc. They live under the

most degrading conditions of life in urban slums, squatter settlements and shanty towns. They are deprived of basic nutrition, shelter, medical attention and primary education. (v). Problem of Urban Unemployment People from the rural areas migrate to urban areas in anticipation of better jobs as they are pushed out from rural areas by the pressure on land on account of growing population. These people are unskilled and without any adequate source of livelihood and add to the heavy existing unemployed people in the city. (vi). Problem of Urban Social Problems The co-existence of rich life and dirty slums in all medium and major cities of India has led to a sort discontentment among the urban poor. Poverty, unemployment and lack of access to amenities have led to their involvement into the anti-social activities. 9. Conclusions and Suggestions The study of urbanisation plays a vital role in policy formation and regional planning since independence. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of urban population of the country; 17.29 in 1951 to 27.78 in 2001. The South Asian region seems to be the least urbanized region compared to all other regions of the world.

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country has to face these problems particularly because of urbanisation. These problems arise perhaps mainly from the gap between the demand and supply of basic infrastructure services in the urban areas. The following measures to be needed for better urbanisation. 1. The need for checking migrants and providing better infrastructural facilities in the urban areas. 2. To develop socio-economic infrastructure for increased urban population growth. 3. There is a need to control the unprecedented growth of urban population which is due to immigrants. 4. The government has to adopt appropriate measures to check land, and 5. New urban areas will have to be planned and developed in adequate number to accommodate such a growth of urban population and to provide them basic facilities. References Arup Mitra. (1993): Status of Basic Services in Indian Cities in Bidyut Mohanty (Ed.), Urbanization in Developing Countries, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.

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