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Road to Urbanisation: Upcoming Metros

Improving infrastructure in smaller towns is the only way ahead to
decongest metros which are bursting at the seams.By P P Thimmaya


The inevitable march of rural population into towns and cities in India
has become a very definite trend in the last two decades,resulting in a
high degree of urbanisation.This has ushered in its own set of
challenges and opportunities for the political system,administration
and planners.There is no running away from the fact that cities and
towns are going to get more crowded putting further strain on the
existing resources and infrastructure.If pro-active and coherent steps
are not taken at the earliest,the country could be staring at a messy
urban future.Urbanisation in the south has been more pronounced
compared to the other regions owing to multiple factors.Statistics
show that Tamil Nadu occupies the number one position as the most
urbanised state in the country.According to the 2001 census (the
2011 census is yet to come out with data on the pattern of
urbanisation),Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state with 44% of its
population residing in urban areas,followed by Karnataka at
34%,Andhra Pradesh 27% and Kerala 26%.Industrialisation and
expansion of trade and commerce have been the key factors for rapid
urbanisation in south India.The 2001 census reveals that urbanisation
speeded up during the 1991-2001 period.This led to a high degree of
migration with people scouting for better jobs and opportunities in
cities and towns.Unfortunately,this urbanisation is more or less
concentrated in Chennai,Hyderabad and Bangalore presenting a very
lopsided picture.There have been cases of other cities also
expanding but not at the same pace as the capitals,though it could be
said Tamil Nadu has been a slight exception.A report by the
Karnataka government rightly points out disproportionate urban
growth.During the last two decades,Bangalores size and economic
role have become disproportionately high.This has created a cycle by
which further investments and migrants are attracted to the Bangalore
Metropolitan Region.Even the second largest urban conglomeration
of Hubli-Dharwad is much smaller;its population being only 1/6th of
Bangalore.However,one odd state as far as urbanisation is concerned
is Kerala.According to a report by Corporation of Cochin, unlike the
other parts of the country,urbanisation in Kerala is not limited to
designated cities and towns.Barring a few panchayats in the hilly
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designated cities and towns.Barring a few panchayats in the hilly
tracts and a few isolated areas here and there,the entire state depicts
a picture of an urban-rural continuum.The state,by and large,can be
termed as urbanised.This trend in urbanisation has presented a very
common set of challenges for all cities and towns ranging from
garnering financial resources for development activities,water and
solid waste management,infrastructure and transportation
issues.Despite these common challenges,most cities in south India
are unique in their own way given their historical background and the
politico-administrative set up.The moot point is whether urbanisation
has taken centre stage in the political and administrative setup of
south India.It is not uncommon to see politicians constantly talking
about the welfare of the rural class and paying mere lip service to
urban issues.Dr A Ravindra,special advisor to the chief minister of
Karnataka says: We need political commitment saying well develop
cities in a planned manner.Urbanisation is happening in a chaotic and
partly planned manner.Since Independence,all state governments in
India have traditionally based their policies focusing on the rural
segment,on the premise that more than 70% of the population lives in
these areas.There has not been much change except that
governments have realised the growing importance of urban
centres.A case in point is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM),which has been providing funding
assistance to many of the projects in cities and towns.Here,the role of
the political setup comes into question regarding their keenness in
developing and promoting their cities.The existing governance
structure veers heavily towards a much centralised role bringing its
own set of challenges.V Ravichandar,chairman,Feedback
Consulting,says the concept of working under the capital and district
model disables the larger picture.He feels that a better model would
be to think of creating mega urban hubs which would actually bring
four to five districts under one umbrella.Such kind of centralised
governance structure has created a lacunae in terms of speedier
implementation of developmental activity.Moreover,theres a lack of
understanding of the ground realities while dealing with urban
issues.For example,the concept of mayor which is very popular in
developed nations has been sorely absent in south India.Even if it is
present in some form,its actual role is very weak.In Chennai,the
mayor is a directly elected representative but much depends to which
party the individual belongs.If there are two opposing political parties
in different sets of administration i.e., the state government and
Chennai corporation,it could mean a lot more trouble than any
progress.In Bangalore,the mayor has just a one-year term,making
this post almost meaningless.There is a need to bring in substantial
governance reforms which will enable a decentralised role for the
urban local bodies to carry out real developmental activities.The
challenges facing urban areas in south India are similar in terms of
water,sanitation,housing,roads,infrastructure and more
recently,environment.A deficiency in these services may vary from
state to state but the difference is just of a few degrees than a wide
chasm.According to the World Bank,some of the key urbanisation
challenges revolve around planning,housing,service
delivery,infrastructure and environment.None of the governments in
south India actually chalks out a clear-cut plan on how it is going to
develop cities.Even if there are reports,they are more on paper than
implemented.Many observers believe that developing a large city like
Bangalore or Hyderabad is an uphill task and think its better to be
engaged with developing smaller cities because there would be
lesser challenges.Theres also an inclination among politicians to
glorify only the capital cities.In the past,there have been examples of
mindless comparisons between Hyderabad and Bangalore driven by
very media savvy chief ministers.This has actually backfired in terms
of complete negligence of other cities and towns in the state.Tamil
Nadu in this case has been a marvelous exception the state has
managed to develop cities besides its capital.Dr Ravindra says that
the growth of secondary cities is more of a recent phenomenon.State
governments of south India can actually plan their development by
linking them to the capital cities with super-fast
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linking them to the capital cities with super-fast
expressways.However,the big bugbear of urbanisation has been
funds.With most governments focused totally on the rural
segment,there is a scramble for resources when it comes to financing
urban projects.For any city municipal corporation,the biggest source
of revenue is property tax,but it is also the most abused and pilfered
system of all.For most municipalities or local urban bodies,resources
generated through taxation are extremely meagre and most of the
local taxes are levied by the states.Though an institution like the
JNNURM has given an impetus towards urban development,it is
generally oriented towards specific projects.There are cases of
specialised agencies like water and sewerage boards which can
undertake projects based on their fiscal position.The JNNURM has
estimated that over a seven-year period,urban local bodies would
require total investments of Rs 1,20,536 crore.The local municipal
bond market is not well developed in India,making it even more
difficult for these urban local bodies to raise resources.The Bangalore
City Corporation was one of the first to raise around Rs 100 crore
through the municipal corporation bond issue in 1997 while the Tamil
Nadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF) pioneered a pooled finance
structure encouraged by USAID as part of its Financial Institutions
Reform and Expansion (FIRE-D ) and World Bank.There has been a
talk of involving the private sector in developing urban infrastructure
but till now there has not been any viable structure which could bring
about any significant change.Today,the biggest challenge all urban
planners face is the issue of migration.Urban planners believe in
having a more meaningful planning : industrialisation and
urbanisation should go hand-in-hand.New industries and the resultant
job opportunities have created new urban areas.The need of the hour
is to spread these into newer geographies.More often than not,both
these segments totally work independent of each structure leading to
dysfunctional growth.A hub and spoke model would be ideal to create
greater impact of urbanisation one could talk about having a principal
city with many towns attached to it.The pace of urbanisation in south
India is certainly much higher than the national average putting
further pressure on the existing urban areas.The flow of further
investments into the southern states will require these governments
to talk about a more meaningful distribution of resources so that there
could be more equitable growth.
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