Urban development initiatives and reform in India:
Author: Dr. Anil Kumar Roy
Secretary general of the Association of Professional Geographers, India (APGI)
Introduction
Urbanization is a process of transformation from traditional rural economies to
modern industrial ones. It is a long-term process through which the ratio of population
between rural and urban is changed in favour of urban settlement. Indian
urbanisation has frequently been considered as over-urbanisation or pseudourbanisation because of rapid growth of the urban population especially in large
cities. The high rate of population growth in urban areas particularly in large cities is
the result of high natural growth and poverty- driven rural to urban migration in the
short and long term.
Traffic near Victoria Terminus, Mumbai. Photo: APGI
The Process of Urbanisation in India
At present, India is a country with a low level of urbanisation. The number of urban
agglomerations/towns has grown from 1827 in 1901 to 5161 in 2001, while the
population residing in urban areas increased from 25.8 million in 1901 to 285.3
million in 2001. According to the 2001 Census, 28 per cent of the total population of
India lives in urban areas.
Table 1 shows the growth of towns and cities and their number from 1951 to 2001.
Table 1
India: Trends in Urbanisation 1901-2001
Year
Number of
Towns/Urban
Aggl.
Urban
Population (in
thousands)
% of Total
Population
Decennial
Growth (%)
1901
1,827
25,851.9
10.84
-
1911
1,815
25,941.6
10.29
0.35
1921
1,949
28,086.2
11.18
8.27
1931
2,072
33,456.0
11.99
19.12
1941
2,250
44,153.3
13.86
31.97
1951
2,843
62,443.7
17.29
41.42
1961
2,365
78,936.6
17.97
26.41
1971
2,590
1,09,114
19.91
38.23
1981
3,378
1,59,463
23.34
46.14
1991
4,689
2,17,611
25.71
36.47
2001
5,161
2,85,355
27.78
31.13
Source: Census of India, 2001
The Census of India classifies cities and towns into 6 classes based on population as
shown in Table 2:
Table 2
Population of cities and towns by size class in India,
2001
Class
Population Size Number
Total
Population
(millions)
% of total
Urban
Population
% Growth
1991-2001
5161
285.35
100
31.13
423
172.04
61.48
23.12
34.43
12.3
43.45
I
1,00,000 and
more
II
50,000 – 99,999 498
III
20,000 – 49,999 1386
41.97
15.0
46.19
IV
10,000 – 9,999
1560
22.6
8.08
32.94
V
5,000 – 9,999
1057
7.98
2.85
41.49
VI
Less than 5,000 227
0.8
0.29
21.21
Source: Census of India, 2001
Over the years there has been continuous concentration of population in class I
towns. By contrast, the concentration of population in medium-sized and small towns
either fluctuated or declined. The ‘graduation’ of a number of urban centres from
lower population size categories to class I cities has resulted in a top-heavy structure
of urban population in India. The big cities attained inordinately large population size
leading to virtual collapse in urban services, followed by problems in the field of
housing, slum, water-supply, infrastructure, quality of life etc. The urban planning
and policy framework focus was therefore on increasing the efficiency of large cities
and redirecting attention towards small and medium towns. This was intended to
ensure a balanced regional pattern of urban growth through which India can benefit
from globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation as cities become the centre of
global economy. The major challenge to policy makers and planners is to tackle the
concentration of urban poverty in cities, particularly in large cities. They warrant
special attention so the urban poor are accommodated in the fabric of city and can
contribute to its growth.
Taking its cue from the current urban development scenario in India, Central
Government adopted a very ambitious urban development programme called
Jawaharlal Nehru Urban renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2005. Prior to these
initiatives, the Government of India had taken a very positive democratic policy
decision to strength urban local bodies by providing them with political and financial
autonomy. This was made possible through a process of devolution of power though
the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992.
Legislative Measures in Urban Policy
This constitutional arrangement legally allowed individual cities to take decision on
their own developmental issues. However due to lack of financial support and low
capacity to generate their own resources (with the exception of a few large municipal
corporations in India), urban local bodies struggled to take advantage of globalisation
and privatisation over recent decades. The following are salient features of the 74th
Constitutional Amendment Act which provides the planning frame work for urban
local bodies.
Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992
The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 relating to Municipalities (known as
Nagarpalika Act, 1992) was passed by Parliament in the Winter Session of 1992 and
received Presidential assent on 20 April 1993. This Act seeks to provide a common
framework for the structure and mandate of Urban Local Bodies and enable them to
function as effective democratic units of Local Self Government. The 74th
Amendment Act came into force on 1 June 1993.
As a result of the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment,
the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act 1992 was implemented by all State
Governments/Union Territory Administrations to come into force on 31 May 1994.
State Governments then enacted amendments to bring their Municipal Laws in
conformity with the Nagarpalika Act.
The salient features of the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act covers the
following:
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Constitution of Municipalities
Composition of Municipalities
Constitution of Wards Committees
Reservation of Seats
Fixed duration of Municipalities
Power, Authority and Responsibilities of Municipalities
Appointment of State Election Commission
Appointment of State Finance Commission
Constitution of Metropolitan Committee and
Constitution of District Planning Committees.
Through these legislative measures urban local bodies got a fixed tenure and popular
representation in decision-making which was not the case before when a ‘top-down’
process of decision was prevalent.
Recent urban development schemes and municipal reform agenda
Cities and towns have a vital role in India’s socio-economic transformation and
changes. Host to about 30 percent of the country’s population, they contribute 50-55
percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). At the same time, most cities and
towns are severely stressed in terms of infrastructure and service availability, and
their growth and development is constrained by poor implementation of the
Constitution (74th Amendment) Act 1992 and the continuing existence of statues,
systems and procedures that impede the operation of land and housing markets. As
this is incompatible with the country’s socio-economic objectives, the Government of
India has launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JnNURM) in recent year. The JnNURM aims to encourage cities to initiate steps to
bring about improvement in the existing service levels in a financially sustainable
manner. The JnNURM consists of two sub-missions:
A) Urban Infrastructure and Governance and B) Basic Services to the Urban Poor.
It is believed that in order to make cities work efficiently and equitably, it is essential
to create incentives and support urban reforms at state and city levels, develop
appropriate enabling and regulatory frameworks, enhance the creditworthiness of
municipalities and integrate the poor with the service delivery system.
Mission Objectives
The primary objective of the JnNURM is to create economically productive, efficient,
equitable and responsive cities. In line with this objective, the Mission focuses on:
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Integrated infrastructure development of infrastructure services>
Securing linkages between asset creation and maintenance for long-run project
sustainability
Planned development of cities including the peri-urban areas, outgrowths, and urban
corridors
Renewal and re-development of inner city areas; and
Universalisation of urban services so as to ensure their availability to the urban poor
It is expected that the total allocation of funds for the programmes will be Rs. 10,000
million (about £120 million) drawn from central government and a matching grant
from state governments through a public-private partnership model of finance for
urban projects. The JnNURM mission prescribes a series of urban reforms to be
undertaken by state governments to take advantage of urban renewal schemes.
October 2008