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Major Challenges Faced by Indian Cities
Context:
World Cities Day (October 31) highlights the growing global urban population and the challenges cities face, including climate change, inequality, and inadequate planning.
- This year’s theme, “Youth Climate Changemakers: Catalysing Local Action for Urban Sustainability”, emphasises youth-led climate action in urban areas, a crucial focus given the urgent issues in cities worldwide, particularly in India.
Global Urban Challenges with Local Impacts:
- Climate Change: UN highlights that cities, especially in developing nations, face unprecedented challenges due to climate change.
- Poverty and Inequality: Widespread in urban centres, these issues lead to heightened disparities.
- Infrastructure and Resource Shortages: Rapid urbanisation in the Global South has led to infrastructure gaps, impacting access to essentials like clean water, sanitation, and housing.
- Environmental Degradation: Cities worldwide, especially in developing nations, suffer due to pollution and waste management issues, impacting sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Unique Urbanisation Pathway in India:
- Poverty-Driven Urbanisation: Unlike industrial-driven urbanisation in the Global North, India’s urban growth is primarily due to economic distress.
- Migration Trends: Rural-to-urban and urban-to-urban migration continue to highlight gaps in urban infrastructure.
- Colonial Impact: Economic historian Utsa Patnaik noted that colonial wealth extraction significantly affected India’s development trajectory, with $45 trillion transferred to England, limiting post-independence resources for industrial-led urbanisation.
- COVID-19 Impact: The pandemic exposed planning weaknesses, with reverse migration straining rural areas unprepared for returning residents.
Outdated Spatial Planning:
- Lagging Development: Urban plans often focus on capital growth over people’s needs and are not updated to meet the rising population.
- Deindustrialisation: Post-1980s, cities like Ahmedabad and Mumbai experienced job losses, pushing workers into peri-urban slums, where nearly 40% of the urban population now resides.
Environmental Challenges and Climate Impact:
- Air Pollution: Cities, especially in the NCR, suffer from severe pollution; 8 of India’s 10 most polluted cities are in this region.
- Urban Flooding and Heat Islands: Poor drainage systems and dense construction exacerbate flooding and extreme heat, affecting health and productivity.
- Vulnerability to Extreme Weather: Urban areas are at high risk of climate-related events, with poor populations most affected due to limited adaptive resources.
Social Inequality and Segregation:
- Widening Inequality: Exclusive, expensive developments cater to the wealthy, while millions lack basic housing.
- For instance, Gurugram’s The Dahlias offers luxury apartments starting at ₹100 crore, while two crore urban residents remain homeless.
- Job Insecurity in the Informal Sector: 90% of city jobs are informal, offering poor working conditions and no job security, furthering economic disparity.
- Community Isolation: Contrary to the belief that urbanisation dilutes social differences, Indian cities are increasingly segregated along social and religious lines.
Governance and Local Authority Limitations:
- Limited Empowerment of Local Bodies: Despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment, urban local bodies (ULBs) lack control over city planning, which remains with undemocratic entities like parastatals and private groups.
- Inadequate Functional Devolution: Less than three of the 18 functions under the 12th Schedule have been consistently delegated to urban governments.
- Minimal Financial Support: Cities receive just 0.5% of GDP in intergovernmental transfers, restricting their ability to address local needs effectively.
Steps Taken by the Government:
- Smart Cities Mission (2015): Promotes sustainable and inclusive development through technology and infrastructure improvement.
- Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): Provides basic services like water supply, sewage management, and urban transport.
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): Aims to provide affordable housing, addressing shortages and improving conditions in slum areas.
Way Forward:
- Data-Driven Urban Planning: Regular urban censuses are essential for evidence-based decision-making.
Community Engagement: Encouraging participatory governance can foster stronger community involvement in urban development.
