Some stats
·
Census 2011 indicates that compared to 1363 in
2001, there are now 3893 census towns
o There
have been 2774 new census towns
·
Census criteria for an urban area
o Minimum
population of 5000
o Density
of 400 persons per sq km
o At
least 75 pc of the male working force in occupations other than agriculture
o These
are known as ‘census towns’
·
Apart from the above way of classifying urban areas, there exist ‘statutory towns’
o Any
area that comes under a corporation, municipality or town panchayat is
automatically classified as urban and is defined as a ‘statutory town’
·
Apart from census towns, there is also another
category called statutory towns
o There
are towns which are declared to be urban under a state law, where a municipal
or similar set-up is available
·
As of now there are
o 139
municipal corporations
o 1595
municipalities
o 2108
nagar panchayats
·
Census 2011 has reported marginally higher
growth rate of 2.76% in urban population (1991-2001: 2.73%)
·
Around 31% urbanisation in India
Important developments
·
Constitutional context: 74th
amendment
o To
ensure a participative, functionally distinct and accountable structure of
governance for urban areas
o
International Experience in Urban
Governance
·
A two tier structure for the metropolitan area
prevails in Mexico, Seoul and Greater London
·
Toronto has moved from a two-tier to a single
tier system
·
Berlin has the status of a city state
·
A report on urbanisation in India by McKinsey claims
·
By 2030, India’s urban population will be 600
million. That is double of the current population of US
·
70 pc of new job creation will be in cities
·
7400 kilometres of metrorail and subways will
need to be created to address public transportation requirements
JNNURM
·
Has four components
o Urban
Infrastructure and Governance for 65 cities
o Urban
Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns – covers 640 towns
o Basic
Services for Urban Poor – extends to all the 65 towns identified for UIG
component
o Integrated
Housing and Slum Development Programme
·
The total project cost of all the 4 components
was about 1 lakh crore out of which centre provided 50 pc assistance
·
Issues
o A
larger share of the funds (upto 95 pc) went to the already well developed
cities and states
o The
allocation for the development of small cities was very less
o There
has been a disconnect between the various activities of the Mission and the
urban local bodies. The involvement of ULBs has been marginal
o
Slums
·
Definition
o UN-HABITAT:
run down area of a city characterised by substandard housing and squalor and
lacking in tenure security
·
One billion people worldwide live in slums.
o The
figure may go upto 2 bn in 2030
·
Characterised by high rates of poverty,
illiteracy and unemployment
·
By 2030 India will have 41 pc of its population
living in cities and towns compared to the present 28 pc.
·
Drinking water and sanitation are a problem
·
India’s slum dwelling population rose from 27.9
million in 1981 to over 40 million in 2001
·
As per 2001 census, 640 towns spread over 26
states and UTs have reported existence of slums
o Total slum population: 75.26 million
·
NSSO survey in 2002 identified 51,688 slums in
urban areas of which 50.6 pc have been declared as ‘notified slums’.
·
Govt Plans
o 1972:
Environmental Improvement of Urban Slums
o 1996:
National Slum Development Programme
o 2005:
JNNURM
o 2008:
Rajeev Awas Yojana
·
Reasons for the growth of slums
o Migration:
Lack of development of sustainable rural infrastructure and inadequate rural
employment opportunities in rural areas
o Unequal
development of different regions in India
o More
labour force in unorganised sector
Waste Management
In India the last
three years have seen hazardous waste import increased by 48%.In 2009 6.4
million tonnes of hazardous waste came from the west to India and 5.9 million
tonnes was produced domestically. Much of this waste was metal, electronics and
plastics. They may have contaminated with lead,
mercury and other toxins which can cause serious illness and
environmental damage. The brass import increased by 60%.Battery waste import doubled. Municipal ash import rose 70
times. Iron and stainless waste steel import increased by 40%.Plastic waste
import increased seven times.
The government is supposed to monitor the import of hazardous waste
which enters India through a gap in the law that allows the import of waste for
recycling. Most of the ports in India do not
have radiation scanning technology. Workers processing hazardous waste
use their eyes to tell the difference. Most of the waste enters through ports
of Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Cochin and Visakhapatnam.
Waste comes to
distribution centers like West Delhi’s Mundka and Mumbai’s Dharavi before being
taken away by different agents to specialty processing markets like Seelampur in
Delhi. Agents sell the components to others who sell them to factories. The
finished recycled products much cheaper than their branded counterparts are
sold in the wholesale markets.
In New Delhi Seelampur
is the biggest market for second hand electronic parts. But most of the shops
here are not registered as legal recyclers which have deterred the entry of
legal recyclers. The informal sector gets 95% of the business as they do not
pay the cost to meet the environment norms. When a court order shut down all
plastics burning in Seelampur five years ago, the industry merely shifted 8 kms
away.
India
has a capacity to handle just 30% of its domestic waste. India’s
capacity to treat hazardous waste is not growing at the same pace as waste
generations. Although recycling industries are temporarily profitable; the
damage to the environment is often permanent. Near Moradabad, the waters of the
once –fertile Ramganga river have turned black with plastic ash. With no
government control and little regard for the environment, the private
waste-processing industry poses a threat to public safety in India.
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