URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

A social policy outlookSUBMITTED BY:

KEERTHANA.R , MSW2CD-14-25

Introduction:

India today has the second largest urban population in the world. India has experienced rapid urban growth in the 20th century as is illustrated by the numbers. The total urban population increased tenfold between 1901 and 2001.The share of urban population to the total population increased from less than 11 percent to over 28 percent in the same period. Similarly the total number of urban agglomerations increased from 1827 to 4368 in the said period. While the annual growth rate of urbanization was slow in the initial decades of the 20th century, it gained momentum in the latter half.

It is only in the Seventh Five Year Plan the economic importance of cities was noted. The Plan observed, “Urbanisation is a phenomenon which is part and parcel of economic development in general. Certain activities are best performed in, indeed require, agglomeration of people. Planning of urban development should essentially be supportive of the economic development in the country, state or sub-region, be it in agriculture, extractive industry, manufacturing industry or in the tertiary sector.

The provision of urban services such as transport, communication, water, sanitation and shelter alone is usually unlikely to stimulate large-scale urban development. It is important to time investments in urban services and shelter to coincide with investments in agriculture and industry, mining and commerce, which provide sources of permanent employment. Therefore, it was decided that a proper urban development approach is required.

Axioms of Urban Planning(India-Specific):

Urbanisation is inevitable during the process of economic growth. However growth of large (primate) cities is not desirable. Such growth needs to be limited firstly by promoting small and medium towns and secondly by developing new towns or counter-magnets within the city regions.

Despite such efforts, when large cities continue to grow, continued growth of mixed-use, high density inner city areas is not desirable. Such growth needs to be restrained by regulations like maximum density and floor area ratio and new growth should be planned in the form of self-contained neighbourhoods (or sectors).

Land and real estate markets obey and follow such plans.

According to the University College London (UCL),U.K, Determinants and Associated Indicators of Urban Vulnerability and Well-being at Different Levels are as below:

LEVEL Determinants and associated indicators of urban vulnerability and well-beingINDIVIDUAL – access to adequate nutrition and health care (infant mortality)

– access to adequate education (drop-out rates) – access to adequate income (per capita income) – personal safety from domestic violence – access to credit

HOUSEHOLD –household type – household structure in terms of members in productive reproductive and community work– stage in the lifecycle – access to housing

COMMUNITY – access to, reliability and quality of basic needs of water, electricity, sanitation, roads, education and health care – personal safety from robbery and violence – capability and capacity of community based organizations

Institutional Framework In India:

Central Government Ministry Of Urban Development(National Building Construction Corp Limited,Town and

Country Planning Organization,National Institute of Urban Affairs)

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

Major Government Housing Finance Bodies(National Housing Bank,HUDCO)

State Government(State/District/City Level Authorities)

The Ministry of Urban Development is the apex authority of Government of India at the national level to formulate policies, sponsor and support programme, coordinate the activities of various Central Ministries, State Governments and other nodal authorities and monitor the programmes concerning all the issues of urban development in the country. The Ministry was constituted on 13th May, 1952. The indirect effect of the fiscal, economic and industrial location decisions of the Govt. of India exercise a dominant influence on the pattern of urbanisation and real estate investment in the country.

SCHEMES /POLICIES/PROGRAMS/INITIATIVES IN PLACE WHICH FOSTER DEVELOPMENT IN THE URBAN SPHERES OF INDIA:

Name Year instituted

The Rationale behind

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)1

Mission period of seven years beginning from 2005-06

To encourage reforms and fast track planned development of identified cities.

Focus is to be on efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms, community participation, and accountability of Urban Local Bodies(ULB’s2)/Parastatal agencies towards citizens

The National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP)

2006 To promote integrated land use and transport planning

Offers Central Government’s financial support for investment in public transport and infrastructure.

It encourages capacity building at the institutional and individual levels.

National Urban Sanitation Policy

2008 This policy aims at creating cities free from open defecation practices.

It moots the idea of totally sanitized and open-defecation cities as a target through setting up of the City Sanitation Task Force.

Annual ratings of cities on select sanitation-related parameters shall be carried out, best performing cities will be recognized through awards such as the Nirmal Gram Puraskar4.

Scheme for urban infrastructure in satellite town around seven mega cities

2009 To develop urban infrastructure facilities, implement reforms(e-governance, barrier free environment) and formulation of necessary bylaws to incorporate provisions.

Renewable energy for urban, industrial and commercial application

2009 Aims at meeting certain niche energy demands of rural, urban, industrial and commercial sectors in the country. Focus on Research and development, Planning for institution of :

Solar {water heating/air heating /

cooling /crop drying, cooking, green buildings and cities}.

Urban Land Policy Approx.1969 To achieve optimum social use of urban land;

To make land available in adequate quantity, at right time and for reasonable prices to both public authorities and individuals;

To encourage cooperative community effort and bona fide individual builders in the field of land development, housing and construction;

To prevent concentration of land ownership in a few private hands and especially to safeguard the interests of the poor and under - privileged sections of the urban society.

Urban food security- Public distribution system (PDS)

Major commodities such as staple food grains, i.e. wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene is distributed at subsidized rates through a network of public distribution shops (also known as ration shops) established in several states across the country.

Has been criticised for its urban bias5 and its failure to serve the poorer sections of the population effectively

Promotion of public private partnership (PPP)

MOUD6 actively promotes PPPs in the urban key infrastructure sector.

Notable PPPs in urban service delivery include the 24x7 water supply scheme (Hubli-Dharwad, Karnataka), water efficiency and reduction of non-revenue water (Chandigarh), mass rapid transit system (Mumbai), city bus transport (Indore, Rajkot, Vadodara), solid waste treatment (Mumbai, Bangalore), etc.

Centers of excellence on urban development

Institution of 13 Centers of Excellence in reputed academic and research organizations across the country.

Aim is to strengthen capacity building measures, promote awareness, research and training in priority areas.

Rajiv Awas Yojona (RAY) 2013-2022 Aim is to achieve vision of slum-free cities.

Provision of subsidized credit and basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities in slums/low-income settlements adopting a 'whole city' approach.

National mission on sustainable habitat

2010 The objective is to promote sustainability of habitats through improvements in energy efficiency in buildings, urban planning, improved management of solid and liquid waste including recycling and power generation, modal shift towards public transport and conservation.

Urban poverty reduction Scheme

1999 Basically three fold:

Provision of basic services, Antipoverty programmes (APPs) Empowerment and safety nets

(Empowering those with disabilities Reforming social ‘deviants’, Caring for other disadvantaged people ).

North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme (NERUDP)

Phase-I in process of implementation

The project covers priority urban services across five north eastern states in areas of:

Water Supply Sewerage and Sanitation Solid Waste Management.

Other Issues of Pertinence:

GENDER EQUALITY AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT:

This is an area which has received less attention than rural development within the gender and development discourse. The emphasis here is mainly on poor, urban women, especially those in slums and informal settlements.

There is need for a balanced approach on achieving gender equality and empowering women. This approach needs to focus on both the rural and the urban poor, and the many linkages between them. Migration, the flow of money and resources, and environmental interdependency between rural and urban areas makes sustainable urbanisation a global issue affecting both the countryside and the city.

“The empowerment of women and their full and equal participation in political, social and economic life, the improvement of health and the eradication of poverty are essential to achieving sustainable human settlements.” — The Habitat Agenda, 1996

In particular, it is worth noting paragraph 46 of the Habitat Agenda, which states the commitment of UN member states to “integrate gender perspectives in legislation, policies and projects through theapplication of gender-sensitive analysis.”The paragraph also highlights the importance of incorporating gender in human settlements planning and monitoring and evaluation, including “collecting, analysing and disseminating sex-disaggregated data and information on human settlements issues.”

SUSTAINABILITY:

Ellen Wratten in her book titled ‘Urban Poverty: Characteristics, Causes and Consequences’ raises the following questions:

What does it mean at the level of urban development planning to be sustainable at individual, household and community levels?

Which projects, programmes and institutions concerned with urban development have greatest potential for sustainability?

This requires clarification of the concept of socially sustainable urban development. The distinction between different levels provides a useful means by which to assess and promote concrete interventions. Resources mobilized at the community level that make a project sustainable in the long term (socially and financially) depend on the extent to which participation has been integrated into the planning process – not simply as a means for project cost-sharing, efficiency or effectiveness but as an end for building beneficiary capacity and empowerment.

The more the urban poor are recognized as subjects of empowerment, and not merely as a working force to lower costs, the greater are the chances of achieving sustainable projects in the long term. The sustainability of a programme, on the other hand, depends on other factors that have broader spatial, economic and social elements. India is yet to achieve sustainability in terms of full capacity.

Conclusion:

‘In the era of economic reforms, liberalization and globalisation, cities and towns are emerging as centres of domestic and international investment. Within this framework, urban development policy calls for an approach that aims to optimise the productive advantages of cities and towns, while at the same time minimise or mitigate the negative impacts of urbanisation.’ (National Institute of Urban Affairs,1998)

India no longer lives only in its villages. The deficiencies in services in urban areas are absorbed by the subservient lower income sections of the population in India. Lack of efficient /effective management and resulting Infrastructure inadequacies and inequitable distribution has/continues to led to service leakages and financial losses.This will have an adverse impact on urban productivity and economic growth.To make continued economic growth possible with growing population, urbanization and industrialization Improvements in productivity and efficacy achievement in legislations framed-in practice is essential.

Notes:

1 JNNURM –Phase II,will be renamed and relaunched by the Narendra Modi government, according to Urban Development minister Mr.Venkaiah Naidu.The new project, likely to have an outlay of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, will be named after a “national icon”. As on March 18th 2014, Tamil Nadu has the best record in completion of projects and Gujarat in reforming urban laws under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. This is the initial assessment of the new Independent Evaluation Office, under the Planning Commission. Bihar has been the worst performer on both.

2ULBs or Urban Local Bodies Urban Local Bodies of India are the constitutionally provided administrative units that provide basic infrastructure and services in cities and towns. The ULBs are responsible for providing all the civic services and amenities to the citizens. ULBS are categorized as: Municipal Corporations constituted in cities, Municipal Committees/Councils/Boards in towns and Cantonment Boards in designated military cantonment areas. There are more than 3000 ULBs in the country as per census of India.

3 Ring fence fund is a protection-based transfer of assets from one destination to another, usually through the use of offshore accounting. A ring fence is meant to protect the assets from inclusion in an investor's calculable net worth or to lower tax consequences.

4 The “Nirmal Gram Puraskar” “Clean Village Award” was started in 2005 under Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) to honor, felicitate and encourage those Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) which have achieved full sanitation coverage in their area of operation and become Open Defecation Free and clean villages, for making TSC into a mass movement.

5Urban bias refers to a political economy argument according to which economic development is hampered by groups who, by their central location in urban areas, are able to pressure governments to protect their interests.

6MoUD or Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in India. The ministry is under the charge of Venkaiah Naidu. The Ministry was attached on and off with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation on many occasions, before finally becoming independent in 2004.

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