Paragraphs on Urbanisation in India!
Despite the predominant rural nature of the Indian economy, there has been a fast trend towards urbanization.
The growth of urban population has been very large since 1971 onwards.
Urbanisation in characterised by the following two elements; (i) It involves an increase in the number of population concentration; (ii) It involves transfer of people from agricultural to non-agriculture occupations.
Everyone would have ordinarily rated growing urbanisation as a mark of economic development, but when we analyse the causes that are responsible for this phenomenon in India, we are not sure footing as to the relationship between urbanization and economic development.
Urbanisation in India has been essentially the result of large scale rural-urban migration. Factors contributing to migration can be divided in two categories. Those at home, in the rural village, which push the individual towards the urban places and those in urban places which pull him there.
The push factors mainly include, (i) the low level of agricultural lands, (ii) tenant farming.
The pull factors include (i) Industrialization, (ii) improvement in transportation, (iii) improved communication, and (iv) higher educational facilities in urban areas.
Of the two sets of factors, contrary to the experience of developed countries, net migration in India has been caused primarily by the push factors and not by the pull factors. Rural urban migration in India has not been caused by increasing demand for labour in urban areas by developing economic activities in the towns and cities, but has been caused by a shift from low productive agricultural employment to yet another sector marked by low productivity employment, mainly handicraft production, retail trading and domestic service in urban areas.
The fact that urbanisation has been caused by push factors has given rise to a number of problems like over-crowding in urban areas and sheer inadequacy of infrastructure and various civic services. It also raises some further economic issues.
Urbanisation has its healthy aspects as also unhealthy ones. The two sides may be mentioned to form an opinion on the subject as also to formulate an appropriate urban policy.
The urbanization associated with development is something normal as has been the experience of the recent developed countries. In the process of development, many industrial cities came into existence in these countries. Alongside manufactures, service sectors also developed.
As a result, commercial, financial and other activities like repair, maintenance etc. expanded, with some cities specializing in them. The same can be said about the industrial towns that have come into existence in India.
The produce and service manufactures which symbolize the developing character of the economy. This has raised the proportion of the value of manufacturing and service sectors in the national produce of the country, although the increase has been small.
The desirable aspect is related to the expanded employment opportunities that are created in urban areas. This is benefit to urban population, as also the migrants from rural areas. The benefits to the rural labour from the agriculturally advanced state/regions of the country have been particularly marked.
With the increase in demand for labour in the urban areas for non food-consumer industries producing radios, television, cycle etc., as also for capital goods industries producing machines, tools, equipment etc., and service industries, there has been a drawing of labour from agriculture which has surplus labour.
This has raised the product per head for the remaining labour in agriculture. This is a familiar ascendancy of “industrialization—urbanization”. This has been observed all over the world since the Industrial Revolution. This consequence is inevitable as universal historical fact.
It is unavoidable too, and also desirable. Besides employment in the modem sectors, quite many in urban areas get work in the small establishments, largely producing traditional goods and services for the large industries. Domestic service in the wealthy as also in the middle-class families is also a source of considerable employment, particularly for women.
There is also gain arising out of the external economies that cities give rise to. Growth in the city- size to some point, for example, makes it possible to reap the economies of scale in the provision of various services. It is cheaper, for instance, to provide infrastructure like transport, communication etc.
It is also possible to meet the needs for education, water, drainage, medical facilities etc., at lower costs. Many a cultural activities, as also entertainment etc., can be organized without much expenditure of resources for a large many people.
A very important result of urbanization pertains to changes in attitudes that accompany it. This process is furthered also because of the large reduction in the costs of organizing and disseminating information.
The many contacts among people from different backgrounds, as also the variety of jobs and existence of cultural activities, tend to promote modernization of behaviour and motivation.
The changed attitudes, which replace the traditional ones, further promote the development of economic activities in urban areas. Together with other facilities mentioned above, it is rightly said that urbanization itself becomes a powerful factor in further urbanization.
While there are a number of benefits associated with urbanization, there are some serious problems that it gives rise to. One problem is that of congestion. It exhibit to itself in various forms. The traffic jams and, therefore, slowing down of movements, result from too many automobiles, in particular privately owned because of high income elasticity of demand for them.
While the number of vehicles increases, there is little that the governments with limited resources can do in respect of widening streets/roads, installation of electronic devices, enforcement of parking regulations etc.
Other causes of congestion are heavy concentration of population due to centralization of employment in urban areas, the creation of dense business areas etc. requiring more transportation to these places as also within these areas.
Another unhealthy aspect of urbanization is the excess of population which can find no jobs, houses, education, proper medical facilities etc. Since population is too much for urban areas, it has led to the emergence of large unemployment, slums, restlessness in educational institutions, violence etc. The overcrowding has led to many evils and vices, diseases and degradation, crime and cruelties etc. In a word, the quality of human life deteriorates.
Apart from the serious problems that congestion an overcrowding creates in urban areas, rural areas also suffer from migrations. In quite many areas rural people with strong physique and good brains leave for urban areas.
These cause loss of productivity in the villages. Those who get jobs may be able to earn more in cities, but the net earnings will be less because of the loss of production in rural areas. Quiet many of them do not get work in urban areas, thereby causing only loss.
The people left behind in villages are mostly women, old people and children. This causes many family and social problems. The village economy, already much backward and uncared for, is further neglected by the people and the authorities. In sum, urbanization is beset with many undesirable consequences.
It is thus obvious that urbanization is not an unmixed blessing. It is no doubt an essential part of development. But, beyond a certain point, it is, in fact, a highly unhealthy phenomenon which negates the very progress itself.