Uneven urbanisation:
The distribution of urban centres and the pace of urbanisation is not uniform across the country. States such as Bihar, Odisha, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh continue to be at a lower level of urbanisation than the national average of 31.1%. Over 75% of the urban population of the country is in 10 States: Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Kerala.
Statutory Towns Growing Without ‘Master Plans’:
Master plans are critical for managing urbanisation. They are statutory instruments to guide and regulate the present and future urbanization (like utilisation of land, expansion, and zoning of cities for 20–25 years). According to the NITI Aayog Report, ~50% of India’s statutory towns are expanding without any master plan to guide their growth and infrastructure. Urban economic activity is growing rapidly in these towns but there is no local government responsible and accountable for infrastructure development or service delivery. They continue to be governed as villages and do not have an urban local body. Haphazard growth, unplanned construction, and ad-hoc provisioning of infrastructure, over a long period of time, will put them at major risks of urbanisation.
Even when master plans exist, there are several challenges during their implementation like delays, disputes in courts etc. Some master plans also get amended more than a thousand times during their implementation.
Sub-Optimal Utilisation of Urban Land:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) noted that paradoxically congested land parcels of high population densities co-exist with vast parcels of under-utilized lands. A major reason for this is the fragmented and poorly recorded ownership of urban land. Moreover, multiple public sector organizations/agencies (ports, railways, ULBs, etc.) own land under their jurisdictions. This hinders holistic planning and development. Non-optimal utilization creates scarcity of land which raises land price and reduces space for affordable housing.
Magnitude of Population Living in Slums:
According to Census 2011, 17.3% of the total urban population was under slums in India and about 70% of this slum population was concentrated in 6 States: Maharashtra (18.1%), Andhra Pradesh (15.6%), West Bengal (9.8%), Uttar Pradesh (9.5%), Tamil Nadu (8.9%) and Madhya Pradesh (8.7%). The proportion of slum population is rapidly rising. Lack of affordable housing is contributing to creation and expansion of slums.
Increasing Risk of Water Scarcity in Cities:
The World Wide Fund for Nature India (2020) has found that Indian cities dominate current and future lists of global cities with the highest overall water risk. This situation is further exacerbated by the lack of adequate infrastructure in cities and towns to handle their own wastewater and solid waste. NITI Aayog in its Composite Water Management Index noted that hunt for additional water resources to sustain Indian cities will lead to “serious harm to the country’s biodiversity, environment, and ecological balance” (2019).
City Planning for Disaster Mitigation:
The aspect of disaster mitigation is missing in growth of Indian cities. NITI Aayog notes that the way urban areas are planned, developed, and managed; can create long lasting impacts on the local water availability and vulnerability to disasters. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs in its report observed that the encroachment of lakes and riverbeds had played a major role in urban flooding in Chennai.
Pressures on Coastal Habitations:
The coastal cities are home to 14% of the population in India and are vulnerable to floods due to multiple causes, that include faulty urban design and planning, dynamic coastline, flash floods, storm surges, cyclones, and tsunamis. Coastal habitations and infrastructural investments are vulnerable to rise in sea levels due to climate change and cyclones.