Urban Flooding in Metropolitan Cities

 

Delhi Master Plan 2041

Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2041 is an instrument that assesses the current status of the National Capital and guides how desired development in various areas can be achieved. This is the fourth master plan developed by Delhi development Authority (DDA).

Key Focus Areas of MPD 2041:

Environment:

Green cover: Even though Delhi is among the greenest cities in the country, the distribution of greenery across the city is uneven and hence inequitable.

The MPD 2041 categorizes the Ridge as a regional park and limits development and activities in the area.

Agencies will have to promote native species of trees and plants which act as pollution filters.

Pollution: Environmental pollution is a significant concern, with the city witnessing poor air quality almost throughout the year. This can be tackled through multi-state efforts, the master plan notes.

NCR member states are required to follow directions of the Regional Plan and the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority to address pollution and climate change.

All development activities have to follow dust mitigation measures while handling construction materials and construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

There is a need to improve awareness and provide adequate and reliable information to engage stakeholders as implementation partners.

Water:

Water availability: The Yamuna River is the most precious water resource of the city.

The city also hosts water bodies in the form of lakes, ponds, and tanks, which have been facing encroachment, pollution, and natural drying up, affecting its water resources.

Water pollution: The 22-km stretch of Yamuna between Wazirabad and Okhla in Delhi accounts for about 70% of the pollution load in the river.

Addressing concerns: The MPD 2041 seeks prevent discharge of untreated wastewater and industrial effluents into water bodies. The plan aims for time-bound removal of existing pollutants using natural non-mechanized systems.

There is a provision for periodic monitoring along the entire length of drains by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

Energy and Waste:

Delhi is one of the highest power consumers and waste generators in the country, and the MPD seeks to identify potential renewable energy generation areas within the city along with strategies and projects to meet the Renewable Energy targets.

The plan proposes several steps, such as mandatory use of modular star-rated electrical appliances and electrical fixtures in buildings for higher energy efficiency.

Segregation of waste at source points, empowering local bodies to tackle waste generated at large public gatherings and festivals held in open areas, and mainstreaming reuse and recycling practices are being suggested for better waste management.

Mobility:

Due to its huge fleet of private vehicles, the city witnesses congestion and unorganized parking, apart from contributing to air pollution.

MPD seeks to improve the mobility of citizens by providing last-mile connectivity and infrastructure for walking and cycling.

Encouraging green mobility to tackle climate change will be a priority under MPD.

Housing:

Population increase and migration have created a need for new types of housing in Delhi.

The MPD seeks to provide affordable rental housing, etc., and enhanced built environment, safety and quality of life in old and unplanned areas.

The plan will address the housing needs of students, single working women and men, migrants and others through affordable housing, rental housing, hostels, studio apartments, serviced apartments, and dormitories

Public Spaces:

The existing open and public spaces have become inadequate. There is a need to make public spaces more accessible, inclusive, and safer for its residents.

The MPD will address issues of safety, encroachment, and lack of infrastructure to ensure a vibrant public realm in the city.

Heritage Sites:

Delhi being a heritage city, the MPD aims to preserve various heritage sites across the city by building strong economic linkages and creating opportunities for cultural experience, tourism and active public life.

Local bodies will be allowed to set up Heritage Cells to manage heritage assets, monitor the status of their upkeep, promote complementary economic/ cultural activities, conduct festivals, facilitate adaptive reuse projects, and set up a heritage fund to support these initiatives.

Plans for specific heritage zones of Delhi include promoting Shahjahanabad (walled city) as a cultural enterprise hub, and following development-oriented norms for Lutyens’ bungalow zone.

Vulnerability:

The City of Delhi is vulnerable to damage due to earthquakes, fire outbreaks and flooding.

MPD measures include dedicated structural audits, mandatory clearances from the fire department for buildings hosting inflammable materials, obstruction-free natural and engineered drains with regular desilting.

Economic Potential:

Areas such as specialty health, higher education, tourism, modern logistics, and specialized trade will be focused to realize Delhi’s potential as an economic hub.

MPD seeks a balanced economic growth by supporting formal and informal economies (inclusive economy), promoting eco-friendly economies (clean economy) and encouraging economies that provide a unique role for the city in the regional context (niche economy).

Monitoring and Evaluation:

MPD calls for monitoring and evaluation framework with key performance indicators to ensure growth is in desired direction.

This can be implemented through a common database at the city-level with multi-agency coordination and an integrated monitoring protocol.

An interdisciplinary team at DDA will be set up to check the progress of the plan.

Flash Floods in India

 

Coastal Erosion In India

 

Programmes and Schemes to Encourage Tree Plantation in Urban Areas

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has taken various initiatives through programmes and schemes that encourages tree plantation including urban areas in the country. The scheme, Nagar Van Yojana (NVY) has been launched during the year 2020, for creation of Nagar Vans in urban areas, which promotes urban forestry by involving local communities, NGOs, educational institutions, local bodies, etc.

Besides, the National Mission for a Green India (GIM), under which, in addition to other sub-missions, there is a specific sub-mission for enhancing tree cover in urban and peri-urban areas. Urban forestry is also a permissible activity under the provisions of Compensatory Fund Act, 2016 and the Rules made thereunder. Forestry/tree plantation activities including urban forestry, being a multi-departmental, multi-agency activity, are taken up cross-sectorally under various programmes/funding sources of other ministries/ organizations and also through State Plan budgets.

The tree outside forest (ToF) refers to all trees growing outside recorded forest areas. The patches of 1 ha and above outside the recorded forest area and Tree Cover, both constitute the ToF. As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2015 published by Forest Survey of India (FSI), MoEFCC the Tree Cover is 92,572 sq. km. As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021 the Tree Cover is 95,748 sq. km. The Forest Survey of India in ISFR, 2021 have done mapping for Forest Cover in Major Mega Cities i.e. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. The total forest cover reported in these seven major mega cities is 509.72 sq. km. Nagar Van Yojana envisages creating a Nagar Van / Nagar Vatika in each City having Municipal Corporation/Municipal council/Municipality/Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for providing wholesome healthy living environment for the residents and thus contributing to growth of clean, green, healthy and sustainable cities. The salient features of Nagar Van Yojana are:

(i) Creating green space and aesthetic environment in an urban set up.

(ii) Creating awareness about plants and biodiversity and developing environment stewardship.

(iii) Facilitating in-situ conservation of important flora of the region.

(iv)Contributing to environmental improvement of cities by pollution mitigation, providing cleaner air, noise reduction, water harvesting and reduction of heat islands effect.

(v) Extending health benefits to residents of the city and

(vi) Helping cities become climate resilient.

Under NVY, so far, 385 projects have been sanctioned in the country, since inception of the scheme in 2020.

Flood Disaster in India

India is extremely susceptible to flooding. Over 40 million hectares (mha) of the 329 million hectares (mha) total geographic area are at risk of flooding. Floods are a frequent occurrence that result in significant human casualties as well as damage to property, infrastructure, and public services. The fact that flood-related damages are on the rise is cause for alarm.

In the past ten years, from 1996 to 2005, the average yearly flood damage was Rs. 4745 crore, compared to Rs. 1805 crore, the corresponding average for the prior 53 years. Numerous factors, such as a sharp rise in population, fast urbanization, an increase in economic and development activity in flood plains, and global warming, might be blamed for this.

Flood Zone Map:

Punjab, Haryana, the majority of the Gangetic plains, including Uttar Pradesh, North Bihar, and West Bengal, the Brahmaputra valley, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, and southern Gujarat are the primary flood zone in India. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are currently experiencing the full force of the floods. In September 2014, the Indian-administrated Jammu and Kashmir territory saw catastrophic flooding that affected the majority of its districts. Devastating floods and landslides were created in June 2013 by a multi-day cloudburst that was centered on the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. 

What is Flood:

Flood is a state of high-water level along a river channel or on the coast that leads to inundation of land. Floods are commonly associated with a stream or river. A stream floods when its discharge is greater than the capacity of its river channel. Excess water flows over the riverbanks and submerges the adjacent land which is usually dry. When it happens, the channel and the flood plain together allow passage of water.

Flood in India 2023:

Heavy rainfall during the 2023 monsoon season resulted in severe flooding and landslides across Northern India, primarily affecting residents in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. A monsoon surge, coupled with a western disturbance has led to the highest rainfall in decades in some parts of the region, causing nearby rivers to overflow, with flooding and landslides washing away vehicles, destroying bridges and roads, and disrupting power and electricity.

Over 100 individuals across Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, have died over a two-week period of intense rain and flooding, with thousands of others evacuated to relief camps. The states of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana experienced extensive waterlogging due to heavy rainfall.

Causes of Floods:

The causes of flood can be classified into two types first the Natural causes and second is the Anthropogenic Causes. The natural causes have been mentioned below:

Heavy rainfall:

Heavy rain in the catchment area of a river causes water to overflow its banks, which results in the flooding of nearby areas. The Assam floods are due to heavy rainfall in a short period of time.

Snow melt:

Snowmelt and glacial melt are gradual processes and usually does not cause major floods. But sometimes glaciers hold large quantity of bounded water, which may be suddenly released with melting of ice block resulting into Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). In June 2013, flashfloods in Uttarakhand that wiped out settlements and decimated lives are attributed to a GLOF in the Chorabari glacier.

Sediment deposition:

Riverbeds become shallow due to sedimentation. The water carrying capacity of such river is reduced. As a result, the heavy rainwater overflows the river banks. Frequent floods were observed in 2003, 2008, 2011, and 2013 near the deltaic region of the Mahanadi River due to the excessive sediment deposition.

Tropical cyclones and hurricanes:

These powerful weather systems often bring heavy rainfall and storm surges, resulting in widespread flooding in coastal and low-lying areas. In 2019, Cyclone Fani hit the eastern coast of India, resulting in heavy rainfall and storm surges.

Change in the course of the river:

Meanders, erosion of riverbeds and banks, and obstruction of flow due to landslides also lead to changes in river courses. The 2008 Kosi River flood resulted from heavy rainfall and a subsequent course change, leading to catastrophic flooding, displacement of thousands, and widespread damage in Bihar, India.

Tsunami:

Large coastal areas are flooded by rising sea water, when a tsunami strikes the coast.

Lack of Lakes:

Lakes can store the excess water and regulate the flow of water. When lakes become smaller, their ability to regulate the flow become less and, hence flooding.

The Anthropogenic Causes has been discussed below:

Deforestation:

The removal of trees and vegetation reduces the natural absorption of rainfall, leading to increased surface runoff and a higher likelihood of flooding. The devastating floods that hit the state of Kerala in 2018 were partially attributed to deforestation, as the loss of forest cover reduced the natural water-holding capacity of the region.

Urbanization:

Construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure reduces natural permeable surfaces, which can exacerbate surface runoff and overwhelm drainage systems. Chennai experienced severe flooding in 2015 due to heavy rainfall combined with unplanned urbanization. The city’s drainage systems were overwhelmed, resulting in widespread inundation and disruption.

Land use changes:

Alterations in land use, such as converting natural wetlands into agricultural or urban areas, can disrupt natural water retention and drainage patterns, increasing the risk of flooding.

Dam failures:

Structural failures or breaches in dams and reservoirs can release large volumes of water downstream, causing severe flooding. In 2019, the collapse of the Tiware Dam in Maharashtra caused flash floods in downstream villages.

Interference in drainage system:

Drainage congestion caused by badly planned construction of bridges, roads, railway tracks, canals etc. hampers the flow of water and results in floods.

Flood Vulnerability in India:

As per the Geological Survey of India (GSI), over 40 million hectares which is nearly 12 % of the total land area of India is prone to floods.

India receives an annual rainfall of 1200 mm, 85% of which is concentrated in 3-4 months i.e., June to September. Due to the intense and periodic rain, most of the rivers are fed with huge quantity of water, much beyond their carrying capacity leading to mild to severe flood situations in the region.

The major flood areas in India are in the Ganges – Brahmaputra – Meghna Basin which accounts for nearly 60% of the total river flow of the country.

Floods in India in Last 5 years:

This is a list of significant floods that have been documented in India. In India, floods are the most frequent natural calamity. The Brahmaputra, one of the heavier southwest rivers, as well as other rivers, often cause nearby communities to flood. Check the flood disaster from 2018 to 2023.

Kerala Flood in 2018 and 2019:

Kerala experienced a 23% overflow of the southwest monsoon in 2018, and August saw 96% above-average rainfall. Kerala, India, experienced significant rainfall on August 8 in the middle of the evening that was 116% over average, causing dams to overflow. The state received 310 mm (12 in) of rain over the last 48 hours. Since the water level had increased to almost overflow level as a result of severe rain, flooding nearby low-lying areas, nearly all dams had been opened. 35 of the state’s 54 dams have been opened for the first time ever. The leveling of wetlands is thought to be one cause. It has been said that the flood was a result of global warming.

Kerala was severely flooded on August 8, 2019, as a result of the monsoon season’s abundant rainfall. A low that tossed the Arabian Sea caused heavy convection over Kerala, which led to the severe rains. To safer locations and relief camps, thousands of people have been evacuated. As of August 19th, 2019, 121 persons had lost their lives as a result of rain-related incidents.

Assam Flood in 2020:

The state of Assam is susceptible to yearly flooding because of its tropical monsoon environment. The COVID-19 pandemic and the large flood of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Assam are referred to as the “2020 Assam Floods.” Heavy rains in May 2020 caused the first floods, which affected 30,000 people and destroyed crops in five regions.

Uttarakhand Flood in 2021:

The Chamoli tragedy, also known as the 2021 Uttarakhand flood, started on February 7, 2021, near the Nanda Devi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the outer Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand state, India. It was brought on by a massive rock and ice avalanche that was triggered by debris that was displaced from Ronti mountain. The Rishiganga, Dhauliganga, and Alaknanda rivers—the main headstream of the Ganges—all experienced floods in the Chamoli area as a result. Over 200 people were murdered or missing as a result of the catastrophe. Most were laborers at the Tapovan dam construction site.

Assam Floods in 2022:

One of the worst floods Assam has ever experienced occurred in 2022, lasting over 7 months (from April to October 2022) in a series of waves. The Pre-Monsoon Rains, which began in the state on April 6, 2022, and the Monsoon Season that followed are the main contributors to the floods. A total of 5.6 million people were impacted, 4.7 million were displaced, 108,308 hectares of cropland were devastated, 3,660,173 animals were impacted, and 32 districts in the state were affected.

North India Flood in 2023:

In Northern India, the monsoon season of 2023 brought about severe flooding and landslides that predominantly affected the people living in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi. The heaviest rainfall in certain parts of the region in decades has been brought on by a monsoon surge and a western disturbance. This has caused local rivers to overflow, flooding and landslides to demolish bridges and roads, wash away cars, and impair power and electricity.

Consequences of Floods:

Loss of life and injuries: Floods can result in the loss of human lives and cause injuries, especially when people are caught unaware or unable to evacuate in time.

Damage to infrastructure: Floodwaters can cause severe damage to roads, bridges, buildings, and other infrastructure. This damage can disrupt transportation networks, communication systems, and essential services, making rescue and relief operations challenging.

Displacement and homelessness: Floods often force people to evacuate their homes and seek shelter in temporary accommodations or relief camps.

Impact on agriculture and food security: Floods can devastate agricultural lands and crops, destroy livestock leading to significant losses in the agricultural sector.

Water contamination and health risks: Spread of diseases like cholera, gastro-enteritis, hepatitis and other water-borne diseases spread in the flood-affected areas.

Environmental damage: Floods can cause erosion, sedimentation, and the destruction of natural habitats.

Soil fertility: Floods also make a few positive contributions. Every year, flood deposit fertile silt over agricultural fields which restores fertility of the soil.

Flood Prevention and Mitigation:

Structural Measures:

Dams and Reservoirs: Construction of dams and reservoirs to store excess water during heavy rainfall and release it in a controlled manner, reducing downstream flood risk.

Levees and Floodwalls: Building embankments, levees, and floodwalls along rivers and coastlines to contain floodwaters and protect adjacent areas from inundation.

Flood Diversion Channels: Creation of diversion channels or canals to redirect excess water away from vulnerable areas, reducing flood impact.

Flood Control Basins: Designing flood control basins or detention ponds to temporarily store and regulate floodwaters, preventing their rapid downstream flow.

Channelization: Modifying and straightening river channels to improve their flow capacity and efficiency, reducing the risk of overflow and flooding.

Floodplain Restoration: Restoring natural floodplains by removing obstructions, reconnecting floodplain habitats, and creating additional space for water storage during floods.

Non-Structural Measures:

Flood plain Zoning and Land Use Planning: Implementing zoning regulations that restrict construction in high-risk floodplain areas, ensuring that development is appropriately located and mitigating potential flood damage.

Early Warning Systems: Establishing robust early warning systems that use technology and community engagement to provide timely alerts and evacuation guidance to vulnerable populations.

Flood Insurance and Financial Mechanisms: Promoting the availability of flood insurance to incentivize risk reduction measures and provide financial protection to individuals and businesses affected by floods.

Public Awareness and Education: Conducting public awareness campaigns to educate communities about flood risks, safety measures, and preparedness strategies, fostering a culture of resilience.

Urban Drainage Systems: Developing and maintaining efficient stormwater drainage systems in urban areas to manage excess rainfall and prevent waterlogging and urban flooding.

Ecosystem-Based Approaches: Preserving and restoring natural ecosystems, such as wetlands and mangroves, which act as natural buffers and absorb floodwaters, reducing flood impacts.

Integrated Water Resources Management: Adopting an integrated approach to water resources management that considers the entire watershed, balancing water allocation, flood control, and environmental sustainability.

Urban Floods

What is Urban Flooding:

Urban flooding refers to the inundation of land or built-up areas, particularly in densely populated locations such as cities, due to excessive rainfall that surpasses the capabilities of drainage systems to handle the water.

Urban flooding is a major problem in many parts of the world and it is the leading cause of global flood losses.

How urban flooding is different from rural flooding:

Flood intensity: Urban flooding is significantly different from rural flooding as urbanization leads to developed catchments, which increases the flood peaks from 1.8 to 8 times and flood volumes by up to 6 times. Consequently, flooding occurs very quickly due to faster flow times.

Vulnerability: As urban areas are densely populated; people are more vulnerable to flooding and secondary effect of exposure to infection.

Economic impact: Urban areas being centers of economic activities have key infrastructure that has a bearing on national and global economy.

Causes of Urban Floods:

Meteorological factors:

Heavy rainfall: Intense and prolonged rainfall events can overwhelm the capacity of urban drainage systems to handle the volume of water, leading to floods.

Cyclonic storms and thunderstorms: They can bring heavy rainfall, strong winds, and intense downpours, resulting in rapid runoff leading to urban flooding.

Climate change: Climate change has resulted in extreme weather events, exacerbating the frequency of heavy rainfall episodes characterized by short durations.

Hydrological factors:

Overbank flow channel networks: The presence or absence of well-designed and maintained drainage systems, such as canals, rivers, and stormwater channels, affects the capacity of an area to handle excess water during heavy rainfall.

High tides in coastal cities: Coastal cities face additional challenges, as high tides can impede the drainage of rainfall water into the ocean or other bodies of water. This can cause water to back up and flood urban areas.

Anthropogenic Factors:

Land use changes and urbanization: Extensive urbanization and land use changes, such as replacing natural surfaces with impermeable materials like concrete and asphalt, reduce the land’s ability to absorb rainfall. This increases surface runoff and the risk of urban flooding.

Example: Chennai Floods 2015 – The rapid and unplanned urbanization in Chennai, particularly the conversion of wetlands and water bodies into built-up areas, played a significant role in exacerbating the flooding.

Occupation of floodplains and obstruction of flood flows: Building structures in flood-prone areas or obstructing natural watercourses can disrupt the natural flow of water during heavy rainfall events. This can cause water to accumulate and lead to flooding.

Example: Mumbai Floods 2005 – The flood event in Mumbai was partly attributed to the occupation of floodplains and the obstruction of flood flows due to encroachments and improper land use.

Urban heat island effect: Urban areas often experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas, creating what is known as the urban heat island effect. This can influence weather patterns and increase localized rainfall, which can contribute to urban flooding.

Dam operations: Sudden releases of water from upstream dams can result in a surge of water downstream, overwhelming urban areas. Conversely, failure to release water from dams during heavy rainfall can cause a backwater effect, where water cannot flow freely, leading to flooding.

Example: Uttarakhand Floods 2013 – The devastating flood event in Uttarakhand was exacerbated by the sudden release of water from dams located upstream. Heavy rainfall combined with the release of water from dams caused flash floods and landslides, resulting in significant loss of life and infrastructure damage in the region.

Improper waste disposal: Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste, such as garbage and debris, into urban water drains and channels can clog the drainage system. This obstruction impedes the flow of water during the monsoon season and increases the likelihood of urban flooding.

Example: Bengaluru Floods 2017 – The improper disposal of solid waste, particularly the clogging of stormwater drains with garbage and debris, contributed to urban flooding in Bengaluru.

Illegal Mining Activities: Illegal mining of river sand and quartzite for use in building construction deplete the natural bed of the rivers and lakes. It causes soil erosion and reduces the water retention capacity of the waterbody increasing the speed and scale of water flow.

Impacts of Urban Flooding:

Loss of Life and Property: Urban flooding poses a direct threat to human life and can result in casualties and injuries. It also leads to damage and destruction of buildings, infrastructure, and personal property.

Disruption of City Functions: Urban flooding can damage water supply systems, sewerage networks, power transmission lines, communication networks, transportation infrastructure (roads and railways), and other essential services.

Environmental Impact: The force of floodwaters can uproot trees, destroy vegetation, and lead to soil erosion. It also washes pollutants, debris, and waste into rivers and other water bodies, harming aquatic ecosystems and contributing to water pollution.

Health Impacts: Urban flooding increases the risk of waterborne diseases and the spread of infections. Contaminated floodwater can carry pathogens, chemicals, and pollutants that pose health hazards to humans and animals.

Psychological Impacts: loss of shelter, personal belongings, and the trauma of witnessing the destruction and potential loss of lives can lead to long-lasting emotional distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Urban Flood Risk in India:

There has been an increasing trend of urban flood disasters in India over the past several years whereby major cities in India have been severely affected.

Recent events of urban floods include Chennai floods of 2015 Mumbai floods of 2017, Guwahati floods of 2010, Bengaluru floods 2017 and Hyderabad floods of 2020.

There will be a rise in the frequency of floods in India due to rise in temperatures between 2070 and 2100, according to Climate Change and India: A 4×4 Assessment, a report by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Regions susceptible to floods, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), lie mostly along the Ganga-Brahmaputra river basin, from the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, covering Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and stretching to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast.

The coastal states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, parts of Telangana and Gujarat also witness yearly floods, NDMA observed.

National Disaster Management (NDMA) Guidelines on Urban Flood Management:

In 2010, NDMA had issued guidelines on Urban Flood Management in India:

✓ Create a National Hydro-meteorological Network.

✓ The guidelines say that for providing early warning, the Central Water Commission (CWC) should maximize the real-time hydro-meteorological network to cover all urban centres to effectively deal with the problem of urban flooding.

✓ Use of Doppler Weather Radars to be expanded to cover all urban areas in the country.

✓ An inventory of the existing stormwater drainage system to be prepared. The inventory will be both watershed-based and ward-based.

✓ Catchment to be the basis for planning and designing the stormwater drainage systems in all ULBs (Urban Local Bodies).

✓ All future road and rail bridges in cities crossing drain to be designed such that they do not block the flows resulting in backwater effect.

✓ Every building in an urban area must have rainwater harvesting as an integral component of the building utility.

✓ Low-lying areas in cities have to be reserved for parks and other low-impact human activities.

✓ Encroachments on the drain should attract penal action.

✓ Pre-monsoon desilting of all major drains to be completed by March 31 each year.

✓ Urban Flooding has to be dealt as a separate disaster, de-linking it from riverine floods which affect the rural areas.

✓ Suitable interventions in the drainage system like traps, trash racks can be provided to reduce the amount of solid waste going into the storm sewers.

✓ Inlets to be provided on the roads to drain water to the roadside drains and these have to be designed based on current national and international practices.

✓ Concept of Rain Gardens to be incorporated in planning for public parks and on-site stormwater management for larger colonies and sites that are to be developed.

✓ Flood hazard assessments should be done on the basis of projected future scenarios of intensities and duration of the rainfall and land-use changes.

Way Forward:

Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Develop climate-resilient infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather events and effectively manage water runoff. This includes incorporating green infrastructure, such as bioswales, permeable pavements, and rooftop gardens, which can absorb and store rainwater.

Early Warning Systems and Communication: Establish robust early warning systems that utilize advanced technologies to disseminate flood warnings in real-time. This helps residents and authorities to take necessary precautions and evacuate if required.

Developing Sponge Cities: The idea of a sponge city is to make cities more permeable so as to hold and use the water which falls upon it. The approach aims to enhance the capacity of cities to absorb, store, and utilize rainwater to mitigate flood risks and improve water resource management.

Urban Drainage Systems: Implement proper watershed management and develop emergency drainage plans. Regular maintenance and cleaning of drains and stormwater channels are essential to ensure smooth water flow and prevent blockages caused by solid waste and debris.

Conservation of Water Bodies: Protect and restore urban water bodies like lakes, tanks, and ponds, as they play a crucial role in managing urban flooding. These water bodies can act as natural retention basins, reducing stormwater runoff and preventing flooding.

Role of Science and Technology: This includes the use of predictive precipitation modeling, geospatial frameworks for vulnerability assessments, and innovative tools for analyzing and planning effective flood management strategies.

Urban planning with nature-based solutions: urban flood management in India continues to focus only on improving grey infrastructure, rescue & relief, instead of building solutions to increase flood resilience. Therefore, urban planning should adopt a hybrid approach of integrated green and grey infrastructure solutions.

Green Buildings

Green Building is a sustainable building with high efficiency in resource usage (energy, water, and materials) while reducing impacts on health and environment during its lifecycle through good building practices.

A Green building is designed, constructed, and operated to minimize the total environmental impacts while enhancing user comfort, and productivity”.  Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.

A green building is one which uses less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building. 

There are a number of features that can make a building ‘green’. These include:

✓ Efficient use of energy, water, and other resources.

✓ Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy.

✓ Pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of re-use and recycling.

✓ Good indoor environmental air quality.

✓ Use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical, and sustainable.

✓ Consideration of the environment in design, construction, and operation

✓ Consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction, and operation.

✓ A design that enables adaptation to a changing environment.

Urbanization Process and Urban Systems

Demographic, Economic and Social Aspects:

The term urbanization is generally explained as the process by which large numbers of people start permanently residing in particular areas resulting in the formation of towns and cities. It thus refers to the shift of population from rural to urban areas, the corresponding increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change in terms of social, economic and political processes. Though there is substantial debate on what constitutes urban, most of the time it is explained in terms of demographics and functional aspects. The definition of ‘urban’ varies with time and country. The United States, for instance, uses “urban place” to mean any locality where more than 2,500 people live. In Peru the term is applied to population centres with 100 or more dwellings. In India according to 2011 census of India the definition of ‘Úrban Area’ refers to the following aspects:

i) All places with a municipal corporations, municipalities, municipal committees, cantonment board or notified town area committee, etc. referred to as Statutory Towns of the concerned State/UT Government, irrespective of their demographic characteristics as reckoned on 31st December 2009.

ii) All other places which satisfied the following criteria:

a) A minimum population of 5,000;

b) At least 75 per cent of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and

c) A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.

Demographic aspects: 

The location of settlements governed by favourble physical settings results in changing its demographic concentrations. Population growth is rapid with natural increase as well as age-and sex selective male working immigrant population. This is well marked in major industrial towns of India while in western countries where areas of light manufacturing and service industries are marked by predominance of women labor force. The resultant effect is marked by high population densities over the period in these urban centers. Birth rates are generally lower in these towns with few exceptional towns.

Economic aspects: 

In terms of organization of Economic activities in the settlement reflected through the nature of production processes, distribution and exchange through types of market and financial institutions that evolved. Dependency levels are relatively lower. Living standards are comparatively higher than its rural counterpart. Economic activities are more complex with diversification and specialization.

Social Aspects: 

In view of Social aspects it is reflected in terms of structuring of social- cultural tradition such as religion, language and lifestyle. Specialization in professional and technical services determined by literacy and educational standards etc. Higher literacy levels, better opportunities and availability of recreational facilities are marked features of these urban centers.

Political aspects: 

In terms exercising its political power represented through governance, rules and regulations, territorial limits for movement of people and trade, defense agreements and political barriers etc.

Basic Civic amenities: 

Better and higher Educational facilities, supply of water and power, sanitation and sewer systems, open green spaces, gardens and playgrounds, recreational facilities are most additional factors of attraction for immigration of urban centers.

Infra-structure facilities: 

In terms of network of transport and communication systems these are well developed and relatively cheaper, frequent, fast and comfortable in urban areas.

    Thus the urban centers are heterogeneous and complex towns in term of demographic composition, economic and social structure. 

National Urban planning Conclave Creating Sustainable Cities

Data and Technology to drive Liveable Cities

 

Urban Transformation

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised an event to commemorate 6 years of the three transformative Urban Missions vis. Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Atal Mission for Urban Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).

Urbanization is a form of social transformation from traditional rural societies to modern urban communities. Urban transformation expresses entire strategies and actions used to improve the economic, social, physical, and environmental conditions of damaged and collapsed urban areas by comprehensive and integrated approaches. For example, in Pune, India's first worker-owned waste-pickers’ cooperative is helping to create an efficient waste-collection system that reaches more residents and showing cities how to incorporate informal workers into a modern economy.

The approach of urban transformation becomes important due to following reasons: 

Population growth: The population of Indian towns is expected to increase from 282 million to 590 million in the next 20 years. By 2050 the proportion living in urban areas is expected to reach 66%. 

Employment opportunities: Due to industrialisation, majority of people migrate into urban areas to seek a better livelihood as ample job opportunities in cities are available in all developmental sectors such as public health, education, transport, sports and recreation etc. 

Economic growth: India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and its high economic growth is due to expansion of towns and cities. Indian cities are likely to contribute to 70% of India’s GDP by 2030. 

Sustainable development: The urban transformation puts the cities on a central stage for accelerating change towards local and global sustainability and resilience which are enshrined in the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

challenges in effecting urban transformation:

Institutional:

✓74th amendment act has been implemented half-heartedly by the states which has not fully empowered the Urban local bodies (ULBs) functionally and financially. 

✓ Public monopoly, organizational inefficiency, technical flaws in the form of high leakages, lack of preventive maintenance, poor accounting as well as over staffing and lack of autonomy have led to failure of the public sector to provide adequate service delivery. 

✓State and national planning institutions lack qualified planning professional. o Lack a modern planning framework (decentralised planning) which limits effective land utilisation and cities’ abilities to grow in accordance with changing needs. 

✓Growing trend of declining ratio of revenue generation with the ULBs.

Infrastructural: 

✓ The rapid growth of urban population by natural and migration ways has put heavy pressure on public utilities like housing, sanitation, transport, water, electricity, health, education and so on. 

✓ Lack of investment in urban infrastructure and capacity building. 

✓ Despite high economic growth, India cities are the centres of high income inequality and poor quality of life. In 2019, New Delhi and Mumbai ranked 118th and 119th respectively, on the Global Liveability Index that covered 140 cities.

Environmental: 

✓ Urban areas are at higher risk to floods, earthquakes owing to low density and overcrowding. Urban areas are becoming heat islands, rising air and groundwater pollution and persistent water crisis. 

✓ Example, pollution in Delhi, floods in Mumbai and Chennai indicate poor urban planning and management. 

Social: 

✓ Issues of lack of resources, overcrowding, unemployment, poverty, and lack of social services and education habitually lead to many social problems and crimes including violence, drug abuse, human trafficking, sexual assault, child labour etc.

Other recently taken steps to further strengthen above missions:

Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0:

It aims to provide an overarching roadmap to formulate, implement and monitor urban climate actions in India. o CSCAF 2.0 consists of 28 diverse indicators across five sectors. 

Data Maturity Assessment Framework 2.0: 

Every year, the Smart Cities are being ranked so that Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) continue to invest in developing and strengthening their data ecosystems.  It assess the data readiness of 100 smart cities on the systematic pillars across 5 components namely policy, people, process, technology and outcomes.

ICT initiatives under Smart Cities: 

ICCC Maturity Assessment framework (IMAF): It is a self-assessment tool kit developed to assess the maturity of Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCC) across key aspects of functionality, technology, governance and citizen/stakeholders engagement. It helps cities identify areas of improvement in their ICCCs to deliver better services to the citizens. 

Smart City ICT standards: It facilitates interoperability between products in a multi-vendor, multinetwork and multi-service environment that exists in a smart city.

India Smart Cities Fellows Report: 

It promotes youth leadership and usher vibrancy in the design of India’s urban future. 

 TULIP (The Urban Learning Internship Program) Report:

It is a platform to connect graduates to ULBs and Smart Cities to co-create new solutions for our cities. o It was launched in partnership with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). 

NIUA (National Institute of Urban Affairs) Knowledge products: 

CITIIS (City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain) Program: It was launched in partnership with the French Development Agency and the European Union in 2018. It has a novel approach of developing demonstrative projects while furthering the agenda of sustainability and innovation in urban infrastructure. 

Handbook of Urban Statistics: It is the first of its kind document with a special focus on Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in Indian cities. It captures the data related to the nature and cause of disability, the socio-economic condition of PwDs and their access to various physical and social infrastructures.

Cities Insights Report: It investigates urbanization trends in Indian cities from the lens of marginalized populations, persons with disabilities, elderly, children and women. This initiative is under the ‘Building Accessible Safe Inclusive Indian Cities’ (BASIIC) Programme at the NIUA, New Delhi.  NIUA is an autonomous body of MoHUA, tasked to bridge the gap between research and practice on issues related to urbanization.

Approach to accelerate urban transformation in future:

Urban governance: With cities growing beyond municipal boundaries, having fully formed metropolitan authorities with clearly defined roles will be essential for the successful management of large cities in India. 

Integrated planning and management: It should include the needs of the marginalized sections including their residence, health, water, transportation, and other amenities at affordable prices. 

Finance: Devolution must be supported by more reforms in urban financing that will reduce cities’ dependence on the Centre and the states and unleash internal revenue sources. 

Trained human resource: Special knowledge and expertise is needed in urban planning of urban areas, especially in hill states, coastal regions, riversides, and disaster vulnerable areas.  

World Population Day 2023

World Population Day is commemorated every year on July 11th to raise awareness and educate individuals about the challenges and consequences associated with global population growth. It serves as a reminder to continuously work towards addressing these issues and improving the lives of everyone on the planet. The observance of World Population Day aims to promote understanding and encourage collective efforts in tackling the impacts of population growth.

World Population Day 2023-Theme:

According to United Nations, the theme for this year’s World Population Day is – Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities.

World Population Day 2023  - Significance:

Every year on July 11, the World Population Day event plays a significant role in bringing attention to concerns related to the world population. This day highlights the issues brought on by population growth, including poverty, a lack of food and water, environmental damage, and overburdened healthcare systems. It acts as a reminder for people, groups, and organisations, as well as for governments, to solve these urgent issues.  With the goal of building a world where every individual has a developing future full of promises, potential, and opportunities, the United Nations focuses on commemorating the day. In line with Agenda 2030's Sustainable Goals, it also seeks to build a sustainable future for everyone.

World Population Day 2023-History:

Dr K.C. Zachariah suggested celebrating this day when the world reached 5 billion population on July 11, 1987. The United Nations Development Programme’s Governing Council established World Population Day in 1989, inspired by the Day of Five Billion observed on July 11, 1987. In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly, through Resolution 45/216, decided to continue celebrating World Population Day to raise awareness about population issues and their interconnection with the environment and development.