{"id":43231,"date":"2024-11-04T12:11:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T06:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43231"},"modified":"2025-05-06T00:48:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T19:18:51","slug":"what-are-the-major-challenges-faced-by-indian-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-are-the-major-challenges-faced-by-indian-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the Major Challenges Faced by Indian Cities?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Background<\/li>\n<li>Unique Urbanisation Pathway in India<\/li>\n<li>Primary Challenges of Indian Urbanisation<\/li>\n<li>Environmental Challenges and Climate Impact<\/li>\n<li>Social Inequality &amp; Segregation<\/li>\n<li>Governance &amp; Decentralisation Issues<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>With October 31 recognized globally as World Cities Day, this year&#8217;s theme is &#8220;Youth Climate Changemakers: Catalysing Local Action for Urban Sustainability,&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>It aims to bring attention to the pressing issues affecting urban centres worldwide, particularly in India.<\/li>\n<li>With over 4<strong>0% of India\u2019s population residing in urban areas across approximately 9,000 towns<\/strong>, Indian cities face unique challenges exacerbated by rapid urbanization, socio-economic inequalities, and climate threats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Unique Urbanisation Pathway in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Unlike Western nations, where urbanization followed industrialization and economic growth, India&#8217;s urban expansion is primarily &#8220;poverty-driven.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Economic distress pushes rural populations to urban areas, often without adequate infrastructure or employment opportunities.<\/li>\n<li>Migration patterns highlight infrastructure gaps.<\/li>\n<li>During the COVID-19 pandemic, reverse migration underscored the lack of essential services for urban residents and strained rural areas unprepared for the returning population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Primary Challenges of Indian Urbanisation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Outdated Spatial Planning<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>India&#8217;s urban planning often lags behind current needs, with many plans focusing on capital growth rather than human-centric development.<\/li>\n<li>Outmoded spatial plans fail to account for rising populations and housing demands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deindustrialization and Employment<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Post-1980s deindustrialization in cities like Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Mumbai led to significant job losses, pushing displaced workers into peri-urban slums where nearly 40% of India&#8217;s urban population now resides.<\/li>\n<li>Employment remains mostly informal, with 90% of jobs lacking job security and adequate working conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Environmental Challenges and Climate Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Climate Vulnerabilities<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Indian cities, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), experience severe air pollution, urban flooding, and the &#8220;urban heat island&#8221; effect.<\/li>\n<li>Among India\u2019s ten most polluted cities, eight are located in the NCR, leading to substantial health risks and decreased quality of life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Urban Flooding and Extreme Heat<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>The increase in impervious surfaces and poor drainage systems make Indian cities prone to urban flooding.<\/li>\n<li>The dense construction exacerbates heat levels, significantly impacting public health and productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Social Inequality &amp; Segregation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Growing Inequality<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Cities are witnessing widening socio-economic disparities, with luxury housing projects such as DLF&#8217;s &#8220;The Dahlias&#8221; in Gurugram offering apartments starting at \u20b9100 crore, contrasting with millions living without basic shelter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Community Segregation<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Contrary to the notion that cities dilute social and religious differences, urban areas in India are becoming increasingly segregated along these lines, leading to community isolation and tensions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Governance &amp; Decentralisation Issues<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Limited Local Authority<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment aiming for decentralized urban governance, most Indian cities lack control over urban planning and essential functions.<\/li>\n<li>Only a few cities have implemented more than three of the 18 mandated functions outlined in the 12th Schedule.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Funding Constraints<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Urban areas receive minimal financial support from intergovernmental transfers, with cities allocated only 0.5% of the GDP, limiting their capacity for sustainable development and infrastructure improvements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Indian cities face complex, interwoven challenges requiring coordinated national interventions and empowered local governance to create inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban environments.<\/li>\n<li>Comprehensive solutions involving updated spatial planning, adequate resource allocation, and localized climate action are crucial to addressing these issues and ensuring a more equitable future for India\u2019s urban population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1. What is an Urban Heat Island?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>An urban heat island (UHI) is a city or urban area that experiences higher temperatures than the surrounding rural areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2. What is an Urban Sprawl?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Urban sprawl is defined as &#8220;the spreading of urban developments on undeveloped land near a more or less densely populated city&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/what-are-the-major-challenges-faced-by-indian-cities-explained\/article68826666.ece#:~:text=Cities%20here%20often%20suffer%20from,vulnerability%20to%20climate%2Drelated%20events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">What are the major challenges faced by Indian cities? | Explained<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 31 is recognized globally as World Cities Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43232,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}