Urbanization may be defined as a process by which villages turn in to towns and towns turn into cities. In the demographic sense it is an increase in the proportion of the urban population (U) to the total population (T), over a period of time. India's population grew three-fold from 350 million in 1947 to 1210 million in the year in 2011. During the same period, the urban population grew almost 4.6 fold as fast-from 62.4 million to 286 million (Census 2011). Thus, the Independent India has been urbanizing very fast. The process of urbanization has been closely linked with the process and pattern of economic development in the country. Although the process of urbanization in India could not be explained fully by the process of economic development, it is positively linked with the latter. The unprecedented growth in population, accompanied by technological and economic growth has enhanced urbanization. Cities are the focal points of opportunities. Hence there is always a movement of population to cities. This increases the pressure on existing facilities of housing and infrastructural facilities besides leading to congestion. Thus, the situation in our cities has become unmanageable and more alarming with the growing inequalities arising out of logs in adjustment to rapid and extensive urbanization. A great many ‘urban’ dwellers and individual households are not integrated socially, economically or politically in urban life. Their low level of incomes; lack of education; sub-standard living in slums and squatter settlements and increasing population concentrations; overloading the community's environmental life support system, in the face of already existing backlog of services and amenities, have added new dimensions to the problem increasing the maintenance cost of urban development.
