Assistant Professor in
Urbanization is a part and parcel of economic development. It is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial one. This paper endeavors to enlighten on the process of urbanization in India having an interstate analysis which focus on trends, problems, and prospects. It will try to trace urban problems and form some policy. The increase in urban population from 1951 to 2001 has been 223 million that indicates urban population increased 4.6 times in between 1951 and 2001. Only 27.8% of population was living in urban areas as per 2001 census. Urbanization rate in India is much less than other developed countries. The state-wise variations in India are significant. In case of interstate analysis it is shown that Maharashtra is the highest urbanized state while Assam is the least one. It is estimated that there are almost billion poor people in the world; of this over 750 million live in urban areas without adequate shelter and basic services. Due to urbanization there is problem of employment, environmental pollution, congestion, transportation etc. There is also regional disparity between different groups within that limited urban area. Slum formation is a major problem now days to urban area. The basic services are not provided according to the requirement. Cities are suffering from urban poverty, unemployment, shortage of housing, crisis in urban infrastructural services: these large cities cannot absorb these distressed rural migrants i.e. poor landless illiterate and unskilled agricultural labourers. Hence, this migration to urban class causes urban crisis more acute. This paper consists of three sections. The first section deals with introduction and importance of urbanization pattern in India. The second section examines an interstate analysis of urbanization trend and the final section deals with urban trend and policy measures.
Urbanization, development, variation, employment, pollution, poverty, migration
