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URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT EMERGING ISSUES AND POLICIES #

N. Venkat Ram*

Introduction
Urbanization is an emerging phenomenon in the developing countries. The rapid growth of cities in developing countries has been a subject of concern for the development planners and policy makers since 1960s. Going by the present trends of urbanization, more than half of the world population would be living in urban areas by turn of this Century. India being no exception is also depicting similar trend. The number of urban settlements has increased from 1843 in 1951 to 4378 in 2001. In 1991, urban population was 217.8 million which was 25.72 per cent of the total population and in 2001 urban population was 286.1 million which was 27.8 per cent of the total population. By the year 2010, it is estimated that the urban population will be nearly 481 million i.e. 39.3 per cent of the total population. Nearly 50 per cent of India is likely to be urban by 2020 A.D. and the number of metropolitan cities would have double with at least three mega cities having a population of 20 millions each. Looking at the present grim status of infrastructure in our cities and particularly small and medium towns, such a massive increase in population would call for massive investments in physical and social infrastructure even if basic minimum standards of quality of life were to be maintained. While urban and regional development policies at high level are to be taken care, a revaluation and assessment of existing physical and social infrastructure, the financial and management constraints, various issues and their implications would become crucial in order to bring innovations to effectively cope with the growing demand. drinking water.
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At present as per the

Census of India estimates,

approximately 20 per cent of urban households do not have access to the safe Fifty two per cent population is left uncovered by sanitation

Paper to be presented at the Two Day National Seminar on Urbanization in India: Problems and Prospects, to be held at Osmania University College for Women, Koti (Autonomous), Hyderabad, during 24-25 January.
*

Research Scholar in Ph.D. Course, Department of Economics & Applied Economics, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar, Guntur.

services.

Coverage of organized sewage system

ranges from 35 per cent in The city roads are

class IV to 75 per cent in class I cities.

The drainage system for rain water

disposal covers only 66 per cent of the population.

inadequate for traffic requirements leading to congestion and fast deterioration in quality of roads due to excessive loads and traffic. Apart from deficiencies in terms of access to facilities, the operation and maintenance of infrastructure leaves much to be desired. The emerging scenario in India is that of a large number of citizens have been left without adequate shelter and without access to safe water or sanitation, while haphazard patterns of urban growth have caused economic efficiencies, environmental degradation and human misery. In a nutshell Indian urbanization is characterized by rapid increase in urban population and concentration of population in larger cities, mushrooming of slums, haphazard and unplanned growth of urban centres, rapid migration of poor from rural areas and small and medium towns to metro and mega cities and non-availability of physical and social infrastructure to teeming millions resulting in deterioration of quality of life in urban areas. Urbanization Trends in Andhra Pradesh Urbanization trends in Andhra Pradesh during 1901-2001 is presented in Table 1. It is evident from the Table that urban population of Andhra Pradesh had increased from 1.84 million in 1901 constituting 10 per cent of total population to 20.50 million in 2001 constituting 27.08 per cent of total population. In other words, the degree of urbanization has more than doubled in a period of ten decades.

Table 1 URBANIZATION TRENDS IN ANDHRA PRADESH DURING 1901-2001 Sl. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Year 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 No. of Towns 116 130 149 175 211 276 211 206 234 213 173 Total Urban Population (Million) 1.84 2.16 2.19 2.69 3.67 5.42 6.27 8.40 12.46 17.80 20.50 % of Urbanization 9.55 9.68 9.75 10.36 12.44 15.82 17.43 19.31 23.39 26.89 27.08 % Decadal Exponential Growth Rate 0.00 1.66 0.89 2.08 3.16 3.90 1.47 2.97 4.05 4.50 1.47

Source: Census of India, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001.

Urban Infrastructure Development In the urban infrastructure development, ULB, should focus on priority basis. First, improved water supply system in all the urban areas of the country. Second, improved drainage system in all major cities towns chronic water logging problem. Third, conversion of all kutcha roads into pucca roads in all urban areas. Fourth, development of sewerage network in phases to begin with towns having sewerage treatment facility created technologies and management systems. Issues involved Infrastructure is the backbone of any settlement and has strong correlation with activity location pattern. Quality of life has also been found to have high degree of correlation with quality of physical and social infrastructure period. The despondency surrounding the task of ameliorating urban condition arises primarily from speed of urban growth and shortage of resources human as well as financial. There are further contributing factors which operate with much greater force and are less amenable to solution due to shortage of resources. under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and finally adoption of appropriate region specific

Housing appears as a bottomless pit, individual projects being too marginal to have any real impact and the cost of major programmes beyond the realms of possibility. Water supply and sewerage projects often appear to be fighting a losing bottle the backlog growing faster than it can be filled. Soaring urban land prices make urban projects increasingly expensive. Comprehensive urban plans have tended to be unrealistic in terms of resources and implementation capacity and outdated by the time they are completed. Many new roads and transport facilities, dwellings and utilizes, employment sites, markets and social facilities will have to be provided. The extent to which levels of urban services and housing can be tailored to the resources available (both private and public). Poor housing in the urban centres is primarily a reflection of urban poverty. The important and extensive interactions between investment decisions usually undertaken in an unrelated manner either by individuals or by public entities and because of these interactions only private benefits. Considerable opportunities certainly exist for using pricing

mechanism better to harness market forces in producing a more efficient pattern of urban development as well as to increase the total of resources available for public purposes. Resources for Infrastructure The resources required for making the infrastructure requirements are staggering. Rakesh Mohan Committee in India Infrastructure Report identified the problem, size and resources needed for making a dent in infrastructure development. The total estimated requirement for infrastructure development

covering the backlog in services position, new investment and operation and maintenance for the next 10 years is Rs.2,50,000 crore. This would mean a per annum estimated requirement of Rs.25,000 crore against Ninth Plan proposal of 1,200 crore and Tenth Plan proposal of Rs.1,500 crore for urban development, water supply and sanitation. This indicates gross inadequacy of available funds for urban infrastructure and there is an urgent need to explore new avenues and options. Reasons for Resource Constraints The present framework in most of the Indian cities for urban infrastructure suffers from several limitations and constraints. These are: Lack of coordination in planning and implementation. Legal and administrative bottlenecks. Reliance on government budgetary support. Lack of innovation, technological upgradation and expertise in project management. Lack of cost recovery. Leakage of funds. Multiplicity of agencies. Lack of transparency in procedures. High interest rates. Long gestation period. Lack of accountability. Lack of information. Lack of centralized decision making bodies. Time problem and

No public participation Policies In order to achieve the target of providing basic infrastructure to all, it is recommended that Infrastructure both should be reflected in the master with plan and

development plans, detailed plans prepared for each settlement qualitatively and quantitatively along financial management requirement for providing these. Adequate space should be earmarked while preparing detailed plans so that space does not become a problem in the provision of social infrastructure in the later period. Realistic and appropriate norms and standards will have to be evolved for both social and basic services to be provided in the urban areas so that fair assessment could be worked out. Cost of infrastructure should be loaded on the cost of plots so that providing these services does not emerge as a liability of the state or local body. The mechanism of external development and internal development charges should be adopted for raising resources for funding the provisions of infrastructure. The internal development charges so collected may be utilized for local level facilities while the external development charges so collected may be used for city level facilities. Each city must have a city development fund and all such charges would have to be determined keeping in view the provisions of master plan and these should be revised regularly. Proper phasing of infrastructure and services should be done keeping in view the demand in the particular area. Disposal of plots should be done according to the facilities and services.

Proper utilization of resources should be done. Permission of change of land use should be granted only after levying of development charges depending on the use and potential of particular site. The funds so generated could be utilized for augmenting and providing services in the urban areas. Adequate charges must be levied while permitting higher coverage and higher FAR which can generate resources for the development of infrastructure. As these permissions for higher FAR results in higher demand for infrastructure and services. The government lands that are lying vacant or are under utilized or misused by encroachers could be used effectively keeping in view the location and best possible uses. can generate enormous resources. Technological advancement to improve the availability of These lands can either be disposed off or developed in collaboration with private sector which

infrastructure in urban areas.

Outdated technologies used in

creating services have resulted in wastage of precious resources. Cost effective technology should be used so that optimum utilization of resources is there. Community participation in another areas which requires focus so as to ensure appropriate provision and maintenance of infrastructure. Not only community should be involved in creation of assets but their active involvement in maintenance and upkeep of those assets would be most valuable. Private sector needs to be involved in a big way in the creation of social and physical infrastructure in the urban areas. Technological innovations have permitted low cost supply options and increasing range and quality of services has reduced the cost of providing these services making the infrastructure commercially viable for the private sector. Thus private sector should be given appropriate role in the provision of local level services and amenities.

The outlay in the various plan periods is very low and as such provision of infrastructure in urban areas has suffered enormously. If the productivity of urban areas is to be levered then investment in the public sector has to be increased and as such it would be appropriate if higher outlay is provided in the budget for the infrastructure sector in future which should in the range off our five per cent of the total outlay. Lack of resources with municipalities has emerged as one of the key factor for dismal position of infrastructure. Urban local bodies have not been permitted by state governments to raise resources and borrow money from the market because of reluctance on the part of state governments to guarantee such loans and borrowings. Infrastructure development could also be given impetus through public private partnerships. In such a partnership, the advantages of both the sectors could be used for creating an enabling environment in which creation of infrastructure becomes easy and profitable. Mechanism of levying infrastructure development cess can also be used for creating resources for infrastructure development in the state. System of contracting out of urban services to private agencies is very popular in the western countries and requires to be adopted in India. The maintenance of services such as solid waste management, sanitation, management of green spaces, parks, gardens, roads and streets could be contracted out to the private agencies. Innovative mechanism in the area of urban development needs to be used for creating and developing infrastructure. Practices like accommodation reserves, transfer of development rights, town planning schemes, betterment levy etc. which are not practice throughout India but are practiced in small areas or states in piecemeal are good mechanism.

Conclusion The sustainability of small and medium towns cannot be attained without providing adequate infrastructure and services besides ensuring the availability of the services at an affordable price. task. Thus the challenge of providing appropriate level of infrastructure in urban areas will be the most formidable This would require planners, administrators and agencies to actively participate and deliberate in planning, development and management of urban areas. Our capacity to meet these challenges would ultimately determine the future of urban India. Infrastructure plays an important role in increasing the pace of socioeconomic development of any country. Thus, it is important that provision of physical and social infrastructure in urban areas is given tip priority. Urban development process accordingly requires a change so as to facilitate the provision of these services in adequate quantity and quality covering all sections of society. New ways and means are to be devised so as to remove all the loopholes which hamper the provision of services and adoption of various innovative techniques. References 1. Anu Sikka (2007), Urban Infrastructure Development Emerging Issues and Options, Nagarlok, Vol.XXXIX, No.4, October-December, pp.17-22. 2. Bansal, S.P., (1986), Integrated Approach for Provision of Infrastructure in Delhi, ITPI Journal, Volume 14, No.3 & 4, March June. 3. Ramachandran, R., (1989), Urbanization and Urban System in India, New Delhi, Oxford University Press. 4. Singh, Sarup, (1998), Management of Urban Infrastructure: Issues, ITPI Journal, December. The Basic

5. Rakesh Mohan and Chandra Sekhar Pant, (1982), Morphology of Urbanization in India, Economic and Political Weekly, September 18. 6. Misra S.K. and Puri V.K., (2006), Indian Economy, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai. 7. Sarada A, Ila, Singh (2004), Public Private Partnership for Infrastructure Development, Nagarlok, No.3, Vol.XXXVI, July September. 8. Nand Dhameja (2003), Infrastructure Management and Financing Emerging Issues, Nagarlok, No.2, Vol.XXXV, April-June, pp.1-20.

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