Across the globe half the population live in urban areas
whereas in India it is around 30 per cent and it has grown from around 11 per
cent in the first census after independence. It is a misconception that
migrants from rural areas carry poverty to urban areas.
Planning Commission Prof. S.R. Hashim, in a talk on ‘Policy
perspectives of Urbanisation in India’ at the Andhra University Department of
Economics dismissed the popular myth that poverty is brought to cities by the
migrants. Prof. Hashim said that urban poverty is a creation of the city
itself. The slums in the city are a consequence of land prices and
non-availability of affordable housing for the low income group and it is not a
result of migrant work force. For the migrants there is no shortage of work in
urban areas and more often the migrants do better than those who are
established in the same agglomeration, he explained. Transportation is the biggest
limitation to size of the city.
He explained that throughout the history civilisations have
grown around urban centres. Urban agglomerates are centres of knowledge
creation, fine arts and crafts have developed in urban centres. Knowledge
develops in clusters and not in isolation. The area of interaction is larger in
urban areas and this is beneficial to nurturing culture, civilisation and the
people.
World Socialism Party (India)
Email:
wspindia@hotmail.com
Website:
http://www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org/
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