While preserving the natural environment is vital for enhancing quality of life for city dwellers, infrastructural needs are also equally important.
As there is an inherent conflict between the two objectives, a prudent balance needs to be struck for creating better living conditions.
What is the significance of urbanisation?
City clusters are economic growth engines and globally, they’ve played a significant role in the economic growth of nations.
In India, the urban population (nearly 32%) contributes over 60% to the GDP and is projected to contribute around 75% in the next few years.
More than 12% of global city dwellers lived in the 28 megacities in 2014, of which Tokyo, Delhi and Shanghai were among the biggest.
According to UN estimates, Delhi is projected to become the most populous city in the world by 2028.
What is driving urbanisation?
Agriculture and allied services contribute merely 15% of GDP but these domains nonetheless continue to engage over 60% of India’s population.
The dearth of economic opportunities has led to large scale rural distress and made outward migration for seeking better opportunities inevitable.
On the contrary, the GDP contribution of megacities and metropolitan regions is disproportionately high, triggering a constant stream of migration.
Investing in our urban infrastructure will lead to enhanced economic activity, employment generation and betterment of life.
This is a much-desired socioeconomic outcome in a young nation like India, which has a demographic advantage to absorb the opportunities.
What is straining the urbanisation euphoria?
To sustain cities as growth engines that provide employment, we must focus on making our cities economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
But creating large-scale urban infrastructure to support the burgeoning population and economic growth implicitly takes a toll on the environment.
Notably, high economic growth and prosperity of China came at a huge environmental cost, which the country is trying to address now.
In Indian cities, there is lack of basic infrastructure, and pollution is also on the rise, which is deteriorating the quality of life for residents.
Significantly, Delhi counts among the most polluted cities in the world and many other Indian cities also fall in the list.
What is the way ahead?
We have to work hard to ensure that our urban infrastructure causes least harm to the environment and has a net positive impact on our quality of life.
Impact Assessment - Various infrastructure projects that are taken up must be subjected to a stern “Environment Impact Assessment” before approval.
Even environmentally positive projects like a “well designed metro line” might attract the ire of nature lovers due to their immediate implications.
In such scenarios, campaigns to aid the masses compare the “long-term environmental benefits and the immediate ecological impact” are needed.
People need to recognize that pollution caused by daily hour-long traffic jams will do more harm than felling 1,000 trees to build a metro line.
Eco Prudence - Project planning and implementation should be advanced in a way that ensures the least harm to nature.
Also, proportional compensatory afforestation should become a part of project design at a location as close as possible to the project site.
Thus, a balance between developmental needs and environmental consciousness is needed to enhance the overall quality of life for all people.
