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Urbanisation

Q. Discuss the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India.

Answer

Urbanization is the process of society’s transformation from a predominantly rural to a predominantly urban population. In India, over 35% of the population lives in urban areas, and by 2030, over 50% of India’s population is expected to live in urban areas.

Various social problems have originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India:

• Overcrowding: In India, many metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore are suffering from the problem of overcrowding.
• Slum: 5 crores of Indians live in slums, leading to social and economic exclusion
• Unemployment: According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), India’s unemployment rate was 3% in urban areas in 2021.
• Higher Rates of Urban Crime: With the increase in urbanization, the problem of crime also increases.
• Fringe areas of most cities are the breeding ground for Metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have accounted for 16.2, 9.5, and 8.1 per cent respectively of the total crime reported from 35 megacities of India.
• Urban anonymity, women and child sexual exploitation.
• Rise of Nuclear families, abandonment of senior citizens.
• Ruralization of ageing and feminization of agriculture due to migration of males to urban areas.

Conclusion

• To summarize, urbanization is not a problem in and of itself, but unsustainable and unplanned urbanization will inevitably cause socioeconomic problems.
• Although these issues cannot be completely resolved, they must be addressed in a systematic and scientific manner.
• Urbanization is beneficial to a country’s financial growth, but careful planning is required to develop cities and provide basic amenities for healthy living.
• To make urbanization a more positive phenomenon, society and government should collaborate.