...The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is oganising a small brainstorming session at 4:30 pm on Thursday, August 10th, to think through a research and policy agenda in the urban sector. The session will be led by Prof. K C Sivaramakrishan, Chairman of the Governing Board, CPR. The goal is to eventually discuss ways to:
(a) establish a neutral platform where differing viewpoints can engage in constructive conversation on issues of common interest.
(b) catalyse/produce some background work that is relevant to issues under discussion
(c) build a community of researchers interested in issues of urban policy
A short note on two issues identified for initial focus, viz. land and water, is attached. However, this is just to initiate discussion and it is quite possible that the appropriate issues to focus on initially may well be something else. Indeed, asking such questions are one of the main reasons for the brainstorming session...
Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta
President & Chief Executive
Centre for Policy Research
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi - 110 021 [INDIA]
Tel: +91 11 26114797
Tel: +91 11 2611 5273-76 (4 lines)
Fax: +91 11 26872746 / 26886902
LAND AND WATER IN URBAN INDIA
1. Until recently, India has been reluctant to recognize the formation of urban agglomerations as a natural corollary of economic growth and development. Regardless, the pace of economic growth in India can be expected to lead to rapid urbanization. Past experience and the experience of countries like China indicate that this urbanization will most probably result in agglomerations with large populations and high levels of poverty. Put bluntly, India will soon have many ‘big and poor cities’ .
2. Rather than being resisted or ignored, this phenomenon needs to be managed, and made sustainable, not only in an ecologically and financially but also, especially, politically. Political sustainability is often related to the demands made by the city on scarce natural and financial resources. Too often, this link is not apparent to the urban citizen, or even to the decision-makers. Two such key resources are Land and Water.
3. Land is critical to the formation and growth of urban spaces, while water is key to the functioning of the city. At the heart of urbanization lies the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses. Today, this process involves the acquisition of land by the state government from the existing owners. It is then subsequently developed by either state agencies like a Development Authority or an Industrial Development Corporation or, as is increasingly the case, by a private developer. This process is deemed inequitable by many.
4. Another critical area is the use of water and the handling of wastewater. The treatment of wastewater often does not form a part of discussions about water supply though a primary contributor to urban water shortage is often the destruction of locally available sources. This should be evident because water is in principle a recyclable resource, which is much used, but not much consumed and therefore lack of supply should not be a major constraint in making water available to all. However, if wastewater continues to be disposed as now , urban needs can only be met by new sources of supply, which is inherently unsustainable.
5. In both these instances, the poor are the worst hit, in terms of those affected by displacement due to changes of land use and in terms of services provided to them. While there are a number of “technological” fixes that are proposed to deal with these issues, many of the interventions lie in the institutional and regulatory realm. Changing the way in which these two resources are used would be a significant governance challenge.
6. Now, that there is some attention on urban India, how does one address these issues? How does one catalyse thinking in these areas and more importantly, how does one connect the thinking that is already taking place to the policymakers?
7. Finally, there are many other pressing issues, e.g., the manner in which urban spaces and laws interface with informal livelihoods, or the nature of urban energy use, especially the manner in which it is affected by transport systems and architectural design. Where does Land and Water feature in the list of such issues? Are these really the issues of immediate import? Is there a need for prioritization at all?
Notes
1 Not only are ‘small and genteel’ cities unlikely, a point of debate is whether they are desirable since they lead to the dispersed provision of higher cost urban infrastructure, which may not be affordable at this stage of India’s development.
2 A major issue going forward would be the technology of handling wastewater – whether it would be biological or chemical.
(a) establish a neutral platform where differing viewpoints can engage in constructive conversation on issues of common interest.
(b) catalyse/produce some background work that is relevant to issues under discussion
(c) build a community of researchers interested in issues of urban policy
A short note on two issues identified for initial focus, viz. land and water, is attached. However, this is just to initiate discussion and it is quite possible that the appropriate issues to focus on initially may well be something else. Indeed, asking such questions are one of the main reasons for the brainstorming session...
Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta
President & Chief Executive
Centre for Policy Research
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi - 110 021 [INDIA]
Tel: +91 11 26114797
Tel: +91 11 2611 5273-76 (4 lines)
Fax: +91 11 26872746 / 26886902
LAND AND WATER IN URBAN INDIA
1. Until recently, India has been reluctant to recognize the formation of urban agglomerations as a natural corollary of economic growth and development. Regardless, the pace of economic growth in India can be expected to lead to rapid urbanization. Past experience and the experience of countries like China indicate that this urbanization will most probably result in agglomerations with large populations and high levels of poverty. Put bluntly, India will soon have many ‘big and poor cities’ .
2. Rather than being resisted or ignored, this phenomenon needs to be managed, and made sustainable, not only in an ecologically and financially but also, especially, politically. Political sustainability is often related to the demands made by the city on scarce natural and financial resources. Too often, this link is not apparent to the urban citizen, or even to the decision-makers. Two such key resources are Land and Water.
3. Land is critical to the formation and growth of urban spaces, while water is key to the functioning of the city. At the heart of urbanization lies the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses. Today, this process involves the acquisition of land by the state government from the existing owners. It is then subsequently developed by either state agencies like a Development Authority or an Industrial Development Corporation or, as is increasingly the case, by a private developer. This process is deemed inequitable by many.
4. Another critical area is the use of water and the handling of wastewater. The treatment of wastewater often does not form a part of discussions about water supply though a primary contributor to urban water shortage is often the destruction of locally available sources. This should be evident because water is in principle a recyclable resource, which is much used, but not much consumed and therefore lack of supply should not be a major constraint in making water available to all. However, if wastewater continues to be disposed as now , urban needs can only be met by new sources of supply, which is inherently unsustainable.
5. In both these instances, the poor are the worst hit, in terms of those affected by displacement due to changes of land use and in terms of services provided to them. While there are a number of “technological” fixes that are proposed to deal with these issues, many of the interventions lie in the institutional and regulatory realm. Changing the way in which these two resources are used would be a significant governance challenge.
6. Now, that there is some attention on urban India, how does one address these issues? How does one catalyse thinking in these areas and more importantly, how does one connect the thinking that is already taking place to the policymakers?
7. Finally, there are many other pressing issues, e.g., the manner in which urban spaces and laws interface with informal livelihoods, or the nature of urban energy use, especially the manner in which it is affected by transport systems and architectural design. Where does Land and Water feature in the list of such issues? Are these really the issues of immediate import? Is there a need for prioritization at all?
Notes
1 Not only are ‘small and genteel’ cities unlikely, a point of debate is whether they are desirable since they lead to the dispersed provision of higher cost urban infrastructure, which may not be affordable at this stage of India’s development.
2 A major issue going forward would be the technology of handling wastewater – whether it would be biological or chemical.