Published on - 13-Sep-2018
Ever since the human settlements have started to evolve, mankind has always moved from one place to another in search of improved livelihood. As per records out of the total number of migrants, about two-thirds moved from rural to urban areas. As per the Economic Survey of 2017 around 9 million people have migrated annually in the period of 2011 to 2016- which is an alarming figure. While some may argue that urbanization is the engine of economic growth, we cannot overlook the fact that this intense migration has led to severe spatial discrepancies in cities and has exerted heavy pressure on public utilities like housing, healthcare, electricity etc. there are several socio-economic factors that lead to rural-urban migration.
Migration happens due to uneven distribution of opportunities, because of which people are oriented towards areas with better job scope. Employment is one of the primary causes of internal migration in India. Rural areas which are agriculture-based, often fail to provide to employment to the growing population, on the other hand, cities present a wide number of job prospects. Although cities offer better facilities like electricity, transportation etc., uncontrolled rural-urban migration has caused unbalanced urbanization. In other words, overcrowding in a particular area leads to unplanned utilization of public areas and eventually slums emerge. Besides employment, lack of education and skills, marriage etc. is some secondary factors that force people to migrate to these city hubs.
By taking a close look at the life of a rural laborer, who has limited skills and absolutely no access to health care and other basic facilities, one will realize that he doesn’t have many options besides moving to a city and work as a low wage laborer. On top of that because of unsystematic job market of cities, the laborer faces an array of problems like abuse, disputes over non-payment of wages, lack of housing etc. A teenager who enters the market as a manual labor earns a secondary wage at the starting. By the time he’s in his late twenty’s and becomes a primary wage earner, he is already working for 12-14 hours a day. By late 30’s the harsh labor takes its toll and due to long-term illness, he returns back to the village and takes up a local labor job. Then his children start migrating to cities, the cycle continues and the state of poverty remains the same.
As per the records, the main cause of migration is economic factors for male migrants, which is way more than the female migrants. The villages lack schools beyond primary level, while the institutions for higher education are limited to urban areas. This part of migrants consists of young boys and girls, who belong to relatively affluent families, therefore this segment constitutes of a very small percentage of the total rural-urban migrants. As per the analysis, the higher percentage of the male migrants comes to cities for seeking employment. Taking into consideration the causes and implications of rural-urban migration, the following measures can be adopted to curb this:
a. As it has been seen that most people migrate to cities for economic betterment. Therefore transforming the rural economy will surely contain this influx. This can be achieved by promoting small-scale industrial units.
b. The government should provide credit facilities and loan opportunities at lower rates to rural poor to give them a cushion to expand their business.
c. The government should develop higher education institutions in rural areas, to check the outflow of students from the villages.
d. Providing adequate medical facilities in rural areas may improve the quality of life. Rural people must have access to health care and health insurances
e. There should be good transportation connectivity and accessibility between rural and urban areas so that the people of rural areas can easily commute to urban areas for the purpose of employment, education, healthcare etc. and return back to their homes.
f. Rural tourism infrastructure should be developed in rural areas, to enhance the non-agricultural employment scope for people. This will help develop the rural economy and bridge the gap between urban and rural sectors.
g. In order to alleviate poverty and create better employment opportunities, the schemes and programmes launched by the government should be effectively implemented. There should be local checks and balances at every level to ensure the equal welfare of all.
Most importantly, the lack of Housing is forcing people to live in slums and encroach on public spaces, which in turns have negative effects on the economic growth of the country. The economically weaker community has been neglected by both government and local urban bodies; however, the idea of affordable housing would be a gesture to include them in our cities. In order to successfully launch the Affordable Housing program the collaboration between the government, financial institution and local bodies is critical. There are many key factors that advocate the accretion of affordable housing in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. For example, the latest statistics suggest that the urban population of India is going to rise up to 590 million by year 2030. With the growing population, the demand for housing will also increase. Interestingly, it’s a two-way process. According to studies conducted by the Economic Times, the affordable housing scheme has a potential to generate 27-34 million jobs. It can fuel the economy by generating capital investment up to Rs 1-1.25 Crores per year and therefore, it will have direct impacts on the GDP.
Having discussed the enormous impact of affordable housing in India, we must now focus on its manifestation. The government has introduced several policies like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY); include Urban Housing Fund Refinancing Scheme etc. PMAY which was launched in June 2015, aimed to build 20 million out of 4 crores houses for individuals who fall under EWS and LIG categories. Despite the continuous efforts by the government to fulfill the housing requirements by all, even today 50% of the people in Mumbai live in slums. The question arises here is, what is holding back the effective implementation of affordable housing schemes in India?
The government of India says that the biggest problem they are facing towards the “housing for all by 2022 scheme” is finding land. On the other hand, some argue that government owns surplus land in railway, ports and defense sectors. As per some estimates say that India government enterprises hold up to 1 million acres of surplus land. Government enterprises themselves are unsure how much land they have, said Samar Lahiry, a former adviser to the government’s planning commission. This predicament makes us realize the gaps in our land planning strategies and eventually boils down to- the urgent need to evaluate and plan the land that is sitting idle, with the help of efficient urban design techniques. It is high time to involve urban designer, city planners, landscape architects etc. in this scenario and come up with a more holistic and pragmatic approach.
Besides planning the surplus land, a lot can be done towards the affordable housing scheme. Introducing innovative materials to lower the construction is one way to do it. As an example, in Cambodia, cheap, environment-friendly and easy to manufacture bricks are used to build houses for laborers which reduce the construction cost by 20-40%. The revolutionary 3-D printing can also be used for constructing affordable houses, although it is expensive. Also, relaxations in development norms and smoother approvals for affordable housing projects must be ensured for faster implementation.