Ram, a migrant worker from a backward district of Bihar, has recently migrated to his “city of dreams” – Mumbai. But to his utter shock and displeasure, he is forced to sleep on pavements as he has no place to sleep. He witnesses overflowing drains, the stink of which does not let him sleep. He finds a slum to live in, but there he finds that people do not have adequate water to use, electricity is not stable, and there are unclean community washrooms, etc. After a few days of living and working, he starts developing respiratory problems due to excessive pollution emanating from vehicles, industries, etc. This poses a question in front of Ram: was it a bad decision to migrate to a city, after all?

Taking example from Ram’s life, this essay would dwell upon questions on urbanization in India. What it is, problems associated with urbanization and why it is still being called a “blessing in disguise”. We would then discuss government efforts to make this blessing visible to all without any disguise and the road ahead. First, we must understand what urbanization is. It is simply defined as the process of development of a geographical area into a scientifically modern and advanced living style, properly managed movement of people and vehicles, adequate availability of infrastructure and resources, and a style of administration that fulfills the above provisions.

From the times of Indus Valley civilization when the cities were carefully planned and executed, drains were made alongside houses, and the cities had granaries, great baths, and forts for trade, to medieval times when kings laid the foundation of cities like Srinagar by Ashoka, Agra by Sikandar Lodhi, Fatehpur Sikri by Akbar, the transition to urban from rural has always been considered as a mark of progress of civilization.

But no progress comes without challenges. And these challenges have increased manifold in the contemporary age. Starting first from political challenge. The increasing population pressure in cities has made it difficult to administer. The 74th Amendment Act that established local government in cities has still not realized its potential. Municipalities continue to suffer from the 3F problems: lack of funds, functions, and functionaries. This has led to administrative problems like unplanned sprouting of slums, thinning of public roads that has increased vehicular density and mismanagement of traffic. Perennial construction activities, seething up of industries has led to such an amount of air pollution that cities like Devi are called “gas chambers.” This has led to environmental problems like urban flooding (due to blockage of drains), disappearance of green spaces, thus leading to the phenomena of urban heat islands and contributing to global warming.

If cities have so many challenges, why are they still called a blessing in disguise? This is because of the positive effects of urbanization on the lives of people. The character of this essay Ram belongs to a low caste. Because of his caste, he had to face discrimination in his village. But in the city, no one knows his caste. He is allowed to work based on his skill and not caste. Hence cities offer anonymity. Even though Ram gets low wage, but it is still a lot higher than the farming activity he undertook in the village. Hence cities offer better wages. His children study in a school where at least teachers come to teach, unlike in villages where teachers do not even show their faces for months. Hence cities offer better education to Ram’s children.

Once Ram’s child had caught fever. He immediately took him to a nearby clinic where the doctor had attended to his child, prescribed certain medicines and within a day his child recovered. This is highly in contrast to the primary health care in Ram’s village that lacked doctors, nurses, medicines and infrastructure. Hence cities offer better health care.

Ram had never seen even an electric pole in his life. But here in the city, his children enjoy watching cartoons on TV, sleep comfortably under a fan, own a small fridge that gives them cool water and cooler for summers. Ram used to commute on a cycle in his village and it took him one hour to cycle to a nearby market due to lack of well-laid road. But here in a city, Ram owns a bike and can take a drive on the well-laid road in cities. Hence cities offer better transport network and connectivity.

The above examples are a manifestation of a good life that cities offer. The government too has taken steps to improve the life of many such Rams. It has come up with Smart Cities Mission which aims to identify 100 cities and develop them along technological lines where every facility can be availed through the internet, at the click of a finger. To provide basic amenities, it has come up with AMRUT mission that focuses on entirely clean and drinking water supply, treatment of sewage and development of green spaces. The National Urban Livelihoods Missions gives skill training to people like Ram to increase wage prospects.

All these things make urbanization a blessing in disguise, even after all its problems. By 2050, 50% of India’s population would be residing in cities. And the way ahead to deal with challenges of urbanization would be sustainable development backed with the support of Technological Advancement. Only then can Ram be convinced that migrating to a city was the best decision of his life!