Uncovering The Myth of Urban

Development in Mumbai

Prof S. ParasuramanTata Institute of Social

Sciences,Mumbai

Source : National Geographic

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mumbaimumbai

Myths of Urbanisation

“Increasing migration is making Mumbai a populous city. Migrants are adversely affecting the livability of the city by squatting in slums & impacting employability of its inhabitants.”

“Main causes for lack of space - Migration, expansion, congestion.” and “Increasing rate of Unemployment is attributed to a higher rate of migration.”

“Efficient transport facility is Metro rail for faster mobility and infrastructural development.”

“Mumbai has one of the best social infrastructure – health facilities, education etc.”

The Myth – Lack of space in Mumbai makes its challenging for mass,

public, affordable housing within city limits

•54% of Mumbai’s population lives in slums occupying merely 8% of its land area.

• 41% of Mumbai’s land is Built-up area while 52% land is of coastal wetlands, forests, water bodies and agricultural plantations.

•Available space has been clandestinely opened up for commercial exploitation than for affordable housing -

• Prime city land in dead mills.

• Dock lands on eastern waterfront lying vacant (About 7.5%)

• Salt pan lands unused due to land ceiling regulations (21%)

Migration accounted for 39% of population growth between 1991-2001, and natural increase 61%

Migration of people from North Indian States increased substantially between 1961 to 2001 and contribution of South Indian States declined.

Change in the sex ratio of a population is an important indicator of who amongst those migrated, finally settled in the city. The increase of sex ratio of migrants was much more remarkable among migrant from ‘within’ Maharashtra (that is 854 female per thousands males in 2001) as compared to migrants from other States (615 in 2001).

Unraveling the Migration Myth

Unraveling the Migration Myth - II

The highest percentage of migrants originated from within Maharashtra (37.4 per cent) followed by Uttar Pradesh (24.3 percent) and Gujarat (9.6 per cent).

Migrants from four southern states—Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh were at 16 percent.

Migrants from southern India moved Hyderabad and Bangalore, and Gulf countries.

Much of the migrant population is absorbed in Mumbai’s in urban agglomerations - Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Mira-Bhayander sparing Mumbai from choking up.

Rate of migration is much faster in these urban agglomerations than in Greater Mumbai.

Growth Rate of Population of Greater Mumbai & its constituents

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

GreaterMumabi

(UA)

GreaterMumbai

(MC)

Thane Kalyan-Dombivly

Ullasnagar Mira-Bhayandar

NaviMumbai

Growth Rate 1981-91 (%) Growth Rate 1991-2001(%)

Unraveling the Transportation Myth

• Mumbai Suburban Railway systems are one of the most efficient transportation systems and also the deadliest. Railway accidents in Mumbai claim one life every 2.5 hours, which is probably the highest in the world.

• Transportation Systems like Metrorail or Monorail entails – – Displacement of people from their habitat and livelihoods &

rehabilitation is relatively ineffective (over 20,000 families displaced by MUTP project of MMRDA since 2000)

– Engulfing crucial urban space as requiring heavy column construction

– Economically draining to the State (Only London Metro

together with Taiwan & Hong Kong are able to sustain operating costs with revenues – High priced tickets)

• Availability of commercial ready, safest, indigenous, low

cost, load bearing, scalable technologies like Skybus or

Rapid Bus Transit Systems are being ignored.

Migrants are engaging in the production-related occupations – 49% and are becoming indispensable to the city’s economy by filling in cheap labour-oriented & unskilled jobs.

Non-migrants dominated white-collared professional & technical jobs (6.8%), administrative executive & managerial jobs (15.2%), clerical related (15.6%) & sales (12.4%) in various service based industries.

Employment in the informal sector grew at a faster rate than in the formal sector indicated by the pie diagram that follows -

Unraveling the Employment Myth

Low-end Services Sector Dominating

Around 70 % of total work force is engaged in tertiary sector of which the low end service sector (workers from construction, hotel & transportation, retail sector etc.) dominating over the high end service sector (IT, Banking).

Source:Darshini Mahadevia(2005),

Industrial Classification for male workers

Primary1%

Manufacturing& Electricity, Gas & Water

29%

Construction7%

Wholesale& Retail Trade 22%

Hotel & Restaurant 4%

Transportation & Communication

13%

Financial Services & Real Estate 4%

Computer + other high end services

5%

Public Administration 7%

Social + Other Services 8%

Inequities in Social Infrastructure (Education, Health, Open spaces)

• Peak density of people in Mumbai (Persons/sq km area) reaches to 101,099 – one of the highest in the world.

• Even though literacy rate is high in Mumbai (Male – 82% and female -72%) compared to National average, higher education levels are poor.

• Only 14 per cent of people in Mumbai hold College or University Degree.

• 74% of the educated people in Mumbai have no vocational training & 95% have had no technical education. Source: Flickr

Inequities in Social Infrastructure (Education, Health, Open spaces)

• 56% per cent of the slum population does not have adequate access to toilets in their houses.

• Institutional birth in Mumbai-88%.

• Children under 2 years who are fully immunized is 70% in Mumbai.

• About 40% of children under 3 years are underweight in Mumbai.

• Health & nutrition indicators of population living in slums compare well with Bihar, UP.

Source: Flickr

Inequities in Social Infrastructure (Education, Health, Open spaces)

• Tribal areas of Thane and Raigad districts have high levels of infant and childhood mortality, malnutrition, illiteracy

• Intense resource extraction from these areas deprived generations of tribal people from access to livelihoods, water, health care, education

Source: Flickr

Cities operate in accordance to a logic of their own

• they emerge because concentration of resources, industries, and people have efficiencies of a certain kind.

• Urban bias of government policies and the environmental and equity consequences of unguided urban growth cannot be ignored

• placing artificial restrictions such as blocking the inflow of particular groups of people and the services/skills they provide can only impede urban economic development;

• Mumbai’s economic success rests on a substructure that is driven by the energies and skills of complex associations of migrant and local people.

“Outsiders as Villains”• There is increase in engineered violence triggered by artificial

constructions of the outsider-villain and the insider-victim.

• Often the most disempowered sections of society can be cast and punished as scheming villains and such tactics continue to be unhesitatingly used.

• Mumbai has always been the destination of migration from both within Maharashtra and from other parts of the country. Its reputation for being a centre of opportunity has resulted in it becoming arguably the most cosmopolitan city in India

• A label that it proudly boasts when inviting foreign investment and when it competes for a position in global city networks. Yet, it is this very same migration induced cosmopolitanism that is being attacked when ‘outsiders’ are told that they are no longer welcome in the city.

Reclaiming Human Values of Tolerance and Providing Space for Dignified Existence

• One of the greatest danger is the intolerance that is inherent in sectarian violence and which goes against the grain of our traditions of compassion, warmth and multicultural symbiosis.

• Never has the need been more urgent for a true return to these age-old values of tolerance and letting people live with dignity.

““Everybody has to have patience here. This is like no other place in the world. Everybody has to have patience here. This is like no other place in the world. This is Mumbai !” This is Mumbai !”

Steve Webb