Urbanization in the Global South: Perspectives and Challenges 9780367527877, 9780367553906, 9781003093282

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‘Will the urban world succeed in approximating the UN SDGs? It largely depends upon the trajectories of urbanization, natural resources, urban poverty in the Souths (India, Nigeria, China, Latin America). This book provides the best access to such worlds.’ Paolo Perulli, ENI Enrico Mattei Foundation, Milan, Italy ‘The contributions in this volume demonstrate that realizing the economic benefits from urbanization and ensuring they are inclusive and sustainable requires careful attention to a wide range of issues. This volume will be a very useful resource for researchers and policymakers alike.’ Rana Hasan, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines

URBANIZATION IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

This book examines the challenges of urbanization in the global south and the linkages between urbanization, economic development and urban poverty from the perspectives of cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It focuses on various aspects of urbanization ranging from food security and public services like sanitation, water and electricity to the finances of cities and externalities associated with the urbanization process. The volume also highlights the importance of participatory urban governance for cities in India with comparative perspectives from other countries. It further focuses on the urbanization of poverty, livelihood in urban areas, overconsumption and nutrition and ecology. Based on primary data, the chapters in the volume review trends, opportunities, challenges, governance and strategies of several countries at different levels of urbanization, with several case studies from India. This multidisciplinary volume will be of great interest to researchers and students of development studies, sociology, economics and urban planning and policy. It will also be useful for policymakers, think tanks and practitioners in the area of urbanization. Kala S. Sridhar is a Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. She was earlier with the Public Affairs Centre, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, India, the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India and the National Association of Home Builders,Washington, DC. She has been a visiting scholar at the World Institute of Development Economics Research of the UN multiple times. She has authored or edited nine books and has published several papers in international journals. She has been awarded a Fulbright Nehru fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs in 2021 and in 2022. She is in the top 10 percent of authors globally on SSRN. She holds a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University, USA.

George Mavrotas is a leading development economist with about 30 years of experience in international development. He is currently a Full Professor at the Institute of Development Policy of the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Previous appointments include Senior Fellow IFPRI, Chief Economist of the Global Development Network, Senior Research Fellow and Project Director at the World Institute of Development Economics Research of the UN, and academic posts in Oxford and Manchester Universities, UK, for many years. He is the author and co-author of more than 130 publications, including numerous papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and ten books. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University, UK.

URBANIZATION IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH Perspectives and Challenges

Edited by Kala S. Sridhar and George Mavrotas

First published 2022 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Kala S Sridhar and George Mavrotas; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Kala S Sridhar and George Mavrotas to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-52787-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-55390-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-09328-2 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282 Typeset in Bembo by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

Dedicated to the moms who gave birth to and raised me Radha Seetharam and Geetha Raj for their support and nurturing of my academic endeavours

CONTENTS

List of figures xii List of tables xiv List of contributors xvii Foreword: Urbanization in the Global South: Perspectives and Challenges xxiv Preface xxviii 1 Challenges of urbanization in the global south: Introduction and overview Kala S. Sridhar and George Mavrotas

1

2 Linkage between urbanization, economic development and urban poverty Sachita Yadav

18

3 Urbanization, livestock ownership, food security and child nutritional outcomes in Nigeria: Linkages and pathways Adebayo Ogunniyi, George Mavrotas, Kehinde Olagunju, Mistura Rufai and Motunrayo Oyeyemi 4 Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood security and implications for migration into cities: Study of the Bengaluru metropolis Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth

29

60

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Contents

5 Financial status of megacities in India: Emerging issues and challenges Inderjeet Singh Sodhi

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6 Suburbanization and spatial inequality in the distribution of urban services in Indian cities Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

99

7 Urban civic service delivery and norms: A pilot study of two Indian cities Ramakrishna Nallathiga and Kala S. Sridhar

124

8 Water resource management by using system dynamics in Ahmedabad City Dhaarna and Varuvel Devadas

147

9 Reducing the water footprint of megacities in Asia: Addressing water reuse and groundwater recharge (case study of Delhi, India) Ranjana Ray Chaudhuri, Prateek Sharma and Arun Kansal

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10 Sanitation, hygiene behavior and health implications: A situation analysis of slums in Bengaluru S. Manasi and N. Latha

184

11 Rapid urbanization in Nepal: What does it mean for public open space? Shiva Raj Adhikari

206

12 The air pollution conundrum in Delhi: Agenda setting in environmental policy and the politics of solution-making Ashish V. Prabhakar

225

13 The peri-urban poor and ecology in the megacity of Kolkata Haimanti Pakrashi 14 State of local governance and urban development problems: A study of Bengaluru Kala S. Sridhar and K.C. Smitha

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15 Citizen participation in Shanghai’s urban redevelopment under state-led neoliberal urbanism Zhumin Xu

273

16 Immunization for megacities: Issues and strategies to reach urban poor in Bangalore Vahini Aravind

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17 Enhancing the benefits of agglomeration in Latin American megacities: The role of urban policies and a framework for policy action Cynthia Goytia Index

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321

FIGURES

2.1 2.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7

The basic trend of URB, GDP, urban population and rural population in India from 2001 to 2016 Growth of urbanization (LNURB), GDP per capita (UNGDP) and population below poverty line (BPL) during the period 2001 to 2016 Bengaluru’s population density function, 2011 Access to primary healthcare centers – zone-wise ranking, Bengaluru Ward-wise distance to any healthcare facility Type of school and number of children Water supply (LPCD) by ward Water supply sources – comparison with Census 2011 Households having latrine facility – comparison with Census 2011 Ranking of wards based on SWM Distribution of respondents on water supply level, Pune Water requirements of various uses among sample households, Pune Grievance redressal time for stormwater drainage, Pune Household waste generation among sample respondents, Pune Street lamppost spacing in the localities of respondents, Pune Grievance redressal time for roads, Pune Distribution of respondents on household water supply, Hyderabad

19 20 105 108 108 110 112 114 116 120 130 131 132 133 134 135 136

Figures

7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 9.1 9.2 10.1 10.2 10.3 11.1 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 14.10

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Water requirements for various uses among sample households, Hyderabad Grievance redressal time for sewerage, Hyderabad Grievance redressal time for stormwater drainage, Hyderabad Solid waste generation at household level among sample, Hyderabad Grievance redressal of solid waste management, Hyderabad Street lamppost spacing in localities of respondents, Hyderabad Grievance redressal time of roads, Hyderabad Water utilization trend of Ahmedabad Water supply system of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Dynamics of the system and its subsystems Interaction among different subsystems Water system and its associated variables Rising groundwater scarcity (GWSI) and greywater footprint (GWF) of Delhi Inter-linkages between urban greens, water reuse, sustainable groundwater withdrawals and reduction in urban water footprint Dwelling units having access to a toilet facility Urban sanitation: top ten ranking, 2011 (%) Sanitation access in Karnataka (district-wise) Objectives and strategies to address health and livability in Bhaktapur Channels of contact to redress ward-level problems Presence of proactive RWAs in sampled wards Frequency of RWA meetings Interface with councilor Interaction with ward councilors Satisfaction about the work of ward councilors Satisfied with the work of the ward councilor? Suggestions to improve local governance Demand for ward sabha meetings Suggestions are incorporated into the policies

213 261 263 264 264 266 267 267 268 268 269

Selected wards marked on the map of Bengaluru city

260

137 138 139 140 140 141 142 152 152 158 159 162 175 178 186 187 187

Map

14.1

TABLES

2.1 2.2 2.3

2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 4.1 4.2

Growth of gross domestic production per capita (GDP), population (POP), rural population (RUR POP) and urban population (URB POP) Urban and rural population below poverty line (census data) Descriptive statistics, gross domestic product per capita (GDP), share of urban population, share of rural population, below poverty line (BPL), urban BPL and rural BPL Correlation between gross domestic product per capita (GDP), share of urban population, share of rural population and below poverty line (BPL) Unit root test (2001–2016) augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) Johansen cointegration test: trace statistic Johansen cointegration test: maximum eigenvalue statistic Pairwise Granger causality tests Descriptive statistics of selected variables Urbanization, livestock ownership and child stunting Urbanization, livestock ownership and child height-for-age z-score (HAZ) Urbanization, livestock ownership and household dietary diversity Urbanization, livestock ownership and consumption per adult equivalent Population growth of Bengaluru Extent of encroachment of lakes in Bengaluru Urban district

19 20

24 24 25 26 26 27 35 38 41 46 49 61 62

Tables

4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

4.7 4.8 5.1 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 7.1 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6

Current scenario of lakes managed by different authorities Economics of groundwater irrigation in tank, canal and non-percolation systems in Karnataka Economics of farms in tank percolation system (TPS), canal percolation system (CPS) and non-percolation system (NPS) in Karnataka Details of wells drilled by sample farmers in tank percolation system, canal percolation system and non-percolation system before and after linkage of Hemavathy canal Economics of recharge of groundwater in TPS, CPS and NPS systems, Hemavathy basin, Karnataka Net income per farm from different sources in tank, canal and non-percolation system (Rs) Status of submission of report and establishment of new State Finance Commission Regression of (natural logarithm of ) population density on (log of ) distance from city center, assuming various city centres, Bengaluru, 2011 Regression of (natural logarithm of ) household density on (natural log of ) distance from city center, assuming various city centers, Bengaluru, 2011 Water supply service benchmarks Benchmarks of sanitation Benchmarks for solid waste management Summary of selected public services attributes, central and peripheral wards Urbanisation and relative share of urban and rural population in India Annual average per capita water availability Regional water distribution of Gujarat as per population Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Data Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation water supply details Water supply services indicator benchmark and values Total revenue expenditure of water supply system, 2018 Discounted cash f low table (in lakhs) Type of toilets used and practice of open defecation Bathing practices Hand wash before cooking and eating Frequency of cleaning toilets Person cleaning the toilets Disposal of infant feces

xv

64 66 68

70 72 73 89 104 105 111 115 118 121 125 149 150 151 151 153 155 156 189 194 195 196 196 197

xvi Tables

10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 11.1 15.1 16.1 16.2

Health problems among family members Common diseases Type of health ailments across slums – an overview Frequency of diseases in the last year Death in the last year Reasons underlying health issues Water-borne diseases across notified and non-notified slums Urbanization in Nepal Pingliang project timeline Human resource status in the BBMP health department Number of vaccination administrations in BBMP during 2018–2019

198 199 201 202 202 202 203 207 279 295 296

CONTRIBUTORS

Shiva Raj Adhikari is a Professor of Economics and head of the Central

Department of Economics at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He completed his Ph.D. from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, in 2010 with financial support from WHO/TDR, Geneva. He has been leading a number of high-profile research projects funded by the WHO Alliance,WHO/TDR, Global Development Network and World Bank, among others. He has published more than 100 articles and book chapters on development issues, public policies and economic evaluations in national and international journals. His book entitled Economics of Urban Externalities (Springer) is a popular one. He has severed as a senior advisor for the National Planning Commission and a member of the Public Expenditure Review Commission of the Government of Nepal. M.G. Chandrakanth did doctoral studies in Agricultural Economics at the

University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India, and post-doctoral studies in institutional economics of groundwater irrigation as a Ciriacy Wantrup fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He published the book on water resource economics published by Springer in 2015. He also specializes in production economics, valuation of externalities and the role of sacred groves in natural resource conservation. He served as a Professor and Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. He retired as Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change in 2020 and continues his research focus on water resource economics and issues concerning agricultural lands and markets. Ranjana Ray Chaudhuri is a lecturer in the Department of Regional Water Studies

at the TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS), New Delhi, India. She is a water professional with 25+ years of experience in urban water systems. She is

xviii Contributors

a civil engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and pursuing her Ph.D. in Hydrology. Her area of expertise is broadly in urban water management and hydrological planning including statistical hydrological modeling and decentralized water infrastructure facilities. She has worked on many projects related to integrated water resource management (IWRM) for cities, peri-urban areas and rural areas in India. She has designed academic courses on water audit and demand management, integrated watershed and river basin management. Varuvel Devadas has been working as a Professor in the Department of Architecture and Planning, Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, India. He qualified for a doctoral degree in Development Planning through the IIT-Kharagpur. He won the Khosla Research Prize in 1998. He has been working in various capacities, which include as a project manager, project officer, research associate and chief at the State Planning Board, Government of Kerala. He has more than 35 years of research experience and has guided 18 Ph.D. degree theses and 60 postgraduate degree theses successfully. He co-authored a book published through Lambert Academic Publishers, Germany, and authored more than 100 research papers, which are published in international/national journals. He chaired and delivered keynote addresses in a few international/national conferences. Dhaarna is an architect-planner and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the

Department of Architecture and Planning at IIT-Roorkee, India. Her research topic is planning for water, energy and food nexus for sustainable development of the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh in India. She completed her Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT, Ahmedabad and did her Bachelor’s in Architecture from AMU, Aligarh. She worked as a Project Associate with the HCL Foundation (CSR initiative) for 19 months in the WASH Sector for Rural Development. She has done three internships with Incubis Consultants, New Delhi, and Hathras Municipality. She is a Newton-Bhabha Scholar and a GATE scholar and published a paper on “Municipal Governance of Small and Medium Towns in the Urban Panorama Journal” published by RCUES, Lucknow and has presented three papers at international conferences. Cynthia Goytia is one of the most prestigious urban economists from Latin America. She chairs the M.Sc. in Urban Economics at Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she also founded, and chairs, the Urban Policy and Housing Research Center (CIPUV), the leading research institution in the region, specialized in urban policies. She holds an M.Sc. in Urban Economics and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK specialized in spatial economics and development. She is also a visiting scholar at Harvard University, MA, the University of Cambridge, UK, and the IHS at Erasmus University, Netherlands, and is leading research teams on key global urban topics with the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley as part of her research and publications on urban informality, land use regulation, urban transformations

Contributors

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and urban development finance in cities of the global south. She is a senior urban economics consultant contributing to inform national and local urban and housing policies in Argentina and Latin America as part of her vast trajectory of key applied research projects for governments and for the World Bank, IADB, CAF and United Nations related to urban growth, infrastructure finance, land and housing markets and their impacts on informality, urban welfare and inequality in the region. Arun Kansal is working with the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India and heads the Department of Regional Water Studies. He received his Ph.D. from IIT, Delhi, India after completing an M.Tech and B.Tech in Civil Engineering. He has 24 years of research/consultancy/teaching experience in the areas of environmental engineering, water resource management, waste management with a focus on resource recovery and recycling, urban environment, and energy–environment–climate linkages. He received the Best Teacher award from GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi; Best Research Paper award from Indian Water Works Association; and Roll of Honor from TERI. He had been a visiting Professor (as ICCR Chair Professor from Government of India) to Freie University, Berlin, Germany during 2010–2011, an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK (2011–2014),Visiting Professor at the University of Derby, UK in Department of Natural Sciences (2015–2018) and Key Technology Partner Visiting Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. He had also served as a Lead Author for IPCC 5th Assessment Report WGIII. N. Latha is a Consultant at the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, Institute for

Social and Economic Change, Nagarabhavi, Bangalore, India. She has got long-time research experience with interdisciplinary research in urban ecology, sanitation, natural resource management with a specific focus on water resources, wastewater and solid waste management. She has worked on urban water supply, peri-urban studies and ward level studies in urban areas; water quality issues, urban sanitation issues among the urban poor, land and water use interactions, livelihoods-based issues, urban finance and urban infrastructure. She has publications in edited books and journals. S. Manasi is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. She has 20 years of research experience with interdisciplinary research in urban issues, more specifically on water resources, sanitation, waste management, urban governance and climate change. She has published several research articles in journals, books and monographs. George Mavrotas is a leading development economist with about 30 years of

experience in international development. He is currently a Full Professor at the Institute of Development Policy of the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Previous appointments include Senior Fellow IFPRI, Chief Economist of the Global

xx

Contributors

Development Network, Senior Research Fellow and Project Director at the World Institute of Development Economics Research of the UN and academic posts in Oxford and Manchester Universities, UK, for many years. He is widely published in a broad range of research areas in international development (which include development finance, agricultural policies, poverty reduction and agricultural transformation, youth employment, food security and nutrition, trade and primary commodity markets, economics of education and training, migration and urbanization) and he is the author and co-author of more than 130 publications, including numerous papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and ten books. He also taught as a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Helsinki (Finland), CERDI-Auvergne (Clermont-Ferrand, France), Antwerp (Belgium) and Peking University (Beijing). He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University, UK. Ramakrishna Nallathiga is a Research Scholar pursuing a Ph.D. at the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs (CRUA) of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, India. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, a Master’s degree in Planning and a Master of Philosophy degree in Land Economy (UK). He has work experience spanning more than 20 years in the areas of urban planning, development studies, urban policy and governance reforms. Earlier, he also worked in the areas of environmental planning, policy and management. Currently, he works as a faculty member and teaches at the National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR), Pune, India. Adebayo Ogunniyi is a Research Analyst at the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (IFPRI-NSSP), based in Abuja, Nigeria. His research interests are in development economics, impact evaluation, technology and innovation dynamics. He has more than 60 research publications as working papers, chapters in books, conference proceedings and international peer-reviewed journals. Prior to joining the IFPRI team, Adebayo worked as a Research Associate for the West Africa Hub at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria. Kehinde Olagunju is an Agricultural Economist at AFBI Office in Belfast, UK. He

completed his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics (First Class Honors) at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria before undertaking a master’s degree at Szent Istvan University in Hungary, specializing in rural development and agribusiness, and graduating with distinction. He has won several academic excellence awards and research grants including the prestigious Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Scholarship Award. Prior to joining the AFBI team, Kehinde worked in several research capacities in Central Europe and Africa. Motunrayo Oyeyemi is a Research Analyst at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) at the Abuja Office, Nigeria. She has almost seven years of experience with IFPRI as a researcher. Her research experience cuts across

Contributors

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various fields including food security, child malnutrition, agricultural public expenditures, agricultural finance, macro-economic welfare and more recently agricultural credit access. Her academic background lies in agricultural economics and agricultural extension. Haimanti Pakrashi is a native of Kolkata, yet she has spent a significant amount of time outside her hometown for studies and work. She did her Bachelor’s at Presidency College (Kolkata) in History followed by a Master’s in Development Studies from TISS (Mumbai) and an M.Phil. in Regional Studies from the University of Hyderabad. She has worked in remote corners of India including the Sunderbans and the Marwar region on environmental issues. She has also worked as a social studies facilitator in an international school. She is currently an independent researcher and spends her time planning her next project and her garden. Ashish V. Prabhakar is a doctoral scholar with the Centre for Regional Studies,

School of Social Sciences at the University of Hyderabad, India. He is currently working towards his doctoral thesis which examines the spatial constructions of social conflicts around solid waste management in peri-urban India, focusing on the case of Vilappilsala, Kerala. His interests include urban theory and practice, critical development studies, political ecology, human geography and environmental policy. Raveesha S. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural-Economics,

College of Horticulture, Hiriyur, India and at the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, India. He has 12 years of experience in teaching, research, extension and administration. He pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at Humboldt University, Germany for two years with a DAAD fellowship from the German Government. He completed a Ph.D. from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, India in 2009 with a Rajeev Gandhi National Senior Research Fellowship Award. He has an M.Sc. (Agri.) from Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, College of Agriculture, Pune, India with an ICAR Junior Research Fellowship Award. His areas of research are resource economics, agricultural policy, finance, marketing and management. He has published and presented around 25 research papers. Mistura Rufai has a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a member of the Education, Poverty and Gender team and a Researcher at the World Bank, Abuja Office. Her areas of specialization include gender and welfare analysis, health economics, agricultural production and profitability analysis, impact assessments and rural and developmental economics. She is also a member of the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economists (NAAE). Prateek Sharma is presently working with the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India as a Professor and has served as Dean (Academic) in the past. He has more than 25 years of research/teaching experience. He received his Ph.D.

xxii

Contributors

from IIT, Delhi, India, a master’s degree in hydraulics and flood control and a bachelor’s in civil engineering. His research interests focus on environmental systems modeling, statistical applications in environmental and water resources engineering, and environmental risk assessment. He has authored two books (international editions) on vehicular pollution modeling and stochastic modeling and one monograph. Presently he is writing two books titled Environmental Data Analysis and Environmental Modelling. He is a member of several professional societies. He has been admitted as a Fellow of the Wessex Institute of Great Britain in 2004, in recognition of outstanding scholarly work. K.C. Smitha, Adjunct Professor, Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, School of Social Sciences, Christ University, Bengaluru, India. Her research focuses mainly on urban governance, gender and the city, urban poverty, urban political economy and urban political ecology. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science and Public Administration from the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. Over the years, as a consultant, she has been actively engaged in various urban research projects with the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs, ISEC, from an interdisciplinary perspective. She has published several book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals. She has edited a volume entitled Entrepreneurial Urbanism in India: Politics of Spatial Restructuring and Local Contestation (Springer, 2017) and co-edited a volume on Urban Environmental Governance in India: Browsing Bengaluru (2018). Inderjeet Singh Sodhi is presently a Professor of Public Administration and Head

of the Department of Local Governance at the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (Govt. of India), Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India. Earlier, he worked as an Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Dodoma,Tanzania (Africa), the Head of the Department of Public Administration, St.Wilfred’s Post-Graduate College, Jaipur, India and an Assistant Professor of Public Administration, S.S. Jain Subodh P.G. (Autonomous) College, Jaipur, India. He is an Editorial Board member of the International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age and SOCRATES Journal. He has published 30 articles in international and national journals, seven books and six book chapters. He is working on policy, governance, e-governance, local governance, urban development, rural development, environmental management, disaster management, etc. Kala S. Sridhar is a Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. She has been a Fulbright Nehru fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs in 2021 and 2022. She was earlier with the Public Affairs Centre (2008–2014) as a Ford Public Affairs Fellow and Senior Research Fellow, before which she was at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi (2003–2008), and taught at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, as an Assistant and Associate Professor (Aug 1999–May 2003, May–September 2003 respectively) before starting her career as a Research

Contributors

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Economist at the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, DC (1998–1999). She has been a visiting scholar at the World Institute of Development Economics Research of the UN in Helsinki multiple times (2007 and 2011). She has authored or edited nine books and has published papers in international journals of high repute. She is among the top 10 percent of authors globally on the Social Science Research Network and has won several international and national awards. She holds a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University, USA. Vahini is Assistant Professor at Department of Electronic Media, Bangalore University. She has a Ph.D. in health communication. She has 15 years of teaching experience for post-graduate students, has published 32 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and books, presented papers at 16 international conferences and 28 national conferences and delivered special lectures on media and related fields at colleges, NSS camps, UGC-HRDC and media workshops.Vahini has also produced science documentaries and five documentaries that were screened in national documentary film festivals, contributed to MOOC chapters on media research, presented e-content and video lectures, delivered radio talks and produced programs for community radio and undertaken a minor research project.Vahini’s specialized areas of teaching are health communication, development communication, communication research and visual communication. Zhumin Xu is currently an early career researcher at LATTS, France. Before moving

to Paris, Xu held a fellowship in the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on housing requisition involving public participation, the political economy of inner-city redevelopment and local governance, uneven globalization of real estate markets, public housing and mega-projects under financialization. Xu holds a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans in the United States. Xu has published in the Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of Historical Geography, Geoforum and Eurasian Geography and Economics. Sachita Yadav is currently associated with Manav Rachna University, Faridabad,

India as an Associate Professor in the Department of Management and Commerce. She is an experienced professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry, skilled in lecturing, curriculum development and management – a strong education professional with a management development program focused on data analytics from the Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak. She is supervising various research scholars for their Ph.D. program in the field of finance. She has presented various research papers in national and international conferences and published several research papers published in Refereed and Scopus Indexed journals. She holds M.F.C., M.Phil., M.Com., Ph.D. and UGC (NET) – Management and Commerce degrees.

FOREWORD Urbanization in the Global South: Perspectives and Challenges

When half the world’s population turned urban in 2008, it marked a significant demographic transition. It is also important to note that the growth trend of urbanization has shifted from the global north to the global south. According to projections made by the UN, from 2018 to 2050, nearly 90 percent of the increase in urban population will occur in Asia and Africa and one-third of it will be in the three southern countries of India, China and Nigeria, together contributing 860 million. This phenomenal change calls for alternate ideas to cope with the problems of economic and social development in developing countries. The writings of Western scholars on urbanization in the global south have often focused on issues relating to poverty and slums, overlooking the socioeconomic transformation that it has been able to usher in. This perspective needs to be corrected and the process of urbanization in this part of the world has to be viewed within the framework of a broader vision. The fact is that the poverty levels in the south have declined considerably and a rising urban middle class is driving the prosperity of the cities where they live. Several cities in China have world-class infrastructure and the city of Bangalore in India is renowned as a world technological hub. The developed north is overtly dependent on the developing south for several software services apart from a number of manufactured goods of daily use. We are after all living in an interdependent world despite deglobalization gaining importance in recent years, thanks to the nationalistic trends in the US and UK among others. There is no doubt that the southern cities face formidable challenges and we need to address them with imagination. This is what the international conference on “Urbanisation in the Global South” organized by the Institute for Social and Economic Change in Bangalore in 2018 has tried to do. The urban scholars from Asia and Africa meeting at the IT capital of India addressed critical issues such as the linkages between urbanization, economic development and urban

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poverty, access to basic services, finances of cities, urban policy and governance. As the problems of urbanization in the south vary between regions and countries, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution. Different countries are at different stages of economic growth with different political systems and varying levels of urbanization. While Latin America is highly urbanized, Asia averages about 50 percent, with a country like India under 40 percent. The diversity, however, offers an opportunity to learn from one another, discover commonalities and explore areas of cooperation. The year 2020 has thrown up fresh challenges for cities the world over, more so for those in the developing regions. The COVID-19 pandemic which has precipitated an unprecedented crisis has mostly been an urban phenomenon. Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has deeply affected the lives and livelihoods of city dwellers, confining people to their homes, taking away the jobs of many and forcing the informal workers back to their villages, a sort of reverse migration. The most painful consequence of the pandemic is its adverse effect on the health of the people, severely testing the efficacy of our public health systems and the capacity of public as well as private health institutions. With overcrowded hospitals, shortage of doctors and other health workers and uncertainty about remedies for the dreaded virus, we are facing a public health crisis never known before. Going forward, how do we deal with the emerging challenges of the rapidly urbanizing regions of the global south? The current pandemic has forced city dwellers to adopt new lifestyles and workstyles like work-from-home and eat-athome. How long these changes will last is anybody’s guess. In the current situation, recovering from the ravages of the pandemic assumes importance. In the first place, the urban local governments, woefully short of resources even during normal times, must find ways and means of increasing their finances. Their local sources being limited, especially in a country like India, the central and state governments will have to step in and help expand their resource base. This can be done by vesting new powers of taxation and/or enlarging the scope of financial devolution to the municipal bodies. Secondly, the public health infrastructure has to be strengthened at the city level. The municipalities play an important role in preventive health care and as such they must be adequately equipped to deal with outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics, apart from efficiently carrying out their normal health-related functions. Closely related to health is the state of the urban environment, where problems are only mounting, calling for greater attention. The present excessive consumption of resources in urban areas – be it energy, water or other materials – will have to give way to more sustainable consumption levels. Of course, in developing countries, we must ensure minimum levels of supply of safe and adequate water and electricity, housing facilities and proper sanitation, especially in areas where the poor and vulnerable sections reside. Hardly 30 percent of the cities in India have sewage treatment arrangements. Waste management in cities leaves much to be desired. The increasing quantities of different kinds of waste – solid,

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liquid, biochemical and electronic – have a serious impact on human health and demand scientific and effective methods of treatment and disposal. Air pollution in Asia is a major concern with a majority of the most polluted cities in the world being located here. In India, it takes away the lives of 600,000 children per year, apart from leaving millions suffering from respiratory diseases. Overcoming these challenges calls for a rethinking of the urban policies being pursued till now. For long, national governments in developing countries have been preoccupied with agricultural and rural development as the majority of their populations have been living in rural areas. With urbanization gaining pace, they must accord due prominence to the task of creating prosperous and sustainable cities in their development agenda. There is a visible trend in this direction with initiatives like the Smart Cities and Resilient Cities programs. This implies investment in large urban infrastructure projects essential not only for urban development but for rapid economic growth. “Urban” and “rural” should no more be viewed as two isolated sectors; we need to adopt an integrated approach to achieve rapid socio-economic development. Urban–rural linkages must be strengthened to bridge the gap between those living in cities and villages. At the city level, we need a new approach to urban planning. The outcomes of master planning must be reviewed; it has now become necessary to integrate land use planning with development planning. Issues pertaining to urban peripheral growth, which is often unplanned, and suburbanization require innovative approaches. The complexities of unrestricted spatial growth and agglomeration economies lead us to questions like how are we going to manage the megacities of the future whose number is growing in the global south? Will the new workfrom-home trend relieve traffic congestion and reduce stressful commuting? Is it desirable to have city-states or autonomous city-regions? How will such ideas be received by national governments which, while voicing support for decentralization, are in reality exhibiting centralizing tendencies? These policy issues which involve political decision-making need to be debated before arriving at specific conclusions that may vary from country to country. However, reforms in city governance can be attended to on priority. They cover three critical areas imperative for effective delivery of urban services, viz. functions, functionaries and funds. There must be a clear demarcation of the urban local government’s functions in the light of the principles of subsidiarity and on the lines similar to the provisions of the 74th amendment to the Indian constitution, an action plan for professionalization of urban management including the upgrading of skills and capabilities of the functionaries and strategies for mobilization of the funds required for city maintenance and rejuvenation. While it is now generally accepted that urbanization is the way forward for developing countries that intend to grow rapidly, ignoring cities would have disastrous implications for the migrants and the poor, food security, nutrition and climate change in the global south. I see the intellectual contribution made by this volume as providing an understanding of the significant challenges at various levels of urbanization. Nepal has the lowest level of urbanization among

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the countries studied here, while Latin America is highly urbanized. Urbanized China continues to face challenges of citizen participation. Nigeria, in view of current demographic trends in the country, demonstrates that asset ownership cannot be ignored, as with urbanization, to ensure food security and nutrition there. India, which is perceived to be largely a rural country, at least based on its official definition, is characterized by several challenges in its cities – from basic services, their spatial distribution within cities, which continue to sprawl, to the formulation of norms for these basic services. This volume helps to provide insightful and thought-provoking ref lections appropriate for our better understanding of the urbanization process in the global south along with its multi-faceted dimensions and proposes ways for policy interventions and future research in this important area. In conclusion, I would urge the cities of the global south to form an alliance that would facilitate the exchange of information and ideas and learnings from their successes and failures (likely to be more relevant than those from cities of the north). In particular, cooperation will be beneficial in matters relating to climate change, disaster management and the use of modern smart technologies in areas like urban mobility, water and energy management and control of air pollution. Can city leaders of the global south come together to create such an alliance to achieve a bright urban future? A. Ravindra Chairman, Centre for Sustainable Development Former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka Former Chairman, ISEC Board of Governors Bengaluru, INDIA May 17, 2021

PREFACE

This volume arose out of papers presented in the International Conference on the Challenges of Governance in Mega Cities, which was held at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) in October 2018. The conference received a modest amount of funding from the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) to whom we are grateful. We are thankful to the then-Director of ISEC, Professor M.G. Chandrakanth and then-Registrar of ISEC, Dr. Srinath, for facilitating the conference. Thanks are due also to Dr. A. Ravindra, then-Chairman of ISEC’s Board of Governors, for conceptualizing the idea of such an urban conference and facilitating the event. Hence we requested Dr. Ravindra to write the foreword to this volume, which he has kindly written. A much larger set of papers than those contained in this volume were presented at the above conference. We would like to thank not only those from ISEC, other institutions and those from institutions outside India who presented papers but also those ISEC faculty members and students at ISEC who were chairpersons and rapporteurs at this conference, respectively. We thank, in particular, Professor V. K. Natraj, then-Member of ISEC’s Board of Governors, for delivering an insightful valedictory address at the conference. In addition to papers presented at the above conference, we solicited papers from contributors in other countries and regions of the global south, notably Nepal, Nigeria and Latin America, for the purpose of this volume following the conference. We are grateful to Dr. Shashank Shekhar Sinha of Routledge for encouraging and supporting the idea for this volume with his suggestions and ideas. Thanks are also due to Antara Ray Choudhury and Shloka Chauhan of Routledge for

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answering many of our queries pertaining to the volume. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers of this volume for their constructive comments and suggestions, of great benefit to the volume. Finally, we are grateful to Dr. Shivakumar Nayka for his help with the formatting of the volume. Needless to say, any remaining errors are our own. The editors

1 CHALLENGES OF URBANIZATION IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH Introduction and overview Kala S. Sridhar and George Mavrotas

The 21st century will not be dominated by America or China, Brazil or India, but by the city. (Khanna, Foreign Policy, September 2010: 122, emphasis added) As Nobel Laureate Michael Spence has rightly argued, “urbanization is never a pretty process – it was not in the Industrial Revolution in England, and it is not now – but it is certainly important” (Spence, 2011). But what is really a “city” and how can it be defined? To quote Alan Beattie in his book False Economy (2009), a successful city is a hard thing to build, and a world-class one even harder. But incompetent or wrong-headed governments have stunted and even destroyed so many in the past that complacency and fatalism in the face of urbanization are profoundly misplaced. Edward Glaeser, in his celebrated and thought-provoking book The Triumph of the City (2011), argues that “at their heart, cities are the absence of physical space between people and firms; they enable connections and that makes them more productive.” Saskia Sassen has also rightly argued that cities are complex systems. But they are incomplete systems. In this incompleteness lies the possibility of making – making the urban, the political, the civic, a history, an economy. To what extent do we need to see the complex city as a sort of new frontier zone for the circulation of development processes and for the making of new types of economies? In other words, can cities and their growing presence add something specific to the DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-1

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larger question of development? Can the city function as a sort of algorithm where information, knowledge, policies, experience, many coming from rural experiences, all f low in and then exit strengthened by redistributive and civic logics, both key features of cities? (Sassen, 2012) The focus of this volume is the global south, given these countries account for a majority of the world’s population, but significantly less proportion of world income, consisting of Africa, rapidly emerging Asia and Latin America. This is quite in contrast to the high-income countries of the global north such as the United States, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Indeed, despite the fine work of a small cadre of pioneers in the economics of the developing world on cities, the overwhelming bulk of urban economics research has focused on the developed world in general and the United States in particular. At the same time, the urbanization experience (and the policy challenges faced by policymakers) of the various regions in the developing world vary substantially. In South Asia, one of the central questions in recent years is whether the urban model of East Asia can be replicated, i.e. cities investing not only in traditional infrastructure but also in social infrastructure. Violence and conf lict have also been associated in recent work with the engine of growth thesis regarding urbanization, a distinct feature of the urbanization process in many cities in Latin America. Furthermore, globalization has resulted in growing competition amongst cities in South Asia as compared to nation-states, i.e. Mumbai and Bengaluru are possibly more relevant to business than India as a country. Finally, for Africa, although urbanization is a rather recent phenomenon, the prospect of this continent’s urban population doubling over the next two decades presents various challenges but also opportunities for the region (Glaeser, 2011; Glaeser and Mavrotas, 2011). Of course, urban concentration has historically enabled the f lows of knowledge, the division of labor, the movement of goods and the combination of labor and capital that help transform poor places into rich ones. There is undoubtedly evidence that urbanization leads to a number of positive externalities such as sharing and learning which cities encourage and entail, due to the density contained in them (Glaeser, 1999; Duranton and Puga, 2004); Carlino et al., 2007). Sridhar (2019) found that urbanization in India led to increased earnings for employees at various managerial levels, due to their higher productivity. Accounting for the two-way relationship between urbanization and the rural– urban income ratio, Sridhar (2019) reported that urbanization increased urban– rural inequalities initially in the country, but at higher levels reduced them. Further, it was found that urbanization benefited rural development given remittances are continuously made from the urban to the rural economy by migrants. Finally, urbanization did not lead to reduced agricultural output, although the land devoted to agriculture was the same. In this sense, urbanization may be just viewed as the process by which mechanization increases agricultural output, by

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removing excess labor who presumably migrate to the urban areas. Chen et al. (2019) reported a very similar and symmetric finding for China. In addition to its positive externalities, urbanization also creates enormous challenges and negative externalities, including contagious disease, congestion and crime that often seem to be far beyond the capacities of many governments in the developing world. Urban poverty is also emerging as a central challenge in this important research and policy area. Is the urbanization process per se the one that produces unavoidable poverty traps or is it that the continuous migration to cities of very poor people for which states and municipalities fail to timely endow them with a minimum stock of public goods, the overwhelming dominant phenomenon for the stickiness and resilience of poverty enclaves? Obviously, reducing the costs of these externalities will improve the quality of life in poor cities and also enable those cities to expand and live up to their full economic potential (Glaeser, 2011). With continued urbanization, the numbers of the urban poor are predicted to rise and poverty will increasingly be an urban phenomenon. Urban poverty can be defined with different facets: income poverty (urban poor live on less than a dollar per day), urban hunger (the rate of malnutrition in emerging and largely in developing countries) and the issue of food security, which is more serious among the urban poor than the rural. Furthermore, informal sector employment and underemployment, informal settlements with inadequate facilities and absence of land entitlement, quality of services below desired standards and at relatively high cost along with exclusionary provisioning of services have aggravated urban poverty.1 In this context, “urbanization without development” (Arimah, 2010) is common in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. It is also characterized by rapid urban growth in the face of economic stagnation, poor agricultural performance (implying push migration to urban areas), rising unemployment, financially weak municipalities, poor governance and the absence of coherent urban planning policy.2 Having said that, it is equally important to remember that Rio de Janeiro has plenty of poverty but this is not comparable to the poverty levels of Brazil’s rural northeast.3 Similarly, Lagos, Nigeria, is often depicted as a place of profound deprivation, but in fact, the extreme poverty rate in Lagos, when corrected for higher prices in the city, is less than half the extreme poverty rate in rural Nigeria (Glaeser, 2011). Ravallion, Chen and Sangraula (2007) estimated that one-third of all urban residents are poor, while Baker (2008) stressed that many of these urban poor are in small cities and towns where the incidence of poverty tends to be higher than in big cities (Baker, 2008). Having said that, it is equally important to remind ourselves what Plato said 2,500 years ago, namely that “any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich.” In this context, almost every city in every developing country has its concentrations of poverty, its shantytowns (Glaeser, 2011). It has also been rightly argued that despite the negative impacts of urbanization on the prevalence of slums,

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urbanization needs to be perceived as a positive phenomenon and a precondition for improving access to services as well as economic and social opportunities (Arimah, 2010). Yet, this presents a major challenge for forward-looking urban planning policies in the global south, since the absence of adequate planning has led to increased poverty, the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, inadequate and unequal distribution of water and power supply as well as degrading environmental conditions (UN-Habitat, 2009). The overall nexus between social capital and urbanization is equally important. Glaeser and Redlick (2009) and Whiteley (2000) discuss the links between social capital and growth. In the developing world, urban social capital may be particularly important in determining the quality of life. The poor neighborhoods of many Indian cities are fairly safe, not because of excellent policing, but because the neighborhood is connected and looks after its own.4 In this volume, we focus on India, China and Nepal in emerging Asia, Nigeria in Africa, and Latin American cities in general. This group of countries, while populous and demographically young, is characterized by certain unique features, which have accompanied their rapid growth in the recent decades. The first and foremost characteristic that is unique to countries of the global south is an empirical truth which has been observed by Annez and Buckley (2009) that few countries of the world have reached a per capita income of $10,000 without becoming at least 60 percent urban. Given these countries such as India, China, Nigeria and those in Latin America have rapidly grown recently, it must be the case that urbanization had an important role to play, given the mutually reinforcing effects between the two. Although this volume originated from an international conference on megacities organized in Bengaluru, India in October 2018, we subsequently invited a rather substantial number of chapters from people outside of the conference, as there is a major gap in the literature on understanding the challenges from the perspective of the global south, taking into account those at different levels of urbanization. This volume focuses not just on issues of poverty, governance and climate change but also on food and nutrition and intra-urban spatial inequalities in the provision of basic services. While the urbanization challenges presented in the volume are primarily from India, there are perspectives from other countries and regions of the global south – Nepal, Nigeria, China and Latin America. While Latin America represents one of the world’s most urbanized regions, Nepal is one of the world’s least urbanized regions. While China’s urbanization has had a chequered history, urbanization in India, although it is continuously occurring and presenting major challenges along with opportunities, is low, primarily due to its conservative definition (see Sridhar, 2020). With a population of over 180 million, Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with a high population of youth and an increasing rate of youth unemployment and underemployment, which are expected to have a strong inf luence on the urbanization process (Adesugba and Mavrotas, 2016; Moriconi-Ebrand et al., 2016). This volume has chapters from

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each of these countries, even though the volume is focused on India and there are a number of chapters whose focus is on Bengaluru. The aims and objectives of this volume are as follows: 1. Review the challenges of urbanization from the perspective of the global south and understand if the challenges for countries at different levels of urbanization are the same. 2. Delve deeper into the relationship between urbanization, economic development, poverty and food and nutrition security and externalities. 3. Examine the status and impact of finances and basic urban services such as water supply and transport, with continuing sprawl of cities in India and Latin America. 4. Understand the status of sanitation, hygiene behavior and their implications for the urban poor. 5. Attempt to understand the challenges of urban governance and what they mean for policy interventions in countries of the global south. In particular, we would like to highlight peculiar characteristics of urbanization in the countries we have studied here. China has had a very chequered history of urbanization, which has been rapid only recently, and now stands at 56 percent. Sridhar and Jingfeng (2020) provide a comparison of urbanization, along with their social and environmental effects, across India and China. With a population of over 180 million, an annual population growth rate of 2.6 percent and a projected population of 264 million by 2030, Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with a high population of youth and an increasing rate of youth unemployment and underemployment. These demographic trends are expected to have a very strong inf luence on the urbanization process in Nigeria (Mavrotas, 2018; Adesugba and Mavrotas, 2016).5 While Nepal is one of the world’s least urbanized regions, Latin America is one of the most urbanized. Against this background, we summarize the challenges of urbanization from this perspective, across the most urbanized and least urbanized countries of the global south. At 31 percent urbanization, India is perceived to be largely a country of villages, but this is an artifact of its conservative definition which bases it on population size and population density, in addition to non-agricultural employment. Sridhar (2020) finds that if India were to be more liberal in its definition of urbanization, it would be more than half urban even as of 2011. These results are consistent with those from the Government of India’s midterm Economic Survey released in 2017, which is more than double the urbanization rate estimated by the 2011 Census of India. Another challenge of urbanization in the global south is related to urban sprawl. As the World Bank (2017) points out, cities have a strong tendency to sprawl beyond their administrative boundaries. Sridhar (2007) documented how Indian cities suburbanized during 1991–2001, although Holian and Sridhar (2017) found that Indian cities somewhat centralized during the same period,

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but noted that the absolute value of the minimum population density gradient declined from 1.8 in 1991 to 1.5 in 2001, while the absolute value of the maximum population density gradient decreased from 3.37 to 2.78 during 1991– 2001, indicating suburbanization. Sridhar and Narayanan (2016) found evidence of suburbanization during 2001–2011 in Kalaburagi in Karnataka. Dowall and Monkkonen (2008) found that Chennai was sprawling during the 1970s and 1980s, but after that, land policies had been successful in checking the sprawl. This volume is divided into four substantive parts. The first part of the volume deals with the relationship between urbanization, economic growth, poverty, food and livelihood security. It deals with how urbanization impacts economic growth, poverty, nutritional and food security, and how, if at all, it is possible to “control” migration into cities by ensuring livelihood security for farmers in rural areas. The challenges of making cities the engines of economic growth originate in finances for Indian urban local bodies, since most cities in federal countries are at the receiving end of the higher levels of government, which undermines their ability to provide a wide spectrum of public services in an efficient or inclusive manner. Poor public infrastructure and urban services undermine the productivity and efficiency of workers, commuters and residents. Hence, to begin with, the second part of the volume focuses on the financial status of cities (in the major megacities of India – Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru), followed by the state of basic urban services in India’s cities (taking the example of Bengaluru). We review the state of water management, sewerage, sanitation and solid waste management in Indian cities such as Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Bengaluru. The provision of public services is dependent on the extent to which cities sprawl and their urban form; sprawling cities, as opposed to compact ones, will find it more expensive to provide public services such as roads, water and sewerage networks. So we attempt to understand whether urban sprawl leads to poorer service quality (taking the cases of water supply, commuting, sewerage, education and health services) in the peripheral areas when compared with that in the central parts of cities, taking the instance of Bengaluru. Urbanization is blamed for all the ills of the earth – ranging from climate change, pollution, air and water quality to contagious diseases ( just like the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 which is entirely an urban phenomenon) and crime among others. The third part of the volume focuses on negative externalities arising from urbanization. The one clear externality is the scarcity of public and green spaces with increasing built space, which of course becomes a positive externality if they exist. Taking the case of a town in Nepal and two Indian large cities, this part discusses how such negative externalities may be overcome with better governance and a multi-pronged regional approach. In the presence of transaction costs, as per Ronald Coase, the externalities of urbanization are to be overcome with government intervention – better policy and governance. Hence the last part of the volume focuses on urban policies and governance in the global south. First, Indian and Chinese cities’ governance,

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taking the cases of Bengaluru and Shanghai, is presented. A chapter on Latin American cities, their unique features and how urban development policy there is obfuscated concludes the volume. One of the primary findings emanating from the first part of this volume is that we cannot afford to ignore urbanization, given its relationship with GDP and its overall effect on reducing poverty. Taking the case of India during the period 2001 to 2016, Chapter 2 by Sachita Yadav finds that GDP and urbanization are positively correlated, while poverty is negatively correlated with both the variables. The tests of causality show the existence of unidirectional causality from urbanization to GDP, but insignificant causality from GDP to urbanization, implying that urbanization has a very significant role to play in the rapid economic growth of countries. What is the state of food and livelihood security with urbanization? Chapter 3 by Ogunniyi et al. on Nigeria’s urbanization investigates the implications of urbanization and livestock ownership for food security and child nutritional outcomes using various livestock typologies and satellite-based night-time light intensity data as a proxy for livestock ownership and urbanization, respectively in Nigeria. The authors find that livestock ownership is positively associated with food security through per capita food expenditure and dietary diversity of the households, but it has a weak association with child nutritional outcomes. Furthermore, urbanization has a strong positive association with per capita food expenditure and dietary diversity but it is also found to be reducing stunting and increasing height-for-age z-score (HAZ). Finally, the combined effects of livestock ownership and urbanization on food and nutrition security are stronger jointly than their individual effects, implying that rapid urbanization without asset ownership might not directly translate into food and nutrition security. Chapter 4 by Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth discusses the impact of urbanization on the income and livelihood security of farmers. As a case, urbanization in Bengaluru is considered, as the rate of growth of urbanization in Bengaluru has surpassed the rate of urbanization in India and that in the world. In the process of urbanization, it is found that about 90 (irrigation) tanks in Bengaluru have been totally converted for different urban purposes. Highlighting the role of irrigation tanks and surface water in the recharge of groundwater, this chapter demonstrates that due to groundwater recharge from irrigation tanks/water bodies, there has been a reduction in borewell failure by 50 percent, increase in the average age of borewells by 120 percent and increase in the farm net returns by 30 to 60 percent. Conversion of tanks for urbanization purposes implies the loss of livelihood security and an employment loss of at least 100 man-days of family labor per year for farmers on a conservative basis. Therefore this chapter concludes that in the process of urbanization, the irrigation tanks and water bodies which are crucial for agriculture and domestic water respectively need to be carefully maintained and managed with the linking of canal systems wherever possible in order to sustain the growing population in both urban and rural areas.

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Given the fundamental nature of finances and basic services to the role that cities play in economic growth and inclusion, the second part of the volume deals with the finances and basic services in cities. Chapter 5 by Inderjeet Singh Sodhi on the financial status of India’s megacities describes their current status, key features and challenges. This chapter describes how the major Indian cities are facing a financial crunch due to less revenue and more expenditure particularly on salaries and other related expenditures. Octroi, a tax on the consumption or sale of goods upon their entry into a city, was abolished in all cities of India in phases, eventually by 2017, due to its distortionary nature leading to delays and productivity losses, corruption, inf lation in the price of goods subject to the tax and high cost of collection. Nonetheless, it was a major source of liquid revenue to the cities; no Indian state government has compensated the municipal bodies adequately for its abolition. This chapter points to the complexities of municipal finances and accounting in Indian cities, citing the case of transfers from one account to another, which also obfuscates the expenditure made on capital works in cities. Since the state of city finances determines the state of basic urban services, the volume focuses on the delivery of basic urban services next. Chapter 6 by Sridhar et al. on Bengaluru public services asks the question of whether the sprawl and suburbanization of the metropolitan area have affected the delivery of basic services. It first makes an attempt to understand the suburbanization of Bengaluru, using the standard theoretical framework of density gradients. Then it presents a disaggregated picture of the central city and peripheral wards, with regard to their delivery, based on large primary surveys of 2,700 households in the metropolitan area. This chapter also presents the intra-city distribution of basic services, which is rarely documented, finding that central wards are better than their peripheral counterparts in basic and social services such as water supply, health and education, but that overall, Bengaluru’s urban services do not measure up to the benchmarks stipulated. When one discusses benchmarks for urban services, a question to ask if the benchmarks themselves need revision. Hence the next chapter presents an assessment of urban service delivery in two large Indian cities – Pune and Hyderabad – through a pilot survey of the citizens to understand if service delivery norms/ benchmarks are appropriate or need revisions. More precisely, Nallathiga and Sridhar, in Chapter 7, suggest the need for improving quantitative as well as qualitative dimensions of urban civic services in these cities – especially in water supply, sewerage, waste management, roads and drainage, when the norms for these services are taken into account. These findings, although preliminary, strongly suggest improvements are necessary not only in the levels of urban services in these cities but also in the setting of norms itself for important services like water supply. With steady urbanization, water is becoming increasingly scarce with surface and groundwater depletion. This is also at the heart of Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the associated WASH (water supply, sanitation

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and hygiene) agenda.6 The next chapter (Chapter 8) by Dhaarna and Devadas estimates the cost of serving households with piped water and other non-piped water techniques in Ahmedabad, India, and takes several cost components into account, employing system dynamics techniques to understand the functions of the system along with various sub-systems, raising awareness that water is not free of cost. The authors identify gaps in the management of water at the local level and make suggestions for addressing them. The chapter employs system dynamics techniques to understand the functions of the system along with its various sub-systems. Discounted cash f low technique is used to estimate the expenditure of the water supply system in 2025, and recommendations are made by this chapter to judicially use the water resources within the system. Recognizing the scarcity value of water, Chapter 9 by Chaudhuri et al. encourages water reuse, taking the case of Delhi, suggesting integrating reuse in existing water supply systems. They find that for its reuse, policy thrust and implementation for appropriate assignment of recycled water to different uses, are necessary. It is also suggested that for cities to become sustainable, they should use treated wastewater. Sanitation is a basic service, but a major ecological concern in India’s cities. Chapter 10 by Manasi and Latha focuses on the status of sanitation, hygiene behavior and its health implications in Bengaluru’s informal settlements, the slums, with the findings being based on a survey of 20 slums across the city. Their findings indicate the scope for addressing the issue holistically through improving sanitation infrastructure, promoting good hygiene practices and policy shifts that nudge people to make decisions in their own self-interest. This is especially important, the authors argue, given the disparities in health across notified and non-notified slums, with the latter being significantly poorer in terms of water-borne diseases. With the increasing use of technology, e-governance and social media, a logical question to ask is how the delivery of basic urban services such as water supply, sanitation, sewerage and solid waste management can be made more efficient and effective. What is the bearing of technology on the future of cities? Sridhar and Sridhar (2011) analyzed the digital readiness of major Indian cities using content analysis of their municipal body websites. They found that the larger cities, especially those with more than 10 million inhabitants, fared relatively well in their readiness towards becoming digital compared to smaller cities, at least based on the information obtained from their websites for delivery of various services such as water supply, sewerage and so forth. The third part of the volume focuses on the negative externalities of urbanization, namely its effects on public green spaces, air quality and ecology. The three chapters in this part focus each on public spaces (Bhaktapur in Nepal), air quality (Delhi) and disappearing wetlands (Kolkata). While land is scarce in lowurbanized Nepal, similar to that in the highly urbanized countries, Chapter 11 by Shiva Adhikari on Nepal, taking the case of a small town, Bhaktapur, finds that the restoration and preservation of public open spaces such as parks and the

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preservation of air quality in that town was the result of collaboration between many partners, including the public sector, community organizations and private entities, confirming that the local community and local authority took the lead. No doubt with increasing vehicular usage to access jobs, air quality in cities is deteriorating, thus the next chapter by Ashish V. Prabhakar (Chapter 12) attempts to understand the manner in which air pollution in Delhi continues to be tackled. The author blames erroneous problem-framing, arguing that the policies hitherto taken to tackle this crisis, have been not only uni-dimensional but have also not centered on the most vulnerable. In advocating a solution, this chapter argues that looking at the issue from a holistic perspective, taking into account the politico-ecological factors, would provide a fruitful avenue and be inclusive. Chapter 13 by Haimanti Pakrashi discusses the growth of real estate in Kolkata, which is threatening the livelihoods and homes of the vulnerable women workers of vegetable farms of Dhapa in the East Kolkata Wetlands, which are being demolished to make way for the mega-rich of the city. The author finds that driving the poor away will not only harm these economically weak families but also hamper the ecological functions of the wetlands that are disappearing at an alarming rate in Kolkata. Government intervention should fix the negative externalities arising from urbanization. Nonetheless, we find that urban governance is a major problem in most countries – developed or less developed, urbanized or less urbanized. While local governments are accountable to a variety of higher-level governments and within their own jurisdiction, they have fragmented institutional arrangements for various basic services, which leads to problems with the efficiency and effectiveness with which they are delivered. The four chapters in the final part of the volume deal with various aspects of the challenges of governance in India (Bengaluru), China (Shanghai) and Latin American cities. Chapter 14 by Sridhar and Smitha focuses on the challenge of local governance, taking the case of Bengaluru, which is quintessentially representative of problems with institutional arrangements in Indian cities. The examination of governance in this chapter is especially valuable as it is based on rich primary surveys of more than 2,700 households in the city. The authors find that wards with an active presence of resident welfare associations (RWAs) have a better quality of living, with efficient delivery of civic services such as water supply and maintenance of parks and playgrounds, when compared with wards that did not have them. It is also found that the demand for improvement in local government’s performance comes primarily from the residents of peripheral wards, as the level and quality of basic services is also poor there, as confirmed by an earlier chapter. We find that governance in Indian and Chinese cities is not very different in terms of citizen participation, with governance demand in Indian cities emerging from neglected peripheral areas, given the focus of planning is primarily the central city in Indian cities, as found by Sridhar (2020). Chinese cities focus

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primarily on procedural due process and pay only lip service to substantive citizen participation. The governance in a typical Indian city is compared with the challenges of citizen participation in Shanghai (China)’s urban redevelopment, in Chapter 15 by Zhumin Xu on governance and policy, where the role played by the district government and community residents in transforming the structure of the metropolis (in response to local and global development pressures) is examined. While it was observed that citizen participation was ineffective in housing requisition there, two reasons explained the ineffective participation of residents according to the author. First, the participation schemes acted merely as procedures, which did not match the substantive expectations from the relocated residents. Second, although the level of economic compensation played a more important role, the relationship between people and their homes is also important in the housing requisition; the new compensation schemes sometimes neglected the important aspects of an effective participation mechanism. Chapter 16 by Vahini Aravind revisits the challenges of the urban poor in Bengaluru in the context of health and their immunization. The chapter finds that the challenges with reference to urban immunization programs in the metropolis are presented by language, illegal settlements, multiple cultures, monitoring and implementation, hence strongly suggesting that the cosmopolitan nature of cities should be adequately paid attention to in the implementation of health care programs. Cynthia Goytia in Chapter 17 provides a diagnosis of Latin American urban structure as well as the specific conditions of megacities in a comparative context. These elements of urban structure, the author argues, are related to higher densities and urban primacy, which are fundamental to guiding public policies that seek to promote the benefits of agglomeration, and at the same time, keep urban costs under control. From a public policy perspective, planning organized expansion of cities and closing the infrastructure (transport, water and sewage network, etc.) gap between central and peripheral areas should become a central matter to these cities, just as an earlier chapter on Bengaluru showed. In short, this chapter argues that Latin American urban policy needs to shift its focus, highlighting that the urban policy goal should not be to have a larger or more compact city, rather it should be to achieve higher accessibility, which is important to transform Latin American megacities into drivers of productivity growth. This finding quintessentially describes urban policymaking in India also. We should mention that this volume ref lects adequately on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It may be noted that SDG Goal 1 relates to no poverty. Chapters 2, 13 and 16 deal with poverty and the urban poor. SDG Goal 2 relates to no hunger. Chapter 3 focuses on food and nutritional security, hence is related to this. SDG Goal 3 is good health and well-being. In no other part of this century has public health been so important and under a cloud as when the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, started spreading rapidly across the globe in 2020 and

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was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The leading victim countries of the virus in terms of infections and deaths as of the time of writing are the United States, followed by India and Brazil with six million and well above four million cases each as of October 2020, although in the early period of the pandemic, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom were quite severely hit. What makes the pandemic highly relevant to this volume is that it is largely an urban phenomenon, given cities are characterized by density, both of population and households, with the result that physical distancing is an important recommended measure to keep the pandemic in check. Hence it is no doubt that the mostly urbanized United States, Brazil and the highly dense India are much affected by the pandemic. On the other hand, dense countries of the global south such as Nigeria were not severely affected at the time of the editing of this book, with Nigeria having about 55,000 cases as of September 2020. When the pandemic struck, different countries responded in different ways to tackle it. While China, where the virus is said to have originated, quickly contained the pandemic within a couple of months with its surveillance and contact tracing, India resorted to a lockdown strategy, which is now defined as one of the world’s most stringent, to tackle the pandemic. However, this turned out to be quite disastrous as the large informal sector in India’s cities was severely hit; informal workers such as construction workers, drivers, cooks, maids and others are typically migrants who serve the bottom of the urban economy in Indian cities. They were the unintended and inadvertent victims of the lockdown imposed. The 40-day lockdown, implemented in three phases, essentially closed the entire country into water-tight compartments and shut down public transport. This spelled disaster for the migrants who lost their jobs in the pandemic, feared by their domestic employers, but they did not have the means to travel back to their hometowns either. This resulted in hundreds of migrant workers walking several kilometers back to their homes, with many of them losing their lives with exhaustion and fatigue. Many committed suicide. The unintended consequence of the lockdown resulting from the pandemic caused undue hardship to migrants. Hence the war against the pandemic in India came to be known as the tradeoff between lives and livelihoods. The urban local bodies (ULBs) in India as in other countries were subject to severe physical and financial hardships also, partly due to the lack of an integrated urban and regional policy. The ULBs were subject to severe hardships because they were required to identify, do contact tracing of travelers and patients, enable their quarantine and follow patients to recovery. Never before have city governments in India been required to identify travelers coming from other states, and subject them to contact tracing, just like China did in its highly successful attempt to control the pandemic. Subsequently, following the lockdown, several activities were slowly being relaxed in India’s states and cities at the time this book went to press. While this volume was completed well before the start of the pandemic, and we do not have any chapters unfortunately on its effects, we have some aspects of

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chapters that are devoted to SDG 3 on health. Parts of Chapter 6 deal with intracity disparities in health care, Chapter 10 relates to sanitation, hygiene and health outcomes, and Chapter 16 deals with immunization, albeit from an administrative perspective, all taking the case of Bengaluru. SDG Goal 4 relates to quality education. Again, while no chapters address this important aspect of basic services, Chapter 6 dwells on the intra-city disparity with respect to education (primary and secondary) in Bengaluru. SDG 5 is on gender equality. Chapter 13 touches upon the livelihood options of poor women in the Dhapa wetlands of Kolkata. Apart from this, there are no major aspects of urbanization viewed with a gender lens in this volume. SDG Goal 6 relates to clean water and sanitation. As already mentioned, Goal 6 and the relevant WASH agenda on water supply, sanitation and hygiene are extensively discussed in the relevant chapters of this volume. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with intra-city disparities, taking the case of public services that include water supply in Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. Chapters 8 and 9 deal with water management taking into account people’s participation and framework for water reuse respectively, taking the cases of Ahmedabad and Delhi. Chapter 10 relates to sanitation and hygiene taking the case of slums in Bengaluru. So this volume adequately ref lects on and relates to SDG Goal 6. SDG Goal 7 relates to affordable and clean energy. While this is an important aspect of urbanization, unfortunately no chapters in the volume deal with this SDG. SDG Goal 8 relates to decent work and economic growth. Chapter 2 deals with the relationship between urbanization, poverty and economic growth. SDG Goal 9 is on industry, innovation and infrastructure. Again, it is not possible to cover all these themes and this volume does not do justice to this goal, as there are no chapters that deal with industry or innovation. As discussed already, several parts of this volume focus on public services such as water supply, drainage, roads, although we do not focus on electricity. Although there are no chapters in this volume that discuss inequality directly (the focus of SDG Goal 10 of reducing inequality), a number of chapters discuss the poor, poverty and disparities in public services between the central and peripheral parts of cities. SDG Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities is the one that this volume relates to directly, with a number of chapters pertaining to public spaces in cities (taking the case of Nepal, Chapter 11), the air quality and the associated conundrum, taking the case of Delhi (Chapter 12), sanitation and their implications for sustainability in Bengaluru (Chapter 7) and the fragile ecology in the wetlands of Kolkata (Chapter 13). SDG Goal 12 relates to responsible production and consumption. As discussed earlier, Chapter 13 on the ecology and peri-urban poor in the wetlands of Kolkata somewhat portrays the situation of how urbanization has led to the vanishing of the wetlands which earlier were providers of fish and food to the local population. SDG Goal 13 relates to climate action with which a couple of chapters engage – see Chapter 11 on Nepal which deals with public spaces there,

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as well as Chapter 12 which discusses air quality and the associated conundrum, taking the case of Delhi. SDG Goal 14 relates to life underwater. Given this is a volume primarily on urbanization, no aspect of this SDG is addressed in this volume. Nature indeed can protect us from pandemics and SDG Goal 15 relates to life on land – unfortunately, no chapter in this volume deals with this important aspect of life on land. SDG Goal 16 relates to peace, justice and strong institutions. We are cognizant of the importance of public participation and strong institutions to make urbanization work for countries. Hence the volume includes chapters on governance, which includes citizen participation contributing to the sustainability of initiatives – in particular Chapter 8 showcases people’s participation in the water sector; Chapter 15 takes the case of Shanghai’s housing, and another chapter covers local governance in Bengaluru (Chapter 14). The final SDG goal relates to partnerships for accomplishing the goals, which are touched by citizen participation. A number of chapters in this volume touch upon this final SDG goal – Chapter 8 (on people’s participation in the water sector, taking the case of Delhi), Chapter 15 (people’s participation in Shanghai’s housing) and Chapter 14 (on citizen participation in Bengaluru’s local governance) make partnership their basis for improving public services (water, housing or governance). Having said that, we feel the need to stress some caveats in this volume. Themes like infrastructure and gender, smart cities and urban futures and the functioning of local democracies could have been interesting additions to understand the idea of urbanization in a holistic manner. Of course, one cannot accommodate every aspect of the urbanization process in a single book, and thus we have been unable to accommodate these themes in the present volume. We cannot also overlook the fact that there are four chapters in the volume from Bangalore alone. So although it could be possibly argued that the book has a rather strong focus on Indian cities, it is not fair to ignore the fact that this book pays also particular attention to urbanization challenges in other countries covered in this volume. Furthermore, we do believe that the book complements nicely other recently published books by Routledge dealing with urbanization issues in the global south such as Mega-Urbanization in the Global South by Datta and Shaban (eds.) in 2017 and The Politics of Slums in the Global South by Dupont et al. (eds.) in 2017. It is widely agreed that the future is urban and this is an irreversible trend. Ignoring the emerging challenge would have disastrous implications for the urban poor, the ecology, environment and food security in the global south. The intellectual contribution made by this volume is to predominantly understand what challenges are important at various levels of urbanization. While Nepal is at the lowest level, community participation there seems to tackle even the most difficult challenge of public space, while in highly urbanized Latin America, the goals of urban policy seem to be lost in the means to achieve ends. In urbanized China, urban governance is obfuscated with procedures, not substantive processes of citizen participation. Nigeria is expected to attract a lot of

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attention in the coming decade in view of current demographic trends in the country, and as asset ownership seems to be important along with urbanization to ensure food security there. Finally, in India, which is a medium urbanized country, the challenges are manifold – from the level and quality of basic services such as water and sanitation, and their spatial disparities within a city, with continuing sprawl, to the setting of such norms themselves for basic urban services. Researchers, policymakers and practitioners working on urbanization have the difficult task of understanding and responding to a complex and dynamic set of challenges in this crucial area for millions of people in the global south. Against this background, it is hoped that this volume will help to provide some useful ref lections – if not complete answers – relevant to this challenging task in the global south and suggest ways for policy interventions and future research in this important area.

Notes 1 See Wratten (1995) and Masika et al. (1997) among others on conceptual issues regarding urban poverty. 2 See Cheru (2005) and Annez and Buckley (2009) for a comprehensive discussion. 3 While 90 percent of Rio residents earned more than $85 a month in 1996, only 30 percent of people in the rural northeast were above that poverty line. 4 See also Zak and Knack (2001), Knowles (2007) and Baliamoune-Lutz and Mavrotas (2009) for a further discussion of social capital issues. 5 As also stressed by the Africapolis I Report (Moriconi-Ebrand, Harre and Heinrigs, 2016), re-examining the criteria that distinguish urban from rural (see densities, type of housing and the importance of agriculture) is also crucial since they may change our overall understanding of urbanization in West African countries, including Nigeria. 6 See also World Bank (2017) for a comprehensive discussion of the WASH Agenda in connection with SDG Goal No. 6.

References Adesugba, M. and G. Mavrotas (2016). Youth Employment, Agricultural Transformation and Rural Labour Dynamics in Nigeria. International Food Policy Research Institute Discussion Paper No. 01579, IFPRI, Washington, DC. Annez, P. C. and R. M. Buckley (2009). Urbanization and Growth: Setting the Context. Urbanization and Growth, 1, 1–45, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, On behalf of the Commission on Growth and Development, Washington, DC. Arimah, B. (2010). The Face of Urban Poverty: Explaining the Prevalence of Slums in Developing Countries. In: J. Beall, B. Guha-Khasnobis and R. Kanbur (eds.) Urbanization and Development: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 143–164. Baliamoune-Lutz, M. and G. Mavrotas (2009). Aid Effectiveness: Looking at the AidSocial Capital-Growth Nexus. Review of Development Economics, 13(3): 510–525. Baker, J. (2008). Urban Poverty, World Bank, A Global View. Urban Paper No. 5, World Bank, Washington, DC.

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Beattie, A. (2009). False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World, The Penguin Press, London, UK. Carlino, G. A., S. Chatterjee and R. M. Hunt (2007). Urban Density and the Rate of Invention. Journal of Urban Economics, 61(3): 389–419. Chen, Zhao, Ming Lu and Pengtu Ni (2019). Urbanization and Rural Development in the People's Republic of China. In: Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu (eds.) Cities of Dragons and Elephants: Urbanization and Urban Development in the People’s Republic of China and India, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 9–39. Cheru, F. (2005). Globalization and Uneven Development in Africa: The Limits to Effective Urban Governance in the Provision of Basic Services. mimeo, UCLA Globalization Research Centre, Africa. Datta, A. and A. Shaban (eds.) (2017). Mega-Urbanization in the Global South: Fast Cities and New Urban Utopias of the Postcolonial State, Routledge, Oxon, UK. Dowall, D. and P. Monkkonen (2008). Urban Development and Land Markets in Chennai, India. International Real Estate Review, 11(2): 142–165. Duranton, G. and D. Puga (2004). Chapter 48 Micro-Foundations of Urban Agglomeration Economies. In: Gilles Duranton, Vernon Henderson, William Strange (eds.) Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier Publishers, North-Holland, Vol. 4, pp. 2063–2117. Dupont, V., D. Jordhus-Lier, C. Cutherland and E. Braathen (eds.) (2017). The Politics of Slums in the Global South, Routledge, Oxon, UK. Glaeser, E. L. (1999). Learning in Cities. Journal of Urban Economics, 46(2): 254–277. Glaeser, E. L. (2011). Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier, The Penguin Press, London, UK. Glaeser, E. L. and G. Mavrotas (2011). Urbanization and Development, mimeo. Global Development Network, New Delhi, India. Glaeser, E. L. and C. Redlick (2009). Social Capital and Urban Growth. International Regional Science Review, 32(3): 264–299. Holian, M. and K. S. Sridhar (2017). The Role of Road Infrastructure and Air Pollution in the Recent Suburbanization of India's Cities: An Exploration. Environment and Urbanization ASIA, 8(2): 151–169. Khanna, Parag (2010). Beyond City Limits. Foreign Policy. http://www.foreignpolicy. com/articles/2010/08/16/beyond_city_limits. Knowles, S. (2007). Is Social Capital Part of the Institutions Continuum and Is It a Deep Determinant of Development? In: G. Mavrotas and A. Shorrocks (eds.) Advancing Development: Cote Themes in Global Economics, Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp. 197–223. Masika, R., A. de Haan and S. Baden (1997). Urbanization and Urban Poverty: A Gender Analysis. Report No. 54, BRIDGE Centre, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, U.K. Mavrotas, G. (2018). Urbanization Trends, Stylized Facts and Policy Challenges in Nigeria (and Beyond). Keynote Presentation Delivered at the International Conference on the Challenges of Governance in Mega Cities, Organized in Bangalore, India, by the Centre for Research in Urban Affairs and the Institute for Economic and Social Change (ISEC), 25–26 October 2018. Moriconi-Ebrand, F., D. Harre and P. Heinrigs (2016). Urbanization Dynamics in West Africa 1950–2010: Africapolis I, 2015 Update. West African Studies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. Ravallion, M., S. Chen and P. Sangraula (2007). The Urbanization of Global Poverty, World Bank Development Research Group, Washington, DC.

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Sassen, S. (2012). Cities: New Frontier Zones in Development Processes. Keynote Presentation Delivered at the International Conference on Urbanization and Development: Delving Deeper into the Nexus, Organized by the Global Development Network, Budapest, June 2012. Spence, M. (2011). Security and Development: Some Ref lections. In: G. Mavrotas (ed.), Security and Development, Edward Elgar Publishers, Cheltenham, UK, pp. 18–32. Sridhar, K. S. (2007). Density Gradients and Their Determinants: Evidence from India. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 37(3): 314–344. Sridhar, K. S. (2019). Costs and Benefits of Urbanization: The Indian Case. In: Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu (eds.) Cities of Dragons and Elephants: Urbanization and Urban Development in the People’s Republic of China and India, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 40–80. Sridhar, K. S. (2020). Is India’s Urbanization Really Too Low? Some Evidence. Area Development and Policy, 5(1): 32–49. Sridhar, K. S. and Li Jingfeng (eds.) (2020). The Rise of India and China: Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts, Routledge, New Delhi. Sridhar, K. S.and P. Narayanan (2016). Suburbanization of India’s Cities: What Is the Evidence from Gulbarga? Environment and Urbanization ASIA, 7(1): 93–112. Sridhar, V. and Kala Seetharam Sridhar (2011). Are Cities in India Digital Yet? Some Evidence. In: Mahmud Akhter Shareef, Vinod Kumar, Uma Kumar and Yogesh K. Dwivedi (eds.) Stakeholder Adoption of E-Government Services: Driving and Resisting Factors, IGI Global, Hershey, PA, USA, pp. 87–102. UN.Habitat (2009). Planning Sustainable Cities: Global Report on Human Settlements, Earthscan, London. World Bank (2017). Leveraging Urbanization in South Asia: Managing Spatial Transformation for Prosperity and Liveability, The World Bank, Washington, DC. World Bank (2017). Reducing Inequalities in Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene in the Era of the Sustainable Development Goals. Synthesis Report on the WASH Diagnostic Initiative, The World Bank, Washington, DC. Wratten, E. (1995). Conceptualizing Urban Poverty. Environment and Urbanization, 7(1): 11–38. Whiteley, P. F. (2000). Economic Growth and Social Capital. Political Studies, 48(3): 443–466. Zak, P. J. and S. Knack (2001). Trust and Growth. Economic Journal, 111(470): 295–321.

2 LINKAGE BETWEEN URBANIZATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN POVERTY Sachita Yadav

Background Transformation and revolution are two words that play important roles in the growth of an economy. Urbanization represents both transformation and revolution. In one way or the other, urbanization is known for reducing poverty, as was found by Sridhar (2019). Due to industrialization in India, the rate of urbanization has increased. There are various factors that lead to urbanization, like industrialization, employment, the standard of living, education and income, which motivate rural people to move to urban areas. But still, India is facing the problem of urban poverty. There are many people in urban areas that are living below the poverty line. People are moving to the cities with the hope of earning their livelihood in a better manner. Table 2.1 ref lects the growth of various factors in the study of this trend. The population of India is growing rapidly, and it is estimated that “the total population in India was 1283.6 million people in 2017 in comparison to 359.0 million people during the year 1950.”1 Figure 2.1 shows the trend in the rate of urbanization, GDP and urban and rural population during the period of study, i.e. 2001 to 2016. Even though India is predominantly rural, the rate of growth of the urban population is appreciably higher than that of the rural population. The percentage of the urban population is consistently increasing and the percentage of the rural population is decreasing continuously. Given this trend, the question that has been raised and answered in this chapter is as follows: what is the impact of urbanization on GDP and on poverty reduction? The question is partially addressed with the help of Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2. Figure 2.2 and Table 2.2 show that the rate of poverty reduction in India is very slow in comparison to urbanization and GDP. Table 2.2 represents that both DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-2

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TABLE 2.1 Growth of gross domestic production per capita (GDP), population (POP),

rural population (RUR POP) and urban population (URB POP) Year GDP growth (%) POP growth (%) RUR POP growth (%) URB POP growth (%) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

4.3 16.1 14.8 13.8 12 28.6 –2.6 10 23.4 8.6 –1 0.4 8.5 1.9 6.9

1.65 1.61 1.57 1.54 1.5 1.47 1.44 1.4 1.37 1.34 1.31 1.28 1.25 1.22 1.19

1.35 1.31 1.27 1.23 1.19 1.15 1.12 1.08 1.05 1.02 0.98 0.95 0.92 0.89 0.86

2.42 2.39 2.36 2.32 2.28 2.25 2.21 2.18 2.14 2.1 2.07 2.04 2 1.97 1.93

Source: calculated by the author with raw data (https://www.statista.com/statistics/271312/urbani zation-in-india/) with the help of EViews.

FIGURE 2.1

The basic trend of URB, GDP, urban population and rural population in India from 2001 to 2016

rural and urban poverty lines have been reduced during the year 2011, but the rate of reduction in urban poverty (–34.45) is more than the reduction rate of rural poverty (–23.96) during the research period. This ref lected that there is a reduction in urban poverty but there is a huge difference between the growth of urbanization and the reduction in urban poverty. This is responsible for the unbalanced growth of urban populations, lower

20 Sachita Yadav TABLE 2.2 Urban and rural population below poverty line (census data)

Year Rural BPL (RBPL)

Urban BPL (UBPL) % change in RBPL % change in UBPL

2004 41.8 2009 33.8 2011 25.7

25.7 20.9 13.7

– –19.13875598 –23.96449704

– –18.6770428 –34.44976077

Source: created by the author with raw data (https://www.statista.com/statistics/271312/urbaniz ation-in-india/) in Excel.

FIGURE 2.2

Growth of urbanization (LNURB), GDP per capita (UNGDP) and population below poverty line (BPL) during the period 2001 to 2016

standards of living, shelter problems, pollution, health problems, the development of slums, water and sanitation problems, employment problems and crime. So, there is a need to do empirical research on this, which will help policymakers to formulate policies for the betterment of these issues. India continues to urbanize, but most of the urban population lives in unmeasurable settlements and is affected by poor quality, overcrowded housing, poor sanitation, lack of healthcare and a high risk of disasters.

Existing studies Nguyen and Nguyen (2018), studying the relationship between urbanization and economic growth in the case of ASEAN countries, analyzed the relationship between urbanization and economic growth in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,

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Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam for the period from 1993 to 2014, with the help of the Granger causality test and a regression model. The result showed that there is a non-linear relationship between urbanization and economic growth and that urbanization has the potential to enhance economic growth with the help of efficient investment in public infrastructure. Mahmud (2015) analyzed the relationship between population growth and economic growth during the period from 1980 to 2013 by developing an econometric model. The empirical result showed that the relationship between both the variables is positive and that there is a unidirectional relation leading from economic growth to population growth. Marmara and Usman (2015) conducted their study for the period 1986–2013 to find out the cointegration between urbanization and economic growth in China. The empirical analysis of the data showed that there is a bilateral causality between urbanization and economic growth in China and represented the positive relationship between the factors. Chen et al. (2019) showed how urbanization and economic growth are highly positively related and how the mega-cities there have led the productivity and earnings gains. Zhao and Wang (2015), exploring the relationship between urbanization, economic growth and energy consumption in China, focused on the period 1980–2012. A cointegration test found that urbanization and energy consumption are cointegrated and that there is a long-term equilibrium relationship between urbanization, economic growth and energy consumption. Tahir et al. (2014) studied the impact of rapid urbanization on the microclimate of urban areas of Pakistan. This paper investigated the impact of past and present urbanization on the microclimate of cities in that country during the period from 1951 to 1998. The analysis showed that there is a drastic impact on the climate (rainfall, earthquakes and monsoons) due to urbanization. Lo (2010) explored the relationship between urbanization and economic growth, testing for causality between the two for 28 countries for the period 1950–2000, with the help of a Granger causality test. They found that there is a long-run stable relationship between the two variables and that the urbanization variable Granger-caused the economic growth variable for developing nations. On the other hand, the economic growth variable Granger-caused the urbanization for developed nations. So the causal relationship between economic growth and urbanization was found to be dependent upon the economic status of the nation.

Main issue and objectives of the research The emphasis of this study is to find out the relationship between urbanization, economic development and urban poverty in India. Various theories have suggested that urbanization leads to economic development and economic development leads to a reduction in poverty. The industrial revolution is the cause of urbanization in India, as in other countries, due to which more people moved

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to urban areas. This brings changes in living conditions, employment, social and public services, education and lifestyle. The better the employment, living conditions and production of a country, the better the economic growth over time. But the question is whether urbanization helps in reducing poverty and in economic development also. So, the principal objective of the research is to analyze the available secondary data on urbanization, real GDP per capita and urban poverty in India during the past decades and capture the linkage between these parameters.

Methods The current research focused on three key indicators to measure the impact of urbanization and economic growth. The methodology for conducting the aforesaid research is divided into the following phases.

Research design The first phase of the research emphasized collecting and processing secondary data from various reliable sources like the NSSO and Department of Indian Statistics, as well as Government of India statistical data. In the second phase, the collected data was analyzed using econometric tools like an ADF test, correlation, a Johansen cointegration test and a Granger causality test with the help of EViews 7 to examine the relationship between urbanization level, GDP per capita and urban poverty in India. The third phase of the research gave the findings and suggestions on the following aspects of the research relevance.

Urbanization and economic development Our research work also focused on the relationship between urbanization and economic development.

Role of urbanization and economic development The main agenda of research is to find out the impact of urbanization on the reduction of urban poverty. This helps to find out the linkage of increase or decrease in urban poverty due to an increase in urbanization, even while Sridhar (2019) found that urbanization initially increased urban poverty, but decreased it later on. The past literature on urbanization and economic growth depicted that both urbanization and economic growth have related to each other and moved simultaneously over past years. But this chapter helps in-depth analysis of the causal relationship between urbanization and economic development with the help of the Granger causality method (Engle and Granger, 1987).

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This study attempts to answer the following questions: •• •• ••

Is there any correlation between urbanization and economic development and urban poverty? Is there a long-run equilibrium relationship between urbanization level and economic development? Is there causality between urbanization level and economic growth?

Data and sources In order to answer the abovementioned questions, the period of study is 2001– 2016 for the urbanization level and economic growth of India; for urban poverty, the study period is until 2012 due to the unavailability of required data. To indicate the level of economic growth in the country during the past decade, gross domestic product per capita has been used as a proxy variable. The annual data were obtained from Statistical Year Book India 2017, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Government of India and National Sample Survey reports. To analyze the raw data related to urbanization level, economic development (GDP per capita) and urban poverty, the following steps were followed: •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

The data were converted into a logarithm to eliminate the problem of heteroskedasticity. GDP per capita was converted into Ln(GDP). Urbanization level was converted into Ln(Urb). Descriptive analysis was conducted for the basic statistics of all the variables. A correlation test was conducted between all three variables. A stationarity (unit root) test was conducted with an ADF test. A cointegration test was applied to non-stationary data. A Granger causality test was applied on stationary series of data.

Results analysis Descriptive analysis Table 2.3 displays the descriptive analysis of all the variables used for the study. The variables have been descriptively analyzed for the period from 2001 to 2016. The maximum amount of GDP per capita during the research period was 1,461.67 USD (2016).

Correlation analysis Table 2.4 helps to show the correlation between various components of the study and depicts that there is a positive and significant correlation between GDP per

24

Sachita Yadav

TABLE 2.3 Descriptive statistics, gross domestic product per capita (GDP), share of urban

population, share of rural population, below poverty line (BPL), urban BPL and rural BPL

Mean Median Maximum Minimum Std. dev.

GDP

Share of urban population

Share of rural population

BPL

Urban BPL Rural BPL

1,057.76 1,090.31 1,461.67 621.31 421.12

29.34 29.57 30.02 28.46 0.80

70.65 70.43 71.54 69.98 0.80

30.18 31.10 38.21 21.23 8.53

20.10 20.90 25.70 13.70 6.04

33.77 33.80 41.80 25.70 8.05

Source: author’s calculations with EViews.

TABLE 2.4 Correlation between gross domestic product per capita (GDP), share of urban

population, share of rural population and below poverty line (BPL)

GDP Share of urban population Share of rural population BPL

GDP

Share of urban population

Share of rural population

BPL

1 0.99 –0.99 –0.99

0.99 1 –1 –0.95

–0.99 –1 1 0.95

–0.99 –0.99 0.95 1

Source: author’s calculations with EViews.

capita and the share of urban population on the one hand and on the other hand a negative correlation with the share of rural population. The results showed that the GDP per capita and BPL are negatively correlated.

Econometric analysis Unit root test Before conducting the cointegration test, there is a need to check the stationarity and order of integration between the variables, i.e. GDP per capita (LNGDP) and rate of urbanization (LNURB). If both variables are stationary of the same order, only then can the cointegration test be applied. To check the unit root an ADF (augmented Dickey–Fuller) test was applied to the data, i.e. LNGDP and LNURB in the first difference form. The results of the test are as follows. Table 2.5 shows that the probability value of both the variables is more than 5 percent at a 5 percent level of significance. This indicates that both variables are non-stationary or have a unit root, so the null hypotheses, i.e. variables having

Economic development and urban poverty

25

TABLE 2.5 Unit root test (2001–2016) augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF)

Variables

Level (5%)

H0 – unit root (accept/reject)

1st difference (5%)

H0 – unit root (accept/reject)

LNGDP LNURB

0.43 0.87

Accept Accept

0.02 0.02

Reject Reject

Source: author’s calculations with EViews.

a unit root, could not be rejected. So, to find out the stationarity, an ADF test was again applied at the first difference of the variables. At first difference, the probability value of both the variables is less than 5 percent at a 5 percent level of significance. So, the null hypothesis was rejected. This indicates that both variables are stationary and integrated at first difference, i.e. (I [1]), and this is the basic requirement to apply the cointegration test.

Johansen cointegration test The unit root test showed that both the variables are (I [1]), so there is a need to find out the long-run relationship between them during the period from 2001 to 2016. To find the long-run equilibrium relationship, a Johansen cointegration test was applied to the non-stationary variables.

Data and sources Tables 2.6 and 2.7 report the results of the Johansen cointegration test (by trace and maximum eigenvalue statistics) at three lag intervals. The null hypothesis, i.e. no cointegration between the variables, has been rejected as the test shows the existence of cointegration at a 5 percent level of significance. Both the tests (trace test and maximum eigenvalue test, see Tables 2.7 and 2.8 respectively) of Johansen cointegration showed that the probability value at a 5 percent level of significance is less than 0.05. The trace test indicates 1 cointegrating at the 0.05 level. Table 2.6 shows the result of the trace statistic of the Johansen test of cointegration. The null hypothesis is rejected at a 5 percent level of significance since the probability is 0.0056 (less than 5 percent). Also, the critical value at the 5 percent level is 15.49, which is less than the trace statistic value, i.e. 21.47. The null hypothesis of at most one cointegrating equation is accepted with the probability accounted as 0.1208 (greater than 5 percent). In the same vein the critical value at the 5 percent level of significance, which is 3.84, is greater than its corresponding value in the trace statistic (i.e. 2.41). In a nutshell, according to the trace statistic, there exists one cointegration equation among the variables under study.

26 Sachita Yadav TABLE 2.6 Johansen cointegration test: trace statistic

Hypothesized

Trace

0.05

No. of CE(s)

Eigenvalue

Statistic

Critical value

Prob.

None * At most 1

0.80 0.18

21.47 2.41

15.49 3.84

0.0056 0.1208

* Denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 0.05 level. Source: author’s calculations with EViews.

TABLE 2.7 Johansen cointegration test: maximum eigenvalue statistic

Hypothesized

Max eigen

0.05

No. of CE(s)

Eigenvalue

Statistic

Critical value

Prob.

None * At most 1

0.80 0.18

19.07 2.41

14.26 3.84

0.0081 0.1208

* Denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 0.05 level. Source: author’s calculations with EViews.

Table 2.7 is the outcome of a Johansen cointegration test under a maximum eigenvalue statistic. The null hypothesis of no cointegration equation is rejected at a 5 percent level because the probability is significant (less than 5 percent). Likewise, the critical value of the max eigenvalue, which is 14.26, is less than its corresponding statistic, i.e. 19.07. On the other hand, the null hypothesis of at most one cointegration equation is accepted since the probability is almost 0.1208 (greater than 5 percent), and the critical value of the max eigen statistic is 3.84, which is greater than its corresponding statistic value that stands at 2.41. Thus, both the trace statistic and maximum eigenvalue suggest that there is at most one cointegration equation among the variables under study. This means that the variables have a long-run association.

Granger causality test The Johansen cointegration test showed that at most one cointegration is existing between the variables. So, there is a need to check the causal relationship between the variables. The Granger causality test was applied to check the existence of causality and the direction of the causality (if any) with the help of a bivariate autoregressive process. The empirical result of the test (Table 2.8) indicated that the null hypothesis of urbanization, not Granger-causing economic growth (GDP), is rejected at a 5 percent level of significance. This shows that urbanization is a cause of GDP

Economic development and urban poverty

27

TABLE 2.8 Pairwise Granger causality tests

Null hypothesis

Obs

F-statistic

Prob.

LNURB does not Granger-cause GGDP GGDP does not Granger-cause LNURB

13

6.34 1.19

0.0273* 0.3907

* Denotes rejection of the null hypothesis at the 0.05 level. Source: author’s calculations with EViews.

growth. On the other hand, the null hypothesis that GDP does not Granger-cause urbanization could not be rejected (Table 2.8) at a 5 percent level of significance. The causality test results indicated that the growth rate of urbanization had a positive causal impact on economic growth during the research period. On the other hand, economic growth (GDP) does not have a significant causal effect on urbanization.

Conclusion The aim of this study is to empirically analyze the relationship between urbanization, economic growth and poverty level in India during the period from 2001 to 2016. With the help of econometric models, data were analyzed; it was found that there is a relationship that exists between the variables. Out of all three variables, we find that GDP and urbanization are positively correlated, while poverty is negatively correlated with both variables. To check whether the variables – GDP and urbanization – are integrated in the long run, the Johansen cointegration test was applied to the time-series data. This revealed the fact that both the variables are cointegrated in the long run. The test of causality showed that there exists a unidirectional causality from urbanization to GDP, but insignificant causality from GDP to urbanization. This represents that urbanization is the cause of GDP, but GDP is not the cause of urbanization. The study found that there is a negative relationship between economic growth and BPL, and also between urbanization and BPL.

Note 1 https://tradingeconomics.com/india/population.

References Adediran, O. A. (2012), “Effect of Population on Economic Development in Nigeria: A Quantitative Assessment”, International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences, 2(5), pp. 1–14. Brockerhoff, M., and E. Brennam (1998), The Poverty of Cities in Developing Regions, Populations and Development Review, 24(1), pp. 75–114.

28 Sachita Yadav

Chang, Tsangyao, Hsiao-Ping Chu, Frederick W. Deale, and Rangan Gupta (2014), “The Relationship between Population Growth and Economic Growth”, IPAG Business School Working Paper Series, p. 477. Chen, Z., M. Lu, and P. Ni (2019), “Urbanization and Rural Development in the People’s Republic of China”, In: Cities of Dragons and Elephants: Urbanization and Urban Development in the People’s Republic of China and India (eds., Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu), Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 9–39. Daniel, yet Fhang Lo (2010), “Urbanization and Economic Growth: Testing for Causality”, 16th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, pp. 1–25. Engle, Robert F. and C. W. J. Granger (1987), “Co-Integration and Error Correction: Representation, Estimation, and Testing”, Econometrica, 55(2), pp. 251–276. Furuoka, Fumitaka (2010), “Population Growth and Economic Development: Empirical Evidence from the Philippines”, Philippine Journal of Development, 37(1), pp. 81–93. Granger, C. W. J. (1969), “Investigating Causal Relations by Econometric Models and Cross-Spectral Methods”, Econometrica 37, pp. 424–438. Johansen, S. (1988), “Statistical Analysis of Co-Integration Vector”, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 12(2/3), pp. 231–254. Mahmud, Musa Abba (2015), “Econometric Model on Population Growth and Economic Development in India: An Empirical Analysis”, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Emerging Trends in Social Science Research (IS15Chennai Symposium), 23(6). Marmara, Abdullahi Daiyabu and Sani Isyaku Usman (2015), “An Economic Analysis of Urbanization and Economic Growth in the Republic of China. SRM University, Chennai, India”, accessed at http://globalbizresearch.org/Chennai_Symposium/con ference/pdf/C535 .pdf. Narayan, L. (2016), “Relationship between Urbanization and Economic Growth: A Causality Analysis for India”, Indian Journal of Economics and Development, 12(2), pp. 237–242. Nguyen, Ha Minh, and L. D. Nguyen (2018), “The Relationship Between Urbanization and Economic Growth: An Empirical Study on ASEAN Countries”, International Journal of Social Economics, 45(2), pp. 316–339. Spence, Michael, Patricia Clarke Annez, and Robert M. Buckley (2009), “Urbanization and Growth Commission on Growth and Development”, Library of Congress Catalogingin-Publication Data. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2019), “Costs and Benefits of Urbanization: The Indian Case”, In: Cities of Dragons and Elephants: Urbanization and Urban Development in the People’s Republic of China and India (eds., Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu), Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 40–80. Tahir, Adnan Ahmad, Adnan Muhammad, Qaisar Mahmood, Sheikh Saeed Ahmad and Zahid Ullah (2014), “Impact of Rapid Urbanization on Microclimate of Urban Areas of Pakistan”, Air Quality Atmosphere & Health, 8(3), pp. 299–306. Thornton, J. (2001),“Population Growth and Economic Growth: Long-Run Evidence from Latin America, Southern Economic Journal, 68(2), pp. 464–468. Zhao, Yabo, and Shaojian Wang (2015), “The Relationship between Urbanization, Economic Growth and Energy Consumption in China”, An Econometric Perspective Analysis, Sustainability Journal, 7, pp. 5609–5627.

3 URBANIZATION, LIVESTOCK OWNERSHIP, FOOD SECURITY AND CHILD NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES IN NIGERIA Linkages and pathways Adebayo Ogunniyi, George Mavrotas, Kehinde Olagunju, Mistura Rufai and Motunrayo Oyeyemi Introduction Africa’s urbanization has been particularly rapid and twice as fast as that of Europe during its early urbanization. The spread of urban agglomerations in Africa is indeed quite dramatic. Meanwhile, Nigeria is currently experiencing a rather geometric progression in its urbanization process. With a population of over 180 million, an annual population growth rate of 2.6 percent and a projected population of 264 million by 2030, Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with a high population of youth and an increasing rate of youth unemployment and underemployment. These demographic trends are expected to have a very strong inf luence on the urbanization process in Nigeria (Mavrotas, 2018). As also stressed by the Africapolis I Report (Moriconi-Ebrand, Harre and Heinrigs, 2016), re-examining the criteria that distinguish urban from rural (see densities, type of housing and the importance of agriculture) is also crucial since they may change our overall understanding of urbanization in West African countries, including Nigeria, just as Sridhar (2020) demonstrated for India. The urbanization dynamics in Nigeria are characterized by 1,236 agglomerations, of which 1,020 had more than 10,000 inhabitants in 2010, with the level of urbanization in Nigeria re-assessed at 46 percent, up from 31 percent since the urbanization report on Nigeria in 2008. Furthermore, in Nigeria, the transition from hyperrural to meta-urban is disrupting the hierarchy of the national urban network (Moriconi-Ebrand, Harre and Heinrigs, 2016; Adesugba and Mavrotas, 2016). Oyeleye (2013) has also argued that there is a high rural–urban drift in Nigeria because of the inequalities, in terms of infrastructural facilities, services, social amenities and heterogeneity in economic activities in favor of urban centers.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-3

30 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

Nigeria’s urban population has expanded rapidly over the past 50 years and it will continue to grow relatively quickly in the coming decades, although how quickly is a matter of some dispute (Paciorek et al., 2013; Mavrotas, 2018; Amare et al., 2020). There are various channels through which urbanization can affect the food and nutritional outcomes of children. First, urbanization may improve food security and nutrition outcomes by inf luencing fundamental determinants such as economic and institutional structure. In addition, increasing infrastructural and technological development, which are key for access to varieties of diet and health facilities, is strongly associated with urbanization (Stifel and Minten, 2017; Ruel et al., 2017). Urbanization may also improve child malnutrition by inf luencing more “proximate” and immediate causes of child nutrition status (Smith et al., 2005). Urbanization can also enhance households’ knowledge and caregiving practices, including feeding and childcare practices. Finally, urbanization may facilitate the welfare of households, thereby increasing the quality and quantity of diets. Food and children’s nutritional security in Nigeria remain a central socioeconomic challenge in the country. Several studies have found that there are differences in child nutritional outcomes between urban and rural areas. Particularly, it was found that urban areas are not lagging behind in maintaining good child nutrition outcomes as compared to rural areas (Paciorek et al., 2013; Menon et al., 2000). Understandably, livestock production among urban households is usually small-scale relative to that in rural areas, and it is dominated by poultry and small animals like rabbits that are fed with food waste (Schiere and van der Hoek, 2001). Furthermore, livestock production can also serve as a means of livelihood diversification (Güendel, 2002), an investment opportunity and a social value to the owner in urban households (Schiere and Van der Hoek, 2001). Households that raise livestock are more likely to consume animal protein such as milk, meat and eggs. The consumption of high-quality protein food products is effective for good growth, especially among children (Uauy et al., 2015) and especially in recent years when there was a shift from consumption of vegetable-based diets in developing countries to livestock-based diets; see, for example, the increasing consumption of eggs in Nigeria in recent years. Giving the relationship between urbanization and livestock production, it becomes vital to examine the implications of the relationship between urbanization and livestock ownership for nutrition security. The chapter contributes to the existing literature in this area in a number of ways. Although there are a handful of studies that provided evidence on the relationship between urbanization and nutritional outcomes (e.g. Abay and Amare, 2018; Amare et al., 2020; Cali and Menon, 2013; Haddad et al., 1999; Hirvonen, 2016; Ruel et al., 2017; Poel et al., 2012), research that explicitly accounts for the role of livestock ownership in the relationship between urbanization and nutritional outcomes is still scarce. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first attempt to examine the implications of urbanization and livestock ownership for food security and child nutritional outcomes, and, thus,

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes

31

it tries to fill a knowledge gap in this important area in developing countries like Nigeria. Specifically, this chapter investigates the implications of urbanization and livestock ownership for food security and child nutritional outcomes using livestock typologies and satellite-based night-time light intensity data as proxies for livestock ownership and urbanization and urban growth, respectively in Nigeria. In doing so, this chapter provides empirical evidence on how urbanization and livestock ownership can help to address the lingering food and nutrition challenges in Nigeria, and by extension in other West African countries. Secondly, the chapter explores the panel structure of the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) from Nigeria by also controlling for unobserved heterogeneity among households. Third, the study takes advantage of the availability of satellite-based night-time light data from the Operational Linescan System (OLS) sensors of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) of the United States Air Force to measure urbanization and urban expansion. According to Amare et al. (2020) and Abay and Amare (2018), the use of this urbanization measure provides a gradient of urbanization that ensures examination of the implications of urban expansions on targeted outcome variables along an urbanization continuum. Our findings highlight the importance of delving deeper into the relationship between urbanization and livestock ownership and its implications for food security and child nutritional outcomes in Nigeria. We found that urbanization and livestock ownership have a positive association and significantly affect the consumption expenditure per adult equivalent and dietary diversity, while at the same time both urbanization and livestock ownership are found to significantly reduce child stunting and wasting in Nigeria. The remainder of this chapter is structured as follows. The second section discusses measurement issues associated with urbanization, livestock ownership and nutrition security. The description of the data in the study is discussed in the third section followed by a discussion of the estimation techniques adopted in this study in the fourth section. The fifth section presents the empirical results obtained in the study, whereas key conclusions and the tentative policy implications emanating from the study are discussed in the final section of the chapter.

Measurement of outcome and variables of interest Measurement of urbanization Due to complexity and the lack of reliable and consistent subnational data on urbanization, many researchers, social scientists, urban planners and many others have increasingly used in recent years an unconventional measure of urbanization that does not depend on data collection on the ground. Hence, there is a widespread use of night-time light intensity which is calculated from weather satellite recordings made available by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as an annual time series. The fundamental advantages

32 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

of night-time light intensity data are the worldwide coverage and the high resolution in the spatial context with pixels corresponding to less than one square kilometer, which allows users to aggregate these data at the level of the subnational units of interest. In addition, night-time light intensity is measured with consistent quality across countries with very different institutional capacities and is not susceptible to politically motivated manipulation. A stable lights dataset is quantized in 6-bits and gives different light intensities with an integer digital number (DN) ranging between 0 and 63, referring to no light and maximum light intensity, respectively.

Measurement of livestock ownership Following previous studies (Iannotti et al., 2014; Azzarri et al., 2015; Mosites et al., 2016; Dumas et al., 2018), we employed two methods to capture livestock ownership. Firstly, we used the household’s total livestock unit (TLU) as a measure of livestock ownership. Secondly, we used the total number of animals a household owns to categorize them into five livestock ownership typologies: no animals of any kind (type 1); few animals, mostly poultry (type 2); a moderate number of animals, mostly poultry (type 3); few animals, mixed small and large livestock species (type 4); and a moderate to large number of animals, mixed small and large livestock species (type 5). This approach assumes that the pattern of livestock ownership (e.g. having a very small f lock of chickens or a moderately sized herd of goats and cattle) is a better proxy measure for how people use their livestock and that this also indicates how people use livestock, as well as the main determining link between livestock ownership and child nutrition outcomes.

Measurement of outcome variables (food security and nutritional outcomes) Food security: to measure the food security outcomes, we used two key variables. Firstly, we approached food security through the lens of dietary diversity. Various studies (Ruel, 2003; Arimond et al., 2010; Sibhatu et al., 2015; Rajendran et al., 2017) have shown that there are two general methods of quantifying dietary diversity: the food variety score (FVS) and the dietary diversity score (DDS). The FVS approach simply focuses on single food count while the DDS approach focuses on food group count. In most studies in developing countries, these two measures are widely used due to the simplicity of the above definitions. After subjecting the two approaches to critical review, the studies by Sibhatu et al. (2015) and Rajendran et al. (2017) have concluded that DDS is more preferable compared to FVS. One of the advocates of the DDS approach (Ruel, 2003) justified the use of DDS over FVS as a stronger determinant of nutrient adequacy by arguing that increasing the number of food groups has a greater impact on dietary quality than increasing the number of individual foods in the diet.

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes

33

Along the above lines, the present study follows the existing literature by using DDS as a proxy for household food security. We constructed a household dietary diversity score (HDDS) using household-level consumption of food groups. Although there is no consensus on which food groups to include in the calculation of dietary diversity scores, various studies (Swindale and Bilinsky, 2006; Arimond et al., 2010; FAO, 2013; Sibhatu et al., 2015; Rajendran et al., 2017) have used 12 different food groups1 over a recall period to generate the HDDS, which we also adopted in this study. Secondly, we used the consumption expenditure per adult equivalent as a measure of household food security. Nutritional outcomes: we measure child nutrition using anthropometric measures. We computed the z-scores of under-five children within the household. Anthropometric measurements – age, weight and height measurements of children 0–59 months – were taken with standardized tools and procedure, and the anthropometric data was generated via the WHO AnthroPlus software.2 Anthropometric indicators of length/height for age for children were determined using WHO growth standards. In a population, a child is considered stunted if their height-for-age z-score (HAZ) is less than two standard deviations below the median measurement for the reference group and considered to be underweight if the weight-for-age z-score is less than two standard deviations below the median measurement for the reference group (de Onis et al., 2007; Mosites et al., 2016; Dumas et al., 2018; Amare et al., 2020). The height-for-age and weight-for-age indicators were compared to a reference population distribution of weight and height for children under the age of five, and this is expressed in standard deviation units (z-scores) from the median of the reference population.3

Data and descriptive statistics We used two datasets for this study. Firstly, we used two wave-panel data sets (wave 2 collected in 2012/2013 and wave 3 collected in 2015/2016) from the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) from Nigeria. These nationally representative data sets (comprising up to 5,000 households) include detailed information on demographic and household characteristics, assets, livestock ownership and production, non-farm income and other sources of income, allocation of family labor, hiring of labor, access to extension services, child development and household shock experiences. Secondly, we used the satellite-based night-time light intensity data from the Operational Linescan System sensors of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program of the United States Air Force to capture urbanization in this study. The average amount spent on food consumption per adults in the pooled data was ₦108,061. The amount sent by adults increased from ₦101,149.3 in wave 2 to ₦115,215.6 in wave 3 which indicates that households probably spent more of their income on food. The higher level of consumption is also confirmed by the increase in the dietary diversity score of households which rose from 8.133 in wave 2 to 8.152 in wave 3. The extent of malnutrition among children seemed

34 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

constant as the average standard deviation among children in terms of stunting in both waves was almost the same. In wave 2, the average TLU was higher compared to wave 3. The average size of households increased from wave 2 to wave 3 while more women also had the autonomy to make decisions on issues of income and production across the data. More agricultural households received extension services in wave 3 as compared to wave 2. More farmers also cultivated more land and used improved seeds in wave 3 as compared to wave 2 (see Table 3.1).

Empirical strategy Following our review of previous studies (Arimond et al., 2010; FAO, 2013; Sibhatu et al., 2015; Mosites et al., 2016; Stifel and Minten, 2017; Ruel et al., 2017; Rajendran et al., 2017; Dumas et al., 2018; Amare et al., 2020) linking our interest variables (livestock ownership and urbanization) and outcome variables (food security and child nutrition outcomes) and using the data set described above, we estimated two key empirical models to examine the effect of livestock ownership and urbanization on household food security and child nutritional outcomes. The dependent variable is measured using dietary diversity and consumption expenditure per adult equivalent. First, we estimate the effect of livestock ownership and urbanization on outcome variables (see food security and child nutrition outcomes) by using the linear probability model shown below: FS / CN ih = g lCi + g xU i + g x X i + g x I i + g x Fd + n i + e i

(1)

where FSih denotes the outcome indicators for food security (dietary diversity and consumption expenditure per adult equivalent) for individuals i in household h, CN ih denotes the outcome indicators for Ci is a vector of livestock ownership (TLU and livestock ownership typologies: type1–type5), Ui is the urbanization level of the location of the household or children captured with night-light intensity, Xi is a vector of other individual and household-level control variables, Ii represents the institutional related variables such as access to extension services and government expenditure on relevant areas (agriculture, human capital and infrastructure) and Fd constitutes the vector of cluster/district level. n i are household fixed effects. The study aims to assess how livestock ownership and urbanization affect the food security of households and the nutritional outcomes of children. However, livestock ownership and urbanization are likely to be endogenous to food and nutrition security. There are several possible reasons for this potential endogeneity issue. For example, the livestock endowment of a given household may enhance income generation which may inf luence consumption expenditure and dietary diversity. Secondly, urbanization may contribute to maternal knowledge and exposure to economic opportunities that could help to overcome malnutrition challenges. On the other hand, a group of possibly omitted variables may inf luence livestock ownership, urbanization and food security and nutrition outcomes simultaneously, causing a possible reverse-causality issue. As a result, a

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes

35

TABLE 3.1 Descriptive statistics of selected variables

Pooled

Variables

Food security Consumption adult (₦) HDDS_PH Child nutrition Haz stunting Urbanization nightlight_w Livestock ownership TLU live_typo1 live_typo2 live_typo3 live_typo4 live_typo5 Control variables Agem agem_squared sex_child materna_au~y hh_members Fhh edu_dmy2_primary imprv_see~se ext_reach_~l use_fin_s~ll ha_planted log_value_~s num_crops_hh encs_female log_crop_val log_egg_pr~u log_milk_p~d ln_ave_phy~l ln_ave_hum~p ln_avg_exp

Wave 2 Mean

Std.dev.

Wave 3

Mean

Std.dev.

Mean

Std.dev.

108061 8.142

65592.2 101149.3 11852.5 115215.6 96225.05 1.975 8.133 1.988 8.152 1.963

–1.464 0.242

2.564 0.429

–1.461 0.242

2.563 0.428

–1.467 0.243

2.566 0.429

2.256

6.454

2.249

6.404

2.262

6.505

1.769 – 0.254 0.247 0.343 0.405

6.643 – 0.435 0.431 0.475 0.491

1.841 – 0.254 0.252 0.345 0.404

7.927 – 0.435 0.434 0.476 0.491

1.697 – 0.253 0.242 0.34 0.405

5.034 – 0.435 0.428 0.474 0.491

32.228 1371.899 0.521 0.031 9.233 0.259 0.348 0.079 0.162 0.212 1.06 10.177 2.934 2.21 11.368 9.635 11.406 21.008 21.982 22.699

18.257 1194.005 0.5 0.174 3.849 0.035 0.213 0.269 0.368 0.409 1.34 2.257 1.455 0.172 2.343 0.777 0.43 1.663 0.797 0.533

32.199 1370.189 0.521 0.032 8.753 0.246 0.35 0.22 0.139 0.19 1.051 10.407 2.825 2.211 11.09 9.671 11.412 21 21.982 22.698

18.264 1194.045 0.5 0.177 3.722 0.021 0.218 0.10 0.346 0.392 1.354 1.716 1.541 0.18 2.685 0.713 0.444 1.685 0.796 0.532

32.257 1373.617 0.521 0.03 9.716 0.271 0.345 0.158 0.184 0.234 1.07 9.946 3.044 2.209 11.648 9.599 11.399 21.016 21.982 22.699

18.255 1194.246 0.5 0.172 3.914 0.058 0.208 0.364 0.387 0.423 1.326 2.674 1.354 0.163 1.9 0.835 0.416 1.641 0.798 0.533

simple ordinary least square estimate could bias the results (Kosec et al., 2018; Dumas et al., 2018; Ragasa and Mazunda, 2018). To rectify such methodological challenges, the study adopts two major approaches. First, we used household fixed effects (to account for the possible endogeneity problem). All specifications include household fixed effects to capture all characteristics of a district and a household that may inf luence

36 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

household food security and child nutritional outcomes. This technique helps to eliminate the potential bias in our estimates due to unobserved heterogeneity. Secondly, to minimize the potential bias in our estimates that could be caused due to a potential reverse-causality scenario, we estimate the key outcome variables on household food security and child nutritional outcomes against livestock ownership proxied by total livestock units and livestock typologies – instead of using the dummy of ownership or not (which is expected to be more prone to endogeneity than the actual amount owned) and we use a strict exogenous variable as a measure of urbanization instead of the dummy variable of rural–urban migration. We use a geographic-related variable (nightlight intensity data)4 as a measure of urbanization in this chapter. We follow various studies (Ghosh et al., 2013; Mellander et al., 2015; Bennett et al., 2017; Proville et al., 2017; Bruederle and Hodler, 2018; Amare et al., 2020; Abay and Amare, 2018) that have used night-light intensity data as a good proxy for urbanization and socioeconomic variables. Lastly, we use baseline values of the key variables of interest to address potential reverse-causality issues and control for factors that may inf luence both actual livestock ownership and urbanization and outcome variables. Hence, we estimate household food security and child nutrition outcomes in time t (round 2: wave 3) against livestock ownership, urbanization and other key variables of interest in time t-1 (round 1: wave 2) as stated in the model specification below: Eiht = g lCit -1 + g xU it -1 + g x X it -1 + g x Fdt -1 + g iCit -1 * U dt -1 + n i + e i

(2)

Results and discussion To achieve our objectives, we estimate five different models for both of our outcome variables but our key findings are categorized into three main categories. Firstly, we investigate the sole effect of livestock ownership on food security and child nutrition outcomes using total livestock units (TLU and ownership typologies separately). Secondly, using the night-time light intensity as a proxy for urbanization, we assess the relationship between urbanization and food security and child nutritional outcomes. Thirdly, we assess the effect of the interaction of urbanization and livestock ownership on food and nutrition security. Interestingly, the combined results show a stronger elasticity on all the outcomes of interest rather than a sole relationship. This suggests that livestock ownership and urbanization are complementary development drivers rather than substitutes.

Urbanization, livestock ownership and nutrition outcomes The results of the analysis of anthropometric measurements, urbanization and livestock ownership across the two waves are shown in Tables 3.2 and 3.3. The results show pooled regressions for children’s HAZ score. We also generate a

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes

37

dummy variable for stunting children using the WHO < –2.00 standard deviation (SD) reference point. Hence, we use a panel probability model to estimate this outcome in Table 3.2. In the first columns of Tables 3.2 and 3.3 (model 1), the estimates focus on the association of urbanization (night-time light intensity) with child nutritional outcomes with other covariates. With interesting consistency, the child nutrition variables (HAZ and prevalence of stunting) show a strong positive and negative association with urbanization, respectively. The result implies that night-time light intensity (urbanization) provides a useful proxy for economic development and consequently has great potential for positively inf luencing child development. In general, our findings show that urbanization reduces the probability of stunting in Nigeria which is in line with previous studies. For instance, Smith et al. (2005) reported that urbanization plays a key role in reducing child malnutrition in developing countries. The authors further stated that children generally have better nutritional status in urbanized areas than less (non-)urbanized areas. Although they used the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) dataset in Nigeria, Amare et al. (2020) and Abay and Amare (2018) also found that urbanization is key in reducing malnutrition in children and women, respectively, which adds further confidence to our own findings in Nigeria. Our findings are also supported by the study of Eckertand Kohler (2014) which summarized that urbanization was associated with a lower risk of undernutrition (low HAZ and prevalence of stunting) of children. Another study in China stated that with the rapid economic growth, the inequalities between urban and rural areas were obvious. The effect of urbanization on child health ref lected the inequality between urban and rural areas (Chen et al., 2014). Livestock ownership (TLU and livestock typologies) were estimated against child nutrition outcomes in model 2 and model 4 in Table 3.2 and Table 3.3. Model 2 focuses on the role of livestock ownership using TLU as a measure. Although slightly weak, the result shows a consistent association for both child nutrition outcomes; HAZ (positive) and prevalence (negative). Meanwhile, delving deeper into the relationship of livestock ownership and child nutrition outcomes, the result shows a clearer relationship. We found that “type 2” (few animals, mostly poultry) and “type 3” (moderate number of animals, mostly poultry) typologies of livestock ownership have a stronger association in increasing HAZ and decreasing the likelihood of stunting. The result implies that egg consumption has the potential to improve child nutrition outcomes. Several studies (Iannotti et al., 2014; Rawlins et al., 2014; Hoddinott et al., 2015; Azzarri et al., 2015) have made a strong case for “type 2” and “type 3” livestock typologies and child nutrition outcomes by arguing in favor of egg production and consumption in poor countries on the grounds that eggs are rich in fatty acids, proteins, choline, vitamins A and B12, selenium and other nutrients that are essential for physical and cognitive development of children in developing countries. The third approach is about the interaction effects of urbanization with livestock ownership on nutrition outcomes. The result shows that both forms of

agem

urb_typo5

urb_typo4

urb_typo3

urb_typo2

live_typo5

live_typo4

live_typo3

live_typo2

urb_tlu

0.00982*** (0.00150)

–0.00452*** (0.00140)

nightlight_w

lvstck_holding_tlu

Urbanization

Variables

(1)

0.00978*** (0.00150)

–0.0988*** (0.00170)

TLU

(2)

TABLE 3.2 Urbanization, livestock ownership and child stunting

0.00973*** (0.00150)

–0.0197** (0.0110)

TLU x urbanization

(3)

0.00978*** (0.00150)

–0.0523*** (0.00330) 0.168*** (0.0202) 0.00410 (0.0268) 0.000765 (0.0248)

Livestock typologies

(4)

–0.0444*** (0.00752) –0.0769*** (0.00608) –0.309*** (0.00388) –0.0408*** (0.00663) 0.00975*** (0.00150)

Typologies × urbanization

(5)

38 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

log_crop_val

encs_female

num_crops_hh

log_value_assets

ha_planted

use_fin_serv_all

ext_reach_all

imprv_seed_use

edu_dmy2

f hh

hh_members

materna_autony

sex_child_boy

agem_squared

–0.000130*** (2.30e-05) 0.0124*** (0.00140) –0.0400*** (0.00617) 0.000136 (0.00198) 0.0153 (0.0453) –0.4060*** (0.0340) –0.0721*** (0.0276) –0.0599*** (0.0214) –0.0478** (0.0192) 0.00272 (0.00542) –0.00637* (0.00349) –0.0461*** (0.0537) –0.00381*** (0.0507) –0.181*** (0.00373)

–0.000129*** (2.30e-05) 0.0116*** (0.00140) –0.0480*** (0.00617) 0.00169 (0.00198) 0.0131 (0.0454) –0.392*** (0.0341) –0.0714*** (0.0277) –0.0459** (0.0211) –0.0568*** (0.0191) 0.00394 (0.00543) 0.00497 (0.00347) –0.0438*** (0.00537) –0.0357*** (0.00508) –0.0677*** (0.00373)

–0.000128*** (2.30e-05) 0.0123*** (0.00140) –0.0492*** (0.00617) 0.00148 (0.00198) 0.0151 (0.0454) –0.3803*** (0.0340) –0.0701** (0.0276) –0.0522** (0.0212) –0.0527*** (0.0191) 0.00353 (0.00542) 0.00559 (0.00348) –0.00421 (0.00537) –0.0366*** (0.00508) –0.0771*** (0.00372)

–0.000129*** (2.31e-05) 0.0117*** (0.00140) –0.0478*** (0.00618) 0.00163 (0.00198) 0.0135 (0.0455) –0.3967*** (0.0342) –0.0716*** (0.0277) –0.0466** (0.0211) –0.0565*** (0.0191) 0.00370 (0.00543) 0.00508 (0.00349) –0.00456 (0.00541) 0.0356 (0.0509) –0.0798*** (0.00372)

–0.000128*** (2.30e-05) 0.0115*** (0.00140) –0.0440*** (0.00617) 0.00127 (0.00198) 0.0175 (0.0455) –0.4032*** (0.0340) –0.0717*** (0.0277) –0.0518** (0.0212) –0.0536*** (0.0191) 0.00328 (0.00542) 0.00558 (0.00348) –0.00411 (0.00537) 0.0348 (0.0508) –0.138*** (0.00373) (Continued )

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes 39

0.00229 (0.00937) –0.0227 (0.0170) 0.00287 (0.00583) –0.223*** (0.0190) –0.000669 (0.0323)

log_egg_produ

Yes 3,704 0.126

Time fixed effect Observations R-squared

Yes 3,704 0.124

0.906** (0.459)

0.00104 (0.00938) –0.0266 (0.0176) 0.00300 (0.00584) –0.2010*** (0.0191) –0.0112 (0.0322)

TLU

(2)

Source: authors.

Note: standard errors in parentheses; *** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1

0.663 (0.459)

Constant

ln_avg_exp

ln_ave_hum_cap

ln_ave_physical

log_milk_prod

Urbanization

(1)

Variables

TABLE 3.2 Continued

Yes 3,704 0.125

0.790* (0.456)

0.00159 (0.00937) –0.0235 (0.0170) 0.00261 (0.00584) –0.2088*** (0.0190) –0.00713 (0.0322)

TLU x urbanization

(3)

Yes 3,704 0.124

0.869* (0.456)

0.00162 (0.00947) –0.0238 (0.0171) 0.00296 (0.00585) –0.1971*** (0.0191) –0.0117 (0.0323)

Livestock typologies

(4)

Yes 3,704 0.125

0.00113 (0.00939) –0.0233 (0.0170) 0.00326 (0.00584) –0.2052*** (0.0190) –0.00881 (0.0322) (0.00663) 0.825* (0.456)

Typologies × urbanization

(5)

40 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

0.0212** (0.00830)

nightlight_w

urb_typo5

urb_typo4

urb_typo3

urb_typo2

live_typo5

live_typo4

live_typo3

live_typo2

urb_tlu

lvstck_holding_tlu

Urbanization

Variables

(1)

0.020* (0.011)

TLU

(2)

0.0121** (0.00529)

Interact

(3)

TABLE 3.3 Urbanization, livestock ownership and child height-for-age z-score (HAZ)

0.250*** (0.096) 0.0622 (0.120) 0.268* (0.159) –0.170 (0.148)

Interact

(4)

0.0376*** (0.0046) 0.115*** (0.0361) 0.0393* (0.0230) 0.0791** (0.0393)

Interact

(5)

(Continued )

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes 41

–0.0547*** (0.00891) 0.000525*** (0.000137) –0.6971*** (0.0833) –0.364*** (0.067) 0.00690 (0.0118) 0.0966 (0.270) 0.359* (0.202) –0.219 (0.164) –0.225* (0.127) 0.0395 (0.114) 0.0772** (0.0322) –0.0317 (0.0207)

agem

log_value_assets

ha_planted

use_fin_serv_all

ext_reach_all

imprv_seed_use

edu_dmy2

f hh

hh_members

materna_autony

sex_child

agem_squared

Urbanization

(1)

Variables

TABLE 3.3 Continued

–0.0545*** (0.00892) 0.000520*** (0.000137) –0.739*** (0.0834) –0.326*** (0.067) 0.00532 (0.0118) 0.108 (0.270) 0.352* (0.202) –0.215 (0.164) –0.159 (0.125) 0.0818 (0.113) 0.0831** (0.0323) –0.0251 (0.0206)

TLU

(2)

–0.0542*** (0.00891) 0.000518*** (0.000137) –0.6920*** (0.0834) –0.319*** (0.067) 0.00656 (0.0118) 0.0956 (0.270) 0.344* (0.202) –0.207 (0.164) –0.197 (0.126) 0.0574 (0.114) 0.0807** (0.0322) –0.0289 (0.0207)

Interact

(3)

–0.0545*** (0.00891) 0.000520*** (0.000137) –0.7291*** (0.0834) –0.303*** (0.067) 0.00707 (0.0118) 0.0914 (0.270) 0.380* (0.203) –0.213 (0.164) –0.170 (0.125) 0.0688 (0.114) 0.0787** (0.0322) –0.0267 (0.0207)

Interact

(4)

–0.0541*** (0.00890) 0.000514*** (0.000137) –0.7870*** (0.0833) –0.366*** (0.066) 0.00883 (0.0118) 0.0757 (0.270) 0.350* (0.202) –0.209 (0.164) –0.211* (0.126) 0.0488 (0.113) 0.0778** (0.0322) –0.0307 (0.0206)

Interact

(5)

42 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

0.0764** (0.0319) –0.0319 (0.302) 0.0314 (0.0222) 0.109* (0.0557) 0.157 (0.101) 0.0650* (0.0347) 0.834*** (0.113) 1.754*** (0.192) –20.71*** (2.730) 3,704 0.272 Yes

0.0753** (0.0319) –0.0206 (0.302) 0.0260 (0.0222) 0.103* (0.0558) 0.177* (0.105) 0.0657* (0.0347) 0.844*** (0.113) 1.803*** (0.191) –21.88*** (2.731) 3,704 0.270 Yes

Source: authors.

Note: standard errors in parentheses; *** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1

Observations R-squared Time fixed effect

Constant

ln_avg_exp

ln_ave_hum_cap

ln_ave_physical

log_milk_prod

log_egg_produ

log_crop_val

encs_female

num_crops_hh

0.0743** (0.0319) –0.0262 (0.302) 0.0265 (0.0221) 0.106* (0.0557) 0.160 (0.101) 0.0632* (0.0347) 0.840*** (0.113) 1.778*** (0.191) –21.19*** (2.712) 3,704 0.272 Yes

0.0772** (0.0322) –0.0326 (0.302) 0.0273 (0.0221) 0.118** (0.0563) 0.160 (0.101) 0.0638* (0.0348) 0.845*** (0.113) 1.810*** (0.192) –21.64*** (2.707) 3,704 0.372 Yes

0.0721** (0.0319) 0.00492 (0.302) 0.0312 (0.0222) 0.108* (0.0557) 0.159 (0.101) 0.0659* (0.0347) 0.835*** (0.113) 1.773*** (0.191) –21.23*** (2.705) 3,704 0.376 Yes

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes 43

44 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

livestock ownership (TLU and typologies) combined with urbanization have a strong association of increasing HAZ and reducing the probability of stunting. Interestingly, the interaction of urbanization with each of the typologies shows a consistent association of reducing stunting and increasing HAZ. This result implies that urbanization plays a more important complementing role than just sole ownership of livestock in connection with child nutritional outcomes. Therefore, ownership of livestock in an urbanized area is very vital in reducing child stunting. The age of a child is negative and significant with age squared positive and significant in both Tables 3.2 and 3.3, implying that the z-score decreases as a child grows but a marginal change will be smaller as the age of the child increases. The result shows that as the age of the child increases, it tends to increase the probability of prevalence of stunting and lowering HAZ scores. This result ref lects growth vacillating in young children in Nigeria. This effect also indicates that children starting with better nutritional status tend to lose more through faltering as they grow older. Our finding is similar to previous studies (Kumar et al., 2006; Amare et al., 2020) that seem to suggest that children more than 12 months of age are more likely to have malnutrition indicators than children less than 12 months. Linking the sex of a child to HAZ and stunting shows that being a male child has the probability of reducing HAZ and increasing stunting. The probability of a female child having improved nutrition outcomes is typical of sub-Saharan African countries (Alderman and Headey, 2017). We also estimate the association of maternal autonomy (captured as a woman’s personal power in the household and her ability to inf luence and change her environment) with child nutrition outcomes. The result shows that children whose mothers participated in making all household decisions are significantly less likely to be stunted and have improved HAZ. The results are in line with other studies (Shroff et al., 2009; UNICEF, 2009; Singh et al., 2013; Singh et al., 2015), suggesting that raising maternal autonomy is an important goal for improving children’s nutritional status. Maternal education was also found to have an improved child nutritional association with HAZ and stunting. Maternal education may enable women to provide appropriate care for their children and apply the most possible feeding practices (Alderman and Headey, 2017; Fadare et al., 2019b; Amare et al., 2020). The result shows a nutrition-improving association between crop production diversity (measured by the number of crops produced by the household) and child nutritional outcomes (HAZ and stunting). We found that crop diversity increases the height-for-age z-scores while reducing the probability of stunting. The results confirm the findings by the studies of Gödecke et al. (2018), Khoury et al. (2014) and Pingali (2012) which seem to suggest that growth in agricultural productivity and food production through crop production diversity has helped to reduce global hunger considerably over the last few decades. Additionally, we

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes

45

found that if a mother manages a plot for crop production, this may reduce stunting and increase HAZ. Finally, we examined the role of government expenditure for human capital (education and health) on nutritional outcomes. The result shows that in Nigeria the higher the investment of the government in education and health, the lower the likelihood of child stunting and the higher the recorded HAZ. The result shows that budget allocation to human capital (in particular health) may have an important effect on nutrition-sensitive programs which may directly inf luence nutrition outcomes for children. This finding suggests that government expenditure on human capital (especially education and health) may be a pathway to achieving a hunger- and malnutrition-free nation.

Urbanization, livestock ownership and food security In identifying the potential effect of livestock ownership on food security, we used the dietary diversity and food consumption per adult equivalent in households as a proxy for food security in five different models (Tables 3.4 and 3.5) for the two security indicators. In both indicators, the results show that urbanization had a positive and significant association with household food security. This implies that food security is likely to improve with increased movement to urban areas. Though people in urban areas have been identified to have increased dietary diversity (Ruel and Garret, 2004) and better nutrition outcomes (Amare et al., 2020), Ruel et al. (2017) explain that the location of the problem of food insecurity and malnutrition may shift to urban areas as urban areas are gradually beginning to experience higher levels of hunger and growth in the share of malnourished children when compared to rural areas. Sridhar (2015) argues that food insecurity is one of the reasons why urban poverty tends to be more challenging than rural poverty. We also found that the amount of livestock owned in the household had a significant and positive association with food security. This indicates that households with a larger quantity of livestock are more likely to be food secure. This finding is consistent with the findings of Shiferaw et al. (2003) and Ali Khan (2013) which revealed that livestock ownership plays a major role in promoting food security among households. Livestock is considered an asset in Africa and it often contributes to the economic development of the household. Households with livestock are more likely to earn more income and consequently be able to spend more on food (Saxena et al., 2017). Our results were similar and consistent for both the TLU and livestock ownership typologies used. In the interaction models, the results revealed that households within highly urbanized areas and own livestock are more likely to be food secure. The households were classified into livestock typologies based on the number and type of livestock that they owned. In the livestock typology model, the results show that food security increased with livestock possession irrespective of the number

urb_typo5

urb_typo4

urb_typo3

urb_typo2

live_typo5

live_typo4

live_typo3

live_typo2

urb_tlu

lvstck_holding_tlu

nightlight_w 0.0377*** (0.00399)

TLU

Urbanization

0.0191*** (0.00453)

(2)

(1)

0.00731*** (0.00276)

Urbanization x TLU

0.0161*** (0.022) 0.106*** (0.0046) 0.0286*** (0.0098) 0.154*** (0.0934)

Livestock typologies

0.0354* (0.0212) 0.0203 (0.0141) 0.00910 (0.0118) 0.0923*** (0.0176)

Urbanization x typologies

(5)

Variables (4)

TABLE 3.4 Urbanization, livestock ownership and household dietary diversity

(3)

Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

Dietary diversity

46

incid_f ld_w

log_dist_market_w

log_dist_road_w

log_crop_val

num_crops_hh

log_value_assets

ha_planted

use_fin_serv_all

ext_reach_all

imprv_seed_use

log_edu_hhd_w

headage_w

headsex_w

hh_members

–0.0380*** (0.00751) –0.0226 (0.133) –0.0127*** (0.00178) 0.336*** (0.0209) 0.314*** (0.102) 0.678*** (0.0778) 0.684*** (0.0732) 0.240*** (0.0223) 0.122*** (0.0134) 0.0660*** (0.0203) –0.00498 (0.0132) –0.00148 (0.00162) –0.0997*** (0.0381) –0.0729 (0.0846)

–0.0376*** (0.00753) –0.0328 (0.134) –0.0130*** (0.00178) 0.0364* (0.0210) 0.305*** (0.102) 0.735*** (0.0768) 0.702*** (0.0733) 0.273*** (0.0223) 0.129*** (0.0133) 0.0677*** (0.0203) –0.00927 (0.0132) –0.00186 (0.00162) –0.131*** (0.0376) –0.0644 (0.0847)

–0.0379*** (0.00752) –0.0334 (0.133) –0.0130*** (0.00178) 0.0329 (0.0209) 0.314*** (0.102) 0.713*** (0.0771) 0.689*** (0.0733) 0.263*** (0.0223) 0.127*** (0.0133) 0.0664*** (0.0203) –0.00977 (0.0132) –0.00183 (0.00162) –0.118*** (0.0377) –0.0632 (0.0846)

–0.0380*** (0.00754) –0.0315 (0.134) –0.0130*** (0.00178) 0.0363* (0.0210) 0.305*** (0.102) 0.734*** (0.0768) 0.696*** (0.0735) 0.249*** (0.0224) 0.128*** (0.0134) 0.0669*** (0.0204) –0.00878 (0.0132) –0.00194 (0.00162) –0.128*** (0.0376) –0.0638 (0.0847)

–0.0384*** (0.00750) 0.0107 (0.134) –0.0126*** (0.00179) 0.0338 (0.0209) 0.303*** (0.102) 0.687*** (0.0771) 0.695*** (0.0731) 0.235*** (0.0223) 0.124*** (0.0133) 0.0619*** (0.0203) –0.00708 (0.0132) –0.00152 (0.00162) –0.109*** (0.0377) –0.0745 (0.0846) (Continued )

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes 47

–0.731*** (0.170) –0.865*** (0.181) –1.014*** (0.181) 0.565*** (0.173) 0.942*** (0.187) 0.0158*** (0.00439) 0.166*** (0.0427) 0.232*** (0.0369) 15.74*** (1.126) Yes 4,210 0.284

–0.833*** (0.169) –1.002*** (0.179) –1.147*** (0.178) 0.494*** (0.173) 0.914*** (0.187) 0.0156*** (0.00442) 0.146*** (0.0427) 0.211*** (0.0366) 15.14*** (1.120) Yes 4,210 0.281

TLU

Urbanization

Source: authors.

Note: standard errors in parentheses; *** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1

Time fixed effect Observations R-squared

Constant

ln_avege_agri_ex

ln_ave_hum_cap

ln_ave_physical

gpz5

gpz4

gpz3

gpz2

gpz1

(2)

–0.793*** (0.169) –0.957*** (0.179) –1.103*** (0.179) 0.532*** (0.173) 0.922*** (0.187) 0.0150*** (0.00439) 0.150*** (0.0426) 0.216*** (0.0366) 15.27*** (1.120) Yes 4,210 0.282

Urbanization x TLU

(3)

–0.826*** (0.169) –0.997*** (0.179) –1.138*** (0.178) 0.506*** (0.173) 0.901*** (0.188) 0.0153*** (0.00440) 0.144*** (0.0427) 0.210*** (0.0367) 15.08*** (1.121) Yes 4,210 0.282

Livestock typologies

(4)

–0.743*** (0.170) –0.876*** (0.180) –1.020*** (0.180) 0.549*** (0.173) 0.982*** (0.188) 0.0152*** (0.00438) 0.163*** (0.0426) 0.225*** (0.0367) 15.59*** (1.124) Yes 4,210 0.286

Urbanization x typologies

(5)

Variables

(1)

Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

TABLE 3.4 Continued

Dietary diversity

48

0.0559*** (0.000376)

nightlight_w

urb_typo5

urb_typo4

urb_typo3

urb_typo2

live_typo5

live_typo4

live_typo3

live_typo2

urb_tlu

lvstck_holding_tlu

Urbanization

Variables

(1)

0.0181*** (0.00331)

TLU

(2)

Consumption per adult equivalent

0.285*** (0.00229)

Urbanization x TLU

(3)

TABLE 3.5 Urbanization, livestock ownership and consumption per adult equivalent

0.334*** (0.101) 0.123** (0.0617) 0.299*** (0.0825) 0.114 (0.0773)

Livestock typologies

(4)

0.0830*** (0.0176) 0.603*** (0.0117) 0.0193** (0.00980) 0.00531 (0.0146) (Continued )

Urbanization x typologies

(5)

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes 49

−0.0728*** (0.00624) 0.323*** (0.111) 0.00539*** (0.00148) 0.0296* (0.0173) 0.134 (0.0846) 0.780*** (0.0646) 0.445*** (0.0608) 0.0750*** (0.0185) 0.730*** (0.0111) 0.244*** (0.0168) 0.0203* (0.0110)

hh_members

log_crop_val

num_crops_hh

log_value_assets

ha_planted

use_fin_serv_all

ext_reach_all

imprv_seed_use

log_edu_hhd_w

headage_w

headsex_w

Urbanization

(1)

−0.0728*** (0.00624) 0.323*** (0.111) 0.00531*** (0.00148) 0.0299* (0.0174) 0.131 (0.0846) 0.764*** (0.0637) 0.441*** (0.0607) 0.0741*** (0.0185) 0.732*** (0.0110) 0.246*** (0.0168) 0.0212* (0.0109)

TLU

(2)

Consumption per adult equivalent

Variables

TABLE 3.5 Continued

−0.0729*** (0.00624) 0.324*** (0.111) 0.00528*** (0.00148) 0.285*** (0.0173) 0.127 (0.0846) 0.756*** (0.0639) 0.436*** (0.0608) 0.0737*** (0.0185) 0.733*** (0.0111) 0.252*** (0.0168) 0.0210* (0.0109)

Urbanization x TLU

(3)

−0.0720*** (0.00624) 0.328*** (0.111) 0.00513*** (0.00148) 0.261*** (0.0173) 0.133 (0.0845) 0.769*** (0.0636) 0.447*** (0.0608) 0.0744*** (0.0185) 0.733*** (0.0111) 0.225*** (0.0169) 0.0211* (0.0109)

Livestock typologies

(4)

−0.0727*** (0.00624) 0.302*** (0.111) 0.00546*** (0.00148) 0.298*** (0.0174) 0.132 (0.0846) 0.786*** (0.0641) 0.444*** (0.0607) 0.0765*** (0.0185) 0.729*** (0.0111) 0.225*** (0.0169) 0.0212* (0.0109)

Urbanization x typologies

(5)

50 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

−0.00141 (0.00135) 0.0343 (0.0316) −0.0813 (0.0702) −0.699*** (0.141) −0.468*** (0.150) −0.996*** (0.150) 0.690*** (0.144) 0.416*** (0.155) 0.0158*** (0.00364) 0.0154 (0.0355) 0.0875*** (0.0306) 5.628*** (0.935) 4,210 0.609 YES

−0.00156 (0.00134) 0.0268 (0.0312) −0.0781 (0.0702) −0.673*** (0.140) −0.435*** (0.148) −0.961*** (0.148) 0.671*** (0.143) 0.408*** (0.155) 0.0162*** (0.00366) 0.0196 (0.0354) 0.0810*** (0.0304) 5.472*** (0.928) 4,210 0.608 YES

Note: Standard errors in parentheses; *** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1.

Source: Authors.

Observations R-squared Time fixed effect

Constant

ln_avege_agri_ex

ln_ave_hum_cap

ln_ave_physical

gpz5

gpz4

gpz3

gpz2

gpz1

incid_f ld_w

log_dist_market_w

log_dist_road_w

−0.00157 (0.00134) 0.0216 (0.0313) −0.0787 (0.0702) −0.657*** (0.140) −0.417*** (0.149) −0.943*** (0.148) 0.656*** (0.143) 0.405*** (0.155) 0.0159*** (0.00364) 0.0212 (0.0353) 0.0792*** (0.0304) 5.416*** (0.929) 4,210 0.609 YES

−0.00152 (0.00134) 0.0242 (0.0311) −0.0799 (0.0701) −0.654*** (0.140) −0.419*** (0.148) −0.937*** (0.148) 0.643*** (0.143) 0.411*** (0.155) 0.0157*** (0.00364) 0.0180 (0.0354) 0.0798*** (0.0303) 5.466*** (0.927) 4,210 0.610 YES

−0.00135 (0.00134) 0.0370 (0.0313) −0.0803 (0.0703) −0.733*** (0.141) −0.500*** (0.150) −1.034*** (0.150) 0.718*** (0.144) 0.465*** (0.157) 0.0158*** (0.00364) 0.0152 (0.0354) 0.0873*** (0.0305) 5.582*** (0.934) 4,210 0.609 YES

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes 51

52 Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

and type of livestock owned. Though the level of significance differed between the models, all typologies which ranged from the possession of some livestock, mostly poultry to the ownership of a large mixture of both small and large livestock species had a positive and significant association with household food security. In the interaction models for livestock typologies and urbanization, all interaction terms had positive growth effects on household food security. This indicates that the level of food security among households tends to increase with a rise in the number of households with livestock that move to highly urbanized areas. Korth et al., (2014) explained that urban agriculture contributes to food security in low/middle-income countries. Lee-Smith (2010) also revealed that urban agriculture, and particularly urban livestock production, has a positive impact on health, hunger and poverty among households in urban areas. The positive relationship between urbanization, livestock ownership and food security is associated with the fact that households with livestock have higher potential in terms of both the physical (Bogard et al., 2017) and economic (Dorward et al., 2005) capacity to gain access to food. At the same time, urbanization increases the demand for livestock stock foods (FAO, 2013) which translates to ready markets for livestock producers and more income for the farming household to buy food. However, Stage et al. (2010) have argued that the higher the demand for meat in urban areas is, the higher the income-earning capacity in such areas. They further explain that higher-income rural dwellers have similar levels of increased meat consumption or of luxury goods when compared to higher-income urban dwellers. Turning to household characteristics, our results revealed that household size had a negative and significant relationship with household food security. This implies that very large households are less likely to be food secure as compared to smaller ones. Households were also less likely to be food secure as the age of the household head increased. This is evident as the results revealed that the age of the household head had a negative association with household food security. The level of education of household heads had a positive and significant association with the food security status of households. This implies that educated household heads are more likely to have food-secure households. This is consistent with the findings of Abdullah et al. (2019), who also revealed the positive impact of education on household food security. Households with more assets are also likely to spend more on food as the results revealed that the coefficient of household assets had a positive relationship with food security. Nabarro and Wannous (2014) also explained that the proportion of animal-source food consumed by households tends to increase as they become wealthier. In farming households, the adoption of agricultural technology and access to extension services also has significant growth effects on food security. This is also evident in the present study as our results reveal that the use of improved seed varieties had a positive and significant effect on household food security in all the models. Households that had access to agricultural extension agents are

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53

also more likely to be food secure. This is consistent with the findings of Tigabu and Gebeyehu (2018) which revealed that having access to agricultural extension services and the adoption of modern technology has a statistically significant and positive impact on nutrition and food security. Danso-Abbeam and Ehiakpor (2018) explained that the productivity and income of farmers are more likely to grow with the participation of farmers in extension programs. The results across all models also revealed that the size of agricultural land cultivated and the number of crops cultivated by the household also had growth effects on the food security status of households. This implies that households are more likely to be food secure as they increase their productivity by cultivating more land and more crop varieties. Yao Pan et al. (2018) have argued that farmers that received information and training from extension agents were more likely to adopt modern inputs and use improved cultivation methods that translate to increased agricultural productivity and higher levels of food security. The proximity of households to roads and markets also has a significant impact on their level of food security. The results revealed that the household distance to roads and markets has a significant negative association with household food security. This implies that households are less likely to be food secure if they must cover large distances to get to a main road or market. This is consistent with the findings of Tombe and Simtowe (2009) which revealed that there were significant differences in the per-capita calorie consumption between households that had access to markets and those that did not. This is evident as, where national food supplies are adequate, poor distribution systems may limit access for many segments of the population (American Public Health Association, 2018). With reference to the southwestern zone, our results revealed that households in the north-central, northeast and northwest are less likely to be food secure. This is evident as the results across all models show that households in the northern zones have a significant negative association with household food security in Nigeria. This is consistent with the findings of Akinyele (2009) who emphasized that though food insecurity is widespread in Nigeria it is more pronounced in the northern areas of the country. The prevalence of food insecurity in the northern zones of the country has been compounded by the incidence of conf licts and insecurity in the northeast and northwest regions (Azad and Kaila, 2018; Matemilola and Elegbede, 2017). Government investment in infrastructure, health, education and agriculture has also a significant impact on the food security status of households. Our results revealed that such investments have positive and significant growth effects on the food security status of households in Nigeria. Ikelegbe and Edokpa (2013) and Matemilola and Elegbede (2017) emphasized that factors such as poor access to healthcare and potable water, unstable incomes, gender inequality and poor governance, among others, are also major contributors to food insecurity in Nigeria. This suggests that the use of government revenues to provide services and investments especially for the poor and vulnerable may have a significant inf luence in the process of achieving food security and reducing chronic malnutrition.

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Adebayo Ogunniyi et al.

Torero (2014) has rightly argued that in order to drive effective growth in food security, the strategy in any nation should involve a combination of coordinated investments in sectors such as education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and finance, among others.

Concluding remarks and tentative policy options In this study, we assessed the overall nexus between urbanization, livestock ownership, security and child nutritional outcomes using nationally representative data from the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) for Nigeria and the satellite-based night-time light intensity data coming from the Operational Linescan System sensors of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program of the United States Air Force to capture urbanization. Our empirical results revealed that livestock ownership was only significantly associated with dietary diversity and the food consumption adult equivalent of the households but has a weak probability of reducing stunting and increasing HAZ in Nigeria. Specifically, we found that “type 2” (few animals, mostly poultry) and “type 3” (moderate number of animals, mostly poultry) typologies have a fairly strong association with child nutrition. We also found that night-light intensity as a measure of urbanization is a highly significant determinant of child nutritional outcomes even after controlling for covariates known to inf luence child nutrition. Relative to areas with less or no night-light intensity, improvements in child nutritional outcomes are observed in areas with relatively high night-light intensity. The combined effects of livestock ownership and urbanization are an interesting finding from this study. The effects were stronger jointly than the sole effects of the key variables. This implies that rapid urbanization without asset ownership such as livestock might not directly translate into food and nutrition security. Therefore, meeting the crucial Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating hunger by 2030 requires a deeper understanding of the root causes of undernutrition and food insecurity, and possible policy options. While identifying statistical relationships as in this study is a helpful exercise, isolating the actual causal impacts of livestock ownership and urbanization on these outcomes is also important. In view of the fact that our findings reveal a complex association between livestock ownership and child nutrition outcomes in the households captured in this study, we thereby suggest that it is pertinent to emphasize and incorporate a groundwork for designing livestock development programs that can optimize the effect of ownership on child diets and nutritional status in Nigeria. Although we found a positive and nutrition-improving association between urbanization and food and nutrition security, we would like to stress that a failure to support rural populations to adapt and develop into comfortable environments will

Urbanization and child nutritional outcomes

55

result in undesirable crisis-driven population movements that will make those in urbanized areas more vulnerable to crises with far-reaching negative implications for their health and food and nutrition security.

Notes 1 The following 12 food groups are included to calculate household dietary diversity scores: cereals; white tubers and roots; legumes, nuts and seeds; vegetables; fruits; meat; eggs; fish and fish products; milk and milk products; sweets and sugars; oils and fats; and spices, condiments and beverages. 2 WHO Anthro Plus is a computer program created by the World Health Organization (WHO) that compares height/weight/length data for children age 0–19 years to the WHO child growth standards. 3 See also Ogunniyi et al. (2020) for a further discussion on the measurement of food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa countries and Fadare et al. (2019a) on the overall nexus between micronutrient-rich food consumption, intra-household allocation and child stunting in rural Nigeria. 4 The night-light intensity data was obtained from the night-time lights data repository at the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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4 IMPACT OF TANKS AND CANALS ON LIVELIHOOD SECURITY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MIGRATION INTO CITIES Study of the Bengaluru metropolis Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth Introduction At the global level urbanization has increased from 220 million in 1900, forming 13 percent of the population, to 3.2 billion in 2005 forming 49 percent of the population, registering a simple growth of 12.9 percent or an exponential growth rate of 2.58 percent per year1 (Ramachandra and Aithal, 2016). The rate of growth of population in Bengaluru reached its peak in 1981 at 5.79 percent, while in 2011 it was 3.7 percent which was higher than the global rate of population growth of 2.58 percent, surpassing the annual growth rate in the population of India (Table 4.1). The extent of migration due to urban pull or rural push needs a separate study, which for Bengaluru has been studied by Sridhar et al. (2013). According to the 2011 census, the rate of increase in urban population was the highest in Delhi at 4.1 percent followed by 3.1 percent in Mumbai and 2 percent in Kolkata. It is crucial to note that the rate of urbanization in Bengaluru at 3.7 percent in 2011 is higher than the rate of global urbanization. Comparing the rate of urbanization in India with that of Bengaluru, it is crucial to note that the rate of growth of urbanization in Bengaluru is higher than that in India for all the census years (Table 4.1) which is an apparent indicator of the expansion which has taken place largely for residential purposes supported by commercial, business and, of late, trade establishments as 38 percent of India’s software exports are emanating from Bengaluru. In this chapter, the impact of urbanization on irrigation tanks and the role of irrigation tanks in recharging groundwater and contributing to the income and livelihood security of farmers is discussed. Bengaluru ranks fifth in the list of urban agglomerations by population in India.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-4

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61

TABLE 4.1 Population growth of Bengaluru

Year

Population of Bengaluru in lakhs

Annual growth in population in Bengaluru per year

Exponential growth Annual growth of in population in urban population Bengaluru in India

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2020*

1.63 1.89 2.4 3.1 4.11 7.86 12.06 16.64 29.22 41.30 58.92 84.74 123.25*

– 1.60 1.49 0.20 2.70 2.42 0.46 2.92 2.59 0.90 3.26 2.86 1.29 9.12 6.70 2.12 5.34 4.37 1.95 3.80 3.27 2.90 7.56 5.79 4.14 4.13 3.52 3.53 4.27 3.62 4.45 4.38 3.70 2.14 *http://www.populationu.com/cities/bangalore-popula tion

Source: Census of India, Sridhar and Smitha (2021).

Impact of urbanization on tanks In 2017 The New Indian Express reported that out of 837 lakes in Bengaluru Urban district, 88 lakes covering an area of 1,307 acres have completely disappeared. It notes that while there were 51 healthy lakes in and around central Bengaluru in 1985 the number has dwindled to only 17 now. The report also analyzed records of 710 lakes in Bengaluru Rural District and found that 42 of them had completely disappeared. The abstract report of encroachment of lakes/tanks in Bengaluru Urban district shows that apart from the 88 lakes in Bengaluru Urban, 50 lakes in the city have seen more than half of their area disappear in the past few decades, while the number was 54 for Bengaluru Rural District. As per data, 611 of the 837 lakes (73 percent of them) have encroachment of less than 25 percent of the total area. Similarly, in Bengaluru Rural District, 65 percent of the lakes have less than 25 percent of their area encroached upon to date (Table 4.2). In a very detailed study, Thippaiah (2009) provides an intense account of the irrigation tanks built by the Kempegowda dynasty and its successors (1510 to 1591 and onwards) who built around 100 tanks in and around Bengaluru. The net sown area in Bengaluru Urban district was 102,331 hectares (ha) in 1986 and 50,371 ha in 2010, showing a decline at a simple annual rate of 2.11 percent. The net sown area in the district forms 23 percent of the geographical area, of which only 8.47 percent (819 ha) is together irrigated by 71 tanks with a command area of more than 40 ha and 581 tanks with a command area of below 40 ha. The irrigation tanks thus contributing to only 8.47 percent of irrigated area in the

62 Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth TABLE 4.2 Extent of encroachment of lakes in Bengaluru Urban district

Percentage of encroachment

No. of lakes

Encroachment by govt. Encroachment by (acres) private (acres)

Available area (acres)

0 0–14% 15–49% 50–74% 75–99% 100% Total

88 447 164 25 25 88 837

0 274.78 828.43 80.45 224.81 785.87 2,194.3

1,283.85 17,455.13 4,397.70 180.85 48.04 0.70 23,366.24

0 705.6 673.99 185.17 254.47 522.00 2,340.91

Source: The New Indian Express 2017.

district is in itself a prima facie indicator of the degradation of the tank system. Out of 127 irrigation tanks, around 46 tanks are in disuse, forming 36 percent, while 64 percent are usable/live according to the report. Further, it is reported that around 10 percent of the tanks (13) have dried up, 47 percent (60) are filled with sewage water and deteriorated, 22 percent (28) have been taken over for forming layouts and public utilities, 12 percent (15) are yet to be under authorized use due to occupation by slums and private parties and so on. The study also reports that 195 tanks were not traceable in 2006 due to encroachments/conversions to layouts, complexes, schools, hospitals and bus stands. Around 20 percent of the water spread area or 470 ha of 48 tanks are reported as encroached. Appendix 1 lists the names of 90 irrigation tanks that have been totally converted for different purposes such as the formation of layouts, sites, public utilities, playgrounds, railway lines and so on. Ramachandra and Aithal (2016) in their study of 105 lakes (erstwhile irrigation tanks) reported that in Bengaluru, 95 percent of the lakes have been encroached upon for civil works, apartments, commercial buildings and slums and with 90 percent of the lakes being sewage fed, there is indiscriminate disposal of solid and liquid waste affecting the health of the people. Further, they report that during 1973–2016, the paved surface due to concretization increased at the rate of 23 percent per year which resulted in the decline of vegetation by 88 percent and wetlands by 79 percent, resulting in a sharp decline in the groundwater table. With only 15 lakh trees for the population of 95 lakhs, there are six persons depending on one tree, affecting carbon sequestration severely. Interestingly irrigation tanks are esoterically referred to as “lakes” due to urbanization. At present Bengaluru’s population is around 123.27 lakhs, growing at a simple growth rate of 5.05 percent. Even though the natural rate of increase in population is the primary cause, rural–urban migration is also one of the factors responsible for the increase in the population, as is urbanization, which snatched away the livelihood opportunities of farmers/villagers through the encroachment of agricultural lands for non-agricultural purposes, as well as irrigation

Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood

63

tanks, which were the water bodies serving as recharge areas for groundwater irrigation wells as well as drinking water wells. The encroachment of tanks for various purposes in Bengaluru indicates that about 49 percent of the encroachment has been for parks and playgrounds followed by 24 percent for open areas and 12 percent for residential purposes (Ramaprasad and Priya 2015) from 1960 to 2012. It is further crucial to do onthe-ground truth verification since whether or not the purpose for which the area was allotted has actually been enacted is vital. For instance, in 50 percent of the area of tanks allotted to parks and playgrounds, there has been a constant cry of schoolgoers, youth and others for sports.

Bengaluru will be the next Cape Town with regard to drinking water With the indiscriminate urbanization and encroachment resulting in the reduction in water bodies in Bengaluru by 79 percent, exacerbated by an increase in built-up areas from 8 percent to 77 percent (from 1973 to 2018), the shrinking of the water table from 10 meters to 90 meters in 20 years, increasing dependence on groundwater drilling wells which has increased from 5,000 to 450,000 in 30 years and the growth of population at the rate of around 3.5 percent per year, a study by Down to Earth predicts Bengaluru to be the next Cape Town with regard to a drinking water crisis (Venkatesh, Gowswami and Sengupta, 2018). Sridhar and Mathur (2009; 2011) advocate marginal cost pricing to tide over water crises, such that even if water can be brought from a distance, user charges should be based on the marginal cost of the same. They estimated the marginal cost of water, finding it to be Rs. 2.43 per kiloliter of water for Bengaluru. Currently, around 50 percent of the Bengaluru domestic water needs of residents is met by groundwater wells in and around Bengaluru. As the Supreme Court allocated only 4.75 TMC for Bengaluru, with at least 80 percent concretization of Bengaluru, the extent of recharge for groundwater wells is remote and accordingly the pressure on the peri-urban villages is increasing.

Management of tanks by institutions About 80 percent of tanks are managed/maintained by the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), followed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) (16 percent), the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) (2.38 percent) and so on (Table 4.4). Rapid urbanization had transformed many lakes for urban utilities. At present approximately 210 lakes are present in Bengaluru, out of which 167 lakes are maintained by the BBMP, 33 by the BDA, five by the KFD, four by the Lake Development Authority (LDA) and one by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). Even with mega institutions such as the BBMP and BDA managing most of the tanks in Bengaluru, the extent of pollution is unabated and is unsuitable for

64 Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth TABLE 4.3 Current scenario of lakes managed by different authorities

Authorities

No.

Percent

Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bengaluru Development Authority Karnataka Forest Department Lake Development Authority BMRCL/Metro Total

167 33 5 4 1 210

79.52 15.71 2.38 1.90 0.48 100

Source: http://bbmp.gov.in/lakes.

domestic use. Nutrient discharge of domestic wastewater is causing a decrease in dissolved oxygen level, affecting aquatic life and lake ecology. The demand for land due to rapid urbanization has been at the cost of encroaching upon the tanks and agricultural areas, with the area for agriculture shrinking to a mere 23 percent of the geographical area, of which only 8.47 percent is irrigated by tanks. It is crucial to note that only through on-the-ground truth can these proportions have credentials since the area covered by tanks does not mean area under tank irrigation since it depends upon the extent of water in the tanks. The area is only according to the revenue classification, implying that “forest area” does not necessarily mean area covered by forests, but refers to any area under the forest category. The average water spread area per irrigation tank was 12.62 ha and the average irrigated area per tank was 21.12 ha in Bengaluru (Thippaiah 2009).

Potential loss of employment and implications for migration With the loss of around 369 tanks/lakes due to urbanization in Bengaluru (Thippaiah, 2009) an estimated 369 × 21.12 ha, or 7,793.28 ha, of the net irrigated area has been lost over the past 50 years. Even though irrigation generates at least around 70 to 100 man-days of labor per acre (from primary data of this study), considering a conservative estimate of creation of employment of 30 man-days per acre per year in agriculture directly (through tank irrigation) and indirectly by creation of employment of around 60 man-days per acre per year through groundwater recharge induced irrigation, the extent of loss in employment in agriculture, which is potential migratory labor, is around 17,32,320 man-days for 19,248 acres every year.

Role of irrigation tanks in groundwater recharge and economy of farmers It is crucial to appreciate the role of irrigation tanks in supporting agriculture through groundwater generating income from crops, livestock and incomegenerating activities. In order to estimate the extent of support by recharge,

Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood

65

three villages located in the Hemavathy river basin in the central dry agro-climatic zone of Karnataka were chosen: Biligerepalya village to represent recharge through canals called a canal percolation system, Eechanur tank village to represent a tank percolation system receiving Hemavathy river water as a system tank with a water spread of 363 acres and Kibbanahalli village to represent a non-percolation system, as it totally depends on rainfall. Tumkur district is one of the over-exploited districts in Karnataka in terms of groundwater extraction and use, located close to the Bengaluru metropolitan area. For this study, only farmers possessing irrigation wells in each of the three scenarios were chosen. A random sample of 35 farmers was drawn from each of the three scenarios, totaling 105 farmers for the purpose of this study. Using a questionnaire, information on cropping patterns, land holdings, sources of irrigation, investment in irrigation wells, costs and returns from crops grown under well irrigation, the volume of water used and other data were collected from sample farmers.

Functioning borewells It was heartening to note that all the sample farmers owned functioning bore wells. On average, canal percolation farms had the highest number of functioning bore wells per farm (1.71) followed by tank and non-percolation farms (1.37 and 1.23 respectively). The gross irrigated area of sample farmers was higher in canal percolation (higher by 59 percent, at 424 acres) and tank percolation (higher by 43 percent, at 381 acres) as compared to that in non-percolation (267 acres) (Table 4.4). The average gross irrigated area per farm among sample farmers was higher in canal percolation (by 59 percent at 12.13 acres) and tank percolation (by 43 percent at 10.89 acres) when compared to that of a non-percolation system (7.62 acres). The gross irrigated area per functioning well was higher in tank percolation (7.94 acres, higher by 28.06 percent) and canal percolation (7.19 acres, higher by 15.96 percent) as compared to that in non-percolation (6.20 acres on average). The net irrigated area of sample farmers was higher in canal percolation (higher by 65 percent at 223 acres) and tank percolation (higher by 28 percent at 174 acres) when compared to that in a non-percolation system (136 acres). The net irrigated area per farm was higher in canal percolation (higher by 65 percent at 6.38 acres on average) and tank percolation (higher by 28 percent at 5 acres) as compared to that in a non-percolation system (3.87 acres). The net irrigated area per functioning well was higher in canal percolation (by 18 percent at 3.72 acres) and tank percolation (by 15 percent at 3.62 acres) as compared to a nonpercolation system (3.15 acres) (Table 4.4). The irrigation intensity was the highest in tank percolation followed by that in canal percolation and non-percolation systems. Groundwater extracted per well in tank percolation was 241 acre-inches, higher by 83 percent compared to that in a non-percolation system (132 acre-inches) and it was 35 percent higher

35 48 1.37 381.25 10.89 7.94 173.89 4.97 3.62 219.25 330 241 0.0488 30.34 66.51 33.66 12210 24264 133000 96979 17.79

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

Sample size – No. of farmers Number of functioning borewells Number of functioning borewells per farm Total gross irrigated area (acre) Gross irrigated per farm (acre) Gross irrigated area per functioning well (acre) Total net irrigated area (acre) Net irrigated area per farm (acre) Net irrigated area per functioning well (acre) Irrigation intensity (per cent) Total groundwater extracted per farm (Acre inches) Groundwater extracted per well (Acre inches) Ground water extracted per rupee of irrigation cost (Acre inches) Groundwater extracted per acre of gross irrigated (Acre inches) Groundwater extracted per acre of net irrigated (Acre inches) Amortized cost per acre-inch of groundwater used (Rs.) Net returns per acre of gross irrigated area (Rs.) Net returns per acre of net irrigated area (Rs.) Net returns per farm from irrigated crops (Rs.) Net returns per functioning well (Rs.) Net returns per rupee of irrigation cost (ratio)

TPS (1)

Sl. no. Particulars 35 59 1.71 424.44 12.13 7.19 223.46 6.38 3.72 189.94 305.12 178 0.0459 25.16 47.79 44.46 10912 20726 132325 77190 20.60

CPS (2) 35 43 1.23 266.85 7.62 6.20 135.51 3.87 3.15 180.24 162.72 132 0.0117 21.34 42.03 112.74 9292 16748 70845 57665 6.41

NPS (3)

TABLE 4.4 Economics of groundwater irrigation in tank, canal and non-percolation systems in Karnataka

11.63 11.38 NA 42.91 28.06 28.32 28.42 14.92 21.64 102.80 82.58 317.09 42.17 58.24 -70.14 31.40 44.88 87.73 68.18 177.54

37.21 39.02 NA 59.19 15.96 64.90 64.86 18.10 5.38 87.51 34.85 74 17.90 13.70 -60.56 17.43 23.75 86.78 33.86 221.37

Percentage change Percentage change (1)over(3) (2)over(3)

66 Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth

Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood

67

in canal percolation (178 acre-inches) when compared to that under a non-percolation system (132 acre-inches). The groundwater extracted per acre of the gross irrigated area was higher in tank percolation (30 acre-inches) higher by 42 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system (21 acre-inches) and higher by 18 percent in canal percolation (25 acre-inches) as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The amortized cost per acre-inch of groundwater was lower in tank percolation (Rs. 34) lower by 70 percent as compared to a non-percolation system (Rs. 112) and the same was lower by 60 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 44) as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The net return per acre of the gross irrigated area was higher in tank percolation (Rs. 12,210) by 31 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system (Rs. 9,292) and the same was higher by 17 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 10,912) as compared to that under non-percolation. The net return per farm from irrigated crops was higher in tank percolation (Rs. 133,000) by 88 percent as compared to that in nonpercolation (Rs. 70,845) and the same was higher by 87 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 132,325) as compared with that under a non-percolation system. The net returns per functioning well were higher in tank percolation (Rs. 96,979) by 68 percent as compared to that under non-percolation (Rs. 57,665) and the same was higher by 34 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 77,190) as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The net return per rupee of irrigation cost was Rs. 21 in canal percolation, higher by 221 percent as compared to that under non-percolation (Rs 6.41). It was higher by 177 percent in tank percolation (Rs. 18) as compared to that under a non-percolation system (Table 4.5). This is the supremacy of the performance of the tank and canal percolation systems in heralding agricultural development. Hence it is crucial to link tank systems with canal irrigation to promote the recharge of groundwater.

Farm economy The net irrigated area was 223.46 acres in canal percolation, higher by 65 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system (135.51 acres). It was higher by 28 percent in tank percolation (174 acres) as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The gross cropped area per farm was 14 acres in canal percolation, higher by 30 percent as compared to what was observed in nonpercolation systems (10.80 acres). It was higher by 21 percent in tank percolation (13.03 acres) as compared to that found under non-percolation systems. The net return per acre of the gross cropped area was Rs. 12,210 in tank percolation, higher by 31 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system (Rs 9,292). It was higher by 17 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 10,912) as compared to that under a non-percolation system (Table 4.5). The net cropped area per farm was 7.33 acres in canal percolation, higher by 16 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system (6.31 acres). It was higher by 5.55 percent in tank percolation (6.66 acres) as compared to that observed under a

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

35 48 233.27 455.91 173.89 3.62 7.94 13.03 12210 6.66 4.86 20750 195 219 138297 5297 133000 20243

No. of sample farmers for the study No. of functioning wells per farm Net croppedarea (acre) Gross cropped area (acre) Net irrigated area (acre) Net irrigated area per functioning well(acre) Gross irrigated area per functioning well (acre) Gross cropped area per farm (acre) Net returns per acre of gross cropped (Rs.) Net cropped area per farm (acre) Net cropped area per functioning well(acre) Net returns per acre of net cropped (Rs.) Cropping intensity (per cent) Irrigation intensity(per cent) Net returns per farm (Rs) (Agriculture) Net returns per farm (Rs) (Rain fed crops) Net returns per farm (Rs) (Irrigated crops) Net returns per farm (Rs) (live stock)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

35 59 256.45 489.86 223.46 3.72 7.19 14.00 10912 7.33 4.27 18704 191 190 137045 4720 132325 13700

35 43 220.75 377.85 135.51 3.15 6.20 10.80 9292 6.31 5.13 12289 171 180 77511 6666 70845 9972 11.63 5.67 20.65 28.32 14.92 28.06 20.64 31.40 5.55 5.56 68.85 14.18 21.64 78.42 -20.54 87.73 103.00

39.53 16.17 29.64 64.90 18.10 15.96 29.63 17.43 16.16 20.14 52.20 11.60 5.38 76.81 -29.19 86.78 37.38

Percentage change (2) over (3)

TPS (1)

Particulars

Sl.no.

Percentage change (1) over (3)

TABLE 4.5 Economics of farms in tank percolation system (TPS), canal percolation system (CPS) and non-percolation system (NPS) in Karnataka

NPS (3)

Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth

CPS(2)

68

Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood

69

non- percolation system. The net return per acre of the net cropped area was Rs. 20,750 in tank percolation, higher by 69 percent as compared to that found under a non-percolation system (Rs. 12,289). It was Rs. 18,704 in canal percolation, higher by 52 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The cropping intensity was higher in tank percolation (195 percent), higher by 14 percent as compared to what was observed under a non-percolation system (171 percent) and the same was higher by 12 percent in canal percolation (191 percent) as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The net returns per farm from agriculture were higher in tank percolation (Rs. 138,297) by 78 percent as compared to that under a non-percolation system (Rs. 77,511) and the same was higher by 77 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 137,045) as compared to that under a non-percolation system. The net return per farm from livestock was higher in tank percolation (Rs. 20,243) by 103 percent as compared to what is seen in the non-percolation system (Rs. 9,972) and the same is higher by 37 percent in canal percolation (Rs. 13,700) as compared to that under a nonpercolation system (Table 4.5).

Economic refection of groundwater recharge through reduction of externality In the Hemavathy river basin, the Hemavathy canal connects to the Eeachanur irrigation tank, and the Eeachanur irrigation tank command area is the tank percolation system for this study. Along the Hemavathy canal due to recharge, the Biligerepalya borewells are getting recharged and this area represents the canal percolation system. In the non-percolation system there is no recharge from surface water, except for rainwater. The TPS and CPS areas facilitate the recharge of groundwater through surface water f low and hence it is crucial to quantify the impact of recharge. Therefore, examination of the profile of irrigation wells drilled by farmers in the areas, which includes total wells drilled and initial failures before and after the linkage from Hemavathy canal, provides information regarding the recharge to irrigation borewells. The Hemavathy canal was linked to TPS and CPS in 1998–99. It is crucial to note that the proportion of failures of borewells has substantially reduced after the Hemavathy canal linkage in both the TPS and CPS villages. This indicates that the linkage of the canal system to irrigation tanks as well as along the canal has apparent and discernible impacts on reducing both the initial failures as well as premature failure of borewells. Premature failure of borewells refers to borewells that did not serve up to the payback period. Especially the premature failures are absent in the TPS and CPS systems. In the NPS, too, there is a reduction in the proportion of borewells drilled, however, the proportion of failures is still larger than the TPS and CPS systems. Therefore it is clear that surface water f low recharges groundwater to the extent of reducing the proportion of borewell failure (Table 4.6). The reduction in the proportion of failure of wells is a physical ref lection of the recharge inf luence. However, this should manifest in the economics of

Number of wells drilled

Number of Initial failures

Number of premature failures

TPS (Eechanur) Total no. of failed wells

Number of wells drilled

Number of Initial failures

Number of premature failures

CPS (Biligerepalya) Total no. of failed wells

Number of wells drilled

Source: Primary surveys and author analysis

Figures in the parentheses indicate percentage bore well failure to number of wells drilled.

Before canal 34 2 6 8 44 3 6 9 33 linkage (5.88) (17.65) (23.53) (6.82) (13.63) (20.45) 1998−99: The year Hemavathy canal was linked with Eechanahalli tank (TPS) and Biligerepalya (CPS) After canal 26 4 0 4 29 5 0 5 45 linkage (15.38) (0.00) (15.38) (17.24) (0.00) (17.24)

Well drilled

after linkage of Hemavathy canal

20 (60.60) 0 (0.00)

14 (31.11)

Number of premature failures 1 (3.03)

Number of Initial failures

NPS (Kibbanahalli)

14 (31.11)

21 (63.63)

Total no. of failed wells

TABLE 4.6 Details of wells drilled by sample farmers in tank percolation system, canal percolation system and non-percolation system before and

70 Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth

Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood

71

recharge examined further (Table 4.7). The resource economics ref lection of recharge by surface water in both TPS and CPS is through a reduction in the negative externality in the borewell. When borewells are drilled, usually in violation of the isolation distance, there is cumulative interference among irrigation wells due to the intersection of the cones of depression of borewells. The negative externality is ref lected through the number of (initial and premature) failures of borewells on the farm. Therefore due to the initial and premature failure of borewells, farmers are forced to drill new borewells which further adds to the cost of groundwater irrigation. The proportion of failed wells is twice in the NPS (45 percent) compared with the TPS and CPS (20 percent) (Table 4.7). The reduction in well failure in TPS and CPS is due to the recharge of groundwater from the surface water f low. The average age of all wells is at least 35 percent to 47 percent higher in TPS and CPS over NPS. Considering the mode, the modal age of borewells is 120 percent higher in TPS and CPS over NPS. The average age of functioning wells is at least 50 percent higher in TPS and CPS over NPS. The depth of borewells drilled is also 25 percent to 30 percent lower in TPS and CPS. The groundwater yield of borewells is 100 percent higher in CPS and TPS over NPS. The investment per borewell, investment per functioning borewell and investment per failed borewell are all lower in TPS and CPS over NPS. The true ref lection of groundwater recharge in TPS and CPS is the magnitude of negative externality, defined as the difference between the amortized cost per functioning borewell and the amortized cost per borewell. The rationale is, if all the borewells are functioning on the farm, there is no negative externality. If there are initial, premature borewells on the farm, there is negative externality. Therefore the difference in the amortized cost per functioning borewell minus the amortized cost per borewell (considering both the functioning and failed borewells on the farm) is a ref lection of the magnitude of negative externality. Accordingly the negative externality of Rs. 957 per well in TPS and Rs. 863 per well in CPS is 70 percent lower than the amortized cost per well in NPS (Rs. 3,226) (Table 4.7).

Income and livelihood security Considering net returns per acre from different sources in TPS, small farmers realized Rs. 34,204 compared to that for medium farmers and large farmers (which were Rs. 26,360 and Rs. 22,161 respectively). The overall net return per acre of net crops for sample farmers in TPS and CPS was higher (Rs. 26,692 and Rs. 22,075) than that for NPS (Rs. 16,720) since canal water amply supported farmers through increases in irrigated area, livestock and income-generating activity (Table 4.8). In the CPS the overall net returns per acre were Rs. 22,075 per acre higher than that for NPS farmers (Rs. 16,720 per acre). The income from crops formed 83 percent, which was followed by livestock (9.70 percent) and non-agricultural activity (7.60 percent). Large farmers realized a lower net return per acre of Rs. 21,194 than small farmers (Rs. 22,209) (Table 4.8). The results are in consonance with a study by Kerr (2001).

35 48 (80) 12 (20) 60(100) 10.52 7.92 10.00 11.00 285 2016 1984−2008 45158 51015 21731 6490 7447 957 2660

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

35 59(81) 14(19) 73(100) 12.20 5.64 10.95 11.00 315 1877 1985–2005 44373 49040 22832 6505 7368 863 2519

CPS(2) 35 43(55) 35(45) 78(100) 7.33 7.54 7.42 5.00 429 904 1985−2008 55700 77118 29385 8232 11458 3226 4269

NPS (3)

39.53 −62.85 −6.41 66.44 −25.20 47.57 120.00 −26.57 107.63 −20.34 −36.41 −22.30 −20.98 −35.70 −73.25 −40.99

−18.93 −33.85 −26.05 −21.16 −35.01 −70.33 −37.69

Percentage change (2) over (3)

11.63 −65.71 −23.08 43.52 05.04 34.77 120.00 −33.57 123.01

Percentage change (1) over (3)

Source: Primary surveys and author analysis

Figures in the parentheses indicate percentage to the respectively. The amortized cost is relatively higher due to higher rate of well failure (45 %) as against 20 % and lower number of years of functioning of 7.33 years in NPS as against 12.20 years in CPS.

Sample farmers (No.) Functioning bore wells (No.) Non functioning Bore wells (No.) Total bore wells (No.) Average age of functioning wells (years) as on 2009 Average life of failed wells (years) as on year of failure Average age of all wells (years) as on 2009 Modal age of functioning wells (years) as on 2009 Depth of bore wells (feet) Yield of well (Gallons per Hour− GPH) Year Range of wells drilled Investment per well (Rs.) Investment per functioning well (Rs.) Investment per failed well (Rs.) Amortized cost per well (Rs.) Amortized cost per functioning well (Rs.) Annual Externality cost (Rs.) (16−15) (Rs) Amortized cost per failed well (RS)

TPS (1)

Sl. no. Particulars

TABLE 4.7 Economics of recharge of groundwater in TPS, CPS and NPS systems, Hemavathy basin, Karnataka

72 Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth

10924 (9.32) 27605 (15.61) 17400 (4.83) 20243 (11.53)

9692 (12.61) 15049 (9.70) 14503 (5.53) 13700 (8.47)

5824 (9.17) 8299 (9.22) 27097 (10.26) 9972 (9.46)

2250 (2.93) 11789 (7.60) 17875 (6.81) 11000 (6.80)

17467 (27.50) 15357 (17.07) 44583 (16.89) 21271 (20.17)

Live stock

27423 (23.41) 7444 (4.21) 26750 (7.43) 17071 (9.72)

Non-agriculture

40225 (63.33) 66323 (73.71) 196831 (74.56) 77511 (73.50)

64900 (84.46) 128261 (82.70) 230051 (87.66) 137045 (84.73)

78814 (67.27) 141811 (80.18) 315808 (87.73) 138297 (78.75)

Agriculture

Sources of income from

63516 (100) 89980 (100) 263995 (100) 105456 (100)

76842 155100 262429 161745

117161 176861 359958 175612

Net return per farm

Source: Primary surveys and author analysis.

GCA: Gross cropped area, NR: Net returns; Figures in parentheses are percentage to the respective total.

Tank percolation system Small farmers Medium farmers Large farmers Overall Canal percolation system Small farmers Medium farmers Large farmers Overall Non-Percolation system Small farmers Medium farmers Large farmers Overall

Class of farmers

TABLE 4.8 Net income per farm from different sources in tank, canal and non-percolation system (Rs)

3.77 6.04 13.29 6.31

3.46 6.82 12.38 7.33

3.43 6.71 16.24 6.58

Net cropped (NCA)

16854 14910 19867 16720

22209 22720 21194 22075

34204 26360 22161 26692

Net return per acre of (NCA)

Impact of tanks and canals on livelihood 73

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In NPS large farmers were realizing a higher net return per acre of Rs. 19,867, with the contribution of agriculture, livestock and non-agricultural activity forming 75, 10 and 17 percent respectively. The net returns per acre for small and medium farmers were Rs. 16,854 and Rs. 14,910 respectively. The contribution from non-agricultural activities was relatively higher for small farmers (27 percent) and medium farmers (17 percent), as compared to that from livestock. Considering income from agriculture, non-agriculture and livestock, the net return per acre was the highest in TPS and CPS over NPS. The farms served by TPS and CPS have registered the highest net returns compared to farms under NPS. Hence linking water bodies will increase the gross cultivated area and improve the quality of life in peri-urban, urban and rural areas by improving employment opportunities, increasing farm income and reduce migration of rural youth. Considering the income from agriculture which ranges from 70 percent to 90 percent of the total income, income from livestock which varies from 10 percent to 15 percent of the total income and income from non-agriculture sources which ranges from 5 to 25 percent, the livelihood security is largely provided by agriculture to farmers from irrigation tanks. Therefore (irrigation) tanks diverted to urban and non-agricultural uses affect the very livelihood of farmers which is apparent from this study. This calls for strengthening the tank irrigation. However, if the conversion of tanks for urban usage is inevitable, it is crucial to realize that the authorities have the responsibility of creating employment of at least around 100 man-days per acre of irrigated area per year in rural areas in order to reduce migration to urban/peri-urban areas to that extent (Table 4.8).

Conclusions The growth of urbanization in the Bengaluru metropolis is higher than that of urbanization in India, which is a cause of concern as it is bringing entropy, chaos and havoc through gulping the farmlands and natural water bodies such as (irrigation) tanks with implications for costs and returns in farming and migration of labor from agriculture due to displacement caused by the conversion of farmlands and tanks, inter alia to urban amenities. In the enthusiasm for urbanization, the harm inf licted on the farmlands, farmers, natural landscapes such as water bodies and irrigation tanks is insurmountable. This study has demonstrated the role of surface water in irrigation tanks and canal f low in recharging groundwater which reduced borewell failure, increased the average age of borewells substantially by 120 percent, reduced the depth of borewells drilled by 25 percent and increased groundwater yield by 100 percent. Further, the recharge from tanks and canals substantially reduced the negative externality in borewells to the tune of 70 percent, reducing well failure by 50 percent and increasing net returns from farming by 30 to 60 percent, providing employment and income to farmers. Conversion of tanks for urbanization purposes implies the loss of net income providing a livelihood for farmers of around Rs. 1.6 lakhs per year and an employment loss of

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at least 100 man-days of family labor per year on a conservative basis. Therefore in the process of urbanization, the irrigation tanks and water bodies are crucial for both agriculture irrigation and for domestic water and need to be carefully maintained and managed with the linking of canal systems wherever possible in order to sustain the growing population in both urban and rural areas.

Appendix 4A: List of tanks/lakes converted for different purposes in the process of urbanization in Bengaluru Sl. no.

Name of the lake

Converted as

1 2

Marenahalli Lake Sarakki Agrahara Lake/ Doresanipalya Chinnagara Lake Challaghatta Lake Domlur Lake Siddapura Lake Geddalahalli Lake Nagashettihalli Lake Kadirenahalli Lake Tyagarajanagar Lake Tumkur Lake Ramshettypalyakere Agasana Lake Ketamaranahalli Lake Gangashetty Lake Jakraya Lake Dharmambudhi Lake Agaraharhosakere Kalasipalya Lake Sampangi Lake Shoolay Tank Akkitimmanahalli Tank Sunkal Tank Koramangala Lake Kodihalli Lake Hoskere Sonnenehalli Lake Gokula Tank Vidyaranyapura lake Kadugondanahalli Lake Hennur Lake Banaswadi Lake Chennasandra Lake Vijinapura Lake(Kotturu) Murugeshpalya Lake Parangipalya Lake

Marenahalli JP Nagar 4th Phase

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Ejipura Karnataka Golf Club Domlur Second Stage Siddapura/Jayanagar 1st Block RMV II Stage, I Block RMV 2nd Stage, 2nd Block Banashankari 2nd Stage Tyagarajanagar Mysore Lamps Milk Colony (Playground) Gayathri Devi Park Rajajinagar (Mahalakshmipuram) Minerva Mills & Open Ground Krishna Flour Mills Kempegowda Bus Terminal Cheluvadipalya Kalasipalya Kanteerava Stadium Ashoknagar, Football Stadium Sai Hockey Stadium KSRTC Regional workshop National Dairy Research Institute New Thippasandra/GovernmentBuildings Residential/Railway Stockyard Austin Town (RES Colony) Mathikere Vidyaranayapura ( Jalahalli East) Kadugondanahalli Nagavara (HBR Layout) SubbayanapalyaExtention Pulla Reddy Layout Rajarajeshwari Layout Murugeshpalya HSR Layout (Continued)

76 Raveesha S. and M.G. Chandrakanth

(Continued) Sl. no.

Name of the lake

Converted as

37 38 39 40

Mestripalaya Lake Timberyard Lake Gangodanhalli Lake Vijayanagar Chord Road Lake Oddarapalya Lake Saneguruvanahalli Lake Kurubarahalli Lake

Mestripalaya (Open Ground) Timberyard Layout Gangodanhalli Vijayanagar

41 42 43

Rajajinagar (Industrial Area) Shivanahalli (Play Ground) Basaveshwaranagar

Source: https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/Bengaluru-water-bodies-ndwi-images-research-7994.

Note 1 It is crucial to note that a palpable feeling of simple annual growth rate can be felt while that of exponential growth cannot be felt. The increase in the urban population of 2.98 billion in 105 years represents a simple growth rate of 12.9 percent per year, while at an exponential growth rate of only 2.58 percent per year.

References https://be ngalu ru.citizen matte rs.in /Beng aluru -wate r-bod ies-ndwi-i mages -rese arch-7994. https://ww w.new indianexpress.com/cities/benga luru/2017/nov/23/88-lakes-vani shed-in-bengaluru-in-recent-years-1708596.html. Kerr, J., 2001, Watershed project performance in India: Conservation, productivity and equity. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 83(5): 1223–1230. Ramachandra, T. V. and B. H. Aithal, 2016, Bengaluru’s reality: Towards unlivable status with unplanned urban trajectory. Current Science, 110(12): 2207–2208. Ramaprasad, N. N. and Priya Narayanan, 2015, Detection of decline in the extent of Lakes in Bengaluru city using geospatial techniques. International Journal of Applied and Natural Sciences (IJANS), 4(3): 9–20. Sridhar, K. S. and O. M. Prakash Mathur, 2009, Costs and Challenges of Local Urban Services: Evidence from India’s Cities, Oxford University Press: New Delhi. 277 pp. Sridhar, K. S. and O. M. Prakash Mathur, 2011, Pricing urban water: A marginal cost approach. In: India Infrastructure Report2011:Water: Policy and Performance for Sustainable Development, 201, ((eds., 3i)Network), Oxford University Press: New Delhi, 351–359. Sridhar, K. S., A. V.Reddy and PAVAN Srinath, 2013, Is it push or pull? Recent evidence from migration into Bangalore, India. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 14(2): 287–306. Sridhar, Kala S. and K. C. Smitha, 2021, Is urbanization inclusive in India and China. In: The Rise of India and China: Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts, (eds., Kala S Sridhar and Li Jingfeng), Routledge Critical Perspectives on India and China, Oxon, UK: Routledge, pp. 101–120. Thippaiah, P., 2009, Vanishing Lakes: A Study of Bengaluru City, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru. Venkatesh, S., S. Goswami and S. Sengupta, 2018, Taps will run dry in the South African metropolis of Cape Town in two months. Hundreds of cities across the world are nearing a similar breakdown. Can they avoid a collapse? Down to Earth.

5 FINANCIAL STATUS OF MEGACITIES IN INDIA Emerging issues and challenges Inderjeet Singh Sodhi

Introduction Urbanization is one of the most important social and economic phenomena in the world today (Li et al., 2019: 1382). In the urban transformation of the globe, one of the most dramatic and momentous developments has been the emergence of giant cities, often referred to as megacities (Sorensen and Okata, 2011: 1). Megacities are not just large cities. Their scale creates new dynamics, new complexity and new simultaneity of events and processes – physical, social, political and economic (Kraas and Mertins, 2014: 1). The number of cities qualifying as megacities in the world is expanding, for which more emphasis is being given on planning and governance (Ruet and Lama Rewal, 2012; Silver, 2007; Xu and Yeh, 2010; Joo, 2018; Saglio-Yatzimirsky, 2016; Dey, Samaddar and Sen, 2016). Urbanization provides economic benefits through what economists call agglomeration economies (Feagkias, 2016: 1). Cities are rapidly becoming engines of economic growth all over the developing world, primarily due to their scale and agglomeration economies (Nayka and Sridhar, 2019: 1). Urbanization in India has become an important and irreversible process, and it is an important determinant of national economic growth and poverty reduction. The process of urbanization is characterized by a dramatic increase in the number of large cities (GoI, 2019: 1). Urban areas contribute to nearly two-thirds of India’s gross domestic product but only constitute 31 percent of the country’s population (Sridhar, 2017: 63). Megacities, i.e. cities with more than ten million residents are growing fast (Niemczynowicz, 1996: 198). Often, megacities arise because of the fusion of several cities or urban localities that are functionally linked and form an urban agglomeration (UN, 2012: 6). Despite their visibility and dynamism, megacities account for a small though increasing proportion of the world urban population: DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-5

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9.9 percent in 2011 and 13.6 percent in 2025 (UN, 2012: 2). Megacities are notable for their size and concentration of economic activity though they are home to only about one in eight of the world’s urban dwellers (UN, 2019: 57). Thirtythree megacities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Northern America account for 7 percent of the world’s total population in 2018 (UN, 2019: 55). According to the UN’s World Urbanization Prospects (UN, 2014a), 66.4 percent of the Earth’s population will live in cities by 2050, which means over 6.3 billion people. Urbanization is a process that is not bounded by a city’s administrative or territorial boundaries including extended metropolitan regions (Seto, Solecki and Griffith, 2015). Urbanization is inextricably linked to industrialization and modernization, both historically and among rapidly growing developing countries today.1 Cities in India generate two-thirds of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 90 percent of tax revenues and the majority of jobs, with just a third of the country’s population (GoI, 2019: 47). Within the broader economic narrative, cities are regarded as “engines of growth” (GoI, 2019: 47). The pattern of urbanization in India is characterized by the continual concentration of population and activities in large cities (Kundu, 1983).

Municipal fnance in India The magnitude and complexity of local government expenditures in large metropolitan areas are greater than in smaller urban or rural areas for many reasons, such as the size and concentration of the population (Freire, 2001) and the presence of a more socially and economically heterogeneous population (Nowlan, 1994). The poor state of finances of our cities is a source of major concern. On the one hand, the adequacy and quality of public services leave a lot to be desired and, on the other hand, payment for these services and collection of local taxes falls far short of what is needed to cover the costs of delivery.2 Better understanding of policy impacts enables better formulation and planning of optimal city growth (Sridhar, 2007, 315). City finances in India are in poor condition (Sridhar, 2014: 52). The cost of local urban services is challenging due to the requirement for more funds (Sridhar and Mathur, 2009). Since the 1980s, India has witnessed a dramatic shift in its economic structure from rural-based agricultural production to urban-based economic activities and from manufacturing to financial and other services. Improving municipal finance is central to the achievement of India’s economic growth objectives. While cities offer opportunities, such as jobs, and the possibility of networking and interactions with the poor, they also induce the conditions within which poverty spreads (Sridhar and Reddy, 2014: 54). The municipal finance system in India has limited autonomy for urban local bodies in fixing tax rates, determining the tax exemption policy, accessing capital markets, or restructuring personnel policies (Mathur, 2011: 30). Municipal finances in India remain underdeveloped. Municipal revenue continues to account for a small share of GDP in India and has remained stagnant at around 1 percent of GDP during the period from 2007–2008 to 2017–2018 (ICRIER, 2019: 9).

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In 2017–2018, property tax revenue as a share of GDP in India was 0.15 percent which is far below the level of 1 percent estimated for recurrent taxes on immovable property in OECD countries (OECD Revenue Statistics, 2018). Octroi, a tax on the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale is abolished in all states. While its abolition is a positive step, it has meant depletion of the revenue base of municipalities, with calls being made for its substitution with a revenue source that has the elasticity and buoyancy of octroi. The Constitution of India provides for the establishment of a state finance commission in each state for laying down the tax powers of municipalities and to decide regarding the devolution of funds from the state to the local governments. Article 280(3)(c) requires the Finance Commission to make recommendations on the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a state to supplement the resources of the municipalities on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State. The fiscal space of municipalities in India is limited and dominated by property taxation; other taxes are minor with little revenue significance. In a study on “India Municipal Finance Study, 2013” conducted by Asian Development Bank (ADB), it was observed that the municipal finance system in India has limited autonomy in fixing tax rates, determining the tax exemption policy, accessing capital markets or restructuring personnel policies. Their taxing and spending powers have existed under the provisions of state laws which often deny municipalities the power either to impose a particular tax or to impose a tax on a particular class of taxpayers. The state laws do not provide for the protection of municipal fiscal domain nor do these lay down a policy governing transfers. There exist no performance standards or measures for municipalities, with the result that the finance system at this level is extremely “soft.” India’s 74th Constitutional Amendment Act defined the list of possible expenditure assignments, leaving it to the states to notify devolution from the range of services identified. In the case of revenue sources of urban local governments, the amendment left it entirely to state governments (ICRIER, 2019: 3). Article 243X entrusts to state governments the power to impose taxes, duties, tolls and fees; it allows state governments to assign revenues from specific taxes to urban local governments. Article 243Y leaves to State Finance Commissions (SFCs) the tasks of reviewing and recommending devolution of tax revenues and grants-in-aid to urban local governments. Actual effective devolution under these provisions has been very limited (ICRIER, 2019: 3).

Importance of megacities in India In India, cities could be cities/towns, metro cities or megacities having municipal corporations or municipal councils, municipalities or Nagar Panchayats depending on population, size/level of the city/town and financial strength. As per the Census of India 2011, there are 7,935 cities and towns in the country. The total urban population in the country as per the 2011 census is more than 377 million, constituting 31.16 percent of the total population. The country’s

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urban population reached 420 million or 33 percent of its total population in 2015. However recent research (Sridhar, 2020) finds that if India were to be more relaxed in its definition of what is urban, nearly 69 percent of India would be urban today. In the country, 53 urban agglomerations (UAs)/towns each have a population of one million or above. Known as million-plus UAs/cities, these are the major urban centers in the country. As per the Census of India 2011, 160.7 million persons (or 42.6 percent of the urban population) live in these millionplus UAs/cities. There were only three megacities (having a population of more than 10 million) at the time of the census 2011, but presently there are five megacities in India: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai, whereas Hyderabad and Ahmedabad will be two other megacities by 2030. For India, New Delhi is the capital city (population of 26.5 million people); Mumbai is India’s financial hub (21.4 million people); Kolkata is an important trading hub (15 million people); Bengaluru is the “Silicon Valley” of India (10.5 million people); and Chennai is home of the Indian motor industry (10.2 million people). Megacities in India, i.e. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai, are contributing to the economic growth and development of India. A number of financial institutions, industrial sectors, IT hubs, service sectors, etc. are in the megacities. Megacities are helping in improving the GDP of India. Megacities are major sources of finances in India and continue to disproportionately drive large economic growth, having achieved extremely rapid GDP per capita growth by global standards, with a compound annual growth rate. Employment growth among megacities offers a different region-by-region pattern. According to Oxford Economics’ annual Global Cities report,3 Indian cities take up all the top ten spots with reference to the ten fastest growing cities in the world.4 McKinsey (2010) reports that the largest metropolitan areas such as Bengaluru are estimated to generate the highest in GDP per capita at $12,600 by 2030, while medium-sized Ahmedabad is estimated to generate $8,100. The relative positions of Bengaluru and Ahmedabad make it clear that there is a positive relationship between city size and the income they generate. Kaka and Madagavkar (2016) find that 49 metropolitan clusters of districts will contribute 77 percent of India’s additional GDP from 2012 to 2025. On average, the economies of megacities are still much wealthier than their surrounding areas across all regions. A number of studies on the financial role and economic development of cities including megacities have been conducted by international and national organizations like Brookings Institution, Euromonitor International, etc. as well as by academicians, researchers and government agencies/bodies (Clarke, 2017; Bairoch, 1988; Hall, 1998; Jacobs, 1969; Richard, 2010). It is expected that Mumbai, a financial and commercial capital of India, has an estimated GDP of $310 billion. It contributes more than 6 percent of the nation’s GDP, 10 percent of factory employment, 60 percent of customs duty collection and 30 percent of income tax collections.

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Mumbai has limited creditworthiness, with opaque financial and accounting systems and primitive treasury management (GoI, 2007: 186). Delhi, the Indian capital, has an estimated GDP of $293.6 billion. The service sector contributes more than 75 percent of Delhi’s economy (Haritas, 2017). Retail, information technology, telecommunication, hotels, media, banking, power, construction and real estate are key sectors that contribute to the city’s economy. Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, has an estimated GDP of $150.1 billion. More than 83 percent of the city’s population is employed in the tertiary sector (Haritas, 2017).5 Kolkata is the third richest city in South Asia after Mumbai and Delhi. Bangalore is home to a wide range of heavy and light industries, as well as high-tech and service industries including information technology (IT) and electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food processing, automobiles, banking and finance, mining, steel and cement production. Given the city’s reputation as the country’s garment capital, textiles and local handicrafts are also prevalent in the city’s economy. From 2007 to 2012, Bangalore’s annual real GDP growth rate was 8.1 percent, higher than the rest of the country (6.8 percent). According to the Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2019, the average annual cost to company (CTC) in Bengaluru for talent across the junior level stood at Rs. 5.27 lakh, with Rs. 16.45 lakh for mid-level and Rs. 35.45 lakh for senior level. McKinsey (2010) reported that Bengaluru, with only a 10.1 million population, was projected to be generating the highest per capita GDP by 2030 at $12,600, followed by Delhi at $11,400. Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, has an estimated GDP of $110 billion. Bengaluru contributes more than 35 percent of India’s IT exports. The city also houses some major manufacturing industries like Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Earth Movers Limited, among others (Haritas, 2017). Infosys and Wipro have their headquarters in Bengaluru. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, has an estimated GDP of $78.6 billion. Chennai’s economy is driven by automobile, financial services, healthcare, software services and hardware manufacturing. The city contributes 14 percent of the country’s information and technology services making it the second largest exporter in the IT and BPO sector after Bengaluru. The city is home to 40 percent of India’s automobile industry which earned Chennai the nickname “Detroit of India” (Haritas, 2017).

Government agencies/bodies/organizations for fnance of megacities Government agencies/bodies/organizations directly/indirectly helping in the finances of Bengaluru are: 1. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. 2. Bangalore Development Authority. 3. State Finance Commission of Karnataka.

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Central Finance Commission. Karnataka State Financial Corporation. Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development (MLALAD) Scheme.

Government agencies/bodies/organizations directly/indirectly helping in the finances of Chennai are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Greater Chennai Municipal Corporation. Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. State Finance Commission. Central Finance Commission. Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (TUFIDCO). Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC). Tamil Nadu Transport Development Finance Corporation Limited. Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited. Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund. Chennai Mega City Development Fund. Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund. Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development Scheme. Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme.

Government agencies/bodies/organizations directly/indirectly helping in the finances of Delhi are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

North Delhi Municipal Corporation. East Delhi Municipal Corporation. South Delhi Municipal Corporation. North Delhi Municipal Council. Delhi Development Authority. State Finance Commission of Delhi. Delhi Financial Corporation. Delhi Cooperative Housing Finance Corporation Limited. Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Corporation Limited. Central Finance Commission. Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development Scheme. Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme.

Government agencies/bodies/organizations directly/indirectly helping in the finances of Kolkata are: 1. Kolkata Municipal Corporation. 2. Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.

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3. State Finance Commission of West Bengal. 4. West Bengal Financial Corporation. 5. West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (WBIDFC). 6. West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation. 7. West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. 8. Central Finance Commission. 9. Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development Scheme. 10. Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme. Government agencies/bodies/organizations directly/indirectly dealing with the finances of Mumbai are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. State Finance Commission of Maharashtra. Central Finance Commission. Maharashtra State Financial Corporation. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority. Maharashtra Urban Infrastructure Development Company Limited. Maharashtra Urban Infrastructure Fund Trustee Company Limited. Slum Rehabilitation Authority. Mumbai Port Trust. Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development Scheme. Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Scheme.

Initiatives taken for fnancial management in megacities Some initiatives for financial/fund management, like the Chennai Mega City Development Fund; property tax reforms in Bengaluru; municipal bonds; accrual system of accounting; etc. have been taken in the megacities which are being discussed.

Chennai Mega City Development Fund6 The Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) launched the Chennai Mega City Development Mission (CMCDM), created a fund named the Chennai Mega City Development Fund (CMCDF) and issued guidelines for the operation of the fund, designating Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL) as the nodal agency for operating the same. It is expected that the fund will be used to assist the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) in implementing various urban infrastructure and basic

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services project like roads, stormwater drainage, lighting, water supply and sanitation in Chennai and its suburban areas. The CMCDF is managed by Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited based on the guidelines and procedures prescribed by the Government of Tamil Nadu from time to time. TNUIFSL acts as a fund manager of the CMCDF. The corpus for the CMCDF is provided through budgetary provision every year by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The interest from investment and any other income earned or accruing to the fund forms part of its corpus and is usually applied for the objective for which the fund is created. The allocation under the scheme is fully regulated by the Government of Tamil Nadu which has absolute domain over the funds of the schemes. The funds under CMCDM are provided to GCC and CMWSSB for implementing urban infrastructure projects in the expanded areas of Chennai. The eligible applicants are only GCC and CMWSSB. The government has constituted a Project Sanctioning Committee with the following composition: •• •• •• •• ••

Additional Chief Secretary to Government, MA&WS (Municipal administration and Water supply) Department. Managing Director, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Secretary to Government (Expenditure), Finance Department. Chairperson and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited. Principal Secretary and Commissioner, GCC (Convenor of the Committee).

The nodal agency (TNUISFL) appraises the projects forwarded by GCC and CMWSSB and puts up the proposal to the Project Sanctioning Committee for Administrative Sanction. The provisions of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tender Act 1998 and Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Rules 2000 are applicable for the procurement of works/goods/services. In total, a sum of Rs. 2,600 crores had been released by the state government, of which a sum of Rs. 2,135.67 crores had been disbursed to GCC, CMWSSB and other expenses as of the end of the financial year in 2019.

Property tax reforms in Bengaluru In the first phase of reform of property taxes in Bengaluru, which was initiated in 2000, property tax registers were updated by mapping properties through GIS. This helped in wider coverage and therefore broadening the tax base. The system moved to a unit area method of valuation and an optional self-assessment of property tax scheme (SAS). In April 2000, the then Bruhat Bengaluru

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Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) introduced a self-assessment scheme (SAS) that was effectively a self-declaration scheme based on simple and transparent guidelines for assessment, using a formula that included the location of property, built-up area, type of construction, usage (residential or commercial), occupancy (rebate for own use) and age (for depreciation). The tax rate was 20 percent for residential property and 25 percent for non-residential. Owner-occupied property received a 50 percent rebate.7 The city was divided into six assessment zones based on guidance values from the state’s Registration Department. Tax rates for rented properties were set at lower levels than before and owner-occupied properties were given a concession of 50 percent. A cap of 2.5 times on the existing liability was imposed, helping in wider acceptability of the reform among taxpayers. The results were dramatic. Property tax collection shot up by 33 percent in 2000–2001, revealing that taxpayers were keen to get the middlemen out. There was an increase in the collection rate, an increase in the number of properties on the tax roll, and an increase in tax per property. The second phase of property tax reform was initiated in 2008. A selfassessment scheme was introduced backed by the amendment of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act 1976. Base unit area value was determined on the basis of expected returns from a property instead of expected rents under SAS 2000. The act provided for revision of property tax rates every three years. However, only one revision in property tax rates has taken place since then. As a part of SAS 2008, zoning was revised and several properties were shifted from a lower assessment zone to a higher assessment zone. Online payment of property tax was enabled, and a penalty of 2 percent per month was levied after two months of the due date for payment. Payment of property tax was made mandatory for illegal properties as well. The property tax paid by all taxpayers was put on the Internet, infusing substantial transparency in the system. These measures coupled with the effective use of GIS technology led to an increase in the number of properties covered from 7 lakh in 2007–2008 to 12 lakh in 2010–2011, and 2.6 times increase in property tax revenue over the same period (ICRIER, 2019: 10). As of March 2019, the property tax collection by the BBMP was Rs. 2,510 crores, although it estimated this to be Rs. 3,100 crores. A further area of concern was that a study by Janaagraha found the property tax collection efficiency had declined from 75 percent in 2016–2017 to only 58 percent in 2018–2019.

Municipal bonds In India, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was the first municipal body to issue a municipal bond.8 Later on many cities including Bengaluru and Chennai in 2003 issued municipal bonds. In June 2017, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation planned to sell municipal bonds of Rs. 200 crores for strengthening its electricity distribution network. In August 2017, three municipal bodies in

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Delhi planned to tap the municipal bond which aimed at mobilizing resources to fund infrastructure projects. It has been observed that municipal bonds in Indian cities including megacities have not been able to attract potential investors due to the opacity in finances and operational outcomes. Megacities can raise money in the form of debentures that are traded across stock exchanges and use the money to invest in projects on water supply, stormwater drains, roads and other public infrastructure.

Accrual system of accounting All megacities in India have adopted the double-entry accrual system of accounting which helps in financial management. The benefits of double-entry accrual system of accounting in megacities are (ICAI, 2010: 13): 1. It helps in the assessment of financial performance by correctly ref lecting surplus/deficit as all expenses whether paid or not and all incomes whether received or not are duly accounted for. 2. It gives information on whether income streams are adequate to meet shortand long-term liabilities so that their early payment, keeping in view their payment period (short term and long term) and nature (cheap or costly loan), can be better managed. 3. It provides comprehensive information on expenses that helps in knowing the cost consequences of policies and enables comparison with alternative policies. 4. Also, information about the calculation of subsidy can be extracted from the accounts, which helps in its rationalization. This ensures the adoption of best policy, which in turn assures optimal use of scarce resources. It also helps in ascertaining the future sustainability of programs. 5. The liquidity position of the government can be better assessed. 6. It gives comprehensive information on the financial position, i.e. assets and liabilities, of the government. In this system of accounting the financial decisions are not seen merely from the point of view of cash outgo or inf low but also from their impact on the asset-liability position of the government, future funding requirements of assets enabling planning of their timely maintenance and replacement. 7. It makes disclosures on account of contingent assets and contingent liabilities so that risk associated with the guarantees issued and letters of comfort given can be better assessed by the user of the financial statements. 8. It bridges the gap leftover in cash accounting by the inclusion of accrued expenses and revenues (receivables and payables), physical assets, capital work-in-progress and depreciation, pension liabilities and provisions, etc. in the accounting system. 9. It discloses the accounting policies used in the preparation of financial statements for better understanding and appreciation of the same.

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Emerging issues and challenges for megacities Unlike in the center and the states, no distinction is made between revenue expenditure and capital expenditure at the urban local government level, perhaps because of an accounting convention or because their capital expenditure tends to be very small. This is a very serious problem considering the huge urban infrastructure deficit in Indian cities. Two important studies – by the High-Powered Expert Committee (led by Isher Ahluwalia, 2011) and McKinsey (2010) – highlighted how Indian municipalities have been under-spending on basic services like transport, water supply, sewerage, drainage, etc. for decades, striking at the very root of the country’s potential for economic growth and prosperity. Since the total municipal revenue for the country as a whole was estimated at about Rs. 1 lakh crores, and the bulk of this goes toward staff salaries, pensions and operational expenses, the urban local governments are in no position to meet the huge capital expenditure requirements (ICRIER, 2019: 5).

Financial crunch of municipal bodies in megacities The municipal bodies in megacities are facing a financial crunch due to less revenue and more expenditure particularly on salaries and other related expenditures. In all municipal bodies in megacities including Delhi (all three corporations of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Council), around 90 percent of the non-planned allocation is for payment of salaries (Henam, 2017; The Hindu, 2016). Despite this, the employees had not been paid their salaries and the question as to where all the money has gone despite an increase in funds (Henam, 2017) begs an answer. In 2012–2013, the Delhi Municipal Corporation was trifurcated into three corporations – the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, out of which the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC Corporation) have gone from bad to worse financially, affecting the development and maintenance of regular services and social works to be carried out by the corporation and leading to delays in the release of salaries, pensions and other payments including medical reimbursements, arrears, etc. to its employees. As of March 2019, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report found that there were outstanding loans of more than Rs. 3,000 crores against the three municipal bodies of the national capital, as per a news item in The Hindu. The New Delhi Municipal Council was not far behind with a debt of more than Rs. 1,500 crores over the period 2012–2018, as per The Hindu. This is the case with other municipal corporations in megacities also, except Mumbai. The cash-starved Greater Chennai Corporation’s major pending road infrastructure projects in 2019 due to land acquisition, legal hurdles and fund crunches led to traffic snarls and several other problems in the city. The city corporation faced a huge financial crisis in January 2019 and the corporation mainly focused

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on local body polls and the northeast monsoon. To tap funds from the center and state and avail of loans from foreign and national banks, the corporation worked overtime.9 While the income generation for the corporation has not been explored for the past ten years, the expenditure for the corporation had scaled up by several folds. The civic body of Chennai was paying interest for more than eight major loans obtained from different agencies, including the World Bank, the Germanbased Kreditanstalt fur Wiederauf bau (KFW) Bank, Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and loans from Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund to execute megacity projects.10 The same is the case in all megacities of Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru except Mumbai.

Issues raised by Central Finance Commission One of the conditions of the 13th Central Finance Commission for municipalities to avail of the performance grant was that they should maintain accounts based on the accounting framework and codification pattern consistent with the National Municipal Accounts Manual (NMAM). Proper accounts are the starting point for financial accountability. Non-maintenance or delayed compilation of annual accounts means compromised accountability. It also implies that reliable financial data for determining the need for resources for local bodies is not available (GoI, 2009). The books of accounts prepared by the local bodies should distinctly capture income on account of their own taxes and non-taxes, assigned taxes, devolution and grants from the state, grants from the Finance Commission and grants for any agency functions assigned by the union and state governments. In addition to the above, the 14th Finance Commission also recommended that the technical guidance and support arrangements by the Comptroller and Auditor General should be continued and the states should take action to facilitate local bodies to compile accounts and have them audited in time (14 GoI, 2014: 110).

Irregular establishment and late submission of reports by State Finance Commission The State Finance Commission is not being established regularly in most of the states in India. Further, there is a delay in the submission of the final report by the respective State Finance Commissions. It has been observed that the megacities, irrespective of their state, are facing financial problems due to the late submission of reports by the State Finance Commission. Table 5.1 shows the submission of final reports and establishment of new State Finance Commissions in the five megacities. According to the 4th Finance Commission Report of Delhi, for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the internal revenue as a percentage of revenue expenditure increased from 64 percent in 2004–2005 to 82 percent in 2010–2011,

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TABLE 5.1 Status of submission of report and establishment of new State Finance

Commission Name of mega city

Name of the state Earlier State Finance where mega city is Commission submitted report located

Latest State Finance Commission established

Bengaluru

Karnataka

Not Available

Chennai

Tamil Nadu

Delhi

Delhi

Kolkata

West Bengal

Mumbai

Maharashtra

Fourth SFC of Karnataka submitted Report in May, 2018 Fifth SFC of Tamil Nadu submitted its Report in December, 2016 for the period 2017-2022 Fifth SFC of Delhi submitted its report in October, 2017 for the period 2016-2021 Fourth SFC of West Bengal submitted Report in February, 2016 Fourth

Sixth SFC established in March, 2020

Not Available

Not Available

Fifth (established in March, 2018 which was expected to submit final Report in April, 2020)

Source: Websites and Reports of State Finance Commission of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

while the receipts from external sources as a percentage of revenue expenditure decreased from 36 percent to 20 percent. Although this shows an increase in the internal resource mobilization, a lot is required to be done to mobilize the internal resources further to meet the expenditure for providing a better quality of civic services to the citizens of Delhi (NCTD, 2013: 121). More recently, International Credit Rating Agency (ICRA’s) (2018) rating of the East Delhi Corporation showed that its high establishment expenditure and the payment of salary arrears to employees would result in a revenue deficit position for the Urban Local Body (ULB), even though it was expected to receive continued support from the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, showing its dependence.

Abolition of octroi Octroi was one of the major sources of revenue in Mumbai up to September 2017. About Rs. 7,000 crores was collected through octroi in Mumbai for

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2016–2017, though other cities like Bengaluru had abolished it as early as 1979. It was a major source of revenue; no state government has compensated it for the municipal bodies, only minor grants have been given. Octroi used to be liquid cash that helped the municipal bodies to maintain buoyancy. Though the compensation for Mumbai, a megacity, is for five years from the base year, there will be difficulty in maintaining the buoyancy in the future as the octroi has been abolished.

Entries and contra-entries, duplication of entries Several entries and contra-entries are made in various parts of the budget and accounts of municipal bodies of cities including megacities, which complicates the whole process. The revenue surplus is transferred into the capital accounts and this process is shown as revenue expenditure. This same amount is then withdrawn from the capital accounts to finance capital expenditure and is shown as capital income. All these entries result in duplication of entries, resultantly leading to an apparent increase in the budget size (BMMP, 2017–2018: 3).

Overestimating capital expenditure Another issue that has been observed in the past is that departments in ULBs tend to grossly overestimate the capital expenditures (Rao, 2019: 14). This results in large withdrawals from the capital accounts on the capital income side. However, the capacity of the departments to spend these amounts is limited and as a consequence, the capital expenditure is far less than expected (Rao, 2019: 14). This results in inf lating the budget and poor budgetary discipline; it also paints an incorrect picture of the projected capital works.

Whether principles for the budget are being followed Issues and questions emerge whether the budget document for megacities is rationalized, transparent and citizen-friendly in the context of the principle of conservatism, the principle of avoidance of duplication, the principle of transparency, the principle of accountability and the principle of integration with the development plan.

Budget is not prepared in accordance with development plan Generally, there are issues and problems in the reported revenue income, revenue expenditure, capital receipts and capital expenditure of ULBs. The budget is not prepared with the development plan in mind as both are two principal planning tools of municipal bodies. Usually, the two are divorced in practice. While the development plan is finalized, no attention is paid to the financials of the corporation.

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Only taxes are major revenue sources It has been observed that in the case of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the tax collection is around two-thirds of the total internal revenue, indicating that it is totally dependent on taxes and is not mobilizing revenue from other sources like user charges, rentals, etc., for increasing the internal revenue (NCTD, 2013: 121). In the case of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, the 2018 ICRA rating indicated that its coverage with the property tax net was low. Further, it was observed that, in the case of the EDMC, the establishment and administrative expenses are quite high, which undermines its ability to provide effective civic services. This shows that the country’s urban local bodies should look into their systems and highlight the ways by which this expense may be reduced.

Variances in revenue and expenditure ICRA’s 2018 rating pointed out that the ratio of establishment expenditure to revenue income of the NDMC Corporation was at 101 percent, leading to limited availability of funds to cover important functions like operations and maintenance of civic infrastructure. As a result, we do not find good services in the MCD area with respect to basic services, as Sridhar and Kashyap (2014) found. A cursory analysis of finances of the country’s urban local bodies for the purpose of comparing the budgeted figures with actual figures suggests that there are huge variances under certain heads like rent, fees and fines, salary, user charges, etc. Also, there are differences in both revenue and expenditure heads. Huge variances are also observed in the balance sheet items such as payables to contractors and so on.

Irregular and insuffcient collection of property tax Mapping of properties under a geographic information system (GIS) is in progress in most cities which is not yet complete. As a result, it is difficult to assess/ comment as to how many properties are left which have not yet come under the property tax net. There is a huge scope for mobilizing the internal resources especially on account of property tax, as indicated in the example of Bengaluru, where property tax collection efficiency was declining, as discussed earlier. This suggests that if the country’s urban local bodies are able to mobilize property tax from all the properties, they will have huge internal revenues which will enable them to discharge their functions more efficiently. In the Indian context, the potential of property tax is far from realized. State and local governments have neglected property tax as a source of revenue because of their inability to fix the administrative challenges of coverage, assessment, valuation and the political difficulty of enforcement.

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Fewer functions due to paucity of funds As per the 12th schedule of the Constitution of India, the municipalities are entrusted with 18 functions. However, in the case of most urban local bodies, only some of these functions are performed and the rest of the functions are performed by other authorities such as the urban development authorities and state governments. This shows that either the urban local body is not competent to do the assigned functions or is not in a position to do because of the paucity of funds. Both situations are not desirable for any municipality. This is the case with most megacities in India. The unit cost and total cost of services provided by the municipalities are not ascertainable since the breakup of many expenses such as salaries, depreciation, interest and other relevant costs are not ascertained on a due basis and hence not apportionable. Therefore, neither the matching of the expenditure to realistic revenue projection is possible nor it can be linked to the fixation of tariffs of a particular service.

Impact of GST on revenue The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017 has made an indelible imprint on the revenue scenario in India’s federal tax regime. Municipal finances have been the worst hit by this structural reform. Earlier, the center, states and local bodies could exercise independent power of taxation of consumption to raise their own sources of revenue under the relevant laws. These independent powers were supplemented by the devolution of funds by the higher levels of government to the third tier for correcting the vertical and horizontal imbalance in mobilizing finance for their constitutional obligations. The exercise of independent powers to tax consumption by every level of government in an uncoordinated manner resulted in efficiency loss, including adverse implications for inter-state trade and commerce and economic growth (ICRIER, 2019: 3). However, in order to maintain fiscal “balance” across the three levels of government, the combined revenues from GST ought to have been shared among all the three levels of government. Instead, the sharing has been half and half between the center and states and in the process, the independent power of local governments to raise their own sources of revenue has been appropriated by the center and states. GST has subsumed local taxes including accounts-based octroi in the form of local body tax, entry tax and advertisement tax (ICRIER, 2019: 4).

Improper analysis for receivables and payables Careful context-specific—and often path-dependent—analysis of what taxes can and should be levied at the subnational level is required for each country (Bird, 2011). No proper analysis is done by the ULBs for receivables either age-wise, party-wise, etc. with respect to property tax, assigned revenue, fees and user

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charges, rentals, etc. As a result, it is difficult to know the chances of recoverability of the outstanding dues. This analysis is essential in order to prepare and plan the fund f low to ascertain the availability of funds for future planning of the municipality for various municipal functions. Similarly, no proper analysis is done for payables also, either age-wise, party-wise, etc. with respect to accounts payable on account of retirement benefits, payable to contractors and reasons for non-payment, etc. As a result, it is difficult to know whether the outstanding dues are still payable or not.

Major part of revenue spent on salaries EDMC’s rating by ICRA in 2018 indicated that 85 percent of its revenue expenditure was on salaries and retirement benefits of employees. It means that only a minor part, i.e. 15 percent of revenue expenditure was spent on the maintenance of public parks and gardens, which is an emerging and big issue before the municipal bodies. The condition of most of the parks and gardens in Delhi is pathetic (heaps of garbage, uncleanliness, poor conditions of plants and gardens, etc.) and the question arises whether this is due to less budget for maintenance or lesser staff or both.

Outstanding balances For the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC Council), it was observed that there are huge outstanding balances with some of the organizations on account of outstanding property tax, share in profit, rent, etc. These include hotels, shopping complexes and government departments, etc. It gives a distorted picture of the financial statements of NDMC Council by blocking huge funds with these organizations. Similar is the case with most of the municipal bodies in the megacities in India.

Suggestions for improved municipal fnance of megacities India Municipal Finance Study (IMFS) (ADB, 2013) suggests that appropriate legislation on Fiscal Responsibility for Municipalities be brought in to gradually bring them into a system that requires them to adhere to minimum performance standards. Such an act should, as per the IMFS, provide for the following: ••

•• ••

Preparation of a Medium-Term Fiscal Plan, which would set forth a fiveyear rolling target for the municipal-level fiscal indicators, along with a clear target of the physical and financial targets and adherence to performance codes/standards. Creation of an expenditure stream only against a matching revenue stream, and managing expenditure consistent with the level of revenue generated. Fixation of ceiling on expenditure on administration.

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••

Ensure proper procedure for preparation, submission and audit of accounts, and proper scrutiny and adherence to the audit reports. No credit operations without the authorization of municipal councils. Publication of an annual report on the impact of tax exemptions and price subsidies in the municipal budget. Laying down measures to enforce compliance to the provisions of the act.

•• •• ••

The potential of property tax needs to be fully leveraged by broadening the tax base through extending coverage, revising rates from the very low current rates to get closer to international norms in other developing countries, improving the assessments system as in Bengaluru, more frequent property revaluations to ref lect the impact of rising prices including through methods such as indexing to inf lation and improving the efficiency in municipal tax administration which is generally very poor across most Indian cities. The use of technologies such as satellite photography and geo-coding of data can help improve coverage and facilitate better administration of property tax (ICRIER, 2019: 10). States need to ensure property tax reforms including objective determination of the base and its regular revision to adjust for inf lation, the strengthening of mechanisms for assessment, levy and collection and improving billing and collection efficiency. All the state governments should empower the panchayats and municipalities to levy property tax on a plinth area basis (14th Central Finance Commission [CFC]: 116). The assessment of properties may be done every four or five years and the urban local bodies should introduce the system of selfassessment (14th CFC: 117). The High-Powered Expert Committee also recommended several ways to create missing accountability mechanism in the following ways (Ahluwalia, 2011): •• •• •• •• •• ••

Urban utility regulator, beginning with water and sewerage. Local body ombudsman for dispute resolution. Local fund audit commission for independent and professional audit. Implementation of public disclosure law. Preparing citizen report cards and social audits. Preparing market worthiness disclosure statements by municipal bodies.

Concluding remarks Cities will continue to be the dominant type of human settlement for the foreseeable future (UN, 2014b). There is estimation that “over the period 2019 to 2035, the world’s economy will grow by an average of 2.6% a year (as measured by GDP in constant prices and exchange rates), resulting in a cumulative global increase of 54%. But the world’s 780 major cities will grow more rapidly: by 2.8% a year, or 60% over the whole period. This means cities will lead the growth of the global economy (Oxford Economics, 2018)”. The challenge

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of financing urbanization will have to be addressed through a combination of increased investment, strengthening the framework for governance and finance and a comprehensive capacity-building program at all levels of government (GoI, 2019: 2). The 12th Five-Year Plan Document of the Government of India recommended putting in place a fiscal responsibility framework for municipal bodies through appropriate legislation. Megacities in India are characterized by intricate situations of public service delivery and the need for expansion of the urban network. Municipal tax revenue forms a major yet declining share of own revenue in megacities. It includes property tax, profession tax, entertainment tax and the recently abolished octroi/ entry tax and advertisement tax, among others, with the taxes levied varying across states. However, in most states, local taxes other than property tax have been taken over by the states over the years. Hence the first steps toward resolution of the financial problems of the megacities have to come from greater autonomy to them, which should make them more responsible and accountable, such that the problems pointed to in this chapter are fixed.

Notes 1 World Bank. 2009. “Preface.” Urbanization and Growth: Commission on Growth and Development. Washington, DC, World Bank, p. 19. 2 Isher Judge Ahluwalia. “Bangalore Gets Its Right on Property Taxes.” Financial Express. June 29, 2011. 3 http://resources.oxfordeconomics.com/global-cities-2035; check https://www.oxf ordeconomics.com/global-city-reports. 4 https://www.karnataka.com/bangalore/bangalore-economic-growth-gdp-globalcities-report/. 5 Bhargu Haritas. “Richest Cities of India.” Business World. June 28, 2017. http://www .businessworld.in/article/Richest-Cities-Of-India/28-06-2017-121011/. 6 Based on the information available at the website http://www.tnuifsl.com/cmcdf .asp. 7 Isher Judge Ahluwalia. “Bangalore Gets Its Right on Property Taxes.” Financial Express. June 29, 2011. 8 Municipal bonds are debt instruments issued by municipalities or other state agencies which use the money for infrastructure development, water supply systems, sewer systems and other projects for the public good. 9 Deccan Chronicle, July 10, 2016. 10 Deccan Chronicle, July 10, 2016.

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Brihan Mumbai Maha Nagarpalika (BMMP). 2017–18. Statement of Ajoy Mehtra, Municipal Commissioner. Budget Estimates. Byculla, Mumbai: Municipal Printing Press. https://portal.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department% 20List/Chief %20Accountant %20(Finance)/Budget/Budget%20Estimate%20201 7-2018/1.%20MC’s%20Speech/Budget%20A%2cB%2cG/ENGLISH%20SPEECH .pdf. Clarke, William M. 2017. Inside the City: A Guide to London’s Global Financial Centre. London: Routledge. Developing a Regulatory Framework for Municipal Borrowing. October 2011. World Bank. Dey, Ishita, Samaddar, Ranabir and Sen, Suhit K. 2016. Beyond Kolkata: Rajarhat and the Dystopia of Urban Imagination. Delhi, Oxon, UK: Routledge. Fragkias, Michail. 2016. Urbanization, Economic Growth and Sustainability in Karen C. Seto. In: William D. Solecki and Corrie A. Griffith (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Urbanization and Global Environmental Challenge. London: Routledge, pp. 9–26. Freire, Mila. 2001. Introduction to The Challenge of Urban Government: Policies and Practices, Mila Freire and Richard Stren, eds. Washington, DC: The World Bank Institute Government of India. 2007. Report of the High-Powered Expert Committee on Maing Mumbai an International Financial Centre. New Delhi: Ministry of Finance. Government of India. 2009. Thirteenth Finance Commission: 2010–2015. December. https://fincomindia.nic.in/writereaddata/html _en_f iles/oldcommission_html/f incom13/tfc/13fcreng.pdf. Government of India. 2014. Fourteenth Finance Commission 2015–2020. https://fi ncomindia.nic.in/writereaddata/html_en_f iles/oldcommission_html/f incom14/ot hers/14thFCReport.pdf. Government of India. 2019. Annual Report 2018–19. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Delhi. Hall, P. 1998. Cities in Civilization. New York: Pantheon Books. Henam, Sonia. 2017. As Garbage Crisis in Delhi Worsens, Lack of Funds for Civic Bodies Gets Focus. Down to Earth. 15 January. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste /as-garbage-piles-up-in-delhi-lack-of-funds-for-civic-bodies-gets-focus-56793. Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. 2011. High Power Expert Committee (HPEC) for Estimating the Investment Requirements for Urban Infrastructure Services. https://icrier.org/pdf/FinalReport-hpec.pdf. Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. 2019. State of Municipal Finances in India: A Study Prepared for the Fifteenth Finance Commission. March. Delhi. https://fincomindia.nic.in/writereaddata/html_en_files/fincom15/S tudyReports/State%20of%20Municipal%20Finances%20in%20India.pdf. India – India Municipal Finance Study – ADB TA 7334. February 2013. Prepared by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy – New Delhi. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). 2010. Accounting Reforms in India: A Bird’s Eye View (With Special Reference to Government Accounting). Committee on Public Finance & Government Accounting. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. July. http://cpfga.icai.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Accounting-Refor ms-in-India.pdf. Jacobs, J. 1969. The Economy of Cities. New York: Vintage. Joo, Yu-Min. 2018. Megacity Seoul: Urbanization and the Development of Modern South Korea. London: Routledge. Kaka, N. and Madgavkar, A. 2016. India’s Ascent: Five Opportunities for Growth and Transformation. Bengaluru: McKinsey Global Institute.

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Kraas, F. and Mertins, G. 2014. Megacities and Global Changes. In: F. Kraas, S. Aggarwal, M. Coy and G. Mertins (eds.), Megacities: Our Global Urban Future. Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 1–5. Kundu, Amitabh. 1983. Theories of City Size Distribution and Indian Urban Structure: A Reappraisal. Economic and Political Weekly. 18(31, July 30): 1361–1368. Li, Deren, Ma, Jun, Cheng, Tao, van Genderen, J.L. and Shao, Zhenfeng 2019. Challenges and Opportunities for the Development of Megacities. International Journal of Digital Earth. 12(12): 1382–1395. Mathur, O.P. August 2011. Municipal Finance Matters: India Municipal Finance Report (IMFR) ADB TA 7334 IND. New Delhi: National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. McKinsey Global Institute. 2010. India’s Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities, Sustaining Economic Growth, April. National Capital Territory of Delhi. 2013. Report of Fourth Delhi Finance Commission. Nayka, Shivakumar and Sridhar, Kala. 2019. Urban Commuters in Indian States and Cities: Modes of Transport and Distances. Urbanisation. 3(2): 1–39. Niemczynowicz, Janusz. 1996. Megacities from a Water Perspective. Water International. 21(4): 198–205. Nowlan, David. 1994. Local Taxation as an Instrument of Policy. In Frances Frisken (ed.), The Changing Canadian Metropolis: A Public Policy Perspective, vol. 2, Berkeley, CA: Institute of Governmental Studies Press, University of California. OECD (2018), Revenue Statistics 2018, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787 /rev_stats-2018-en. Oxford Economics. 2018. Global Cities: The Future of the World’s Leading Urban Economies to, 2035. https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/global-city-reports. Rao, M. Govinda. 2019. Metropolitan Finances in India: The Case of Mumbai City Corporation. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and Pacific (UN-ESCAP). https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/WP_19_3_ Mumbai%20City%20Corporation%20case%20study.pdf. Richard, Florida. 2010. Who Is Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. London: Hachette. Ruet, Joel, Rewal, Lama and Tawa, Stephanie. 2012. Governing India’s Metropolises: Case Studies of Four Cities. New Delhi: Routledge. Saglio-Yatzimirsky, Marie-Caroline. 2016. Dharavi: From Mega-Slum to Urban Paradigm. New Delhi: Routledge. Seto, Karen C., Solecki , William D., Griffith, Corrie A.. 2015. The Routledge Handbook of Urbanization and Global Environmental Change. London: Routledge. Silver, Christopher. 2007. Planning the Megacity: Jakarta in the Twentieth Century. London: Routledge. Sorensen, Andre and Okata, Junichiro. 2011. Introduction: Megacities, Urban Form, and Sustainability. In: Andre Sorensen and Junichiro Okata (eds.), Megacities, Urban Form and Sustainability. Tokyo: Springer. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam. 2020. Is India’s Urbanization Really Too Low? Area Development and Policy, 5(1): 32–49. DOI: 10.1080/23792949.2019.1590153 Sridhar, Kala. 2017. Economic Change and Specialization in India’s Cities. Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies. 29(1): 63–87. Sridhar, Kala. 2014. The Efficiency of India’s Cities: Is There a Case to Finance Them? International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics. 3(1): 51–65, January–March. Sridhar, Kala and Reddy, A. 2014. Contribution of the Urban Poor: Evidence from Chennai, India. Venugopala. Asia-Pacific Development Journal. 21(2): 53–76.

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6 SUBURBANIZATION AND SPATIAL INEQUALITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF URBAN SERVICES IN INDIAN CITIES Kala S. Sridhar1, S. Manasi and N. Latha

Introduction The suburbanization of India’s cities has drawn the attention of the literature. Bengaluru has been suburbanizing, as has been documented by Sridhar (2007). Given this, and the dearth of studies that examine intra-metropolitan spatial variations in access to urban services, especially in the context of Indian cities, this chapter assesses the spatial inequality in water supply, sanitation, health and education in Bengaluru, when compared with the benchmarks stipulated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUA), Government of India, based on an extensive primary survey of 1,500 households covering the metropolitan area conducted in 2016–2017. We examine whether the metropolitan area’s urban sprawl has led to poor public services in the periphery as compared to that in the central city. According to the Census 2011, India has a 31 percent urban population, which is quite small compared to international standards and of similar size but contributes nearly two-thirds of its GDP. But recent research (Sridhar, 2020) finds that if India were to be more liberal in its definition of urban areas, more than half of India would be urban today. Hence cities play an important role in the economic development of a country and are referred to as engines of growth. Recognizing the importance of cities, the Government of India announced a Smart Cities Program in 2014 which was formally launched in 2015. In the concept note released by the Ministry of Urban Development in December 2014, the objectives of the Smart Cities Scheme were declared as follows: The key features of a Smart City is in the intersect between competitiveness, capital and sustainability. The smart cities should be able to provide good infrastructure such as water, sanitation, reliable utility services, DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-6

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health care; attract investments; transparent processes that make it easy to run commercial activities; simple and on line processes for obtaining approvals, and various citizen centric services to make citizens feel safe and happy (Ministry of Urban Development, 2014)2 The selected cities will have to strive towards attaining specified benchmarks in a range of services mentioned. After missing out on the first round, Bengaluru was designated as a Smart City by the MoUD,3 under the Smart City mission in 2017, as part of which Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) envisaged to spend Rs. 1,700 crores to improve infrastructure. The concept note talks about infrastructure development under the physical, social and economic categories. While physical infrastructure mentioned is tangible and can be measured, most of what is mentioned as social or economic infrastructure in the concept note is difficult to measure. Hence there is a need to assess the actual availability of public services and compare them with the desirability of basic services such as water supply, sanitation, primary education and health to understand the financing implications for cities. With this backdrop, a research study, funded by the ICSSR and Azim Premji University, was carried out to analyze the state of provision of public services, viz. education, health, water supply and sanitation and the quality of these services’ delivery in Bengaluru.

Objectives While Sridhar (2007) documented the evolution of Bengaluru until 2001, this chapter attempts to answer the question as to how the spatial evolution of Bengaluru has changed since 2001 and what difference this has made to the spatial distribution of public services. There has been a lot of debate regarding the sprawling nature of Indian cities. Sridhar (2007) found that Bengaluru had suburbanized during 1991–2001. Holian and Sridhar (2017) reported that all Indian cities had somewhat centralized during 1991–2001, as was seen in the higher value of the calculated density gradient value for 2001 (0.62) when compared with that for 1991 (0.55). In addition to understanding how the spatial evolution of Bengaluru has changed since 2001, the objective of this chapter is also to analyze the current level of public services in Bengaluru, in the context of increasing urban sprawl, when compared with the benchmarks stipulated by the Ministry of Urban Development with specific reference to health, education (primary), water and sanitation in urban Bengaluru, given basic information about urban services is itself scarce in the context of India’s cities. This chapter is organized as follows. First, we summarize the existing studies on the subject, following which we explain the methodology of the study consisting of the estimation of the density gradient for Bengaluru. Then the

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findings are described for the suburbanization of the metropolitan area, followed by that for the state of basic services – health, education, water supply, sanitation and solid waste management, which were covered by our primary surveys. While summarizing, we present the spatial disparities in the availability and access to these basic services across the central and peripheral areas of the city before concluding.

Existing studies Various city surveys are periodically conducted in both developing and developed countries. For water supply, the service level benchmarks specified by the Government of India’s Ministry of Urban Development, which stipulate a consumption of 135 liters per capita daily as the minimum for Bengaluru, while Paul et al. (2012) report consumption of 124 LPCD of water supply for the period 2007–2010. Sridhar et al. (2015) found an average consumption of only 83 LPCD, based on one ward for the general households, the consumption being even lower (about 59 LPCD) in the case of slum households of that ward. This is a cause of concern if they are representative; these data essentially mean that water supply has been declining over time, since 2009–2010. While the smart cities concept note stipulates that 100 percent of households have to be covered by sewerage connections, only 52 percent of households in Bengaluru had sewerage connections during 2008–2010, as per Paul et al. (2012). A study by Rao and Tewari (1979) was the first of its kind primarily to gain insights into Bengaluru’s socioeconomic and ecological structure, living conditions, and the city’s dynamics with reference to migration, mobility, daily travel and the pattern of city growth. The study found that there was an imbalance between population growth and increase in the city area. Though the city maintained low gross density over the decade of its study, the study by Rao and Tewari found that it could not escape from the twin problems of housing shortage and substandard living amenities. A series of Citizen Report Cards (CRCs) were published by the Public Affairs Center (PAC) to track the status of public service delivery and invoke citizen groups for debates and discussion to improve the governance of the city. These CRCs were carried out starting from Bengaluru followed by Hubli-Dharwad, and other metropolitan cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. All these exercises of CRCs (Bengaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad) were used as tools of aid in response to the demand-side governance for the betterment of services. Paul et al. (2012) found that even while Bengaluru dominated the number of investment proposals and credit disbursed in the state, smaller cities in Karnataka fared better than Bengaluru on several counts – number of bank branches per lakh population, property tax collection efficiency, the proportion of the population with water supply connections, door-to-door collection of garbage and public toilets per slum. During 2001–2011, census data show that the percentage of

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Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

Bengaluru urban (the district)’s households with access to a latrine facility increased from 91 percent to 97 percent. Surprisingly, however, Paul et al. (2012) found that Bengaluru City had more public parks (516) than public toilets (421) (based on data during 2006–2009). Public sanitation was found to be a clearly low priority. We find studies conspicuously lacking in terms of understanding the intraurban distribution of basic services as urban sprawl happens. This study is a modest attempt to do this.

Methodology and data sources In this chapter, following the spirit of Sridhar (2007), we estimate the density gradient for Bengaluru, using Census 2011 data at the ward level. This is superior to the alternative of “calculating” rather than estimating the density gradient as the calculation of density gradient does not give a confidence interval to the value nor a significance level. It should be clear that when we regress population density as being dependent on distance from the city center, the coefficient in such a regression is the density gradient, as shown in equation 1. The negative exponential equation of the standard urban model is written as: D ( r ) = D0e -br

(1)

where D (r) is the relevant density r miles (kilometers) from the center, e is the base of the natural logarithm and b (the gradient) and D0 are constants estimated from the data if the data are available at such a disaggregated level (usually census-tract or ward level). As should be clear, estimation of gradients is a very data-intensive process requiring population, household or employment density and land area (some suggest the use of residential or other relevant land area) data at a very disaggregated level (usually census tract, block or ward). Equation 1 is estimated in log form, as taking the natural log of equation 1 will make it linear as in equation 2. Ln D ( r ) = ln D0 - br

(2)

As per this equation which represents the standard urban model, the f latter it is (or the lower the absolute value of coefficient “b”), the more suburbanized a city is; the higher value of the density gradient, b, the more centralized or compact the city is. Given the data needs indicated by equation 1, first, a dataset (consisting of population, area, density, and distance from each of the wards to the city center) was put together for answering the question regarding the spatial evolution of Bengaluru in 2011. It was confirmed that the areas of the wards in 2011 are those from the revenue department of the BBMP. In order to assess the state of urban services in Bengaluru, given the lack of secondary data on intra-urban service delivery, we resorted to primary surveys

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of 1,500 households. We adopted the Delphi technique which involved detailed discussions with the subject experts and on the basis of various criteria including socioeconomic characteristics (income levels, existence of slums and demographics of the ward population), access to public services (existence of important roads, higher educational institutions, public transport nodes), location (central or peripheral), land use (commercial, industrial or residential) and size (in terms of population and density), cluster sampling was used for selection of broad areas for household surveys. A controlled selection of city wards (which are all well defined) was made such that they were geographically dispersed in the different parts of the city which consists of 198 wards in eight zones. Twenty-seven wards were selected from each of which 56 households were sampled for purposes of the study. In each selected area, linear systematic sampling was used for the selection of households, with a sampling interval of k (which was predetermined). This k was taken as the integer nearest to N/n, where N was the frame size and n was the intended sample size. Thus k was the systematic sampling interval. The first household was selected at random from the first k units. If we were to denote this selected unit by r, the systematic sample consisted of unit r and every kth unit thereafter. This also ensured even distribution of the sample units in the selected city area, enhancing the representative nature of the sample. The forthcoming sections describe our findings with respect to private and public healthcare, education (both government and private schools), access to water supply, private sanitation (individual toilet access) and solid waste management across the central and peripheral parts of the city before we describe the urban sprawl, based on the density gradient approach.

The suburbanization of Bengaluru Regressions were done of the dependence of population density on distance from the city center, consistent with the standard urban model, to determine the city’s spatial pattern of distribution of population. The estimations were done assuming three different centers – ward 110 (Sampangirama Nagar, containing the Vidhana Soudha), ward 95 (Subashnagar, containing Majestic) and ward 135 (Padarayanapura, the ward with the highest population density in 2011) (Table 6.1). All three regressions are summarized in Table 6.1, which confirms that the population density in the city gradually declines from the city center toward the edge, irrespective of which is taken as the city center. The gradient (coefficient in the regressions reported) is the smallest in absolute value with model 3, when Vidhana Soudha (the state’s secretariat) is considered as the city center, hence the city may be considered to be the most suburbanized (f lat) with the state secretariat as the city center. The gradient is the highest in absolute value when Majestic is considered as the city center, hence the city may be deemed to be the most centralized or compact with this as the city center.

104 Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha TABLE 6.1 Regression of (natural logarithm of ) population density on (log of ) distance

from city center, assuming various city centres, Bengaluru, 2011 Natural log of distance from city center (Majestic [ward 95]) Model 1 –0.23 (–4.39)*** Model 2 NA Model 3 NA

Natural log of distance from city center (ward with maximum density [ward 135])

Natural log of distance from city center (ward containing Vidhana Soudha [ward 110])

R2

NA –0.29 (–5.96)*** NA

NA NA –0.08 (–4.93)***

0.09 53.57 0.15 54.70 0.11 24.26

Model F value

Source: BBMP, Census 2011, authors’ computations and analyses. Number of observations = 197 for all regressions. *** Statistically significant at the 1 percent level. Notes: a. The dependent variable is the (natural) log of population density for all regressions. b. Intercepts not reported for any regression.

The absolute value of the gradient estimated in Sridhar (2007) for Bengaluru for 2001, with the ward containing the state’s secretariat as the city center, was 0.10 and 0.05 respectively for 1991 and 2001. The absolute value of gradient for the same city center for 2011 is 0.08 (model 3, Table 6.1), indicating suburbanization of Bengaluru since 1991, but centralization since 2001, which is due to the merging of the surrounding local bodies, and creation of the BBMP in 2007. Nonetheless, the estimated density gradients are all negative, testifying to the declining density as one moves away from the city center, however it is measured. Sridhar (2007) reported that the density of the highest peak in 1991 (Sadashivanagar ward) declined from 124,034 persons per square kilometer by 44 percent to only 69,172 per square kilometer in 2001 (Kempapura Agrahara ward). We find that the population density of the densest ward increased in 2011 to 124,478 persons per sq km (for Padarayanapura ward), increasing by nearly 80 percent. While this is the report for the wards with the highest density, across the decades, the average density for the metropolitan area actually continuously declined from 20,756 persons per sq km in 1991 to 19,012 in 2001, and a further low of only 11,470 persons per sq km in 2011. One reason for this is the increase in the metropolitan area, with the surrounding local bodies in 2006, with an area spread around 741 sq km. Since the location decision of the population is much more a household decision, we did regressions of (the log of ) household density from the city center, assuming the same centers as in Table 6.1. The results are not that different from what is observed with population density. The first observation is that the density gradient is negative no matter which one is considered as the city

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center, which implies declining household density from the city center towards the edge. Second, households in the city are the most suburbanized when the state’s secretariat (the ward in which the Vidhana Soudha is located) is considered as the city center. Given the proliferation of different centers, the results motivate the question as to where the real center of the city is. If we follow the reasoning of Alperovich (1982), the real center is that which, statistically, produces the highest R 2, as Small and Song (1994) also point out. If we were to use this criterion as the benchmark, then the real center of Bengaluru is ward 135 (Padarayanapura) for population density (see Figure 6.1), and ward 122 (Kempapura Agrahara) for household density, which produces the highest R 2 (see Tables 6.1–6.2), much as 140000

POPULATION DENSITY

120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

DISTANCE FROM CITY CENTRE FIGURE 6.1

Bengaluru’s population density function, 2011

TABLE 6.2 Regression of (natural logarithm of ) household density on (natural log of )

distance from city center, assuming various city centers, Bengaluru, 2011 Natural logarithm of distance from city center (Majestic [ward 95])

Natural logarithm of distance from city center (ward with maximum HH density [ward 122])

R2 Natural logarithm of distance from city center (ward containing Vidhana Soudha [ward 110])

Model F value

Model 1 –0.22 (–4.25)*** Model 2 NA Model 3 NA

NA –0.29 (–6.16)*** NA

NA NA –0.13 (–2.20)**

18.08 38.00 4.83

Source: BBMP, Census 2011, author’s computations and analyses. Number of observations = 197 for all regressions. *** Statistically significant at the 1 percent level.

0.09 0.16 0.02

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Sridhar (2007) had found. This ward is primarily a residentially zoned area, with mixed residential uses, having mostly low-income housing, some commercial activity, small-scale industry and artisan activity.

State of basic services: health Bengaluru’s urbanization and urban sprawl as measured by its suburbanization have been immense. Given the effects of urbanization on public health, we explored the health status of people, the types of diseases prevalent and prominent and the status of health services delivered in the city, since the metropolitan area is also one of the top medical tourism destinations in the country. We found that 73 percent of the respondents suffered from major disease or injuries in the past two years, however, in slum households, this was slightly higher (81.5 percent). Lifestyle-related diseases were prominent in the metropolitan area with 46 percent suffering from diabetes and hypertension. With reference to disease patterns, a majority suffered from heart ailments like hypertension (35.7 percent) and diabetes (28.9 percent). Men were more prone to illness as compared to women with communicable, lifestyle and common ailments. Age and the gender relations of household members indicated the age group between 51–60 years (19 percent) were the ones who were vulnerable and largely fell sick. Communicable diseases were prominently high, especially in infants and children of age between six and ten years and population in the age groups of 51–60 years and 61–70 years. Also, common ailments and lifestyle diseases was prevalent among the middle-aged (19 percent and 25 percent at age 41–50 and 14 percent and 30 percent at age 51–60 respectively). Causes for communicable diseases such as viral arthritis were attributed to the sedentary lifestyle and improper eating habits (76 percent) or old age with inadequate immunity (18 percent), while the causes for viral fever were infection (77 percent) and poor environmental hygiene (19 percent). Among the lifestyle diseases, for back pain, the causes were mainly the sedentary lifestyle (64 percent) and old age (44 percent). For cardiovascular diseases, aging was the main cause (44 percent) along with family heredity (25 percent). Lifestyle and family heredity were the main causes for diabetes (37 and 39 percent respectively). For common ailments, infection was the main cause for illnesses such as cough (82.1 percent), cold (53.8 percent) and low nutritional levels (44.4 percent). For headache, poor lifestyle was the main cause (45.5 percent) followed by cold (26.9 percent). As we tried to analyze the mortality and morbidity it was observed that 73.8 percent suffered from some form of ailment indicating that the quality of life of the majority was not good in terms of health. Besides, the mortality was prominently less (4.2 percent) indicating that the medical facilities have improved and there is good access to treatment of illness compared to earlier times where poor access to healthcare facilities made it fatal for the majority of the population.

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Regarding the access to healthcare facilities, a major benchmark specified in the Smart City concept note, we found around 64 percent had access to PHCs in close proximity but only 42 percent visited PHCs for treatment and the rest preferred the private health facilities due to various reasons like non-reliable treatment at PHCs (49 percent), distance to PHCs (21 percent), the non-availability of doctors there (14 percent), lack of required medicines free of cost (11.4 percent) and expectation of bribe (2.9 percent). While in slum households, the proportion of respondents consulting public or government hospitals were more (48 percent), a considerable portion of slum households (51 percent) also consulted both public and private clinics. Among the slum respondents, more than one-third, 37.5 percent, were dissatisfied with the services of PHCs, for reasons mentioned above. Since there is inefficiency in providing essential public services like public healthcare, people are moving toward private healthcare facilities. Similarly with respect to consultation during sickness, as people usually perceive that private hospitals and private clinics are better in all respects, irrespective of costs, 56.3 percent and 15.7 percent of our respondents consulted private hospitals and private clinics respectively and while 27.7 percent of them availed treatment from government hospitals. The least proportion of respondents visited Ayurveda and homeopathy clinics, although one can observe that Ayurveda and homeopathy clinics/hospitals have mushroomed in Bengaluru. The extent of dependence is high on private hospitals/clinics though they charge exorbitantly in comparison to free treatment in government hospitals. People did not mind paying more to get better treatment. Timely service (42 percent), good treatment by doctors and staff (34 percent) and good facilities (22 percent) were the most important criteria cited. Across the distances traveled to access medical care, it was the private hospitals that rendered utmost access to people. With regard to the distance traveled, 47 percent of the respondents had access to private healthcare facilities within 1 km followed by 48.5 percent having between 1 to 5 km distance indicating good accessibility. In terms of healthcare expenditure, 36 percent of respondents spent between Rs. 1,001–2,000 per month on medical consultations and 55 percent spent below Rs. 1,000. We found respondents are investing in preventative healthcare and active lifestyles like fitness equipment and fitness centers, although this represented a small percentage of 3.6 percent with an investment of Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000/month. The spatial distribution of access to primary healthcare across various zones of Bengaluru, indicated the East Zone ranked first in terms of access followed by South and West in second and third positions respectively, all centrally located. When government or private healthcare access was considered, we found that Jayanagar (centrally located) stood first in access to (government or private) healthcare facilities followed by wards of Hegganahalli, Yeshwanthpur and Hagadur in second, third and fourth positions respectively (Figures 6.2–6.3).

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FIGURE 6.2

Access to primary healthcare centers – zone-wise ranking, Bengaluru

FIGURE 6.3

Ward-wise distance to any healthcare facility

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State of basic services: education Education has always been a major part of society improvement as the shifting factor into a civilization. The series on new ISO 37120 Smart City standards4 emphasizes education as perhaps the most important of the 17 indicators that are vital to human development. Given this evidence, we reviewed the educational status of children (1,408 children) in our sample of 1,500 households and found that all children were enrolled in schools. While a majority (83 percent) studied in English-medium schools and 13 percent in Kannada-medium schools, a smaller group of children were studying in Urdu and Telugu medium schools (3 percent and 1 percent respectively) indicating a high preference for Englishmedium education. Even in the slum households, the percentage of enrolment to English-medium schools was 66.7 percent indicating a preference for English as the medium of instruction in schools. In terms of the curriculum, 55 percent of the children that were enrolled followed the state (of Karnataka) syllabus, while one-third was enrolled in the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) syllabus and a small percentage was enrolled in ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education). In slum households, the percentage of children enrolled in state syllabus was high (70 percent) indicating a preference for state syllabus. The preference for private schools was high in the metropolitan area with 80.4 percent children enrolled in private schools and only 19.6 percent in government schools. Private school enrolment is increasing even though it is several times more expensive than going to a government school, consistent with the findings of some earlier studies on the city’s poor dwellers (Sridhar and Reddy, 2014.)5 Preference for higher private school enrolment in Bengaluru indicates the relationship between increasing urbanization and private school enrolment. This has been attributed to higher accountability of private schools, medium of instruction (English in many private schools), probabilities of getting high-paid jobs as key drivers for this choice. With respect to gender disparities, going by the Bengaluru data, the process of urbanization itself reduces such disparities by emphasizing financial independence and necessitating girls’ education. English was the medium of instruction for the majority of the children (96 percent) who were going to private schools and among the children studying in government schools, the medium of instruction was Kannada (57 percent). In slum households, the number of children enrolled with the government schools was 46 percent. Fifty-three percent of the respondents perceived that it was the “good education” and “discipline” that were the main reasons for choosing schools for the enrolment of their children. Another 18 percent chose the school due to its close geographical proximity to the location of their house. Some respondents had chosen a school because it was comparatively less expensive (15 percent). Given education is one area that has witnessed one of the fastest growth rates among different expenditure heads of Indian households, spending on education

110 Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

has increased by 9 percent per annum in real terms during the last decade in the country as a whole. One of the major contributing factors of the increasing expenditure on education seems to be the growing preference for private educational institutions over their government counterparts, particularly at the primary school level.6 In our study, all respondents were keen on investing in the education of their children. Nearly 50 percent of respondents spent up to Rs. 25,000 for their children’s education annually, followed by the second highest, 42.5 percent between Rs. 25,001 to Rs. 50,000. Although there was a small percentage (1.8) of people who spent between Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 1 lakh annually, across the various educational boards, we noted a minimum spending of Rs. 25,000 made on education by all respondents indicating the expenses of private schools. Our study ref lects the escalating costs of education in recent years. Our study showed that the enrolment of male children (43 percent) in Englishmedium schools is more than that of female students (40 percent). As a corollary to this finding, while enrolment of female children (6.5 percent) in the Kannada medium is more than their male counterparts (6.3 percent), at large, we did not find a prominent gender disparity among children, as also among the educational boards selected. Similarly, the type of school that the male and female children were sent to, i.e. private and government did not have an exceptional difference, so also the medium of instruction. At large, there was no major difference in treatment, hence, gender parity with reference to school type or medium of instruction.

Investment in education and number of children in the family The people’s decision on the amount to invest in children’s education was based on the number of children within the family. We observed that the expenditure

Type of School and Number of Children (in %) 100 90

85.8

Private Government

81.4

80

68.6

70

65.6

60

60 50 40

31.4

30 14.2

20

40

34.4

18.6

10 0

Single child

FIGURE 6.4

Two children

Three children

Four children

Five children

Type of school and number of children

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on education for each child in single-child families is more and declines with the number of children. Another interesting observation related to the number of children and investment in private schools showed that with more number of children, the tendency to put them in private school declines and vice versa. The investment in children’s education decreased when the total household expenditure was more i.e. between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 50,000 and also from Rs. 50,001 to Rs. 100,000, indicating high investment with less number of children within a family. A similar trend was observed with respect to choosing the type of school as well (Figure 6.4). For instance, 86 percent of single-child families sent their child to a private school, as compared to only 40 percent of families with five children who sent their children to private schools.

State of basic services: water supply The Government of India defines a Smart City as that which provides the best available “quality and adequate” water supply, to ensure “decent living options” to every resident. The benchmarks indicate that 24 × 7 water supply to citizens and 100 percent household with direct water supply connections, 135 liters of LPCD, however, this has not been met in Bengaluru (see Table 6.3). As against the benchmark of 100 percent metering of all water connections, 81 percent of connections Bangalore had meters (Table 6.3). Also, in the context of efficiency in the collection of water charges, BWSSB indicated that there has been 40 percent unaccounted for water, which includes water theft and water leakage. When we examined the accessibility to water facilities, our sample of households indicated that a large percentage i.e. 90.3 percent of the households had access to water supply within their premises, in line with the Census 2011 data which shows that 81 percent of the households have water supply source within their premises in Bangalore. However, access to having a water connection does not imply water supply access to meet the water demand of the households. Drinking water was accessed through various sources, of which piped water supply was the major source (78 percent). The second important source was packaged drinking water which indicates that the quality component of the service is presumably absent in piped supply. Public stand posts (6.7 percent) were the third sourced supply, particularly among the urban poor, while some respondents sourced from bore wells (4.5 percent). These results are supported by Census 2011 data which showed 78.5 percent had access to tap water from a TABLE 6.3 Water supply service benchmarks

24×7 supply of water 100% household with direct water supply connections 135 liters of per capita supply of water 100% metering of water connections 100% efficiency in collection of water-related charges

Not met Not met Not met (70 liters) 81% Not met

Source: http://smartcities.gov.in, primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

112 Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

treated source. When we compared the piped water supply across the wards, the Kumaraswamy layout ward in the western part of the metropolitan area stood in the first place. The water supply source varied with the type of residence. We found that slum households are more dependent on public stand posts (3.8 percent) compared to the general households as they rely more on piped water supply (75.3 percent). Besides, we found that the usage of packaged drinking water was high among general households (8 percent) compared to slum households (0.4 percent) which is obvious given the high cost of packaged drinking water. With respect to water supply connections, 81 percent of the households had metered connections indicating that they have to pay and are accountable. Although the percentage of unmetered connections is only 19 percent, the amount of water that goes unaccounted for is huge in absolute terms. Bengaluru faces the problem of unaccounted-for water, with around 48 percent of water being lost during transmission and illegal connections (Raj, 2013). Taking into account all the wards, the weighted average per capita availability of water was around 69.5 LPCD, a little more than half of the stipulated 135 LPCD. The top five wards receiving high LPCD ranging from 74.9 to 77.9, comparatively to the wards receiving the lowest LPCD which ranged between 53.4 LPCD and 66.3 LPCD (see Figure 6.5 for the ranks of wards in terms of LPCD). The data from the official website of BWSSB also indicate that the per capita supply of water is 65 LPCD, which lends credence to our findings. Few

FIGURE 6.5

Water supply (LPCD) by ward

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studies have also indicated the actual availability of water for domestic consumption is about 75 LPCD (Raj, 2013). In a pilot that we completed of Nagarabhavi ward (Sridhar et al., 2017), we found that the per capita availability of water was 83 LPCD. For a majority of respondents (44.9 percent), the duration of piped water supply was for two hours, followed by 21.1 percent who received for three hours and 12.2 percent, for four hours. It is to be noted that, majority of the households in Bengaluru invest in water storage facilities like overhead tanks and underground sumps, huge in size, thus households are prepared for and will not be affected by water shortage as water sump storage typically lasts for more than a week. The water supplied was sufficient with 88.7 percent indicating they had sufficient water supply and as indicated above, the storage facilities are the major reason for not facing scarcity. However, 11.3 percent of households who did encounter insufficient water supply depended on various sources of which, the majority was from water tankers (4.9 percent) followed by public stand posts (2.7 percent) and a few borrowed from neighboring bore wells (1.7 percent). A small portion of the water demand was met by open wells/packaged drinking water (0.3 percent). A majority (90.3 percent) of households had water connections within the premises. Only 8.6 percent of households fetched water from less than 100 meters distance and a small percentage (1.0 percent) fetched water at a distance between 100 and 500 meters. When we compared our data with the Census 2011 data on water supply sources within the premises, they were consistent (see Figure 6.6). As mentioned earlier, water storage facilities have been prominent in the city, 72.3 percent and 73.1 percent invested in overhead tanks and sumps, even while the low-income households invested in other storage facilities (25.9 percent) like plastic and metal containers. Conservation initiatives by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) have been undertaken wherein rainwater harvesting is mandatory under Rainwater Harvesting Regulations 2009 for households (built on site dimensions of 40 × 60 and 30 × 40 feet) and commercial establishments in the city. However, no increase in installations of rainwater harvesting was ref lected in our study, with only 2.4 percent of our respondent households having installed RWH. Water quality treatment installations across households were high with the majority (64.1 percent) investing in water processing technologies, indicating a lack of confidence in the usage of tap water. It is useful to note here that Paul et al. (2012) found the turbidity of water in Bengaluru to be 3 NTU, with the WHO’s recommendation being 1, and no greater than 5 for drinking water. The use of filters inclusive of reverse osmosis (RO) or Aquaguard was the highest (50.1 percent), followed by boiling water (13.9 percent) to enable the potability of tap water. Perceptions regarding water facilities indicated that the majority of the households were satisfied with the water supply and sanitation services provided (48.9

FIGURE 6.6

Water supply sources – comparison with Census 2011

114 Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

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percent – excellent and good) since the water was reliable (42.7 percent) and timely (32.1 percent). Respondents who were not satisfied were dissatisfied due to untimeliness and unreliability of supply (15.3 percent) and shortage (8.8 percent). These findings indicate that there are spatial inequities in water access across the metropolitan area.

State of basic services: sanitation Sanitation, in general, refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human waste. Sanitation also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions through the provision of services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal. The availability of safe sanitation is a major challenge in urban areas along with the lack of basic infrastructure, cramped housing conditions, inadequate water supply and the unscientific disposal of human waste and wastewater from washing, bathing and other activity. More importantly, safe sanitation is intrinsically linked to human and ecosystem health, and along with proper hygiene, forms one of the most essential components of a safe and healthy life. Hence, the lack of required standards in respect of any of these aspects has serious implications for the society and the economy as a whole, and with an increase in migration, poverty and inequality, sanitary conditions tend to further deteriorate. When we compare the sanitation status in Bengaluru in relation to the benchmarks specified by the Ministry of Urban Development, the city does not meet the criteria of providing 100 percent access to toilets, open defecation still persists, nor do the schools have separate toilet access in government schools, connection through wastewater network is not met, efficiency in collection and treatment of wastewater and collection of sewerage network (45 percent as of 2011 data) is also not met (Table 6.4). A study by Manasi et al. (2017) found that a majority (99.5 percent) of residents had toilets within their homes while only 0.5 percent were dependent on other forms of toilets like shared, community and public toilets in Bengaluru. TABLE 6.4 Benchmarks of sanitation

Smart city benchmarks

Bengaluru’s status

100% of households should have access to toilets 100% of schools should have separate toilets for girls 100% of households should be connected to the wastewater network 100% efficiency in the collection and treatment of wastewater 100% efficiency in the collection of sewerage network

99.5% Not met Not met Not met (45% as on 2011 data)

Source: http://smartcities.gov.in, primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

116 Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

There are community toilets constructed across slum households but are not usable due to several reasons relating to their operations and maintenance (Manasi et al., 2017). The Census 2011 data on houses, household amenities and assets also indicate that around 94.8 percent of the households in Bengaluru district have access to toilets and Bengaluru has shown substantial progress in improving access to toilets from 90.78 percent to 96.76 percent from 2001 and 2011. While the latest Census 2011 data indicate that 5.2 percent of households lack toilet facility and 94.8 percent have access to toilet facility in Bengaluru, the absolute numbers of households that lack toilets are still high, the majority of which comprise the large segment of the population living in poorer pockets of the city. When we compared our study findings on ward-wise availability of latrine facility at household level with Census 2011 data, the results were in line with the Census 2011 data (Figure 6.7). An increase in improving access to toilets may have been due to two contributing factors – an increase in the level of awareness and the lack of open spaces for open defecation. The type of toilets and their associated infrastructure are an important indicator for understanding the quality of toilets which, in turn, affects their usage. We observed that a majority of the households (94.9 percent) had individual toilets followed by shared toilets (4.3 percent), while community toilets (0.2 percent) in slums and public toilet (0.1 percent) which was observed in slums. The households with no access to individual toilets depend on community toilets/public

FIGURE 6.7

Households having latrine facility – comparison with Census 2011

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toilets, shared toilets or neighbors’ toilets. This indicates that access to toilets is nearly universal in Bengaluru, however, private access is not. When we observed access to toilets among the slum households, the trend was nearly the same, with a lesser number of individual toilets (79.3 percent), with the rest of them using shared toilets (20.7 percent). However, it was observed that the percentage of shared toilets is more among slum households compared to general households. This indicates that emphasis should be laid on slum households to have more individual toilets as shared toilets have issues pertaining to access them during peak hours and also poor operation and maintenance. It is essential to ensure that the technology of sanitation is specific to a given locality, climatic and socioeconomic conditions besides being user-friendly. With regard to the type of existing models, our study reveals that 98.8 percent of the households had access to f lush toilets, while 9.2 percent had access to traditional pit latrines. Studies indicate that the absence of a proper sewerage system in many areas of Bengaluru has resulted in the construction of pit latrines in these localities. Pit latrines are part of improved sanitation options after the definition of UNICEF and WHO (2012). However, foul smells and f ly nuisances are very common and also, due to soil infiltration, there always remains the danger of groundwater contamination. In our surveys, for the slum households that did not have access to toilets within their households (0.4 percent households), the distance traveled to reach toilets was within 0.5 km distance, while for 0.1 percent of households, the nearest toilet was beyond 0.5 km. This shows that people experienced severe inconveniences because of the distance and the long queues that they had to encounter during rush hours in community and shared toilets. In terms of sewerage infrastructure, 97.3 percent had UGD connections, which highlights that Bengaluru has good sewer infrastructure, however, its quality and maintenance have been a matter of concern. While more than onefifth (22 percent) of households had their sewer installed before 2000, relatively those new houses constructed after 2000 had got their connections to the UGD. Houses which did not have UGD are mainly located in the outskirts of the city and use septic tank (2.7 percent). However, there are some households (1.3 percent) which let their water into the open rainwater drain causing menace. Regular maintenance of septic tanks was observed by a lesser number of houses comparatively (0.6 percent). People faced several problems in the maintenance of septic tanks, of which, destruction of septic tanks by rodents and termites was the major issue followed by pit collapse due to heavy rains. As far as the problems encountered in the absence of UGD, people experienced mosquitoes and rodents (1.9 percent) followed by clogging of drains (0.6 percent), foul smell (0.2 percent) and overf lowing of drains during the rainy season. But people adopted various methods to solve these problems; among them, a majority (1.4 percent) lodged complaints to the BBMP, while others got it cleaned and some self-cleaned too. This indicates the need for improvement in

118 Kala S. Sridhar, S. Manasi and N. Latha

UGD systems. All these problems were largely encountered in slums and lowincome localities. Most of the residents were happy with the overall sanitation facilities (6.5 percent stated them to be excellent, 42.3 percent good and 40.2 percent satisfactory). The rest were dissatisfied with the services (10.5 percent dissatisfactory and 0.6 percent bad). People who rated the services as excellent and good observed that their surroundings were hygienic (65.9 percent) while the rest of them faced unhygienic conditions (12.9 percent), blockage (5.6 percent) and issues with neighbors (0.3 percent). Although at large, people are happy with sanitation facilities, it is important that we reach 100 percent satisfaction with respect to sanitation which is not the case, indicating inequity in services.

State of basic services: solid waste Solid waste pollution is one of the outcomes of rapid urbanization. This modern world functions as a throw-away society. The price for that is a growing problem of handling the waste that is generated. Precious space for it is decreasing. The solution is not just reducing, reusing, recycling and composting, but also a complete re-education of how we live. Uncollected solid waste is a public nuisance. Apart from aesthetic considerations, public health is affected when solid waste is disposed of in an open area. Windblown dust can carry pathogens and hazardous materials. When garbage dumps are easily accessible to domestic animals, diseases can spread through the food chain. Environmental damages caused due to improper solid waste disposal cause contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water and air quality. Surface water is contaminated as polluted groundwater is discharged into it. Air pollution arises from this waste when gases are generated by the decomposition of waste within an open dump. None of the benchmarks of smart cities are met completely in the context of SWM in Bengaluru. However, we can see that there are variations in the various benchmarks specified by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India, of which collection of waste is 85 percent for Bengaluru, which is the closest (see Table 6.5), given the caveats of the data pertaining to solid waste. TABLE 6.5 Benchmarks for solid waste management

Smart city benchmarks

Bengaluru’s status

100% of households are covered by daily door-step collection system. 100% collection of municipal solid waste 100% segregation of waste at source, i.e. biodegradable and non-degradable waste 100% recycling of solid waste

Not met (50%) Not met (85%) Not met (30% segregated at source) Not Met

Source: http://smartcities.gov.in, primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

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The amount of total municipal solid waste generated is increasing in Bangalore over a period from 650 tons/day in 1988 to 1,450 tons/day in 2000. Chanakya et al. (2010) reported the increase in the per capita generation of solid waste from 0.16 kg in 1988 to 0.58 kg/day/person in 2009 and attributed to the changes in consumption patterns. In our study, a majority of the households generated solid waste between 1 and 2 kg (92.3 percent). This is in line with the data collected from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike which indicates the waste generation per household to be 1.24 kg and 1.5 kg in slum households. Bangalore is now facing a huge problem of solid waste management, with households contributing approximately 54 percent to municipal solid waste (MSW) generation highest among all the other sources (BBMP, 2012). The solid waste generated was collected largely by the local authority, i.e. BBMP (97.5 percent) and the frequency of collection was on a daily basis (66.6 percent). About 20,000 pourakarmikas are being utilized for door-to-door collection, street sweeping and transportation of MSW. Self-help groups (SHGs) and resident welfare associations (RWAs) are also involved in door-to-door collection, segregation and decentralized composting in some of the areas. However, there were households who indicated that the garbage collection was done once a week, fortnightly and monthly which could be the cause for dumping the garbage in street corners. When we tried to understand the collection efficiency of garbage, referring to the proportion of waste that was collected and that generated, a majority of the households were satisfied rating it as excellent (10.8 percent) and good (41.8 percent) as it was timely (39.1 percent) with reliable services (34.7 percent). However, there were residents who viewed it as unsatisfactory, bad and worse (12.6, 0.9 and 0.2 percent respectively) (Figure 6.8) and indicated the reasons as non-timely services, a menace on streets and associated health problems due to poor collection of garbage. This again brings to light the fact that there is inequity in services across various areas of Bengaluru with respect to solid waste collection efficiency.

Suburbanization and the sprawl of basic services: conclusions At large, this chapter is an attempt to answer questions about Bengaluru’s urban sprawl and state of basic services in the metropolitan area, taking the cases of private and public healthcare, private and public schooling, water supply, private and public sanitation (to a limited extent) and solid waste management. We answer the urban sprawl question by estimating density gradients for Bengaluru and the public services questions, primarily based on extensive primary household surveys in the metropolitan area. We find suburbanization of Bengaluru since 1991, but centralization since 2001, which is possibly due to the merging of the surrounding local bodies and the creation of the BBMP in 2007.

FIGURE 6.8

Ranking of wards based on SWM

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TABLE 6.6 Summary of selected public services attributes, central and peripheral wards

Variable - Access to public services

Mean, central wards

Mean, peripheral wards

Piped water supply (% of households) Availability of toilets at home (% of households) Distance to nearest school (in kms) Distance to nearest college (in kms) Distance to nearest health care facility (in kms) Water supply – LPCD

78 100

74 99

1.48 2.81 1.60

1.52 3.24 1.56

69

70

Source: Primary Surveys and authors’ analysis.

The picture we have of the city is that of not-so-poor basic services. We find households prefer private and English-medium schools. Urban Bengaluru is home to a variety of ailments, due to stress and lifestyle-related problems. Households prefer private medical consultation. Most households have private toilets, but public toilets are lacking. A greater proportion (78 percent) of households has access to piped water supply, in the central wards, compared to only 74 percent in the peripheral wards (Table 6.6). The consumption of water (in terms of LPCD) is more or less the same across the central and peripheral wards at 69 and 70 LPCD respectively. Nonetheless, we note that this falls short severely of the 135 LPCD norm, defined as a service level benchmark by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. In terms of distance to the nearest school, college and healthcare facility (not necessarily government), central wards are endowed with closer proximity to each of these facilities – either private or government (although we found that very few respondents used government facilities, as we would expect). To summarize, when we consider access to piped water supply, schools, colleges and healthcare facilities, central wards of the metropolitan area score over their peripheral counterparts. These findings should help the city’s urban local body (ULB), and planning bodies to correct the spatial inequality and limit its urban sprawl with appropriate land use regulations and policies, which are dealt with elsewhere.

Notes 1 This chapter is a part of larger study supported by the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi and Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. We are thankful to K.C. Smitha for her assistance with the surveys and Shivakumar Nayka for his help with the maps. Any errors remain ours. 2 This program involves selection of 100 “capable” cities through a two-phase process. The first-phase selection of cities consists of criteria pertaining to their existing levels of public services, institutional systems and capacities, coverage of expenditure on services through user charges and their past track record with the JNNURM about

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success in completing projects. In stage 2, credibility of implementing initiatives resulting in outcomes such as easing of traffic congestion, extent of adoption of best practices in consultation with citizens and so forth. During the fourth round, Bengaluru was selected for development as Smart City (Ray, 2017). International Organization of Standardization, ISO 37120:2014 Sustainable Development of Communities – Indicators for city services and quality of life. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and A.V. Reddy. “Contribution of the Urban Poor: A Pilot Study from Bengaluru, India,” in Inclusive Urban Planning: State of the Urban Poor Report 2013, New Delhi: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India and Oxford University Press, 2014. We note that in higher education, government institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the National Institutes of Technology and so on are much preferred.

References Ahmedabad parents spend over 50% on children’s education: Study, Business Standard ( January 20, 2013). Chanakya, H.N., K. Shwetmala, T.V. Ramachandra (2010). Small-scale decentralized and sustainable municipal solid waste management potential for Bangalore anchored around total recycle and biomethanation plants. In National Conference on Urban, Industrial and Hospital Waste Management. Education in Karnataka (2012–13). A – State level and District-Wise Analytical Report, June 2013. Published by State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Karnataka. http://bbmp.gov.in/documents/10180/512162/City+Statistics+New+Microsoft+Off ice+Word+Document.pdf/148f685d-58cd-402c-9c5c-bccb344eda2d. http://www.cadiresearch.org/topic/diabetes-indians/diabetes-urban-india. http://www.chillibreeze.com/whitepapers/medicaltourism1.asp. http://www.developmentchannel.org/health/healthcare/2584-lifestyle-diseases-major -cause-for-deaths-in-india-who. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/icmrindiab-study-provides-new-figures -for-diabetes/article2497931.ece. Holian, Matthew and Kala Seetharam Sridhar (2017). The role of road infrastructure and air pollution in the recent suburbanization of India’s cities: An exploration, Environment and Urbanization ASIA, 8(2): 151–169. International Diabetes Federation, http//www.idf.org. Ministry of Urban Development (December 2014). Concept Note on Smart Cities. Manasi, S., N. Latha and B.R. Hemalatha (2017). Sanitation Challenges of the Poor in Urban and Rural Settings: Case Studies of Bengaluru City and Rural North Karnataka, UNU – MERIT Maastricht University Working Paper Series, 2017–026, ISSN 1871–9872. Policy on Integrated Solid Waste Management (2012). Department of Environmental Cell, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), available at http://218.248.45.16 9/download/engineering/iswmp.pdf Paul, Samuel, Kala Seetharam Sridhar, A.Venugopala Reddy and Pavan Srinath (2012). The State of Our Cities: Evidence from Karnataka, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Raj, K. (2013). Where All the Water Has Gone?: An Analysis of Unreliable Water Supply in Bangalore City. Institute for Social and Economic Change. Rao, V.L.S. Prakasa and V.K. Tewari (1979). Structure of an Indian Metropolis: A Study of Bengaluru, New Delhi: Allied Publishers Private Limited.

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Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2007). Density gradients and their determinants: Evidence from India, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 37(3): 314–344. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2008). Better cities: The IPL way, Mint, ( Joint Venture Between India’s Hindustan Times and Wall Street Journal), June 2. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2020). Is India’s urbanization really too low? Some evidence, Area Development and Policy, 5(1): 32–49. DOI: 10.1080/23792949.2019.1590153 Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Nivedita Kashyap (2014). Benchmarking cities: Evidence from India. In: Urbanization in Asia: Governance, Infrastructure and the Environment (Eds., Kala S Sridhar and Guanghua Wan), New Delhi: Springer pp. 61-90. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and A.V. Reddy (2014). Contribution of the Urban Poor: A Pilot Study from Bengaluru, India, in Inclusive Urban Planning: State of the Urban Poor Report 2013, New Delhi: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India and Oxford University Press. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam, S.Manasi and K.C.Smitha (2015). Bengaluru City surveys-2, June: Institute for Social and Economic Change. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam, S. Manasi and K.C. Smitha (2017), Jobs, Commute, and Public Services in Bengaluru: A Pilot Study from Nagarabhavi, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Monograph 51, August. Urban Ward Survey (2014). ASER. http://img.asercenter.org/docs/Publications/U rban%20Ward%20Survey/mysore.pdf. Westfall, M.S., V.A. De Villa (2001). Urban Indicators for Managing Cities. Asian Development Bank..

7 URBAN CIVIC SERVICE DELIVERY AND NORMS A pilot study of two Indian cities Ramakrishna Nallathiga and Kala S. Sridhar

Introduction India has been on the rising trajectory of urbanization for the past few decades, after shedding the image of “rural areas as its backbone” – both in terms of population and economic activities. As can be seen in Table 7.1, there has been a clear shift in the population share over time, with the cities taking an increasing share of the population (correspondingly, the share of the rural population has been reducing) making them host to 31 percent of the population. According to the census (2011), the level of urbanization stood at 31 percent, but the recent World Bank estimates based on the agglomerations and Sridhar (2020) find the figure would have well crossed 50 percent, thereby ref lecting their wider and larger demographic importance.1 Large cities (cities with a million-plus population) have also increased their share of urban population from 18.81 percent in 1951 to 43.64 percent in 2011; their number also increased from five to 53 during this period (Census, 2011). Apart from their demographic significance, cities are also gaining importance in terms of economic activity and growth. Over the last several decades, the value addition of the rural-based agriculture sector has been consistently reducing, while that of the service sector (which is mostly urban-based) has been rising. In fact, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) estimated that the urban share of value addition to the economy increased from 37.7 percent in 1970–1971 to 52 percent in 2004–2005. Other studies examining large Indian cities estimated that 54 large Indian cities would have contributed to 40 percent of GDP in 2012, which was estimated to rise to 54 percent in 2025 along with the swelling of such large cities to 69 (MGI, 2014). It ref lects the rise of cities as transformative places for people to work, live and invest in. Large cities, in particular, have been becoming the major economic centers with the concentration of services and firms by exploiting scale economies and agglomeration advantages. DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-7

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TABLE 7.1 Urbanisation and relative share of urban and rural population in India

Year

Urban population Share of urban (million) population (%)

Rural population Share of rural (million) population (%)

1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

62.4 78.9 109.1 159.4 217.6 287.6 377.1

298.7 360.3 439.1 523.9 628.7 740.4 833.0

17.3 18.0 19.9 23.3 25.7 28.0 31.2

82.7 82.0 80.1 76.7 74.3 72.0 68.8

Source: Based on Census (2011).

As cities are increasingly becoming important spaces in terms of demographic and economic transformation, it is important to take cognizance of the infrastructure that is required for these cities to continue to play this role. Infrastructure is the backbone of economic growth and development – the level and quality of infrastructure significantly contribute to economic growth and promote equitable development (Claderon and Serven, 2004). Cross-country studies by Estache and Garsous (2012), a national-level study by Kim (2006) and a sub-national-level study by Ahluwalia (2007) clearly imply that infrastructure – economy synergistic linkages are present at all levels. A longitudinal inter-state study by Ghosh and De (2005) also finds that the economic and social infrastructure facilities determine the level of development of Indian states. Lall et al. (2010) also argue that local infrastructure development leads to the competitiveness of cities and thereby increased investment inf lows. However, it is also important to note that effective governance is important in overall infrastructure development (De, 2012). Cities provide several civic infrastructure services, viz. water supply, sewerage, solid waste management, roads and streetlights, which are essential for the households as well as firms to live, lead life and perform various economic activities on city space. The provision of these basic urban services and their access also provides important welfare improvements upon the people (Chowdhury et al., 2017) and no doubt improves their productivity. Clean water, sanitation/ sewerage and solid waste management contribute to sound public health. Wellmaintained roads, in addition to enabling access to jobs, also determine the commute time, which indicates how functional or productive a city’s functional labor market is. Street lights are also an indicator of public safety and security. Therefore, the provision of infrastructure/civic services by urban local governments (ULGs) assumes importance in cities. Urban service delivery by the ULGs is, therefore, vital for the cities to continue to act as transformative spaces and to leverage the advantages of a large working population and their agglomeration. Accordingly, norms have been laid down in India, from time to time, for the provision of urban civic services,

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which the ULGs use as benchmarks. These norms have been developed over time by Central government agencies concerning with the respective urban services e.g., BIS (1993) and CPHEEO (1999) for water supply service, CPHEEO (2012) for sewerage service, NEERI (1996) and CPHEEO (2000) for solid waste management service, and ITPI (1996) for urban roads service. They were consolidated into service level benchmarks for urban services laid down under MoUD (2011), which also included the dimensions of civic service delivery. The HPEC (2011) further expanded the scope of civic service norms by coming up with the norms for urban roads, storm water drains, and street lights respectively. Some other studies have also contributed to the development of civic service norms and standards in Indian cities, e.g., Mathur et al (2007), Mathur and Chandra (2008), and Joshi and Ahmed (2016). It is important to assess the status of urban/civic infrastructure services and compare them with pre-set national norms from time to time as they themselves may need review and revisions, with changing consumption patterns and lifestyle changes in urban areas. The question of norms is important for urban services because cities are typically encouraged to match their actual services with the level of the norms. Interestingly, a study done by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (Sridhar and Mathur 2007) for the Andaman and Nicobar administration indicated that on an average, the consumption–desired level gap in Port Blair was 40 LPCD (130 LPCD [which was the desired] – 90 LPCD [actual which was being supplied]) at the individual level. The results of that study, based on the household surveys, where the desired level of consumption was 130 LPCD, broadly concurred with the ideal supply standard (of 135 LPCD) proposed by the National Commission on Urbanization for urban areas. However, that study is dated, and also applicable only to the islands. The requirements and norms may have to be different for the mainland urban areas, subject to income, living styles, and patterns of consumption. For instance, there are some washing machines that consume more water than others, while the use of these machines for washing is ubiquitous now. Likewise, mechanical mops are reducing water consumption for house cleaning. Therefore, it is useful to assess the level of civic service delivery in Indian cities and compare it with service norms, which is attempted hereunder. The structure of the chapter is as follows: the first section provided an introduction to urbanization in India and the importance of civic service delivery for the transformation of cities. The second section describes the study scope (focal cities) and methodology adopted. The third section presents the findings from a pilot survey on the status of civic services delivery in Pune. The fourth section presents the findings from the pilot survey on the status of civic services delivery in Hyderabad. The fifth section summarizes the major findings from the pilot studies (while also drawing a comparison of service delivery status of both focal cities) and their policy implications with regard to civic service delivery and the revision of norms for the same in Indian cities.

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Scope and methodology The current study is a preliminary assessment of the actual status of urban civic infrastructure services (as reported by the citizens), while comparing them with the desired level of services (or norms) in two large (million-plus population) cities in India – Pune and Hyderabad, based on the pilot surveys. It follows the methodology laid down for using surveys to get evaluative feedback on civic services as outlined by Nayyar-Stone and Hatry (2010). The usefulness of citizen surveys in assessing service delivery is also well discussed by Deichmann and Lall (2003). Citizen surveys are now widely used in the assessment of public service delivery and performance in a wide variety of contexts in different countries.

Choice of focal cities Both the cities chosen for the comparison of service delivery are million-plus cities. While Pune has a population of 3,124,458, Hyderabad has a population of 6,731,790 according to the census (2011). While Hyderabad stands out as the fourth largest city in terms of population, next only to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, Pune stands out as the ninth largest city in India in terms of population. Both these cities have large metropolitan areas comprising the city and other urban areas that form urban agglomeration, with the metropolitan population of these cities at 5,057,709 (Pune) and 7,749,334 (Hyderabad) according to the census (2011). Further, Hyderabad is the primary city of the newly carved state of Telangana, being more than nine times the size of the second biggest city of the state, Warangal, with a population of about 700,000. Both these cities have become important cities in India, as they have been growing in terms of population and economic activity and have a long history of local self-government (or, the presence of urban local governments) that provide the civic infrastructure services. Most importantly, the choice of these two cities ensures that there is enough variety in the institutional arrangements for basic urban services such as water supply and sewerage service. In Pune, the ULG – the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) – Is responsible for providing water supply and sewerage while in Hyderabad, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is responsible for the same.

Methodology The study is based on the primary pilot survey of citizens, conducted in 2018, who availed of various urban civic infrastructure services provided by the ULGs. Household surveys were carried out on a pilot basis in both the focal cities – Pune and Hyderabad – with emphasis on core/basic civic services – water supply, sewerage, solid waste management, roads, stormwater drainage and streetlights. The survey was carried out using a structured questionnaire that had questions with regard to the status of the above-mentioned urban civic infrastructure services.

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The questionnaire covered both quantitative dimensions, e.g. actual service levels and requirements, as well as qualitative dimensions, e.g. service frequency, duration, condition, etc. of civic service delivery in the focal cities. An attempt is also made to gauge citizens’ satisfaction with civic service delivery in terms of grievance redressal. Preliminary trials were made on select participants in the institutional settings and, based on the feedback received, the questionnaire was suitably modified before undertaking the pilot surveys. A sample of 55 households was surveyed in both the focal cities in a relatively short period of the field study in 2018. Most of the respondents of the survey were young households working and living in the focal cities. Although the sample size is small, efforts were made to ensure that it was representative by ensuring that the sample households were spatially spread out in the focal cities. The questionnaire was used to elicit the responses by asking the questions in an interview format. In a good number of samples, the respondents, instead of being interviewed, chose to take the hard copy of the questionnaire and returned it after filling it. Even after explaining the importance of the study, some of the households were not keen to participate in the survey or gave incomplete responses, which were discarded in the analysis. The questionnaire responses of sample households were keyed in to obtain digital data that can be used for performing data analysis. The statistical analysis of household survey responses primarily confines to the descriptive statistics outlining the share of household responses to various questions pertaining to the service delivery of basic/core urban civic services mentioned above. Apart from discussing the response structure to service delivery questions, a graphical presentation is also made wherever required in order to get a quick capture of the responses to questions on some dimensions of service delivery. The pilot survey also captures citizen responses with reference to grievance redressal of civic services, which is usually not covered by such empirical studies. The major findings from the pilot survey are summarized toward the end to gain some practical insights into the current state of urban services delivery in the select Indian cities; they are also compared with relevant service provision/ supply/planning norms or benchmarks.

Urban service delivery status in Indian cities: pilot study of Pune Pune Municipal Corporation is the ULG primarily responsible for the provision of major urban civic services to citizens. It was formed in 1950. The city area under PMC jurisdiction is about 244 sq km; after a merger of 11 villages in 2017, the area expanded to 331 sq km. It is divided into five administrative zones, 48 administrative circles and 152 administrative divisions (or wards). PMC has the responsibility of providing the following major services: •• ••

Water supply and sewerage. Building and maintenance of roads, streets and f lyovers.

Urban civic service delivery and norms

•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

129

Street lighting. Sanitation. Stormwater drains. Garbage disposal and street cleaning. Municipal schools. Fire services. Maintenance of cultural centers and historical sites. Museums and library services. Bus transport services. Maintenance of parks and open spaces. Urban planning and city development. Registration of births and deaths. Public health and sanitation.

In the above list, we have selected six major/core urban civic services – water supply and sewerage, roads, street lighting, solid waste management and stormwater drains – for examination in this chapter, given they are the most essential services in cities. The pilot survey of households was done in 2018 by drawing upon a sample of the working population in the service sector (IT and education), spread across different parts of the city. Almost all of them, except a few, were middle (25 percent) to high income (57.5 percent) households. A majority of them (95 percent) were educated at or beyond tertiary level education, i.e. graduation level and above. The average age of respondents was 32 years and a majority of them lived in f lats/apartments (65 percent). The average household size of sample respondents was four and 65 percent of the respondents were male. The following subsections, organized urban civic service-wise, present some of the major findings from the pilot survey in Pune.

Water supply As described, the water supply in Pune is provided by the municipal body, PMC. Water supply in Pune was predominantly through the piped system (or, tap water) for both domestic use (77.5 percent) as well as drinking water (80 percent). Although water supply reached a large proportion of the sample, few of them also depended upon bore/tube well and water tanker for accessing water. Likewise, water supply was accessed inside the household premises, i.e. inside the house or plot by a predominant number of respondents (82 percent), while a few of them accessed it outside their premises (12 percent) and at public stand posts (5 percent). Figure 7.1 shows the distribution of the sample respondents on household water supply levels in Pune. More than one-fourth (28 percent) of respondent households reportedly received a supply of 251–500 liters daily, followed by one-fifth of respondents who received a water supply of 101–250 liters. While considering an

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>675 L 19%

0-100 L 14%

101-250 L 20%

501-675 L 19%

251-500 L 28% FIGURE 7.1

Distribution of respondents on water supply level, Pune

average household size of four for the sample households, the actual water supply received per person in the household will reduce to a quarter of household supply, with the average water supply received for the sample being 99 LPCD, below the norm (135 LPCD); 9 percent receive above the existing norm of 135 LPCD. On the duration of water supply, half of the sample respondents reportedly received water on a continuous basis, i.e. 24-7, and 10 percent each received it for six to eight hours, four to six hours and two to four hours. Low duration supply, i.e. supply for one to two hours and less than one hour was experienced by the remaining smaller proportion of the households. Also, in terms of frequency of water supply, most of the respondents (87.5 percent) received water on a daily basis and the remaining few of them received it intermittently; a large number of them (87 percent) also received water at an adequate pressure, as reported by them. Most of the respondents (87.5 percent) were also happy with the quality of water supplied, which is confirmed by most of them (95 percent) reporting no incidence of gastric diseases. Yet, they also reported the deployment of water purifiers (55 percent) and used bottled water (10 percent) to meet with any possible contamination of water. A large number of the sample respondents made backup arrangements in the event of inadequate supply or non-supply of water, which points to the non-reliability of municipal water supply. The backup arrangements were found to be in the form of dependence on water tankers/vendors and installation of bore/tube well within their premises. A good number of the respondents (57.5 percent) chose to complain to the municipal body in the event of any issue with the water supply. A large proportion of them (62.5 percent) opined that the issue would get redressed within one to three days after the complaint. The average water consumption/ requirement of households for the whole family as reported in the questionnaire survey is 341 liters, with the split of

Urban civic service delivery and norms

Gardening, 13 L

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Vehicles, 13 L Drinking, 17 L

Bathing, 102 L Toilet, 80 L

Hand/Face Wash, 14 L Washing Utensils, 43 L

FIGURE 7.2

Cooking, 12 L Washing Floor, 17 L

Washing clothes, 55 L

Water requirements of various uses among sample households, Pune

various uses as shown in Figure 7.2. By using the average household size of four, the average water requirement per person (or, the desired amount of water supply) works out to be 90LPCD, which is way below the norm of 135 LPCD stipulated by the MoUD (2011), while the actual supplied was 107 LPCD, as reported above. Thus, the reported consumption requirement for all domestic uses is lower than that specified by the norm, which implies the norm of 135 LPCD may have to be revisited and revised.

Sewerage Access to sewerage was predominantly inside the house (87.5 percent) among respondents in Pune, although a few of them shared it or accessed it through common toilets. Further, a sewerage connection was available for a majority of sample households (60 percent), while a good number of them also depended upon septic tanks (13.5 percent) and surface drains (22 percent) for the conveyance of sewage. A large number of the respondents (73 percent) reported that the wastewater was transported to the sewage treatment plant for its treatment, while a small number of them documented that it was dumped on open ground . The actual sewerage water consumption is lower than the norm of 45 LPCD (for f lushing purposes) in more than half of the respondents. A large number of the respondents (65 percent) liked to have an underground sewerage network, whereas some of them (14 percent) did not mind a septic tank and the remaining were okay with disposing into surface drains/nalas. Almost everyone stated

132 Ramakrishna Nallathiga and Kala S. Sridhar

that no problems were faced by them as far as the sanitation/ sewerage was concerned, except during the monsoon period. Yet, about 50 percent of the respondents in Pune would complain if there were any problem and two-thirds of them reported that the problem would get addressed within one to three days after reporting the complaint.

Stormwater drainage A large number of the respondents in Pune reported that they neither experienced f looding (70 percent) nor witnessed regular f looding (82.5 percent). However, a large number of them (67 percent) reported issues with the existing (or non-existing) drainage system such as poor maintenance of it or the absence of an underground drainage system. About 62 percent of them chose to complain to the ULG. About half of them (45 percent) mentioned that the issue would get addressed within one to three days after the complaint, whereas a large number of them opined that it would take much longer than that. Figure 7.3 shows the grievance redressal time reported by the respondents for stormwater drainage complaints. It ref lects a divide among respondents over the time taken for redressal. A large number of them (42 percent) sought a combined underground drainage system for stormwater and sewage rather than a separate underground drainage system.

Solid waste management Solid waste management in Pune was nearly universal by reaching 95 percent of the sample respondents. Most of the respondents (75 percent) reported that the waste collection was done by either municipal staff or community workers. Waste separation at source was also widely prevalent among the respondents (80

>30 days 31%

1-3 days 33%

16-30 days 5% 9-15 days 10% FIGURE 7.3

4-8 days 21%

Grievance redressal time for stormwater drainage, Pune

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percent). Waste collection was mostly either vehicle- or trolley-based (55 percent), but manual collection was also prevalent among one-third of respondents (32 percent). Waste transportation was well known to the respondents (80 percent) and much of it was organized in the form of either truck-based (83 percent) or tractor-based transport (17 percent). Biological decomposition was believed to be the major method of waste treatment (45 percent) but respondents reported that it was either treated in landfill or incinerated. Figure 7.4 shows household-level solid waste generation distribution in Pune. Waste generation at the household level was predominantly in the range of 0–500 gm (or 0–125 gm per capita) (30 percent), consistent with national estimates, and 501–1,000 gm (or, 125–250 gm per capita) (40 percent) and remaining were well above 1,000 gm (or more than 250 gm per capita). Waste generation among a majority of the respondent households is below the norms that prescribe > 500 gm per capita ( Joshi and Ahmed, 2016). Respondents reportedly paid for waste collection at an average of Rs. 187 per household. Most of the respondents complained about the problems they faced (62.5 percent), but most of them (60 percent) reported that it would take a longer time than a mere one to three days to get the issue redressed by the ULG.

Street lights The provision of street lights in Pune was almost universally reported to have been available to the respondents (90 percent). Interestingly, almost of half of the respondents reported the adoption of energy-efficient LED lights while other reported the use of tube and other bulbs. The maintenance of street lighting systems was also reported to be good (80 percent). Figure 7.5 shows the spacing of lamp posts in the localities of sample respondents. The spacing of street lamp posts is good, with a large number of them (67 percent) reported to be less than 40 m apart, which is better than the norm >2000 g 13% 0-500 g 30% 1001-2000 g 17%

501-1000 g 40% FIGURE 7.4

Household waste generation among sample respondents, Pune

134 Ramakrishna Nallathiga and Kala S. Sridhar

41-60 m 11%

> 60 m 0% 0-10 m 22%

26-40 m 25%

11-25 m 42% FIGURE 7.5

Street lamppost spacing in the localities of respondents, Pune

prescribed by the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) (2011) for the placement of lamp posts is 45–50 m apart for local and collector roads. However, the respondents also mentioned that the problems of streetlights tend to persist for some time and half of them reportedly complained about them. But the redressal would take place at varied response times, with only 40 percent mentioning that it would get done in one to three days after the complaint.

Roads The norms of the High Powered Expert Committee (2011) and Urban Development Plan Formulation Implementation (UDPFI) Guidelines (ITPI, 1996) provide for 11 percent of the urban area to be supplied with paved (bitumen or cement concrete) roads for Class I cities. HPEC (2011) also adopted another measure of road density at 12.25 km/sq km of paved roads (bitumen or cement concrete) in Class I cities. Roads provision is a universal service among the respondents (89 percent). Pune Municipal Corporation’s road length is 2,200 km for an area of 331.26 sq km, as per its website, making for a road density of only 6.64 km of roads/sq km of its land area, less than the norm stipulated by the HPEC (2011). Nonetheless, superior pavement roads (cement concrete and bitumen) were within the reach of most of the respondents (82 percent) in Pune. Maintenance of roads was also reportedly good, as noted by 55 percent of the respondents. But, bad road conditions were also reported by 50 percent of the respondents, who complained about the same with the ULG (55 percent). Figure 7.6 shows the grievance redressal time for roads. Evidently, the redressal of complaints would take much longer in the case of roads (35 percent reported it would take more than 30 days) than in the case of other services such as water supply or sewerage.

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135

1- 3 days 20%

> 30 days 35%

4-8 days 18% 16-30 days 9%

FIGURE 7.6

9-15 days 18%

Grievance redressal time for roads, Pune

Most of the residents aspired to cement concrete roads (67.5 percent) followed by bitumen roads (25 percent) respectively.

Urban service delivery status in Indian cities: pilot study of Hyderabad The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is the ULG primarily responsible for the provision of major urban civic services to citizens. It was formed in 2007–2008 after an amalgamation of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) and 12 surrounding smaller ULGs into GHMC. The city area under the GHMC jurisdiction is about 625 sq km; it is divided into five administrative zones, 18 administrative circles and 150 administrative divisions (or wards). The GHMC has the responsibility of providing the following major civic services: •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Building and maintenance of roads, streets and f lyovers. Street lighting. Garbage disposal and street cleaning. Maintenance of parks and open spaces. Urban planning and city development. Municipal schools. Registration of births and deaths. Public health and sanitation.

It should be noted that as discussed earlier, the water supply and sewerage are the responsibility of a parastatal agency (HMWSSB) with which the GHMC has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), unlike in the PMC where the ULG is responsible for the provision of water supply and sewerage.

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A pilot survey of citizen households was done in Hyderabad in 2018 with the sample covering different parts of the city while focusing on the working population. Most of the respondents were of middle- (14 percent) and high-income (72 percent) groups, and they had received a tertiary level of education or beyond. Responses were obtained from a small representative sample of households used in the analysis. All of them lived in pucca housing units, i.e. independent apartments/houses that are built with permanent material. The following sections describe some major findings from the pilot survey.

Water supply Water supply was predominantly through bore/tube wells (65 percent) and piped water (35 percent) for domestic use, and somewhat similar was the case of drinking water, i.e. dependence on piped water was 43 percent and on other sources was 57 percent. It ref lects a high dependence on alternate sources like bore/ tube wells and water tanks in Hyderabad. Likewise, water supply was accessed inside household premises, i.e. within either the house or plot by a predominant number of respondents (93 percent), while a few of them accessed it outside their premises and at public stand posts. Figure 7.7 shows the distribution of the sample on water supply levels in Hyderabad. Only a small proportion of respondent households (14 percent) received the supply above the norm, i.e. > 675 liters (or 135 LPCD with a household size of 4), and the remaining large proportion of them (86 percent) received less than the norm (135 LPCD). The reported average household water supply received was 396 liters, which would translate into 99 LPCD, considering the respondents’ average household size of four. On the water supply duration, only 30 percent of the sample respondents reportedly received water on a continuous basis, i.e. 24-7, and 60 percent of

>675 L 14%

0-100 L 0% 101-250 L 28%

501-675 L 29%

251-500 L 29% FIGURE 7.7

Distribution of respondents on household water supply, Hyderabad

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them received it intermittently for four to six hours, two to four hours and one to two hours respectively. Also, with regard to water supply frequency, few respondents (35 percent) received water on a daily basis; the remainder received it on alternate days. The frequency and duration of water supply reported in Hyderabad are lower than that reported in Pune. A large number of respondents (85 percent), however, reportedly received water supply at an adequate pressure. Most of the respondents (92.5 percent) were also happy with the quality of water supplied, which was confirmed by most of them (93.5 percent) not reporting any incidence of gastric diseases. Yet, 85 percent of them also reported the deployment of water purifiers (67 percent) and bottled water (25 percent) to meet with any health problems arising from the poor quality of water. A large number of the sample respondents (93 percent) also reported backup arrangements to domestic water supply in the event of inadequate supply or non-supply of municipal water, which, like in Pune, shows the uncertainty of municipal water supply. The alternate dependence was on water tankers/vendors and the installation of bore/tube wells within the premises. A large number of the respondents (93 percent) in Hyderabad chose to complain to the municipal body in the event of any issue with water supply, and a large proportion of them (61.5 percent) opined that the issue would get redressed within one to three days. The water consumption/requirements of various household uses are as shown in Figure 7.8. The average water requirement per person works out at 119 LPCD, which is only marginally lower than the norm of 135 LPCD, in contrast to the 90 LPCD requirement reported in Pune.

Vehicles, 32 L Animals, 2 L Drinking, 23 L Gardening, 41L

Bathing, 102 L

Toilet, 67 L Cooking, 19 L Hand/Face Wash, 16 L Washing Utensils, 36 L Washing Floor, 19 L FIGURE 7.8

Washing clothes, 95 L

Water requirements for various uses among sample households, Hyderabad

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Sewerage Access to sewerage facility was predominantly inside the house among the respondents in Hyderabad. Further, sewerage connection was available for a majority of sample households (57 percent), while one-third of them were dependent upon septic tanks (30.5 percent) as well as surface drains (30.5 percent). A large number of the respondents (67 percent) reported the wastewater was taken to the sewage treatment plant. Almost all respondents reported problems with their sewerage system; a very large number of them (85 percent) also complained to the GHMC regarding the same. Figure 7.9 shows the grievance redressal time reported by the respondents; a majority of the respondents reported redressal within three days.

Stormwater drainage About half of the sample respondents in Hyderabad reportedly had underground drainage systems prevalent in their locality, while an equal number of them reported neither surface drains nor a built drainage system prevalent. Unsurprisingly, half of them reported that they experienced f looding during monsoon (50 percent) but did not witness regular f looding (92.5 percent). A large number of them (93 percent) reported issues with the existing (or non-existing) drains system with poor maintenance or absence of built drains. Almost 92 percent chose to complain to the ULG. Figure 7.10 shows the grievance redressal time reported by the respondents for stormwater drainage. Most of the respondents (67 percent) emphasized the need of having an underground stormwater drainage system in place. A large

>30 days 16-30 8% days 8%

8-15 days 7% 1-3 days 54%

4-8 days 23%

FIGURE 7.9

Grievance redressal time for sewerage, Hyderabad

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>30 days 15%

9-15 days 8%

1-3 days 54% 4-8 days 23%

FIGURE 7.10

Grievance redressal time for stormwater drainage, Hyderabad

number of them (57 percent) preferred a combined underground drainage system for stormwater and sewage rather than separate systems as was the practice.

Solid waste management Solid waste management in Hyderabad is almost universal, as it reached 95 percent of the sample respondents. Most of the respondents (93 percent) reported that the waste collection is made by either municipal staff or community workers. Waste separation at source was also widely prevalent among the respondents (71 percent). Waste collection was mostly vehicle-based (50 percent), but manual collection was also prevalent in a good number of cases (43 percent). The waste transportation system was also well known to the respondents (92 percent) and much of it was organized in the form of truck-based (77 percent) transport. Figure 7.11 shows household-level solid waste generation in Hyderabad. Waste generation at the household level was predominantly in the range of > 2,000 gm (or more than 500 gm per capita) (36 percent) and 501–1,000 gm (or more than 125–250 gm per capita) (43 percent) (per household), in Hyderabad, which is in line with the norms of > 500 gm per capita ( Joshi and Ahmed, 2016). The survey respondents were equally divided on the treatment of the solid waste collected – biological treatment, sanitary landfill, incineration and open dumping. The survey respondents reportedly paid for waste collection at an average of Rs. 80 per household per month. Most of the respondents complained about the problems they faced (77 percent). Figure 7.12 shows the grievance redressal time for solid waste management, and more than half of the respondents reported a turnaround time of within three days, similar to that for water and sewerage.

140 Ramakrishna Nallathiga and Kala S. Sridhar

0-500 gm 7%

>2000 gm 36%

501-1000 gm 43% 1001-2000 gm 14% FIGURE 7.11

Solid waste generation at household level among sample, Hyderabad

>30 days 9%

9-15 days 18% 1-3 days 46%

4-8 days 27% FIGURE 7.12

Grievance redressal of solid waste management, Hyderabad

Street lights The provision of street lights in Hyderabad was universal (100 percent), as reported by the respondents. Interestingly, almost 85 percent of the respondents reported the adoption of energy-efficient LED lights while others reported the use of tube and other bulbs. The maintenance of street lighting systems was reported to be good (83 percent). Figure 7.13 shows the spacing of lamp posts reported by the respondents in this city.

Urban civic service delivery and norms

41-60 m 0%

141

>60 m 0% 0-10 m 21%

26-40 m 36%

11-25 m 43%

FIGURE 7.13

Street lamppost spacing in localities of respondents, Hyderabad

The spacing of lamp posts is appropriate with all the respondents (100 percent) reporting it to be less than 40 m, which is better than the HPEC Norm for lamppost spacing of 45–50 m apart for collector and local roads. However, the respondents mentioned that the problems of streetlights tended to persist for some time. Most of them reported to have complained about them, but the redressal took place at varied response times, though 67 percent mentioned that it would get done in one to three days.

Roads Roads provision was almost a universal service among the respondents (93 percent) in Hyderabad. Roads with superior pavement (cement concrete and bitumen) were within the reach of most of the respondents (93 percent). Maintenance of roads was reported as good by 57 percent of the respondents. Bad road conditions were reported by 85 percent of the respondents, who complained about the same to the ULG (57 percent). Figure 7.14 shows the grievance redressal time for roads in Hyderabad. Evidently, the redressal of complaints takes much longer in the case of roads (38 percent reported that it would take more than 30 days). Most of the residents aspired to cement concrete roads (57.5 percent) followed by the bitumen roads (35 percent).

Summary and conclusions The following is a summary of the major findings from the pilot survey of households in both the focal cities of study – Pune and Hyderabad:

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1-3 days 12% >30 days 38%

4-8 days 37% 16-30 days 13% FIGURE 7.14

••

••

9-15 days 0%

Grievance redressal time of roads, Hyderabad

In the case of water supply, both actual water received (average of 107 and 99 LPCD in Pune and Hyderabad respectively) and water demanded (90 and 119 LPCD in Pune and Hyderabad respectively) are below the water supply norm of 135 LPCD. This shows that in Pune, water supplied was higher than the requirement on average, while in Hyderabad, the water required was higher than what was supplied. This points to revising these norms, as it is possible that citizens economize on the use of water when they are in apartments, with no access to gardens, like it used to be in the past. The water demand structure, however, indicates some new sources of water demand at the household level, which do not figure in the water supply norms. Therefore, water consumption demand drivers are changing. Water consumption from the municipal supply or the parastatal entity, as the case may be, is lower and not reliable as evident from wider dependence on groundwater from water tanks and bore/tube wells. Evidently, the water supply does not reach all citizens and is not of adequate quality and quantity for consumption. Grievance redressal on water supply is, however, quite efficient, in about one to three days. Sewerage access is not adequate among the respondents in Hyderabad, given citizens use decentralized systems and discharge wastewater into drains. Sewerage water use/consumption is also found to be much less than the norm of 45 LPCD, which again points to the need for revising the norm. This is on account of technological advances in f lushing systems – modern rapid f lushing systems require much less water than the old manual/ mechanical systems. Underground sewerage is confined to only a few parts of the city and it is yet to expand to other areas in the case of both the cities, although in the case of Pune sewerage service is provided by the ULG and

Urban civic service delivery and norms

••

••

••

••

143

in Hyderabad, it is the responsibility of the parastatal entity. Respondents are divided over whether sewage is treated. Stormwater drainage is poorer in Hyderabad than in Pune and does not reach the entire population; monsoon f looding is experienced by many in both cities, though it is not a regular phenomenon. Drainage system improvements can reduce f looding. Solid waste management reaches almost all the respondents in both cities, but the survey indicates that some amount of waste collection continues to be manual and is yet to move to vehicle-based systems. Waste generation is at or below the norm in a majority of respondent households. Waste separation at source as well as charging for waste collection are prevalent in both the cities. There is a divide among respondents on waste treatment methods that are used. Based on the preliminary evidence here, grievance redressal takes longer with issues of solid waste management. Streetlights are almost universal in both cities and they are using energyefficient systems such as LEDs for street lighting. The lamp posts are acceptably spaced as reported by the respondents in both cities when compared with what is specified by HPEC norms. However, the redressal of complaints with street lighting takes a longer time. Roads are yet to reach the full population, despite their significance for access to jobs and commute for various purposes; further, the pavement quality is yet to improve in both cities. Citizens aspire to have better roads in these cities. There are also reportedly many complaints with regards to roads, but their redressal takes a much longer time. Most importantly, it does seem that norms for core civic services need to be revisited.

The pilot survey of the citizens on the urban services gave some insights into the service delivery status and also drew comparisons with prevalent norms. Based on these two pilots, we can draw some of the major inferences that are relevant to policy. ••

Water supply requirement/demand in both the cities is lesser than the norm of 135 LPCD. The citizens of both the cities are not demanding a very high quantity of water be supplied but are more pragmatic by asking for improved or better service delivery, i.e. improved frequency, duration and quality of water supplied. Water supply and citizen satisfaction (gauged by grievances and redressal) are better in Pune, where the service is provided by the ULG, rather than in Hyderabad, where it is provided by a parastatal agency. Further, although the institutional arrangements for water supply in Pune and Hyderabad are different, with the municipal body being responsible in the case of Pune and a parastatal entity responsible in Hyderabad, the Pune water supply is better than that in Hyderabad, confirming what Sridhar and Mathur (2009) found.

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Sewerage water use requirements are reducing (and remain well below the norm) due to technological changes in the devices i.e., f lushing systems. However, sewerage is also not reaching out to the entirety of respondents in both cities and some of them are dependent upon decentralized sanitation options, which have implications for sewage management as the untreated sewage f lows into surface water bodies like lakes and rivers, thereby contaminating them. Also, the treatment of sewage collected is another issue that needs attention, as the citizens perceived it is treated, which may not be the reality. Grievance redressal is good for this service. Stormwater drains need enhanced development and improved management, given the experience of f looding by some of the respondents during monsoons. Solid waste management requires improvement in collection systems which are currently archaic. Respondents in both the cities report better services with regard to roads, solid waste management and streetlights, which are also in line with the norms. However, they also need quality improvements, e.g. pavement quality (or all-weather roads), vehicle-based waste collection and better illumination (LED devices). Importantly, the grievance redressal of these services needs improvement. The results point to the need for improving services so as to reach out to all the citizens through reforming the service delivery organization and finances, as pointed out earlier by other studies, e.g. Sridhar (2013). The results indicate the need for improving the qualitative dimensions of service delivery through governance improvements – public accountability, participation and interfacing. This requires a focused center for identifying and undertaking reforms within the ULGs through system improvements as advocated by others, e.g. Ahluwalia (2012). In other words, apart from improving urban finances, institutional and governance reforms are required for improving civic service delivery in Indian cities, as also advocated by Bhatnagar and Ramanujam (2011).

Note 1 The rising importance of cities is also ref lected by the rise in the number of urban areas defined under census, which increased from 2,843 in 1951 to 6,166 in 2011 (Census, 2011).

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BIS (1993), IS 1172: Code of Basic Requirements for Water Supply, Drainage and Sanitation, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi. Chowdhury, S., I. Gupta, S. Prinja & M. Trivedi (2017), Does access to basic amenities inf luence health status? Evidence from a household survey in three States of India, Journal of Infrastructure Development, 9(1): 23–35. Claderon, C. & L. Serven (2004), The Effects of Infrastructure Development on Growth and Income Distribution, Working Paper No. 270, Central Bank of Chile, Chile. CPHEEO (1999), Manual on Water Supply and Treatment, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, New Delhi. CPHEEO (2000), Manual on Solid Waste Management Systems, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, New Delhi. CPHEEO (2012), Manual on Sewerage and Sewage Treatment, Part A – Engineering, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, New Delhi. De, Prabir (2012), Does governance matter for infrastructure development? Empirical evidence from Asia, Journal of Infrastructure Development, 4(2): 153–180. Estache, A. & G. Garsous (2012), The Impact of Infrastructure on Economic Growth in Developing Countries, IFC Economic Notes No. 1, International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC. Ghosh, B. & P. De (2005), Investigating the linkage between infrastructure and regional development in India: era of planning to globalization, Journal of Asian Economies, 15(2005): 1023–1050. DOI: 10.1016/jaieco2004.11.002 HPEC (2011), Chapter II: The State of Urban Service Delivery, Report on Indian Urban Infrastructure Services, The High Powered Expert Committee, (HPEC) for Estimating the Investment Requirements for Urban Infrastructure Services, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, New Delhi. ITPI (1996), Urban Development Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines – Volume 1, Centre for Research Documentation and Training, Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI), New Delhi. Kim, B. (2006), Infrastructure Development for Economic Development in Developing Countries: Lessons from Korea and Japan, GSICS Working Paper 11, Kobe University, Japan. Lall, S. V., H. G. Wang & U. Deichmann (2010), Infrastructure and City Competitiveness in India, UNU-WIDER Working Paper, UNU World Institute of Development Economics Research, Japan. Deichmann, U. & S. V. Lall (2003), Are You Satisfied? Citizen Feedback and Delivery of Urban Services, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3070, World Bank, Washington, DC. Joshi, R. & S. Ahmed (2016), Status and challenges of municipal solid waste management in India: A review, Cogent Environmental Science, 2(1): 1139434. Mathur, M. P. & R. Chandra (2008), ‘Norms and standards of basic urban services – A situational analysis’, Urban India, 28(1&2): 122–151. Mathur, M. P., R. Chandra, S. Singh & B. Chattopadhyay (2007), Norms and Standards of Municipal Basic Services in India, NIUA WP Volumes 07–01, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi. MGI (2014), Understanding India’s Economic Geography, Research Report, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), New York. MoUD (2011), Improving Urban Services through Service Level Benchmarking, Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India, New Delhi. Nayyar-Stone, R. & H. P. Hatry (2010), Using Survey Information to Provide Evaluative Citizen Feedback for Public Service Decisions, IDG Working Paper No.

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2010-03, Centre for International Development and Governance, Urban Institute, Washington DC. NEERI (1996), Strategy Paper on Solid Waste Management in India, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2013), Reforming Delivery of Urban Services in Developing Countries: Evidence from Case Study in India, Working Paper 06, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2020), Is India’s urbanization really too low? Some evidence, Area Development and Policy, 5(1): 32–49. DOI: 10.1080/23792949.2019.1590153 Sridhar, Kala Seetharam & O. P. Mathur (2007), Developing Norms for Core Civic Services and Octroi in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Final Report Submitted to the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, NIPFP, NewDelhi, January. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam & Om Prakash Mathur (2009), Costs and Challenges of Local Urban Services: Evidence from India’s Cities, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. 277 pp.

8 WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BY USING SYSTEM DYNAMICS IN AHMEDABAD CITY Dhaarna and Varuvel Devadas

Introduction Water is a huge societal enterprise; if it is treated as an industrial sector, it will be the largest sector in the economy. It’s time to rethink and reinvent the way people deal with water. The other facts about water are that household demand for small quantities of water is price inelastic. It relates to the diamond–water paradox that water is more useful but of less value, while diamonds are less useful but more valuable; so, the price of water does not ref lect its value to life. Piped water networks are very capital intensive; the only comparable levels of capital intensity to water and the sanitation sector are those of power generation and petrochemicals. Water problems are largely local; so, storage of water is easy but transportation is very difficult and expensive. Long-distance water transport to curb local water scarcity is not an economically efficient solution, not only because water is heavy but also due to water losses. Water is a renewable resource; the quality of water and its location can be changed as it moves through the hydrological cycle, but it cannot be destroyed. Water is not just an economic good; it has powerful cultural, social, religious and environmental emotions (Dale Whittington, 2009). Problems faced by water and sanitation coverage statistics are that data is often self-reported and of varying quality. Surveys are carried out by using different parameters and definitions of water and sanitation services. Data comes from general-purpose surveys that include only a few questions about infrastructure services. Informal service options are typically ignored. Coverage statistics are usually done for just one infrastructure service and are not coordinated with reports of multiple infrastructure services at all income levels; households spend more on energy than on water as most households have more access to electricity than to other infrastructure services. Economic growth probably will solve

DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-8

148 Dhaarna and Varuvel Devadas

water and sanitation problems in many parts of the world over the next couple of decades. Corruption is also considered one of the major problems in the water and sanitation sector. Along with system complexity, which is that the water network is hidden underground, there are issues with lack of transparency in billing, pricing (Sridhar and Mathur, 2009, 2011) (for instance, estimating the marginal cost pricing of water in India’s cities find that many cities were underpricing their water) and lack of market discipline. Many donors and NGOs are working in this sector, so if one rejects corrupt practices, another donor can be found who follows them. Corruption is negatively correlated with technical efficiency in water utilities (Antonio Estache, 2002). A study of corruption in the South Asian water sector shows that there are illegal payments that a customer makes to water utility personnel for connection to water distribution systems, falsification of water bills for repairing breaks and the ignoring of illegal connections. Low-level water utility personnel pay bribes to people higher in the organization to obtain or keep a job, or for promotion and transfer to either a new post or out of the post. Illegal activities that private contractors are engaged in are payment for the award of contracts, collusion ex-ante as to how they will bid on the contracts, payment to government officials to monitor or manipulate bidding processes and the use of sub-standard materials (Davis, 2004). Although there is public participation in water supply systems recently, public participation in water conservation for the sustainability of resources is very rare. At the global level, dependence on water is realized when there is a water crisis, with two billion people living in water-scarce regions. Earth has only 2.5 percent freshwater and 97.5 percent saline water. Freshwater resources are located far from human populations and are unevenly distributed. The following facts are relevant in this context: ••

••

••

••

••

There are an estimated 263 major international river basins in the world, covering 231,059,898 sq km or 45.3 percent of the Earth’s land surface area (excluding Antarctica) (Sarfaz, 2013). Groundwater represents about 90 percent of the world’s readily available freshwater resources, and some 1.5 billion people depend upon groundwater for their drinking water (Maya Velis, 2017). Agricultural water use accounts for about 75 percent of total global consumption, mainly through crop irrigation, while industrial use accounts for about 20 percent, and the remaining 5 percent is used for domestic purposes (FAO, 2017). It is estimated that two out of every three people will live in water-stressed areas by the year 2025. There are 490 million people in 29 countries suffering from water shortage (UN-Water, 2014). Clean water supplies and sanitation remain major problems in many parts of the world, with 20 percent of the global population lacking access to safe drinking water (WHO, 2018).

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UNICEF explored that in India, in 2006 different sectors like domestic, agriculture and industries together used approximately 829 billion cubic meters of water. In 2050, India will overtake China’s population and the water demand will be doubled as compared to 2006. •• ••

••

••

•• ••

India receives an average of 4 trillion cubic meters of rainfall every year (PIB-GoI, 2015). There is a lack of collection and storage infrastructure; 48 percent of rainfall ends up in India’s rivers and only 18 percent can be utilized (Suhag, 2016). India possesses about 432 billion cubic meters of groundwater replenished yearly from rain and river drainage, but only 395 billion cubic meters are utilizable (CWC, 2015). The share of agriculture and irrigation purposes is 82 percent and the remaining 18 percent is divided between the industrial and domestic use of the total of 395 billion cubic meters. India has a total of 10.812 trillion cubic meters of static groundwater (CGWB, 2017). India has an average annual of 1.869 trillion cubic meters of water, of which 1.12 trillion cubic meters are available for consumption (Suhag, 2016).

In India, a large investment is required for the creation of new water infrastructure assets and for the operations and maintenance of existing ones. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, 50 billion cubic meters are used by industries, which is nearly 6 percent of total freshwater abstraction (Naina Havaldar, 2016). India is one of the major drought-prone countries due to decreasing availability of per capita water and increasing population. The annual average per capita water availability is given in Table 8.1. In India, the demand for water is growing every day; at the same time, water quality is deteriorating due to intensive industrial use and agricultural practices. In 2018 99 million people still lacks access to drinking water facilities, and whatever is available is also not up to the WHO drinking water standards (Water-org, 2018). Water quality is also neglected by the local community and administration. In drought conditions, the quantity of water is given more emphasis than the quality of water. TABLE 8.1 Annual average per capita water availability

S. no.

Year

Water availability (cu. m.)

1 2

2001 2011

1,820 1,545

Source: MWR-GoI, 2017.

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Gujarat is one of the highly urbanized and the fastest growing economies in the country, but it is also one of the drought-prone states. It is divided into four regions as provided in Table 8.2. Gujarat is the westernmost state of India and its ecological, hydrological and geo-climatic conditions vary a lot. It is divided into four zones, namely Kachchh, Saurashtra, North Gujarat (north of Sabarmati) and South and Central Gujarat (south of Sabarmati). South Gujarat is f lood-prone, while all other regions are drought-prone. Rainfall is used as the primary source of water but it’s erratic, scanty and unevenly distributed; Kachchh is a desert, which receives very thin rainfall, while Dang receives heavy rainfall. The total water resource potential of Gujarat is 50,000 MCM of which groundwater is 12,000 MCM (24 percent) and surface water is 38,000 (76 percent). The surface water, that is, 38,000 MCM, is available through 185 river basins; an 89 percent share (33,750 MCM) comes from 17 river basins and provides water to North, South and Central Gujarat. Out of the total groundwater resources of 12,000 MCM, the highest share is in the Saurashtra region, that is, 35.8 percent (4,300 MCM). South Gujarat has 32.9 percent (3,950 MCM), North Gujarat has 27.5 percent (3,300 MCM) and Kachchh has 3.8 percent (450 MCM) share and can be referred to in the Region wise water availability map, Gujarat (in MCM) (Shelat, 2004). Kachchh has very poor groundwater resources, while North Gujarat was very rich but due to overexploitation it has reduced over time. Gujarat with 33 districts and 251 talukas with an area of 196,024 sq km and a coastline of 1,600 km receives an average rainfall of 1,658 mm (Meteorological Department, 2018). Gujarat finds it difficult to manage its water resources, and 75 percent of the water needs are met by groundwater, which is causing the depletion and degradation of groundwater at an alarming rate. In Gujarat, 75 percent of villages have been declared as “No Source Villages” which means villages with no sustainable or dependable water source. Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat and the administrative capital of the Ahmedabad district. It is the seventh-largest city in India with a population of 5.6 million and an area of 466 sq km In 2011, the new Ahmedabad Municipal

TABLE 8.2 Regional water distribution of Gujarat as per population

S. no.

Regions

Population percentage (%)

Quantity of water provided (cu. m.)

1 2 3 4

Kachchh Saurashtra North Gujarat (north of Sabarmati) South and Central Gujarat (south of Sabarmati)

03 29 30 38

876 734 427 1,932

Source: GUJENVIS.

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Corporation limit was comprised of 17 Nagarpalikas and 27 Gram Panchayats, and the details of Ahmedabad city are shown in Table 8.3. According to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, there has been a dramatic shift in ground and surface water utilization over the past 40 years. Water supply details of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation are in Table 8.4, and Figure 8.1 represents the water utilization trend of Ahmedabad. The water is transferred from the source to the treatment plant where it is treated with chlorine and from a trunk main it reaches the water distribution station from where through a pipeline network it reaches residences, industries and other uses. The sequence of the water supply system is provided in Figure 8.2. The Kotarpur water treatment plant has a capacity of 650 MLD. Intake from well-1 is 165 MLD; it was commissioned in 2003 and cost Rs. 2.02 crores. Intake from well-2 is 330 MLD; it was commissioned in 2006 under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( JnNURM) and cost Rs. 8.4 crores. Dudheswar Water Works and seven French wells have come into operation from August 2002. The Raska water project has a capacity of 300 MLD; it was commissioned in 2000 and cost Rs. 120 crores. A Jaspur water treatment plant of 275 MLD capacity was planned, constructed and commissioned for the new West TABLE 8.3 Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Data

S. no.

Description

Unit

Value (2001)

Value (2011)

1 2 3 4 5 6

Population Households Area Density Zones Wards

Million Nos. Sq. km. Persons/sq. km. Nos. Nos.

3.5 552,164 190 18,240 5 44

5.6 1,265,372 466 12,031 5 64

Source: census, 2011.

TABLE 8.4 Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation water supply details

S. no.

Description

Value

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Water supply Water treatment plants Water distribution stations Water trunk mains Water distribution network Population coverage water supply U/G tanks storage capacity (143 nos.) Overhead tanks (141 nos.) Per capita water supply

1,060 MLD 4 nos. 143 nos. 250 km. 3,830 km. 90% 857.40 MLD 62.69 MLD 140 to 160 LPCD

Source: AMC, water supply and sanitation in Ahmedabad City, 2013.

152 Dhaarna and Varuvel Devadas

FIGURE 8.1

Water utilization trend of Ahmedabad

FIGURE 8.2

Water supply system of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

Zone area of Ahmedabad in November 2006, and the same was augmented to 400 MLD capacity in the year 2014; it cost 383 crores.

Data collection Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has a proposed benchmark for indicators of coverage, per capita supply, metering extent, non-revenue water, continuity of water supply, quality of water supplied, efficiency in the redressal of customer complaints, cost recovery, efficiency in collection of water supply and water supply coverage in slums (GoI, 2016). There is no data available for illegal connections, estimated water demand over the next three years, average pressure at the water distribution system and the consumer end, pump replacement, recruited sanctioned staff, percentage losses from source to water, percentage losses from the water treatment plant to water, pipe breaks per km length of the network, percentage of network refurbishment and functional meters or metered connection percentage. The data provided in Table 8.5 depicts the water supply scenario in Ahmedabad. Data is what the corporation has proposed and what is actually happening on the

Coverage of water supply connections Per capita supply of water Extent of metering of water connections Extent of non-revenue water (NRW) Continuity of water supply Quality of water supplied Efficiency in redressal of customer complaints Cost recovery in water supply services Efficiency in collection of water supply-related charges Coverage of water supply in slums % of population with access to improved water services Coverage of distribution network Days of supply Unit electricity cost of production Per capita revenue expenditure Average revenue per water connection Per capita revenue income % losses from WDS to final consumption (including both leakage on service connections and unauthorized connections) % authorized and unbilled consumption Total complaints in water supply per 1,000 connections/year Annual cost of losses (real and apparent) Billed arrears to total billed demand

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Source: PAS, 2016.

19 20 21 22

Proposed indicator

S. no.

TABLE 8.5 Water supply services indicator benchmark and values

% Ratio Rs in Lakhs %

100% 135 lpcd 100% 20% 24 hours 100% 80% 100% 90% 100% 100% 100% 30 Rs/Kl Ratio Rs Ratio %

Benchmark

ND 144.6 ND 48.1

86.5 146.6 NA 26.3 2.3 96.1 99 37 78.2 ND ND ND 30 ND 2,724.8 258.9 3,799.2 ND

ND 111 ND 39

84.9 143.2 NA 27 2.3 99.9 96 39.1 69.2 62.2 ND 89.9 30 ND 0 330.5 0 2.8

ND 99.3 ND ND

82.3 143.2 NA 24.7 2.5 86 96 ND ND 70 ND 89.9 30 ND 0 ND 0 18.9

ND ND ND 43.5

80.1 141.3 NA 25.2 2.5 96.6 96 58.4 67.2 ND ND ND 30 ND ND ND ND ND

ND NA ND 12.3

76.5 135.9 NA 24.4 2.5 96.6 96 63.7 70.4 ND ND ND 30 ND ND ND ND ND

3.4 NA 5,972.6 46

95.8 136.5 NA 24.2 2.5 98.4 96 62.5 59.5 75 98.1 94.8 30 2.8 3,564.6 ND 5,060.8 ND

2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

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ground. The data is collected by the Centre for Water and Sanitation, CEPT Ahmedabad. Subsequently, the collected data from the municipal corporation was verified with department officials and then cross-checked with other documents and reports. This data is accepted by the government of Gujarat and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and is now considered as gazette data. So, the collected data are reliable and calculation is done by using the same data.

Cost component analysis There are two types of water supply – piped and non-piped water supply. Nonpiped water supply consists of rooftop catchments, water collected from wells and springs, deep boreholes, handpumps, household supply by vendors and water tankers. It has been observed that the quality of non-piped water is usually bad. So, the piped water supply is considered a good option to cater to water demand, especially for domestic purposes. There are seven components considered in this chapter to calculate the cost of water network from supply to treatment and finally discharge for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for 2017. They are: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Opportunity cost of raw water supply. Storage and transmission to treatment plant. Treatment to drinking water standards. Distribution of water to households. Collection of wastewater from home and conveyance to wastewater treatment. (6) Cost of wastewater treatment. (7) Damage associated with discharge of treated wastewater. In this chapter, only water supply is discussed and not wastewater (which the next chapter discusses), so wastewater collection, its cost of treatment and damage won’t be accounted for. The cost of operation and maintenance, losses and every year’s extra project will be added. This chapter only calculates the cost of water supply from source to household, not sewerage. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has good own sources of income, assuming the capital cost of the water supply network is recovered by now. So, user charges are calculated on the basis of the yearly budget, and the calculation below is done based on the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s budget of 2017. Capital cost = (Rs. 3.828 crores + Rs. 14.616 crores + Rs. 208.8 crores + Rs. 383 crores) = Rs. 610.244 crores Operation and maintenance cost = Rs. 188.89 crores Cost of water losses = Rs. 59.726 crores Cost of metered water connection = Rs. 23.41 crores

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Total = Rs. 272.026 crores Total HHs in AMC boundary = 1,265,372 Total connection coverage in AMC boundary = 95.8 percent HH with water connection = 1,212,226 User charges/connection per year = Rs. 2,244.02 User charges/connection per month = Rs. 187 Cost recovery in the water supply is 62.5 percent of operations and maintenance and the average revenue per water connection is Rs. 330.5 per year as per the government data in 2017. Total revenue collection = (62.5/100 × 188.89) crores = Rs. 118.06 crores Ahmedabad, being one of the most self-sufficient and efficient municipal corporations, is running at a loss in water supply by Rs. 153.96 crores, which is 56.60 percent of total expenditure. The Municipal Corporation and smart city projects are expecting to collect full user charges and make the system water-efficient, but the data of the most efficient AMC ref lects another story. The data still did not tell how many people pay their user charges, just that cost recovery is 62.5 percent. It is an insufficient detail and perhaps a few households share the burden of charges more than others who are not even paying. As per 2017 data, the percentage coverage of water supply connection is 95.8 percent, while coverage in slums is 75 percent. AMC supplies 190.6 LPCD from source, while only 136.5 LPCD reaches households, meaning 54 LPCD (24.8 percent per person) is lost, even while satisfying the generally accepted norm of supply of 135 LPCD. Data regarding illegal connection, water pressure, staff requirement, losses from source to household, pipe breaks per km length, percentage refurbishment and percentage of metered connections are missing. Ahmedabad is supplying water for 30 days. Table 8.6 shows the revenue expenditure of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on water supply. Discounted cash f low technique has been used to forecast the expenditure for water supply services. The actual expenditure rate increased to 4.686 percent in 2018 and using the same for the years ahead, expenditure is calculated for the year 2025. The discount rate for the central bank is 6.25 percent. Cash f low for each year is given in Table 8.7. TABLE 8.6 Total revenue expenditure of water supply system, 2018

S. no. Account head

2015–16 2016–17 2017–18

2018–19 (BE)

1 2 3 4 5

1,166.73 13,261.41 1,929.51 2,085.4 18,443

1,423.88 13,925.66 2,593.51 2,300 20,243

Dudeshwar water works Water pumping station expenses Water distribution Kotarpur water works Total

1,098.42 12,764.71 2,095.17 2,085.55 18,044

Source: AMC, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Budget, 2018.

1,331.28 13,079.59 2,349.41 2,129.09 18,889

156 Dhaarna and Varuvel Devadas TABLE 8.7 Discounted cash f low table (in lakhs)

Year

Total exp.

2019 19,773.39 2020 20,698.79 2021 21,667.49 2022 22,681.53 2023 23,743.02 2024 24,854.20 2025 26,017.37 DCF of AMC expenditure

18,610.25 18,335.26 18,064.33 17,797.40 17,534.42 17,275.32 17,020.05 124,637.03

Source: By authors.

Using the formula below: DCF = [CF1 / (1 + r)1] + [CF2 / (1 + r)2] + … + [CFn / (1 + r)n] r = discount rate (WACC) CF = cash flow

Based on the above, the current estimated value of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s expenditure in 2018 is Rs. 124,637.03 lakhs.

Integrated water resource management The world is witnessing technological advancement, demographic transition, geographical shifts of population and water scarcity. Increased population, overutilization of water and shrinking water supply have created the greatest challenge for the human race, i.e. water scarcity. In order to ensure development, it is very important to assess, conserve and make efficient use of available water resources because tensions and disputes on sharing and control of this scarce resource are becoming contested issues among communities, regions, and states. The decline in water availability and increase in demand leads to water conservation and its effective management, which is really important for sustainability. In this situation, there is a need to encourage watershed development, rainwater harvesting, water recycling and reuse and conjunctive use of water for sustaining the water supply in the long run (NCERT, 2015). In rural areas, water is used mainly for agriculture and also for animal husbandry, household activities, fisheries, poultry, transportation, infrastructure facilities and rural industrialization. The majority of the utilization of water is in the agriculture sector, which accounts for 70 percent, while the industry share is 20 percent and a 10 percent share goes to domestic uses. About half the population of the world lives in urban areas and water plays a crucial role in the sustainability and growth of urban settlements. In urban areas, water is a major requirement for industries, domestic use, infrastructure, transportation and

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energy generation. Two major challenges in the water sector are lack of access to safe water and water-related disasters like droughts and f loods. In order to make the water system efficient, optimal utilization of resources is very important. Therefore, integrated water resource management (IWRM) must be promoted to coordinate all water issues by location (surface, ground), by users (rural, urban, peri-urban) or by use (domestic, irrigation, industrial and institutional).

Urban system All subsystems are interlinked and interdependent on each other, forming a system and function as a whole. The urban system is a complex social system, and it has the following features: •• •• •• ••

It is not a mechanistic system, but rather an adaptive system. It is an open system, and thus cannot be studied or regulated apart from its contextual environments, which are defined by the nature of interactions. It is characterized by the extreme interrelatedness of its parts, calling forth the need for viewing the system in its entirety. It is also characterized by substitutability of parts and functions implying that the detection of new and independent trends is difficult as they are often masked by the apparent stability of the parts.

Each and every subsystem that is mentioned above may or may not have subsystems within them. For example, the population can be categorized into people living in different types of households, such as high income, middle income, low income, slum residents, squatter settlements, pavement dwelling units, etc. Further, the population in each segment identified is classified into different castes, religions, creeds, etc. These groups are also further divided into various other subgroups like illiterate, literate, professionally qualified, special professionally qualified and so on. Similarly, in the urban land subsystem, urban land may be used for different purposes, such as residential and non-residential purposes, industries, infrastructure services, trade and commercial activities, urban agriculture, civic open spaces, etc. Like the above, other subsystems may also have different subsystems within their purview. These various subgroups need special attention while preparing an integrated development plan, which will be technically viable, economically feasible and socially acceptable for the development of the system. System dynamics is a methodology whereby complex, dynamic and nonlinear interactions in social systems can be understood and analyzed, and new structures and policies can be designed to improve the system’s behavior.

System approach in water resource management The system dynamics technique is used to develop integrated plans in various sectors. This chapter is an attempt to understand the theoretical implications of system dynamics in water resource management. To better understand system

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dynamics concepts, it is really important to understand the definition of systems, urban systems and various subsystems. As Devadas (1992), points out, (a) system functions as a whole with the interaction of several sub-systems. All the sub-systems of the system are interconnected, and interdependent to each other, and forming a system. A system may be a static or a dynamic one. In a dynamic system, if one of the sub-systems of the system defunct or functions with higher degree (taking a lead role during its function), its effects can be visualized in the entire system over a period of time. The urban system consists of seven subsystems, and are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Physical subsystem. Social subsystem. Economy subsystem. Ecology subsystem. Environment subsystem. Infrastructure subsystem. Institutional subsystem.

The dynamics of systems and their subsystems are shown in Figure 8.3. In order to quantify the function of the system, along with the relationship between the different subsystems, Figure 8.4 was modeled into Figure 8.4. It is showing interaction among different subsystems. All these subsystems are interlinked and interdependent to each other and function as a whole. The urban system is purely

FIGURE 8.3

Dynamics of the system and its subsystems

Systems approach for water management

FIGURE 8.4

159

Interaction among different subsystems

a dynamic system. The urban area is considered a system and the interrelatedness of all these subsystems in the urban system is discussed in Figure 8.4. The physical subsystem consists of topography, land, land use pattern, vegetation, climatic conditions, availability of water and minerals; these are the control parameters for growth. Other parts of this subsystem comprise extreme climatic conditions, the possibility of f loods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and fire. These are the deciding factors to determine the location and boundaries of settlements. The social subsystem mainly comprises population study like sex, education, age-wise literacy rate, occupation details, employment, economic status, social status, etc. Behavior patterns of people based on tradition, culture, religion, caste and civilization are also a characteristic of this subsystem. All other subsystems are developed for the survival of this subsystem. The economic subsystem depends on the availability of natural resources, qualitative and qualified human capital, public health, social conditions, technological

160 Dhaarna and Varuvel Devadas

advancement, availability of market and customers. As economic conditions improve, people shift from the primary sector to the secondary and tertiary sectors for improved income and living standards, better lifestyle and multidimensional growth and development. Housing, amenities and infrastructural services like water supply, electricity, transportation, market, etc. are required for economic development. The ecological subsystem comprises many bio-systems. The communities and non-living environment together function as an ecological system. The urban ecological subsystem contains human population, birds and animal population, a large number of trees, a substantial area of grass and shrubs, and in many cases, lakes and ponds, so they do have autotrophic components or green belt. The urban forests and grasslands do have an enormous aesthetic value and they do contribute indirectly to pollution abatement by reducing noise, carbon dioxide and other products of fuel consumption, but fuel and labor expended in watering, fertilizing, pruning, removing wood and leaves and other work required to maintain the city’s private and public green belts add to the energy cost (money) of living in the city. The environmental subsystem consists of the natural, cultural and built environment. The built environment has roads, parks, buildings, barricades, playgrounds, etc., while the natural environment has distinctive properties like air intervention effect, urban heat island effect, wind tunnels created by large buildings, etc., and these both in combination affect human health to a great extent. The infrastructural subsystem is considered the backbone of the urban system by providing services, amenities and facilities. It exists with the help of a systematic institutional framework, technological advancement and economic growth. It is classified into physical, social and economic infrastructure, and all subsystems require the help of this subsystem for their survival. The institutional subsystem comprises organizations working at different levels especially at the local level. Local bodies receive funds and organize all the activities on the basis of priorities of the particular area for development. It paves the way for other subsystems for their functions and hence it is a very important subsystem, which needs interaction with all the other subsystems.

Merits of system dynamics •• ••

System dynamics adopt simulation techniques in order to generate the dynamic behavior of the system. System dynamics are based upon an explicit consideration of causality. Determining the existence of causality depends not just on quantitative data but also on human perception and experience.

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••

•• •• •• •• ••

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Over the years, system dynamics have emerged as one of the most powerful methodologies of social system analysis and design at the aggregate levels. System dynamics have the ability to address themselves to very important long-term as well as short-term issues of real systems. System dynamics provide the simplicity with which complex, nonlinear relationships can be modeled. Soft, social and psychological variables can also be modeled. The effect of alternative policy options can be requested with ease. System dynamics provide useful ways of communicating the models, requests and recommendations.

Water system Water is a very important element for the function of each subsystem and has various variables in each subsystem. Water is one of the binding elements required for the execution of the different activities. Today, the world is facing water problems, both in terms of water crisis and water disasters. In order to avoid such situations, it is very essential to understand the role of water through variables and their interaction among different subsystems. To make the system sustainable by using less water to produce more is a challenge for policymakers and planners. It demands proper management mechanisms to reallocate existing supplies, encourage more efficient use of resources, promote equitable access and understand the impact of one variable on the other, i.e. inter-relation between variables and subsystems. For example, improved quality of water leads to better health and economic prosperity. Better health means fewer employee leaves and more working hours, which will give better output leading to economic development, leading to better lifestyles. It will also result in more industries, which in turn have environmental impacts, which is known as the backwash effect. Therefore, in order to study the spread effect and backwash effect, a model needs to be generated to know the impact and to find optimal solutions. In the physical subsystem, water is used to establish the land use by creating built-up areas and constitutes a major portion of land distribution; also, water bodies, rivers and streams play a very important role in the establishment of an urban settlement. Water contributes a great deal to the topography and climatic conditions of an area. In the social subsystem, water plays a very important role in traditions and religious activities, as water was not only functional but was considered of religious importance. It can be seen from the Harappan civilization’s great bath to Bowli and Vav in Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively. Water is also required

FIGURE 8.5

Water system and its associated variables

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to sustain a population and their economic and social status. People with high economic status pay for more clean water and more accessibility, and many studies have been done to relate water usage with economic status. In the economic subsystem, of all subsystems, the most water is utilized. The world’s 70 percent water share is utilized in the primary sector, which deals with agriculture and allied activities and requires various canal systems for irrigation, while 20 percent of water is used in the secondary sector for industries, which is essential for the country’s economic growth and development. The tertiary sector also uses water for trade through water routes and hospitality businesses requiring a full-day supply of water. In the ecology subsystem, water forms a complete variable to complete the system. Water is required for human and animal survival and also it is required for forests, grassland, vegetation and plantation to control pollution and curb carbon dioxide. It is required to balance the environment and water cycle and to maintain the surface and groundwater table. In the environment subsystem, water is important to establish all natural, cultural and built environments. Water and land pollution have been studied as they affect human habitation and health and also hamper living standards. Water is very important while calculating and dealing with issues like urban heat islands. In the infrastructure subsystem, water is a major element in developing social, economic and physical infrastructure. Water supply, wastewater treatment, sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, rainwater harvesting, supply to public buildings and industries, energy production, etc. are water variables of this subsystem, which are of utmost importance to keep the society running. In the institutional subsystem, water is required to run an urban settlement; it is really important to manage the water sector both financially and physically. In order to find the water needs of a community and get the community involved in its maintenance is a task of the institutional subsystem. Staff required to maintain it and future proposals should also be considered, as water crises are a major problem faced by cities these days. Many private players, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations and corporate social responsibility initiatives are getting involved in the water sector, as it determines a stable and healthy community, which is required for a strong nation. The water system and its associated variables based on inter-relation with various subsystems are shown in Figure 8.5.

Findings India’s urban system is facing a water crisis and major issues are illegal connection, water theft, corruption, improper management and lack of data on the aforementioned issues. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is one of the more efficient municipal corporations and cost recovery of water supply is just 62 percent of operation and maintenance, but as per 2018 calculation, it is running

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short of Rs. 153.58 crores, which is 53.7 percent of total expenditure in that year. The annual cost of losses is Rs. 59.72 crores and it can be avoided by regular check-ups and public involvement. The loss per person is 54.1 LPCD.

Recommendations The majority of issues can be solved by proper management and people’s participation in a positive way, especially to check and report illegal connections, water theft and maintenance of breakages to curb water losses. Ward-wise, natural leaders can be identified and made a team of members taking care of infrastructure services. Monthly meetings can be conducted and reports can file and submitted to the government. This team will also be responsible for awareness programs in their area regarding user charges, water conditions in that particular area and water conservation. As water issues are usually local and area-specific, so solutions can also be identified by this team after consulting with the residents of that ward. The informal sector in water supply should be considered as they play an important role. AMC should aim for 100 percent coverage in all areas of the city including slums. Ahmedabad is declared a world heritage city; Vav can be revived by the government under this scheme and can be used not only for recreation but also for water conservation. The system dynamics technique can be used to identify the inter-relation and establish interaction to take necessary actions and to find an optimal solution.

Conclusion The water system can be run at its full efficiency when people are involved in the process. People’s participation in a positive way will make the system more transparent and active. The calculations in this chapter show that the local government is allocating huge sums of money to increase coverage and quality of water, yet people are not willing to pay for better services. The only solution is to identify where the input of people is required to make the water supply more competent and well organized. Positive people’s participation is not only required in water supply but also in water conservation to make it sustainable. Integrated water resource management is required to find an optimal solution for the water issue, which can be done by using the system dynamics technique. The systems concept reduces the possibility of some aspects being stressed more than others. The concept enables planners to address very important long-term as well as short-term issues of real systems. Alternative policy options can be derived with ease by employing the systems concept. The concept offers a methodology for analyzing the behavior of complex dynamic systems to show how system structures based on the policies used in decision-making govern the behavior of the system. Further, new structures and policies can be designed to improve the system’s behavior. The explanation of the behavior of entities or systems would

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probably be made easier; therefore, it can be concluded that the systems approach is indispensable for understanding the functions of the urban system as well as for ensuring sustainable development when water reuse would function as a catalyst for development.

References AMC. (2018). Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Budget. Ahmedabad: Government of Gujarat. AMC. (2013). Water Supply & Sanitation in Ahmedabad City. Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Antonio Estache, E. K. (2002). World Bank Policy Research Paper. Census. (2011). Census of India 2011. New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs. CGWB. (2017). Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2017. Faridabad: Ministry of Jal Shakti. CWC. (2015). Water and Related Statistics. New Delhi: Central Water Commission. Davis, J. (2004). Corruption in Public Service Delivery: Experience from South Asia’s Water and Sanitation Sector. World Development 32(1), 53–71. Dale Whittington, W. M. (2009). The Challenge of Improving Water and Sanitation Services in Less Developed Countries. Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics, 469–609. FAO. (2017). Water for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. Rome: FAO of the UN. GoI, G. o. (2016). Handbook of Service Level Benchmarking. Ahmedabad: Ministry of Urban Development. GUJENVIS. (2016). State of Water Environment. Ahmedabad: Gujarat Ecology Commission. Havaldar, Naina A. S. (2016). A Review of Water Management and Conceptual C3 Framework for Sustainable System. 3rd International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research and Practice (pp. 338–341). Ahmedabad: International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI). Meteorological Department (2018, August 22). Average Annual Rainfall of the States of India. Retrieved from rainwaterharvesting.org: http://www.rainwaterharvesting .org/urban/rainfall.htm. Ministry of Water Resources. (2018, August 22). Ground Water Scenario of Gujarat. Retrieved from cgwb.gov.in: http://cgwb.gov.in/gw:profiles/st_Gujarat.htm. MWR-GoI (2017, July 20). Shortage of Water. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from Press Information Bureau: https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=168727. NCERT. (2015). Water Resources. In: NCERT, India. People and Economy (pp. 60–71). NCERT. PAS. (2016). Indicator Report of Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad: PAS. PIB-GoI (2015, May 11). Water Conservation. Retrieved April 9, 2018, from Press Information Bureau. GoI: https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=121540. Sarfaz, H. (2013). Transboundary Water Issues and Judicial Solutions. Proceedings of the Second South Asia Judicial Round Table on Environmental Justice. Thimphu. Asian Development Bank. Shelat, S. (2004). A Presentation on Energy and Water Sectors: Scenario in Gujarat. Ahmedabad: GIDR.

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Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Om Prakash Mathur. (2011). Pricing Urban Water: A Marginal Cost Approach. In: India Infrastructure Report2011: Water: Policy and Performance for Sustainable Development (eds., 3iNetwork), pp. 351–359. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Om Prakash Mathur. (2009). Costs and Challenges of Local Urban Services: Evidence from India’s Cities. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 277pp. Suhag, R. (2016). Overview of Ground Water in India. PRS. UN.Water. (2014, November 24). Water for Life Decade-Water Scarcity. Retrieved May 2018, from UN organisation: https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml. Velis, M., K. I. Conti and F. Biermann (2017). Groundwater and Human Development: Synergies and Trade-Offs within the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals. In: Sustainability Science and Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, 1007–1017. Water-org. (2018). India’s Water and Sanitation Crisis. Retrieved 2018, from Water org: https://water.org/our-impact/india/. Whittington, D., W. M. Hanemann, C. Sadoff and M. Jeuland (2007). The Challenge of Improving Water and Sanitation Services in Less Developed Countries. Foundations and Trends® in Microeconomics 4(6–7), 469–609. WHO. (2018, February). Drinking-Water. Retrieved June 2018, from World Health Organisation: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water. WRDM. (2016). Water Supply Next Generation Shift 24X7. Ahmedabad: AMC.

9 REDUCING THE WATER FOOTPRINT OF MEGACITIES IN ASIA Addressing water reuse and groundwater recharge (case study of Delhi, India) Ranjana Ray Chaudhuri, Prateek Sharma and Arun Kansal

Introduction The anthropogenic water cycle has changed considerably with modern engineering practices. Water is brought to cities from different river basins across state boundaries, disconnecting the city from its natural environment and urban sources of water. The limits of the modern megacity therefore extend far beyond traditional hydrological standards. Rainwater reservoirs, lakes, river and groundwater supply are no longer sufficient to satisfy its water demands. This leads to highly unsustainable water practices which cannot survive prolonged drought periods. Urban water reuse has emerged worldwide as a response to prolonged droughts, when water scarcity is acute, as observed from the Melbourne case study (Ferguson et al., 2013). Due to rising urban growth and the widening gap in water supply and demand in India, it is imperative that water reuse be brought into the urban water system. Providing safe potable water to all has been a priority in India, but two other important aspects of an integrated urban water management system, sewerage and stormwater drainage systems, remain underdeveloped. The challenge therefore is two-fold: providing safe access to water and an efficient sewerage system to collect the sewage and stormwater and providing safe treatment and returning the water to the river which is the major source of surface water downstream (Wilcox et al., 2016). On average, for every 100 units of water consumption per capita, 80 units of wastewater are generated. Even if part of the treated wastewater is reused locally, an opportunity is created to increase the water available in urban areas at low costs for non-potable use; this has environmental benefits as well. In order to achieve this, urban water management needs to assess the interdependencies between the existing overworked and aging water infrastructure which DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-9

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distributes water, the complex hydrological boundaries from where water is supplied to the city and local environmental characteristics. The local characteristics of each city are unique, and it is challenging to find a single solution that reduces the pollution load carried by the sewerage network, utilizes stormwater generated during rainfall episodes and reuses treated wastewater locally. Some global examples reveal that water-scarce regions have adopted water reuse models best suited to local needs, contributing to their water security (Lerer, Arnbjerg-Nielsen and Mikkelsen, 2015). In the arid regions of MiddleEastern Asia and North Africa, wastewater is commonly transported from dense urban areas to sewage treatment plants (STPs) in tankers and then treated wastewater is reused to maintain urban neighborhood parks. In California, wastewater is treated to a very high standard and then used for groundwater recharge, which has helped it to mitigate severe drought conditions (Hochstrat, Joksimovic, Wintgens, Melin, & Savic, 2007). In the case of Japanese cities, treated wastewater is used to f lush toilets through a dual pipeline system, following the “sink-tof lush model” (Angelakis et al., 2018). In order to attain water security as mentioned in the examples above, it is important to assess water scarcity. Indian megacities, for example, are provided with water from hydrologically positive river basins and have more access per capita to water than rural areas, yet they suffer from water scarcity. One of the major reasons for that is the water pollution created in cities is not addressed and its contribution to water scarcity is not measured (Vörösmarty et al., 2010). The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.3 on the improvement of water quality by decreasing the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and reuse globally has clearly laid out targets in 6.3.1 and 6.3.2, which are most apt for megacities to apply (Hoekstra, Chapagain and Zhang, 2015). Further, SDG 6.4, on the increase in water use efficiency, sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity, with indicator 6.4.2 on the level of water stress as a ratio of freshwater withdrawal to available water resources, is also very applicable for megacities (Vanham et al., 2018). India has no local level indicators developed to fully measure the water scarcity at the city level and to measure the avenues of water reuse as suggested by SDG targets 6.3 and 6.4. Cities need a water scarcity indicator that can integrate actual water use with bluewater resources made available to the city (both in terms of surface water and groundwater) and greywater produced and assess the water footprint (Zeng, Liu and Savenije, 2013), which is defined as the amount of water required to produce goods and services. The bluewater footprint (both for river water and groundwater) and greywater footprint should be measured using available input data, and the interpretation should be easy to comprehend. Current water scarcity assessments use the Falkenmark index, which is easy to use but its focus is only on water quantity and not water quality, often leading to the water scarcity assessment being underestimated (Babel & Shinde, 2018). The water poverty index is more holistic – it considers water quantity and quality – but is complicated and

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not very easy to use (Sullivan, 2002). Besides, most of the water scarcity assessments are international or national in nature and are very rarely estimated at the local level. However, water pollution is often localized and needs local solutions, which may not be adopted globally. Greywater footprint is defined as the amount of freshwater needed in rivers and surface water bodies to dilute pollutants in order to meet river water quality standards (Zeng, Liu, & Savenije, 2013). A rise in the greywater footprint in cities implies decreasing bluewater resources available for sustainable future use. Without an adequate number of sewerage treatment plants, a significant part of the sewage in cities reaches urban lakes, ponds and rivers without treatment. Even when STPs have the capacity to treat sewage in the absence of adequate sewerage pipeline distribution, the sewage does not reach the STP. Further, the STP is usually at a distance from the water body in question, so the treated wastewater mixes with raw sewage once again in open drains before reaching the water body and increases the greywater footprint of the city. In the case of the megacity of Delhi, India, the city receives freshwater from the canals of the river Yamuna, the river Ganges (through the Tehri Dam) and the river Sutlej (through the Bhakra-Nangal Dam) via canals, and uses 9 percent of the local groundwater. The capacity of water treatment plants in Delhi is approximately 3,400 million liters per day (MLD), and the city has more than 7,000 km of sewerage lines, 35 wastewater treatment plants and 13 central eff luent treatment plants (CETPs). However, while it generates more than 2,500 MLD of wastewater, not all of it reaches the STPs (Ghosh, Kansal and Aghi, 2016). Also, though it receives water from hydrologically different river basins, it returns water only to the river Yamuna (in polluted condition). Delhi is committed to returning 945 MLD of treated wastewater to the river Yamuna for downstream use and during the summer the river only has treated wastewater in the Delhi stretch. Another challenge in Delhi is the severe depletion of groundwater, especially in the south, east and southwestern districts, where the lakes and other traditional water bodies have dried up or carry only sewage water (these lakes and ponds have been a part of the cultural heritage of Delhi). Delhi falls in the northwestern zone of overexploited groundwater resources in India where the groundwater footprint is high (> 1), the groundwater withdrawal is more than the possible recharge (groundwater is withdrawn from confined aquifers too, where local recharge is not feasible) and unsustainable in absence of groundwater recharge plans (Mohan, 2017). While groundwater recharge plans have been attempted on a pilot scale in some cities in India, implementation of such schemes in urban areas require the involvement of urban local bodies (ULB) and water utility providers, and the participation of citizens through resident welfare associations (RWAs). This is coupled with the concern at the city level of the reduction in greywater footprint, which leads to poor groundwater quality. Water reuse projects, which can reduce this footprint and also eventually reduce water pollution, are underfunded and perceptions create barriers, so there are not many

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large-scale urban water reuse projects which might encourage stakeholders to gain knowledge and experience on the matter (Sharma et al., 2010). Currently, the primary focus of water reuse is in the farming sector in India (Amerasinghe, Bhardwaj, Scott, & Jella, 2013) and to a lesser extent on industrial reuse, focus on urban water reuse applications is minimal. Water reuse prevents the increase of greywater in drains and thus limits the use of freshwater to dilute polluted water before it reaches rivers and lakes. The reuse of urban water locally within urban districts can thus reduce the greywater footprint and eventually reduce water pollution and can also be used to rejuvenate urban lakes. In addition, downstream cities receive better river water quality (Liu, Liu and Yang, 2016). Reviving urban lakes helps to restore the urban ecosystem and improve aquifer levels. The restoration of urban greens through district parks and city urban forests will assist in groundwater recharge through the process of infiltration during rainfall (Zevenbergen, Fu, & Pathirana, 2018). Further, recent research suggests using nature-based solutions (NBS) to revive urban lakes and utilize stormwater for the rejuvenation of the urban ecosystem so as to make cities more resilient to climate change by having their own sources of freshwater (Sørup et al., 2019). The objective of this study is to measure groundwater scarcity in the megacity of Delhi and evaluate the possibility of reducing the groundwater footprint of the city through increasing groundwater recharge through effective channelization of storm runoff and increased urban greens and reducing the groundwater footprint through the understanding of the groundwater scarcity index (GWSI). The other objective is to measure the greywater footprint and find avenues to reduce the greywater footprint of the city through reuse. The research evaluates two pilot projects which had been taken up in the megacity Delhi for implementation, where the city urban forest and one district park were rejuvenated. The study explores the understanding of a sustainable greywater footprint in cities through the greywater footprint index (GWFI). This chapter suggests that in order to implement urban water reuse networks, institutional and policy support is required, and identifying stakeholder partnerships is crucial for monitoring.

Methodology An indicator of water scarcity is defined through the bluewater scarcity index, which has two parts. The first measures the scarcity of blue surface water, which refers to river water scarcity, and the second refers to groundwater scarcity (Zeng et al., 2013). The blue surface water footprint (I blue-surface water) is defined as the ratio of total surface freshwater withdrawn annually (Wfreshwater) to the total surface freshwater resources available annually (Q freshwater) in each region or country. The sustainable range for the same is 0.4.

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I blue -surface water =

W freshwater

Q freshwater

< 0.4

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(1)

The I blue-surface water (I blue Yamuna+ I blue Ganga+ I blue Sutlej ) for Delhi is estimated as withdrawn from the three river basins of Yamuna, Ganga and Sutlej as follows: a. The Tehri Dam has a live storage capacity of 2,615 million m 3 (Mm 3) and Delhi receives 907 MLD (331.128 Mm 3/year) from the Tehri Dam on river Bhagirathi, located more than 200 km from Delhi and reaches Delhi through the upper Ganga canal. Though Delhi falls in the Indo Gangetic plain and the ratio of the freshwater received by Delhi to the freshwater resources available in the dam is small. b. Similarly, the Bhakra Dam has a live storage capacity of 7,118 Mm 3 and Delhi receives 529 MLD (193.158 Mm 3/year) from the Bhakra Dam on the river Sutlej, which comes through the western Yamuna canal which traverses more than 200 km before reaching Delhi. Delhi is not part of the Indus river basin either geographically or geomorphologically. c. The river Yamuna supplies 1,701 MLD (620.865 Mm 3/year) to Delhi through the Haathnikund barrage (located 115 km away) and Wazirabad barrage to Delhi. The river’s average annual f low until Delhi is estimated to be 10,750 Mm 3 (Kumar, Sharif and Ahmed, 2018). Thus, the I blue-surface water is much below the sustainable range from all the basins; however, the unsustainability is arguably because of the distances through which it travels to reach Delhi and the fact that 40 percent of the water is lost in transmission in canals, which means 40 percent more water is needed to be released from the three river basins to satisfy Delhi’s demand. The water that Delhi gets from the three river basins is as per its share of 6.04 percent (GNCTD, 2010) through the various interstate river treaties. Since there is no scarcity in the surface waters received from the three basins, it not considered further in this study. The groundwater footprint scarcity index (GWSI): the groundwater footprint has been modified in this study as the groundwater scarcity index to measure the unsustainable use of groundwater (Zeng, Liu and Savenije, 2013). Here, the sustainable range of use is again at 0.4. I blue - groundwater water =

W groundwater

Q groundwater

< 0.4

(2)

Smaller towns and cities depend heavily on groundwater supply and the groundwater withdrawn to groundwater available annually (W/Q) ratio is more than 1, which is unsustainable and leads to scarcity. The unsustainable groundwater condition is created because water is present at shallows depth (unconfined aquifers) and at greater depths (confined aquifers). The groundwater may be withdrawn from both the aquifers now since deep borewells are not difficult to install, unlike before when dug wells (shallow wells) were the norm. Recharge of shallow

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aquifers always happened in the local region during monsoon while the recharge of deeper confined aquifers at a local scale is difficult because the recharge of such aquifers generally happens at source for example in the Himalayan mountains in the Indo Gangetic belt, where the confined aquifer originates (Shah and Kulkarni, 2015). In large cities, though water supply is provided from reservoirs on large river basins, yet withdrawal of groundwater has continued (groundwater recharge has not kept pace though). The greywater footprint (GWF) is defined as the greywater produced annually (G) to the amount of freshwater (Qblue water in rivers) needed annually to dilute greywater to meet water quality standards at the discharging end (for instance, a river). It is measured for a river basin at a point of discharge of G in the river and is modified here to measure greywater footprint of a megacity. Here, the sustainable range goes up to 1 (Zeng et al., 2013). I greywater = G

Qbluewater in rivers

1 þï

…(4)

The greywater scarcity index explains the accumulation of greywater footprint of urban lakes and ponds, year after year, in the absence of adequate freshwater in urban lakes; this explains their poor water quality (The Times of India, 2019). The water quality scarcity is best expressed through the greywater footprint: as soon as the threshold value of one (1) is exceeded, it implies that the water quality of the urban lake is deteriorating (the capacity of assimilation of the lake is exceeded). Thus, every year as more and more greywater accumulates in the urban lake or pond (which cannot be diluted by stormwater alone from the monsoon season), leads to further deterioration of water quality and then eventually to scarcity.

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Besides the change in the hydrological f low pattern, which has resulted in lakes and ponds not having adequate freshwater even after rainfall episodes, many have dried because of the depleting groundwater table (they were sustained by groundwater). This has made the greywater scenario highly unsustainable and needs immediate attention through policy interventions and rejuvenation mechanisms. There are no water policies that protect urban water bodies from depletion or from being polluted. A sustainable model of water reuse will allow the water bodies to be replenished and the groundwater to be recharged and result in rivers carrying less pollution load.

Urban city planning guidelines Urban planning guidelines for city and peri-urban areas must include environmental sustainability measures and respond to climate change as per the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation Guidelines (TCPO, 2014). The relevant sections of the guidelines on sustainability – especially 6.5.2 on rainwater harvesting (RWH), 6.5.3 for buffer zones (green corridors) and 6.6.3 for water bodies in urban areas – may be used for planning for natural stormwater retention in the urban watershed. These guidelines classify land use and provide for urban water bodies and lakes as eco-sensitive zones which must be protected. The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH, Ministry of Urban Development), whose directives form a part of the URDPFI Guidelines, provides for open space provisions which may be used as indicators of the environmental carrying capacity of the city. The water bodies, forests, drainage plain, vegetation, and environmentally sensitive areas of the cities may be used as “natural infrastructure for climate change adaptation.” Further, the guidelines on infrastructure planning include a section on the physical infrastructure in water supply, sewage and sewerage and stormwater drainage. The section on sewage treatment and sewerage networks mentions that a decentralized STP and reuse of treated wastewater must be encouraged. It states that not all wastewater needs to be treated to potable quality, as there are several non-potable uses. If reuse is encouraged, potable water demand can be brought down significantly. The section on drainage discusses methods for estimation of storm runoff from rainfall. RWH has been made mandatory for new construction in Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The relevant section in the guidelines on artificial recharge suggests that hydro-meteorological and hydrological studies may be carried out to determine how much stormwater may be utilized through RWH techniques for recharge of the groundwater table. The soil infiltration and hydrogeological studies may be carried out to determine the hydraulic connectivity between the various soil layers if the water is to recharge the aquifer. The section recommends that if the water quality of treated wastewater is good, this may also be used for groundwater recharge. The URDPF I Guidelines may be used together with the urban green guidelines to reduce the water footprint of urban areas.

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The Government of India (Town and Country Planning Organization, 2014), discusses that the proportion of urban green spaces in metropolitan cities (cities with a population of more than one million) should be 20–25 percent of the city area in the form of neighborhood parks (2,000m 2–4,000m 2), botanical gardens (biodiversity parks), district parks (greater than 40,000 m 2), urban water bodies and protected urban city forests. The adherence to urban green space (UGS) norms will help restore green space in cities and will allow the soil to perform its hydrological functions and provide firm support to green cover. In addition, the urban soil needs to be returned to good health as currently its properties (like texture, soil thickness, root zone depth, rate of infiltration) are affected. This is because of numerous reasons like excavation and trenching near roads, soil surface sealing, debris dumping and dust cover of soil ( Jim, 2013). The lack of a clear definition of an urban lake and enforcement of norms on district parks and urban forests has led to encroachment in all Indian cities. An effort is made in this study to utilize urban guidelines to reduce the water footprint of the city.

Results The local groundwater scarcity and the greywater footprint are significant for the megacity of Delhi; thus, water scarcity is measured by addressing groundwater overuse and greywater quantification. The measures adopted to reduce the footprint in South West (SW) Delhi are presented and the focus is on the reduction of groundwater scarcity by increasing the retention of stormwater, especially from extreme rainfall events within the green areas of the urban watershed, centered on the eventual recharge of groundwater through strategic locations. The other major concern of Delhi is the rising sewage water f low through open drains to river Yamuna and sewage f low in urban lakes which has led to eutrophication of urban lakes (in the absence of local STPs). The reuse of treated wastewater from STP is discussed, which as a measure can reduce the greywater footprint of Delhi.

Groundwater scarcity (GWSI) of Delhi This is estimated through the GWSI (I blue-groundwater water) which is defined in equation 2 as the ratio of annual groundwater withdrawn to the groundwater resources available. The ideal ratio to maintain sustainable groundwater levels is 0.4. It is especially evaluated for Delhi which lies in the overall exploited zone, where I blue-groundwater water > 1. The net annual groundwater availability in the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi (Q groundwater) is 0.29 billion m 3 (BCM), while groundwater extraction (Wgroundwater) is 0.39 billion cubic meters (BCM) (CGWB, 2014). The GWSI is lowest in North Delhi, at 0.69, where the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officially has Ranney wells in the Yamuna f loodplains through which it extracts 0.11 BCM

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annually (annual recharge happens in the unconfined aquifer of the f loodplains of river Yamuna). The balance 0.28 BCM groundwater extraction happens in Delhi through borewells in the city. The overall GWSI of Delhi is 1.37 (> 0.4), which makes Delhi a part of the overexploited groundwater-scarce zone of India. However, groundwater scarcity is not uniform all over Delhi. The GWSI is at its highest in East Delhi at 1.79 and South West Delhi is at 1.39 (Figure 9.1). The groundwater extraction in both these districts is due to local demand, as they do not have access to DJB water supply in all residential settlements. In the case of South West Delhi, which is at a higher elevation than the rest of Delhi, the nearest WTP is at a lower elevation and water is not received at adequate pressure or uniformity. There are several residential settlements (urban villages and unauthorized colonies) that do not have access to government water supply and instead have private bore wells. The unsustainable groundwater use is because freshwater is accessed from both unconfined and confined aquifers. The confined aquifers of SW Delhi have water at great depths (60 m) and are continuously

FIGURE 9.1

Rising groundwater scarcity (GWSI) and greywater footprint (GWF) of Delhi

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declining. Other areas like West Delhi have groundwater at shallow depths but the saline interface is quite high (sometimes at 6 m), leading to great groundwater scarcity throughout the city (Kumar, Sarkar, Ali, & Shekhar, 2018). In addition to the ban on groundwater use in Delhi and the ban on the use of groundwater for construction in Noida, adequate recharge measures will go a long way to replenish the declining groundwater resources. The salinity due to groundwater pollution in certain parts of NCT Delhi, especially near landfill locations, also need a solution. The pilot study in SW Delhi explores avenues of groundwater recharge and reduction in footprint.

Reducing greywater footprint and reducing water pollution in Delhi Delhi’s challenge is that even though 70 percent of its sewage is treated in STPs, a large proportion of treated wastewater mixes with raw sewage in open drains after release, which is then carried to the river Yamuna. The two major drains which carry treated wastewater from various STPs, the Najafgarh drain and Shahdara drain, traverse long distances before they reach the river. This journey adds to the greywater footprint of the city. The city must plan a few decentralized treated wastewater reuse plans for each district to reduce the scarcity of freshwater created by greywater. The three STPs located in southwest Delhi at Vasant Kunj, Ghitorni and Mehrauli each have a capacity of 5 MGD. Together their treatment capacity is 15 MGD (45 MLD). However, SW Delhi is more than 10 km away from the river Yamuna, and in its traverse to the river, it will gather raw sewage and eventually increase the GWF of Delhi. This is true for many STPs in the megacities, thus, assessment of GWF needs more focus in India. The accumulated greywater footprint could be Agrey ≥ 2 (Figure 9.1). The Sanjay Van case study is discussed in detail to highlight the utilization of treated wastewater and its contribution to improving the urban ecosystem of Delhi. The Vasant Kunj STP supplies secondary treated wastewater through a dedicated sewer to Sanjay Van – which is a protected urban forest through lakes – in series, which improves the dissolved oxygen level of the water and this water is used extensively to provide for the forest and recharge the aquifer.

Sanjay Van (urban protected forest in Delhi) The Sanjay Van model is taken up to understand if interventions in this area can contribute to the reduction of GWF in Delhi and mitigate the GWSI. The Sanjay Van forest in SW Delhi under the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), where this intervention is currently being undertaken, is unique. Sanjay Van is a reserve forest as per the 1994 notification under the Indian Forest Act (1927). This reserve forest has 800 acres of land in SW Delhi and is a part of the Mehrauli South Central Ridge. As the surrounding areas of this area developed, the water

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bodies within this forest area which were rain-fed and acted as stormwater channels started drying up, aquifer started losing water and the forest ecosystem became vulnerable. There are five lakes each 0.4 hectares in size, designed to cater to the hydraulic loading of the secondary wastewater coming from Vasant Kunj STP and treated with duckweed and retain the water for two days before the waters go to the next lake through the weir (Rao and Rao, 2018). The wastewater reuse is unique and efficient, as earlier prior to its use in this manner, the treated eff luent would go through piped sewers to Hauz Khas lake, however, raw sewage from Munirka and Katwaria Sarai urban villages mix in this sewer and increase the pollution load of the eff luent reaching Hauz Khas lake (decentralized aeration plant runs in the lake to treat the wastewater and restore this ancient water body of Delhi). The reuse of 15 MLD of water per day from the STP in Sanjay Van has reduced the pollution load on the sewer. The GWF is reduced from Agrey = 2 (equation 4) as year-on-year accumulation does not happen and the series of urban lakes are rejuvenated. A series of check dams have been constructed as hydrological interventions to use water beneficially, improve the ecosystem of the area and help in groundwater recharge. The Delhi Development Authority and WWN (a local NGO, Walk With Nature) have come together for the restoration of Sanjay Van, where public and private interests have brought stakeholders together to identify a beneficial solution for the urban forest and expanding the use of treated wastewater; the work is still in progress and needs regular monitoring and upscaling. The reuse of 15 MLD of treated wastewater allows the reduction of GWF, otherwise, the year-on-year accumulation of greywater would need more and more freshwater. For example, a three-year accumulation would mean AGWF = (45/15) – 1 = 2, which is highly unsustainable. The Sanjay Van forest is geologically a part of the southern Aravalli ridge of Delhi (which has fractured and weathered quartzite rock) and is the beginning of the old alluvium plain made of clay, silt and granular sand which varies in thickness from 5 m to 60 m; the stormwater will infiltrate and naturally slope to the Chattarpur basin (Kumar et al., 2018). This is a closed basin of 48 km 2 area which is a potential recharge zone because of its hydrogeological conditions. The hydraulic transmissibility of the area varies from 130–400 m 2/day, which, though lower than the f lood plains of river Yamuna, is conducive to recharge (CGWB, 2014). Delhi and NCR in general are semi-arid, with 26–30 rainy days. The rainfall of short duration is most frequent, it rains with high intensity of > 20 mm/h so making such an area hydrologically positive is very challenging. Since the GWSI for this area is 1.39, using storm runoff from the 3.2 km 2 (7 percent of the basin area of 48 km 2) of urban forest cover with a natural soil infiltration rate of 15–20 mm/h, recharge can be improved. The forest ecosystem is large and capable of treating some additional raw wastewater that comes from the Kishangarh through the constructed wetland system. Strict enforcement guidelines are needed to keep this unique initiative functional.

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Rejuvenation of district park A hotel in South Delhi has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the urban local body (South Delhi Municipal Corporation) to provide treated water for reuse (the hotel has 100 KLD STP) in the nearby residential areas including the district park (area > 150,000 m 2, which has a recharge pit designed to fill up during rains) under the PPP model, and the resident welfare associations of nearby residential areas are stakeholders in this arrangement. Innovative mechanisms using a participatory approach are necessary to make the water allocation framework a success. This treated 100 KLD of water if not reused would be added to the drain and eventually increase the GWF of the megacity. Regulating reuse is an important measure to address water scarcity issues in Delhi and water reuse in urban forests and district parks (> 40,000 m 2 area) is an important and necessary intervention. City forests, district parks and sports complexes owned by the government may be hydrologically altered to allow for small cascading ponds to prevent stagnation and facilitate subsequent recharge. The URDFPI guidelines on sustainability and the infrastructure planning strictures may be used effectively to reduce scarcity, increase the urban green space and allow for groundwater recharge. Benchmarks must be set in terms of the quantitative water reuse, specific application areas and water quality standards, as not all water use needs potable standards (WHO, 2006). The framework for reuse can be for a cluster of buildings, neighborhood-scale

FIGURE 9.2

Inter-linkages between urban greens, water reuse, sustainable groundwater withdrawals and reduction in urban water footprint

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reuse, for parks, institutional buildings, schools and hotels. The decentralized framework could make use of different sources of water including rainwater, and locally treated wastewater (Wilcox et al., 2016). This will need intervention from the government, more specifically strengthening urban local bodies, who will be responsible for the decentralized planning, system design, establish short distribution networks and arrange finance (Makropoulos & Butler, 2010). The decentralized systems depend on the society for people’s participation and public support. In turn, the environmental benefits accrue due to the restoration of water bodies and urban greens (Figure 9.2). Similar measures may be included in the regional plan so that the greater NCR region can reduce its water footprint.

Discussion To reduce the GWF and water pollution of Delhi, increasing the treated wastewater reuse from 20 percent to 40 percent from the STPs run by DJB is required (DJB, 2014). The urban lakes at Bhalswa, Purana Qila, Naini, Shamsi Talab and Hauz Khas are large but currently filled with sewage, AGWF of all these lakes is very high, leading to groundwater pollution in the area (“Reality check: Delhi’s five lakes at deep end,” 2019). Rejuvenation of these lakes can be taken up by integrating the guidelines suggested in urban regional development plans on urban greens, urban water bodies and greywater reuse with GWSI and GWF measurements to understand how RWH, aquifer recharge and reducing pollution of urban lakes are all very closely linked. The capacity of the centralized and decentralized STPs are important determinants while determining reuse. The centralized STPs have capacity > 1 MLD, while decentralized STPs can have capacities from 10 KLD to 100 KLD. The water allocation to nearest district parks, schools, community toilets, residential complex, shopping malls, large bus terminals and railway stations will ensure that the water will be reused. The study shows that governance of wastewater treatment at a city district level, including its maintenance operation, may be looked at through publicprivate partnerships. The RWAs are representatives of the ULB and they can be empowered to take responsibility for RWH and water reuse plans at a residential complex level and for neighboring district parks. The tool of public-private partnership for district parks, where water utility provider, the DJB, DDA, who is responsible for the upkeep of Sanjay Van forest and district park, comes together with civil society to spread awareness amongst the public, school children and university students to popularize the use of treated wastewater for ecosystem rejuvenation. The large urban lakes > 1 hectare and depth 3 m may be rejuvenated by installing natural mechanisms for the treatment of the sewage water and they will serve as bluewater reserves for the city which will help in reducing the urban heat island created by the high built-up density (TCPO, 2014). The incorporation of water recycling and reuse is envisaged in the draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016, the draft model Building Bylaws,

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2015, and in the model bill for the Conservation, Protection, Regulation and Management of Ground Water, 2016. This provides opportunities to shift towards an efficient, sustainable water supply system and increase water conservation. Aging infrastructure, instead of being looked at merely as infrastructure which needs replacement, instead could offer a new paradigm for water supply with dual pipeline system, RWH tanks, recycled water storage and supply facilities. All the megacities of India have a gap between water demand and supply; similarly, there is a gap between the wastewater generated and treated.

Conclusion This study attempts a simple approach to assess the utility of treated wastewater (up to secondary treatment) reuse from the nearby STP for rejuvenation of urban greens including an urban forest and district parks. Though there is a difference in scales between the treated wastewater produced in the two STPs – one produces 15 MLD while the other produces 100 KLD – yet reuse of both helps reduce the greywater footprint (GWF) of the megacity. Without such utilization, both the STP waters would once again be released in municipal sewers increasing the water pollution in urban lakes and eventually the river. The Hauz Khas lake, once an urban lake, is unable to process the sewage water which reaches it because the freshwater quantity in the lake is unable to assimilate the greywater that reaches it despite the aeration arrangements in the lake, thus increasing the GWF of the city. This example highlights the need to manage treated wastewater from STP locally to reduce its contribution to water scarcity otherwise. The GWF links the water scarcity quantity and quality for a small area in the megacity. It is necessary to scale up such measures for each municipal district of the city. The GWSI measures the groundwater footprint of SW Delhi and links it with the complicated geological setup of the area, highlighting how complicated and challenging the recharge in this area is. Besides Delhi is in the semi-arid zone where short-duration intense rainfalls characterize the rainfall pattern. While the RWH of such short-duration rainfalls is challenging, restoring urban greens like district parks and the urban forest provides areas that receive the stormwater due to rainfall and contribute to groundwater recharge. Since the quantity of recharge due to rains is low, the reuse of treated wastewater in the urban lakes of Sanjay Van may contribute to groundwater recharge, however, the quality of the water must improve. Though the GWSI and GWF are increasing in the megacity, finding local solutions matching the local needs of the environment will contribute to making the city sustainable. Treated water provides a safe dependable quantity of water that is independent of climate variation and hydrological constraints and can be built into an essential tool for drought risk management in cities. The SDG goal on the reuse of treated wastewater and the proportion of bodies with good ambient water quality can be achieved through assessment of GWF and measures adopted at Sanjay Van and the district park. The GWSI of South West Delhi at 1.39 is very high

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and reducing it to the SDG goal on sustainable withdrawals of groundwater to 0.4 is very challenging; the study highlights that it can be achieved, albeit over a period of time by following norms on district parks and protected city forest norms in each municipal district. This study highlights that future water policies must limit groundwater withdrawals while urban regional plans must incorporate safe measures of groundwater recharge through proper investigation of the hydro-geomorphology of the area.

Acknowledgment The research for this chapter was carried out at the TERI School of Advanced Studies (earlier TERI University). We are grateful to the master’s students who carried out interviews with various stakeholders and worked in the laboratory on the treated wastewater samples as part of their thesis work, especially Ms. Sahrin Jahan and Ms. Pragya Bhat.

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10 SANITATION, HYGIENE BEHAVIOR AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS A situation analysis of slums in Bengaluru S. Manasi and N. Latha

Introduction India has witnessed substantial urban expansion over the last few decades. The combined process of rapid urbanization and industrialization has adversely affected the quality of life of people, particularly people living in low-income settlements of urban areas. In the last 50 years, the population of urban India has grown almost five times. It is estimated that by 2030, 590 million people will live in Indian cities. The negative consequences of urban pull have resulted in the emergence of slums characterized by housing shortages and critical inadequacies in public utilities, overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, etc. Given the rapid rate of urbanization in India, sanitation is one of the major national problems that need to be addressed urgently. A study by WHO and UNICEF on drinking water and sanitation in 2012, indicates that 626 million people in India, i.e. nearly 51 percent of the total population, still defecate in the open. While there is a segment of the population in the rural areas defecating in the open, what is disturbing is that urban areas are no different. Sewerage systems, if present, suffer from very poor maintenance. Wastewater treatment facilities are highly inadequate, causing water contamination. More than 122 million dwelling units are without toilets. According to a recent study by the United Nations, the entire Indian population has greater access to mobile phones than toilets, an ironic fact. In the slums of Mumbai, around 81 to 243 people share one toilet. Among the countries included in the World Health Organization’s epidemiological sub-regions, India falls under the D category, indicating high adult and child mortality. A proper sanitation facility is important as it has a vital role to play in individual and social life as it is one of the basic determinants of quality of life and human development index. There is, therefore, a direct relationship between water, sanitation and health. Inadequate access to DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-10

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safe water and sanitation services, with poor hygiene practices, tends to degrade the general health status of the people, especially children. The implications of poor sanitation facilities on health are severe, with incidences of morbidity and mortality of people, particularly children, being reported. The lack of toilets invariably results in malnourished children and more diseases, while improved sanitation facilities show positive signs, for instance, Sikkim and Kerala, states with increased access to toilets, have comparatively lower levels of malnourished children (15.9 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively) while the states of Bihar and Odisha have shown higher levels of malnourished children with 82.4 percent and 85.9 percent of the population practicing open defecation respectively, in view of their poor access to toilets. Due to an inadequate water supply and sanitation, the mortality of people is in millions. Experts have highlighted the need for further studies for identifying the reasons behind the failure of interventions in improving the general health conditions as also for probing further into insufficient coverage, non-usage of toilets, frequency of usage, personal hygiene-related aspects like hand washing and unhygienic surroundings. Thus, it is extremely important to address the issue holistically through improving water infrastructure, promoting hand washing, keeping the nutritional supplementation and improving clinical management in terms of addressing diarrhea through oral rehydration. However, the paucity of data and information in this respect has made it difficult to devise appropriate policy decisions. Good sanitary practices prevent the contamination of water and soil, and thereby diseases. The incidence of water-borne diseases, such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and several parasitic infections linked to poor sanitation – e.g. the presence of roundworms, whipworms, guinea worms, and Schistosomiasis – is highest among the poor, especially school-aged children. Consumption of unsafe drinking water, improper disposal of human excreta, improper environmental sanitation and lack of personal and food-related hygiene continue to remain, as they have been, major causes of many diseases in most of the developing countries. Each year, more than 2.2 million people in developing countries die of preventable diseases associated with poor access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. The social and environmental health costs of ignoring the need to address sanitation (including hygiene and wastewater collection and treatment) are too huge. Globally, diarrhea is the leading cause of illness and death, and is the main contributing factor with respect to 88 percent of diarrheal deaths, mainly due to poor access to basic sanitation facilities, coupled with inadequate availability of clean water for drinking (Siddharath and Shivani, 2005). According to UNICEF India – Water, Environment and Sanitation, the high risk of microbial pollution of water is mainly because of open defecation leading to diarrhea. In India, diarrhea is the second major cause of death among children below five years followed by others like typhoid, cholera, respiratory and parasite infections. UNICEF’s study also estimates that 400,000 children under five years

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die every year of diarrhea and millions suffer from diarrhea, hepatitis A, enteric fever, intestinal worms, eye and skin infections mainly due to poor hygienic conditions and drinking water. Besides, it has serious impacts on the productivity and incomes of people throughout the country. Sanitation is one of the vital components for urban health infrastructure, especially in respect of the slum population. This has been evidenced by many recent researchers, who highlight that the combined impact of inadequate sanitary conditions can lead to serious health problems like malnutrition, diarrhea, endemic cholera and respiratory infections, etc. that may ultimately result in the death of children particularly those under five. Sanitation is the most cost-effective major public health intervention in terms of reducing child mortality. Given its significance, we examined the sanitation infrastructure in terms of population with toilet access, types of toilets used, construction of toilets, their usage, hygiene and health, etc. across slums in Bengaluru. This chapter summarizes our findings.

Sanitation status According to the 2011 census, in India, 81 percent of the dwelling units in urban areas have access to a toilet, of which 32.7 percent are connected to a piped sewer system. It is estimated that more than 30 million dwelling units are connected to septic tanks and fecal sludge management remains neglected across most of the cities and towns (Census, 2011). The number of dwelling units having access to toilets shows an increase over a period (Figure 10.1).

FIGURE 10.1

Dwelling units having access to a toilet facility

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Figure 10.2 shows the top ten states with household access to toilets to the extent of more than 90 percent. The first three among them are Mizoram with 98.52 percent, Tripura with 97.89 percent and Lakshadweep with 97.71 percent. Figure 10.3 indicates the top ten districts in Karnataka regarding toilet access of households, based on their ranking. The first three among them are Dakshina Kannada with 97.6 percent, Kodagu with 97 percent and Bengaluru with 96.8 percent while the lowest-ranked districts include Yadgir with 40.2 percent, Gadag with 42.3 percent and Bagalkot with 42.5 percent. While the numbers have been showing an increasing trend towards providing access to toilets, it does not ref lect the nuances of the problems that are encountered on the ground. Providing access to toilets can be the first step towards improved sanitation, however, it does not ensure the usage of toilets. The extent of usage, technological, economic and social constraints in the process also must be addressed for eradicating open defecation. There are several UTTARAKHAND ASSAM NAGALAND SIKKIM MEGHALAYA MANIPUR KERALA LAKSHADWEEP TRIPURA MIZORAM

93.57 93.71

91

92

93

94.6 95.19 95.75 95.77

94

95

97.43 97.71 97.89 98.52 96

FIGURE 10.2

Urban sanitation: top ten ranking, 2011 (%)

FIGURE 10.3

Sanitation access in Karnataka (district-wise)

97

98

99

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levels and dimensions to improve sanitation and toilet access in rural and urban areas. Challenges in rural and urban areas are different besides being complex, and therefore need to be addressed differently. A recent World Bank study suggests that, in contrast to higher-income urban dwellers and some rural populations, the urban poor suffer from lower life expectancy at birth and a higher infant mortality rate (Bradley et al., 1992). Slums usually come up on plots of land not used by others for any regular purpose such as low-lying lands, areas near railway lines or drains, f lyovers or peri-urban areas. Slums located adjacent to large open drains are prone to a greater incidence of diarrhea and other water-borne diseases. Similarly, slums located along stormwater drains are a source of serious health hazards for their dwellers due to the contaminated water f low in the drains. Further, slums located adjacent to waste disposal sites face several hazards associated with a degraded environment in the form of polluted water and air that tend to accentuate the possibility of the spread of infectious diseases (Siddharath and Shivani, 2005).

Objectives and methodology The objective of this chapter is to understand sanitation status, hygiene behavior and health implications, taking the case of Bengaluru’s slums. The methodology included both qualitative and quantitative data collection, extensive review of studies on sanitation. The existing secondary data and information available on sanitation were compiled and analyzed. Interviews and discussions were held with officials at various levels of the government and other senior personnel of corporate, NGO and RWA members. Both structured and semi-structured survey instruments (questionnaires/ checklists) were designed for stakeholders, group-level meetings as well as individual interactions. After discussion, ten declared and ten undeclared slums were identified across the various zones of the city representing ownership of land (government land and private land), slums with migrant population only, location, slums with on access to toilets, having access to public toilets, pay-and-use toilets and rejuvenated slums. From each slum, 20 respondents, one person from every household, were selected randomly for the study. Thus, the total sample size came to 400 respondents across 400 households (20 HHs each from 20 slums). The sample covered were representative of different categories like age groups, women and elderly population. Focused group discussions also formed part of the whole survey for a comprehensive analysis.

Results and discussions Sanitation status Toilet access Census 2011 data indicate that 5.2 percent of households lack toilet facility and 94.8 percent have access to toilet facility in Bengaluru. However, the absolute

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numbers of households that do not have toilets are still far above the ground and the majority of them constitute the urban poor. The same has been indicated by our study; 67 percent have access to individual toilets (in-house toilets), while a significant percentage of the households (19.5 percent) are dependent on shared/pay-and-use public toilets and 13.5 percent of the households do not have a toilet facility of any kind, hence practicing open defecation (Table 10.1). Bengaluru has achieved better coverage lately due to two major causes – an increase in the level of awareness and the lack of open spaces for open defecation.

Type of toilets and practice of open defecation Types of toilets and their infrastructure are a vital pointer for understanding the quality of toilets which, in turn, affects usage. We observed that most of the surveyed households had access to individual toilets. This is a positive circumstance in which households with individual toilets feel less beleaguered as compared to those that use public or shared toilets. Besides, the availability of toilets within the household premises supports all the household members to use them. It was observed that households with no access to individual toilets depended on community toilets/public toilets, shared toilets. The sharing of one toilet by two households was more common in the studied slums. Toilet infrastructure across the slums points to the prevalence of open defecation despite the availability of toilet facility wherein 50 percent of the study slums practiced open defecation due to various reasons.

Individual toilets Some slums (Gangondanahalli, Govindarajnagar, Swanthatrapalya, Yarabnagar, Sarvagnanagar and Deshiyanagar slums) were free from open defecation and maintained toilets as per standards. This was observed in slums where individual toilets were present in all the houses. The households were built under the JnNURM scheme along with toilets prior to which open defecation was common.

TABLE 10.1 Type of toilets used and practice of open defecation

Type of toilets

Percent

Notified

Non-notified

Individual/own toilet Public toilet Shared toilet Open space Total

67.0 7.2 12.3 13.5 100.0

75 10 2.5 12.5 100

59 4.5 22 14.5 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

190 S. Manasi and N. Latha

Shared toilets 12.2 percent of households were using shared toilets across 50 percent of studied slums. The dependency on shared toilets was more in non-notified slums compared to notified slums. In around 2 percent of the HHs, two families shared a single toilet; in around 6 percent, three families shared a single toilet and in 3 percent, four families shared a toilet. Shared toilets caused a lot of inconveniences as people are forced to wait during rush hours. Since shared toilets lacked maintenance and accessibility on time, men were inclined to practice open defecation.

Public toilets Public toilets served as a natural alternative for toilet access among the densely populated low-income communities in urban and semi-urban areas. Among the surveyed slums, public toilets were present in seven slums and around 7 percent of the households depended on public toilets. The community/public toilets in the study slums were operated on a pay-and-use basis, except in one. Public toilets were used by slum residents but varied in their usage pattern across families/ slums. Some of the families completely depended on public toilets as they did not have an individual toilet in their houses. However, there were families that, although they had individual toilets, used public toilets during situations where their toilets were having technical issues. People surveyed complained about lack of hygiene and maintenance in public toilets and queues during rush hours.

Open defecation Open defecation prevailed for varied reasons in the study area. For instance, in Hakki pikki colony with a population of around 2,000, all 208 households (except three or four households) defecated in the open areas as they did not have access to toilets. Similarly, in Shivapura slum, LBS Nagar slum and Yelahanka AK colony slum, around 50 percent of the households did not have access to any kind of toilet facility and hence they practiced open defecation. This is supported by a survey conducted in 2013 by Bengaluru Urban zilla panchayat (ZP) which highlighted that 34,656 households in Bengaluru Urban district did not have access to toilets and hence were resorting to open defecation.

Toilet construction under various schemes Various schemes have been implemented by the state and central governments to provide toilet access. Under these schemes, financial assistance is given to households for constructing toilets or houses with toilets. The total number of individual toilets constructed in the study area increased after 2010. The data collected during our household survey indicates that 42 percent of individual toilets were constructed after 2010 which may be attributed to the implementation of various housing and sanitation schemes by the government like Basic Services for the

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Urban Poor (BSUP) and the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Scheme (IHSD) under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission ( JnNURM) launched in December 2005. In addition, recently under the World Bank–sponsored project Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project (KMRP) implemented by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), toilets have been constructed in various slums of Bengaluru. Another reason may the non-availability of space for open defecation due to an enormous growth of the real estate sector in Bengaluru which has further resulted in opting for the construction of own individual toilets by the slum dwellers. In addition, various initiatives by the government and NGOs in terms of creating awareness among people regarding the importance of access to and usage of toilets, like Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan, Swachcha Bharat Mission, etc. might have motivated people to construct toilets.

Toilet usage Usage of toilets by all the members of the households is the ideal remedy for achieving an open defecation–free city. Providing toilet infrastructure for slum households does not ensure usage as there are several reasons that inf luence toilet usage. Toilet usage in slum households is determined by several socio-cultural factors. Individual toilets are largely used by households owning them. However, we observed that though households had toilets at home, some members of the family, particularly men, did not make use of them and were comfortable with open defecation given their habit over time. Other reasons for the prevalence of open defecation despite the prevalence of toilets were technical issues, poor maintenance, water scarcity, etc.

Technical issues Toilet infrastructure prevailed, however, there were several technical issues affecting usage. Blockage of underground drainage is a prominent problem encountered across slums. Some of the technical problems that restricted the usage of toilets were: damaging of toilets by rodents and termites, collapsing of pits due to heavy rains, overf lowing, poor infrastructure and irregular emptying of soak pits. Most of the respondents (44 percent) reported a combination of the above-mentioned problems followed by the damaging of toilets by rodents and termites (16 percent) and overf lowing of pits during the rainy season (12 percent).

Insuffcient number of toilets An inadequate number of toilets causes inconvenience and compels open defecation. Nine slums had only partial access to toilets, i.e. few households have access to individual toilets or shared toilets and not public toilets. They were forced to

192 S. Manasi and N. Latha

opt for open defecation in view of water shortage and technical problems. For instance, the Gulbarga slum in Bengaluru is a non-notified slum where 50 out of a total of 325 HHs constructed their own individual toilets. The rest of the slum dwellers defecated in nearby open spaces.

No space to construct toilets The landscape of a given slum is an important factor that determines the construction of toilets. Slums are not located in a planned manner and hence are mostly congested with petite lanes. Poor quality of semi-pucca households, insufficient space for constructing individual toilets and lack of access to public toilets led to open defecation. Of the respondents, 18.2 percent lived in households that covered an area of 10 by 15 feet, while 29.8 percent lived in housing units that occupied an area of 10 by 10 feet and even less, and hence, the construction of toilets was restricted.

Behavioral issues There was a small percentage of men who preferred to defecate in the open as they did not feel comfortable using toilets. This is a cultural factor as migrants from rural areas who have settled in Bengaluru still continue to defecate in the open as it is a habit they have been used to in the villages; 15 percent of women respondents felt uncomfortable to even use toilets when men were around. The behavioral aspects of toilet usage are inf luenced by educational levels as well. The educational levels of the respondents were low, as 38.2 percent were uneducated. However, among the youth, although they had been raised under poor conditions with almost no access to toilets, with exposure to improved living conditions, they felt the need for owning toilets.

Water shortage Inadequate water availability affects toilet usage to a large extent. Water access and availability are a matter of concern across most of the slums. Although the slum dwellers have access to water, it is not enough to meet their requirements completely; 32.75 percent of the respondents reported water insufficiency. Another reason for not being able to access water was the water motor problem faced by households with units built as vertical structures. Households living on the second and third f loors had to depend on motors that get frequently damaged and require frequent repairs. Although they shared repair costs, they considered it a burden due to the frequency of repairs. Purchasing water is a common feature across slums. This explains the reasons that affect sanitation drastically. People felt the pinch of spending on water, even for toilet usage. Inadequate water availability affects hygiene.

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Poor toilet maintenance People were not satisfied with public toilets mainly due to their poor maintenance and hygiene (76 percent) and water scarcity (24 percent) and hence, resorted to open defecation. Besides, respondents of our surveys especially found it inconvenient to use public toilets because their usage was subject to strict timings and was closed by 9 pm, leaving people with no choice other than defecating in the open. Other inconveniences included poor lighting facilities and lack of sufficient water/no water in public toilets (Gandhi Grama slum).

Hygiene behavior Good hygiene acts as a significant barricade to many infectious diseases, besides, it promotes better health and well-being. Good hygiene practices not only help reduce the incidence of various illnesses but also facilitate a faster recovery from illness, a sense of well-being, social acceptance and the prevention of the spread of illnesses to others. To attain good health benefits, improvements in hygiene should be made along with water supply, sanitation and integrated with other interventions like improving nutrition. It is important that personal and community hygiene practices are improved to prevent the spread of diseases. WHO defines hygiene as conditions and practices that help maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases while personal hygiene refers to maintaining the body’s cleanliness. In our study of slums, we tried to understand hygiene behavior. At large, we observed that there was substantial scope for intervention in creating awareness among people regarding improving hygiene behavior. Irrespective of several practical constraints, there is scope for a minimum level of hygiene that could be maintained which has to be rooted through behavioral change. Levels of hygienic behavior varied across and within slums. We observed that the immediate surroundings around slums remained unhygienic and looked dismal at large. Some of the slums which are vertical housing structures built by the Karnataka Slum Development Board looked more like concentrated concrete slums with poor hygienic surroundings, despite huge investments made in constructing them. For instance, the Nayandahalli slum was unhygienic in terms of leaking underground drainage systems (UGDs) (that happen quite often) making the roads unfit for usage besides causing a foul smell and associated hygiene issues. Besides, the quality of construction was poor, and the people had kept their surroundings unclean. Poor-quality construction was the major reason for the frequent leakage of UGDs. Also, the housing units located on the topmost f loors would not get water supply with high dependence on sumps and overhead tanks. The overhead tanks would remain empty as the burning of motors was common. At large, the system was not efficient, making the place unlivable. Apart from such situations, cluttering in common areas was a common practice that was found to be causing poor hygiene, in addition to dumping personal belongings, storing firewood,

194 S. Manasi and N. Latha

heating water for bathing in common areas wherein the soot from the burning of fuelwood damages the houses constructed and so on. However, there was a small percentage of households that kept their houses and surrounding premises clean and tidy. There were also households that spent personal money for renovating their houses to suit their tastes, viz. placing tiles on the walls, redoing f looring, painting walls, etc.

Bathing practices Besides the overall conditions of the slums, we tried to explore a few personal hygiene-related practices as well. Bathing every day is an integral part of good hygiene practice. However, to bathe every day, access to a sufficient quantity of safe water throughout the year is very essential since problems with inadequate water access and poor-quality water can discourage improved hygienic behavior. Our field observations showed that 40 percent of the respondents took a bath every day; access to water was adequate in these slums and they also had good facilities for storing water. Meanwhile, 42 percent of the respondents took a bath on alternate days as they had access to water only on alternate days and lived in smaller households with no adequate space to storing water, while 17 percent of the respondents had a bath once every three days mainly due to scarcity of water and 1.2 percent of the respondents took a bath once in a week as they had poor access to water and purchased water to meet their requirements (Table 10.2). Water access is the main aspect that determines bathing practices, hence, providing adequate water facilities will aid in improving hygiene behavior.

Hand washing Hand hygiene is defined as hand washing or washing hands and nails with soap and water or using a waterless sanitizer. Hand hygiene is central to preventing the spread of infectious diseases at home and in everyday life settings (Bloomsfield et al., 2007). Besides, it also reduces anemia among women. The World Health Organization recommends hand washing with ash if soap is not available in emergencies (WHO, 2011), schools without access to soap (WHO, 2009) and other difficult situations like post-emergencies where the use of (clean) sand TABLE 10.2 Bathing practices

Bathing

Percent

Every day Once in two days Once in three days Once a week Total

40.2 41.8 16.8 1.2 100.0

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

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is recommended too (WHO, 2005). The use of ash is common in developing countries, particularly rural areas, and has experiments indicating that it has been as effective as soap for removing pathogens (Baker et al., 2014). Hand washing has also been stated as an effective way of fighting diarrhea among children, by ensuring better water quality as part of improved sanitation. When we tried to understand hand-washing practices among the respondents, it was observed that 98.2 percent of the respondents washed their hands prior to cooking, while 97.2 of the respondents washed their hands prior to eating, which was interesting to note that hand washing is practiced largely (Table 10.3). However, respondents who used soap to wash their hands accounted only for 67.8 percent. The practice of using soap to wash hands also depended on their occupation. People who were engaged in construction and sanitation activities tended to use soap as their hands got dirty while working, whereas those engaged in activities like sorting out metals, paper waste, soft toy making, garland making using plastic f lowers, etc. tended to wash hands with plain water, as they felt plain water (without soap) would suffice to clean off the dirt.

Cleaning of toilets Cleaning toilets every week was the standard at large. Cleaning toilets and maintaining them well prevent contamination from germs and implications of associated sickness. We were keen to understand the maintenance of toilets both at the individual household level and in public toilets. We observed that in the case of individual toilets, 38 percent of respondents cleaned toilets once a week, while 17.75 percent cleaned daily and 16.5 percent cleaned twice in a week (Table 10.4); 15.5 percent did not adhere to these standards. It can also be observed from Table 10.5 that it was mostly the womenfolk, wives, daughters or mothers who cleaned toilets. There were a few households (around 8 percent) that engaged paid labor to clean toilets. Our observations during the field visits also revealed that individual toilets were maintained well by most of the households. In the case of shared toilets, households took turns washing toilets on a weekly basis, TABLE 10.3 Hand wash before cooking and eating

Hand washing Before cooking Yes No Total Before eating Yes No Total

Percent 98.2 1.8 100.0 97.2 2.8 100.0

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

196 S. Manasi and N. Latha TABLE 10.4 Frequency of cleaning toilets

Frequency

Percent

Daily Weekly once Weekly twice Once in 15 days Monthly once Others (more than a month, etc.) Not applicable* Total

17.75 38 16.5 7.5 8.0 0.5 11.75 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis. *Households without toilets. TABLE 10.5 Person cleaning the toilets

Specifics

Percent

Wife Husband Son Daughter Paid labor Mother Any household member Not applicable* Total

33.5 2.3 0.8 11.5 7.8 19.8 12.8 11.8 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis. *Households without toilets.

which is clearly inadequate in frequency given the number of users, leaving them largely unclean. Community toilets/public toilets were maintained by the respective agency – Sulabh International Agency or Nirmala Bengaluru and in some cases, contractors engaged by the city’s local body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The cleanliness of the public toilets was clearly not maintained up to the mark given the high usage combined with water scarcity. The frequency of cleaning was twice daily, however, given the number and frequency of users, hygiene standards were not up to the mark with varying levels of maintenance.

Disposal of diapers/sanitary pads When we tried to understand the disposal of diapers (home-stitched cloth diapers) of infants, it was observed that 32.25 percent of the respondents disposed of them in dust bins, while a very small percentage (0.75) disposed of them in

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TABLE 10.6 Disposal of infant feces

Location of disposal

Percent

Dust bin Toilet Street/open space Not applicable* Total

32.25 0.75 5.6 60.75 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis. * Households with no infants.

toilets, contrary to instructions, and 5.6 percent disposed of them in open spaces and streets (Table 10.6). There is a need for creating further awareness and education amongst the respondents regarding the proper disposal of fecal matter as it can cause a high degree of contamination affecting community health. About the use of sanitary napkins, it was found that young girls going to college used them. Sanitary napkins used by young girls are disposed of in municipal dustbins. Lately, innovations have been made in low-cost sanitary pads by a social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, and few others too. These mini machines manufacture sanitary pads for less than a third of the cost of commercial pads and have been installed in 23 states across the country and also won the National Innovation Foundation’s Grassroots Technological Innovations Award. This is popularly used in rural areas and manufactured by rural women as a self-help group (SHG) initiative. There is large scope to adopt this in slums to aid women and young girls .

Health Many of the health problems in urban slums stem from a lack of access to or demand for basic amenities and slum dwellers are highly prone to health risks. Basic service provisions are either absent or inadequate in slums. Inadequate supply of drinking water, unhealthy environment, inadequate housing and unscientific garbage disposal pose a wide range of threats to the health of slum dwellers, women and children in particular, as they spend most of their time in and around the unhygienic environment. Besides, access to healthcare facilities is also limited. This is substantiated by a Rajiv Awas Yojana report which indicates that 51 percent of the slums do not have access to primary health facilities (DPR, Rajiv Awas Yojana, 2013).

Health problems Our attempt to explore the health conditions in slums indicated that more women (15.25 percent) tended to suffer from health ailments as compared to

198 S. Manasi and N. Latha

men (8.25 percent), while 13 percent of children tended to suffer more than infants (Table 10.7). Children in these slums mostly suffered from ailments like diarrhea, fever and respiratory ailments which could be attributed to poor sanitation access and hygiene at large. Studies also imply that slum children belonging to lower socioeconomic strata are prone to suffer from health ailments as compared to children from non-slum areas. Children living in slum areas are 1.3 times, 1.5 times and 1.2 times more likely to suffer from diarrhea, cough and fever respectively than children living in non-slum areas (Natrajan Kavitha, 2014). Similarly, the elderly are more prone to health ailments given their low immunity and vulnerability to get infected easily. In fact, 12.25 percent of the elderly are prone to frequent health problems like respiratory ailments, fever and body pain in comparative terms. Our discussions during the survey revealed that mosquitoes cause ailments like chikungunya and dengue which proved fatal in some cases involving slum residents. Overall, there seemed to be no sense of well-being as they generally felt unwell and weak. This may be attributed to low nutrition levels among people. We observed that several people living in slums were getting used to purchasing food rather than cooking at home. They largely resorted to eating street food and from caterers who sold food daily near their residences. It was observed that the food purchased was largely carbohydrate-based and fried food. It is vital to note that the traditional finger-millet-based food like ragi balls and ragi porridge and the use of fresh vegetables were gradually getting replaced with newer forms of food varieties, mostly unhealthy, making most of the urban poor suffer from lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension. They expressed that purchasing food was convenient and that the demands of work timings and fatigue left them with no choice. We also tried to identify the types of ailments that the slum dwellers tend to suffer given their prevailing environmental conditions. It was observed that they suffered from ailments like common cold, fever, diarrhea, allergic reactions, TABLE 10.7 Health problems among family members

Specifics

Total % of households

Men Women Infants Children Senior citizens All None More than one member in a HH Total

8.25 15.25 3.25 13 12.25 2.5 39.75 5.75 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

Notified

Non-notified

5 15 1 10 8 0 53 8

11.5 15.5 5.5 16 16.5 5.0 26.5 3.5

100

100

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199

typhoid and other vector diseases. In our study, we observed that a majority of them (30 percent) suffer from fever, common cold and cough; 3.75 percent from allergic reactions, which may be attributed to respiratory ailments, and fever, which may be attributed to contamination given a high density of population in the study region. It is alarming to note that 8.75 percent of the slum dwellers suffered from multiple diseases, depicting their poor quality of life. About 1.75 percent of the population suffered from vector-borne diseases which could be mainly due to poor hygienic conditions in the slums and the resultant severe mosquito menace followed by typhoid, gastroenteritis (2.5 percent together) and diarrhea (1.75 percent) caused due to water contamination, indicating poor access to safe water; further, 1.5 percent of women suffered from gynecological problems attributed partly to poor hygiene and access to toilet facilities (Table 10.8). From among our list of selected slums, the Gandhigrama slum was a witness to the occurrence of chikungunya, dengue, respiratory ailments and diarrhea – no surprise since it was observed that the slum appeared unhygienic comparatively. The infants, children and elderly belonging to non-notified slums were more vulnerable to health problems comparatively, presumably due to lack of facilities ref lecting a poor quality of life in non-notified slums leading to unhygienic surroundings. Another reason for the prevalence of respiratory ailments among slum dwellers may be attributed to indoor air pollution. This may be due to fuelwood/ kerosene used for cooking. However, it is interesting to note that the percentage of households using LPG is the highest (around 54 percent). This is evidenced by other studies as well. A WHO report (March 2014) confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental risk. It is indicated that in 2017, 1.2 million deaths each in India and China were linked to indoor air pollution within households. Air pollution represents a very important risk factor attributable to the burden of diseases in the context of Indian households. It is prominent

TABLE 10.8 Common diseases

Diseases

Percent

Fever, cold and cough Diarrhea Allergic reactions Vector-borne disease (dengue, chikungunya and malaria) Typhoid Gastroenteritis Gynecological problems Multiple diseases Not applicable (households with no common diseases) Total

30.0 1.75 3.75 1.75 1.25 1.25 1.5 19.0 39.75 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

200

S. Manasi and N. Latha

in urbanized cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai where the density of slums and slum dwellers has been increasing at a fast pace. In India, across many slums, poor women cook inside their houses, using mostly wood as fuel, and hence are exposed to soot and toxic gases that directly affect their lungs. Complications related to this exposure include pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer. As can be seen from Table 10.9, the most common ailments that affected the slum dwellers were respiratory ailments and fever, indicating their poor quality of life and lack of well-being. The underlying causes may be attributed to unhygienic conditions and malnutrition. We were also keen to know the frequency of suffering from health ailments. Our study results showed that 26.75 percent of the respondents suffered at least once in the last year, while 17.5 percent, more than three times and 15.75 percent, two to three times (Table 10.10). This indicates that 60 percent of the respondents suffered from ailments at least once within a year.

Mortality Our attempt to understand the mortality incidences across the slums over the last two years revealed that mortality incidences were related to two cases of dengue and one case of Japanese encephalitis1 where the patients had succumbed to these diseases. The death of the patient due to encephalitis may be attributed to pig rearing that is prevalent in the vicinity of the slum. Given a high density of population and poor community hygienic conditions among the slums, it is quite possible that such diseases spread very fast; consequently, pig rearing was opposed by other residents of the households and forcefully made to stop after the death of an 11-year-old boy. About 2.5 percent of the slum dwellers agreed that there were deaths in the last year (Table 10.11). Similarly, dengue is caused due to mosquitoes, given the poor community hygienic conditions.

Reasons for health issues Slums are generally characterized by a poor state of health, especially, with respect to children due to poor housing and environmental conditions. These conditions coupled with malnutrition and anemia among children posed a high risk of infectious diseases in the slums that were studied. Our study findings revealed that 43 percent of the slum dwellers considered multiple reasons (a combination of poor hygiene and sanitation, poor ventilation, poor drainage, mosquitoes and fatigue due to intensive physical work) as responsible for their present health condition, while 19 percent believed poor hygiene and poor sanitation facilities to be the main cause, 17.5 percent attributed it to mosquitoes and 5.75 percent to poor drainage facilities prevailing in the slums, which in turn may be attributed to poor toilet access (Table 10.12). However, other sanitation-related aspects are also important for improving the health conditions and quality of life of the slum

25%

+

+

+

+ +

Relatively no health issues

Health status

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

Vasanthpura Bandepalya slum Gangodnalli slum Govindrajnagar slum Yarabnagar slum Pullakeshinagar slum Deshiya Nagar Gandhigrama slum Andracolony slum Jayram slum Swathanthrapalya Gulbarga slum Shivapura slum Priyankanagar (Seggehalli) Babusa Palya colony Bhoovi colony Yelhanka old town (AK colony) LBS Nagar Nayanda halli slum Hakkipikki colony Total

Slum name

+ + 50%

+ +

+ +

+ +

+ +

Common cold, cough fever, body pain,

TABLE 10.9 Type of health ailments across slums – an overview

15%

+

+

+

Chikungunya

10%

+

+

Diarrhea

10%

+

+

Dengue

15%

+

+

+

Skin allergies

20%

+

+

+

+

Smallpox

Hygiene behavior and health implications 201

202 S. Manasi and N. Latha TABLE 10.10 Frequency of diseases in the last year

Frequency

Percent

One time Two to three times More than three times

26.75 15.75 17.5

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis. TABLE 10.11 Death in the last year

Death in last year

Percent

Yes No Total

2.5 97.5 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis. TABLE 10.12 Reasons underlying health issues

Reasons for health issues

Percent

Notified

Non-notified

Poor hygiene and sanitation Poor ventilation Poor drainage facilities Mosquitoes Exertion due to physical work Multiple reasons Total

19 9.75 5.75 17.5 0.5 47.5 100

15 3.5 4.5 24 1 52.0 100

23 16 7 11 0 43 100

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

dwellers. Poor hygiene, ventilation and drainage facilities are the major causes for health issues, which were high in non-notified slums. Inadequate sanitation facilities and toilets had resulted in unhygienic conditions which further resulted in various health issues among the residents. We wanted to see if there was any significant difference in the percentage of respondents exposed to certain water-borne diseases due to improper sanitation between notified and non-notified areas. From an independent t-test (parametric t-test) result depicted in Table 10.13, it is observed that the p-value is 0.000 and as this value is less than the significance alpha level of 0.05, we conclude that there is a significant difference in the mean (average) percentage of respondents exposed to certain water-borne diseases due to improper sanitation belonging to nonnotified and notified areas. As the mean percentage score of respondents with water-borne diseases (mean = 23.53) under non-notified areas is higher than that

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TABLE 10.13 Water-borne diseases across notified and non-notified slums

Type of area

N

Mean

Std. deviation

Std. error mean

Non-notified area Notified area

200 200

23.53 13.48

26.00 18.79

1.83 1.32

Source: Primary surveys and authors’ analysis.

in the notified area (mean = 13.48), we conclude that non-notified areas have a higher percentage of water-borne diseases as compared to respondents belonging to notified areas.2

Conclusions To sum up, we observed that there is large scope for intervention in creating awareness among slum residents regarding improving hygiene behavior. Irrespective of several practical constraints, there is scope for a minimum level of hygiene in their surroundings that could be maintained which has to be rooted through behavioral change. The levels of hygienic behavior vary across and within slums. We observed that the immediate surroundings around slums remained unhygienic and looked dismal at large. Besides the overall conditions of the slums, exploring few personal hygiene-related practices indicated that water access is the main culprit that determines bathing practices, hence providing adequate water facilities will aid in improving hygiene behavior. About 17 percent of the respondents bathed less frequently (once in three days) and 1.2 percent just once a week as they have poor access to water and purchase water to meet their requirements, while 40 percent of the respondents take a bath every day as access to water is good in these slums and they have also good storage facilities for storing water. Washing hands was quite prominent. More than 56 percent of respondents cleaned toilets as per standards (once a week and daily). Our observations during the field visits also revealed that individual toilets are maintained well by most households. However, the cleanliness of the public toilets is not maintained up to the mark given the high usage combined with water scarcity. There is a need for creating further awareness and education amongst the respondents regarding the proper disposal of fecal matter as it can cause a high degree of contamination affecting community health as the majority dispose of it in dustbins. All this had health implications, wherein more women (15.25 percent) tend to suffer from health ailments as compared to men (8.25 percent), while 13 percent of children tend to suffer more than infants. The most common ailments that affect the slum dwellers are respiratory ailments and fever indicating their poor quality of life and lack of well-being among slum dwellers. The underlying causes may be attributed to unhygienic conditions and malnutrition. Poor hygiene, ventilation and drainage facilities are the major cause of health issues, which were high in non-notified slums which is obvious. Inadequate sanitation facilities and toilets

204 S. Manasi and N. Latha

have resulted in unhygienic conditions and further resulted in various health issues among the residents. It is obvious that the reasons for this situation include lack of priority given to this sector, lack of adequate water supply and sanitation services, poor quality of infrastructure, inadequate sanitation in public places, lack of financial resources and poor hygienic behavior. The nuances across the slums capture a variety of issues that are context-specific and need to be addressed accordingly. There is a need for the understanding of ground realities in much intensity prior to implementing any program. All this would further aid in avoiding negative implications on the society in terms of health and furthermore reducing the economic burden and improved quality of life. The provision of facilities in respect of sanitary disposal of excreta and the introduction of sound hygiene behavior are of prime importance to reducing the burden on health. Since all water-borne, fecal disposal–related diseases and water-based diseases depend on infecting agents from human excreta, it is important to work toward providing adequate sanitation and making the city free of open defecation.

Notes 1 Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease-vector commonly found in pigs and birds. 2 The above conclusion is made with a margin of error (MoE) as arrived using the formula ìï ìï æ S.D ö üï æ 26 ö üï MoE = S.E ´ í1.96 ç = 1.83 ´ í1.96 ç ÷ý ÷ ý = 6.59 éë for Non notified area ùû ïî ïî è n ø ïþ è 200 ø ïþ ìï æ 18.79 ö üï æ S.D ö üï ïì MoE = S.E ´ í1.96 ç ÷ ý = 3.44 éë for Notified area ùû ÷ ý = 1.32 ´ í1.96 ç n ïî ïî è ø ïþ è 200 ø ïþ

References Agarwal, Siddharth and Shivani Taneja. 2005. “All slums are not equal: Child health conditions among the urban poor. Indian Paediatrics, 42. Baker, K.K.; Dil Farzana, F.; Ferdous, F.; Ahmed, S.; Kumar Das, S.; Faruque, A.S.G.; Nasrin, D.; Kotloff, K.L.; Nataro, J.P.; Kolappaswamy, K.; Levine, M.M. (28 April 2014). “Association between moderate-to-severe diarrhea in Young children in the global enteric multicenter study (GEMS) and types of handwashing materials used by caretakers in Mirzapur, Bangladesh.” American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 91(1): 181–189. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.13-0509. PMC 4080560. Bloomfield, Sally F.; Aiello, Allison E.; Cookson, Barry; O’Boyle, Carol; Larson, Elaine L. (December 2007). “The effectiveness of hand hygiene procedures in reducing the risks of infections in home and community settings including handwashing and alcohol-based hand sanitizers.” American Journal of Infection Control. 35(10): S27–S64. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2007.07.001. Census of India. 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Government of India, New Delhi.

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“Emergency Treatment of Drinking-Water at the Point of Use”(PDF). World Health Organization. 2011. “How Can Personal Hygiene Be Maintained in Difficult Circumstances?” World Health Organization. 2005. Kavita, Natrajan. 2014. “Are slum children at high risk of under nutrition, anaemia and childhood morbidity? evidence from India.” Indian Journal of Community Health. 26(2). Rajiv Awas Yojana, Scheme Guidelines 2011 -2022, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India. “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Standards for Schools in Low-Cost Settings” (PDF). World Health Organization. 2009.

11 RAPID URBANIZATION IN NEPAL What does it mean for public open space? Shiva Raj Adhikari

Introduction Nepal is a low-income landlocked country in South Asia with a population of 29.89 million (MOF, 2020). The nation is located on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, bordering only two countries: the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China to the north and the Republic of India in the remaining directions of east, south and west. Nepal can be ecologically divided into three belts, namely: mountain, hill and terai. As defined by the constitution of Nepal 2015, a federal democratic republic of Nepal has three levels of government: federal, provincial and local. There are seven provincial governments and 753 local-level governments including 293 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities. Three-fifths of the country’s population now live in a total of 293 municipalities. Urban areas are defined in Nepal in terms of population density, infrastructure development and revenues, among others. There are three hierarchical levels of municipalities: metropolis, sub-metropolis and municipalities based on population size, annual revenues, infrastructure and some basic facilities. There are six metropolises, 11 sub-metropolises and 276 municipalities, which are all local-level government units. While political discretion is important to decide whether the cities are metropolises or sub-metropolises among the larger cities, in general, the largest cities in terms of population size (around or more than 100,000) and larger geographical areas covered are categorized as metropolises. Similarly, larger cities in terms of population size (around or less than 100,000) are sub-metropolises. Small and medium cities are categorized as municipalities. The process of urbanization primarily includes the expansion of municipal boundaries and designating new municipalities. For example, there were 16 urban areas in 1971; 23 areas in 1981; 33 in 1991; 58 in 2001; and 293 in DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-11

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2017. The pace of urbanization in Nepal has been rapid; however, the quality of urbanization is low. Many designated urban areas show rural characteristics. Even while Nepal is one of the least urbanized countries of the global south, the municipal population, as per the National Population Census 2011, has reached 59.9 percent of the total population (Table 11.1). Well-planned urbanization provides employment opportunities and can reduce disparity and poverty. Urbanization is considered an engine of growth and development. Public services are cheaper as compared to the same in rural areas because infrastructure is less costly due to economies of scale. Urbanization supports structural transformation and increases trade. Urbanization is generally associated with higher income and productivity levels. Economic growth is both a cause and consequence of urbanization (Adhikari, 2016). One-third of the gross domestic product is contributed by the urban sector in Nepal (MOF, 2020). Higher urban population shares when compared with the national average are associated in most cases with higher per capita gross domestic product (GDP). One finds in cities a higher GDP per capita, higher labor productivity and higher employment levels than their national average. An increase in population leads to an increase in wages or productivity (Duranton et al, 2015). The productive capacity and their competitiveness may vary due to the degree or quality of the urbanization. The higher aggregate demand and supplies of public services in the urban areas make lower prices. The availability of relatively better education, health and other facilities than rural areas draw people to urban areas. Urbanization is now synonymous with development because it lowers costs and creates knowledge spillovers. However, there are opportunities and challenges associated with specific urbanization patterns, negative externalities and the cost of living in cities. Urbanization in Nepal produces enormous challenges basically due to the lack of proper planning and design. On the other hand, an increase in population density doesn’t ensure an increase in the economic density or economic size of the urban areas. Over the past decades, large cities in Nepal have expanded rapidly and haphazardly due to many reasons such as rural to urban migration, remittances, TABLE 11.1 Urbanization in Nepal

Years

Number of towns

Urban population in millions

Percentage of urban population

1952–1954 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2017

10 16 16 23 33 58 58 293

0.238 0.336 0.462 0.957 1.696 3.28 4.53 15.96

2.9 3.6 4.1 6.3 9.2 13.9 17.0 59.9

Source: Devkota, 2018 and NPC, 2020.

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insurgency and overcrowding, among others. Urbanization is apparently a wealth-producing process. Land in large urban cities has particularly represented the principal form of wealth, the principal symbol of social status, and the principal source of economic and political power. A large investment in land and building indicates the misallocation of resources (Su and Qian, 2020). Urbanization appears to be concentrated in consumption cities rather than production cities and encourages rent-seeking behavior (Glaeser, 2020). Cities have a very fragmented nature of land ownership. The fragmented nature of land ownership results in a high percentage of people who own land. Living in a large city means sharing a limited amount of space with a great variety of people. Urbanization brings fundamental changes in the way of people’s life. Such changes have profound implications – both positive and negative – for the health of city residents. Cities are also home to high concentrations of poverty; Sridhar (2015) argues why urban poverty in general is more challenging than rural poverty. The urban population living below the poverty line in Nepal was 10 percent in 2003–2004 while it went up to 15 percent in 2010–2011 (CBS, 2011a). Urban poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon. Nowhere is the rise of inequality, where wealthy communities coexist alongside and separate from slums and informal settlements, more evident. Uncontrolled and unmanaged rapid urbanization creates disorderly settlement patterns with dangerously reduced public space. Urbanization presents major public health challenges, especially in rapidly urbanizing developing countries. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN Habitat) and the World Health Organization (WHO), cities may fail to provide a healthy living environment due to overcrowding, lack of affordable housing, street or junk food (Haddad, 2012) or inability to maintain good air quality (UN Habitat and WHO, 2010). Moreover, emphasis on short-term goals and economic development can lead to disparities in health and quality of life (NASEM, 2017). Unplanned urbanization encourages unhealthy lifestyles such as consumption of junk food, physical inactivity and exposes urban dwellers to poor air quality that may lead to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. NCDs are the leading causes of death globally, killing more people yearly than all other causes combined, and almost 80 percent of these deaths occur in lowand middle-income countries. Much of the human and social impact caused by NCD-related deaths could be averted through cost-effective and feasible interventions (WHO, 2011a).

Challenges of public space in large cities There is a rapid pace of urbanization in major cities due to the availability of basic services and employment opportunities. For example, the Kathmandu valley is the most populous metropolitan region in Nepal. It has experienced rapid urbanization since the 1980s (Sharma, 2003).

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Managing rapid urbanization in Nepal has become challenging due to the uneven distribution of the urban population. With rapid urbanization without city planning, public spaces have been diminishing over the years in major large cities. Public open spaces are one of the most maligned elements of the urban setting today. Public space at the neighborhood level plays a significant role in people’s everyday life; it is an everyday space of community (Mehta, 2019). Public space is a meaningful design of socioeconomic territory, the major cause of social integration and a key design feature of an urban neighborhood with the potential to offer place attachment. This design of the physical environment considers a better provision of public space to encourage socioeconomic interaction through its use in the development of social relationships. Some decades or a half-century ago, open areas such as ponds, chowk, playgrounds, meeting places in front of houses or in the community had been provisioned. Agriculture production areas were a part of large cities. The attractions of business and commercial activities and migration from other parts of the country have now increased the coverage of the cities. Provision of various infrastructures such as transportations, utilities, public schools, public hospitals and bus parks consume/utilize public spaces. Agricultural lands are converted into residential areas. As every single piece of land is rated too high in large cities, agricultural land and private lands are fragmented for residential purposes. Cities have a very fragmented nature of land ownership. The fragmented nature of land ownership results in a high percentage of people who own land. In contrast to the private ownership of land, the concept of public space is completely neglected while developing the cities. Private companies are not being attracted to invest in land development and housing construction due to the absence of a legal framework. Over the past several decades, Nepal’s large cities have expanded rapidly and haphazardly, mainly due to the weaknesses of municipal institutional capacity and lack of land-use zoning plans and laws. In new settlements, no public spaces have been provisioned. Open spaces are essential for physical, mental and social reasons. Public spaces such as parks and playgrounds in urban areas are needed to sustain the productivity, social cohesion and inclusion and civic identity of cities and promote public health and their quality of life. Open space promotes tourism and contributes to a city’s economy; however, it is frequently neglected by policymakers and local government. Increasing and high population density in Nepalese cities, creating an imbalance in the demand and supply of infrastructure and services, and unmanaged urban growth have resulted in an urban housing shortage and a rapid loss of per capita public space, including accessible green space and space for children to play (Muzzini and Aparicio, 2013). In Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, the urban area has already expanded up to 412 percent in the last three decades and most of this expansion occurred with the conversions of 31 percent agricultural land and public spaces (Ishtiaque et al., 2017). With the continuous increase in

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the population density in urban areas in Nepal, public spaces are regularly being squeezed out and somewhere disappeared because of the lack of complete understanding and a solid strategy for the management of settlement and governance. Recent research on the value of public spaces claims that cities in developing countries continue to appear squeezed and over-crowded because of immigrants from rural areas and unplanned speed settlements (Mugamba, 2018). Not having a space that meets residents’ economic and other bare needs could exacerbate the living conditions of slums and cause them to illegally encroach into privatized spaces (ADB, 2010). Between 2001 and 2009, the area of public space in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, declined from 1 percent to 0.3 percent. Over the same period, natural vegetation declined from 11.7 percent to 7 percent and the area of cultivated land from 45.7 percent to 40.8 percent. With the growth of the built area and a rapidly increasing population, Kathmandu is under pressure to meet the demand for space for housing and other needs (Rimal, 2012). The “Kathmandu Valley Open Space Roadmap” published by the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA) in 2015 showed that the areas facing the most visible encroachment are the banks of rivers and streams. The total riverside area accounted for 3.38 percent in 1980 while it had shrunk to 1.98 percent in 2012. As of 2020, open spaces in Kathmandu accounted for only 2 percent of land in the valley, with 488 of the 887 spots designated as open spaces being in Kathmandu, and only 53 in Bhaktapur, and this became very conspicuous during the disastrous earthquake of 2015 (Chhretri, 2020). To be specific, in core areas of some cities in Nepal, public space promotion programs are still lacking, which is attributed to federal authoritative chaos in the recent policy agenda. Owing to the lack of accurate data on open spaces, areas have not been freed up as planned, as these spaces vary in areas, wards and cities within the municipalities. The conversion of public space into privately owned buildings and fencing with high walls poses the increasingly difficult situation of needing to revamp its original greenery and is contrary to the norms of international standards of green cities for 2030.

Health, social and economic benefts of public spaces Public open spaces are essential at normal times and a must in the event of a disaster. The quality of public spaces becomes increasingly important for the attractiveness of cities. Good-quality public space stimulates economic development within city areas. After the earthquake of April 2015, the Kathmandu valley suffered severe damage. After the earthquake, all public spaces of the town were used as evacuation spaces. Open public spaces were utilized for shelter spaces, temporary houses, storage and distribution of supplies. The public places were used for different activities and interactions which played a prominent role in the integration and motivation of the community to move together toward recovery. Social and

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physical environments in a public space exist in relation to each other, as a result of continuous reactions. The public spaces contributed toward the well-being of society. Given their importance, the loss of open public space can make cities vulnerable in coping with natural disasters like earthquakes. Public spaces provide a platform for decision making, the communication of public concerns and the resolution of common problems of the community. Public space is important for social interaction and fostering a sense of community. Public space is one of the means of building a sense of community in urban neighborhoods (Chitrakar, 2016). People with their deep-rooted beliefs in social values and norms have known the importance of public spaces. Social networking and exchange have always been significant parts of their life (Herrera et al., 2015). Public spaces allow people to meet on ostensibly neutral ground in planned and unplanned ways, to interact with others. Social interaction in public space is one of the significant environmental factors associated with the creation of a sense of community. The literature has established the association between public space and healthy living in urban areas (Lee et al., 2015). Public spaces provide support for preventing diseases and reduce the overall cost of illness. A WHO report in 2010 suggested that public spaces can positively affect physical activity, social and psychological well-being. Other benefits from the public space include psychological relaxation and stress alleviation, increased physical activity among others (WHO, 2010). Open space improves the quality of urban areas. Public space has economic consequences for society. More tourists are attracted by improving the quality of urban areas. An increased economic activity encourages economic development. It will increase land values and municipalities can get more property taxes. The emergent policy agenda of creating urban green spaces is attributed to unmanaged urbanization which is a powerful driver for economic, social, political, and cultural transformation. It has been necessary to conserve open spaces even by relocating structures built on them. The Nepal Land Use Policy 2015 defined public open spaces as academic institutions, health institutions, government offices, community buildings, libraries, elders’ homes and houses, huts, pati (resting inns/houses), parks and playgrounds constructed for public uses (MoLRM, 2015). Well-planned cities offer unique opportunities to inf luence positively the health of residents – for example, creating a health-promoting physical environment and providing access to health services, healthy food and education. Through the creation of recreational public spaces and walking and cycling routes, cities can address NCDs by encouraging physical activity and creating a mentally stimulating environment (WHO, 2010; WHO, 2011b). Several studies emphasize the positive impact of green spaces on both physical and mental health and well-being (Holt et al., 2019; Mitchell and Popham, 2007; Maas et al., 2006; Hartig et al., 2003; Takano et al., 2002; Kaplan, 2001; Parsons et al., 1998). Moreover, social interaction outside the home and workplace offers a break from

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routines and builds and sustains social bonds which result in healthier, happier and more productive people (Cattell et al., 2008; Shirley, 2005). Therefore, healthy urban planning requires recognition of the potential health impacts of policies implemented in different sectors, as well as their roles in and interrelationships with social and economic development. Developmental activities improve health through their impact on improving the economic well-being of the population.

Creating public spaces in the urban areas Several challenges are found with interventions increasing access to open space and green places. The compact urban houses of the past lack proper ventilation so air circulation is insufficient. Further, decreasing private open spaces with the construction of new houses and lack of greenery aggravate the contemporary externality of air pollution around the city which makes it difficult to satisfy the spatial need for physical activities to stay healthy. The Bhaktapur municipality introduced an intervention to increase access to space and open places in 2010. It tried to capture various mechanisms used to bring together different sectors to increase access of citizens to open spaces and green places and to preserve the existing ones.

Creating public spaces: an example of Bhaktapur Bhaktapur municipality, located on the eastern side of the Kathmandu valley, is an ancient Newari1 town with a composition of compact buildings constructed around courtyards. As of 2011, according to Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the total population of Bhaktapur was about 82,000 (CBS, 2011b). At 1,331 meters above sea level, the municipality is spread over an area of 6.88 square kilometers (CBS, 2013), making it the smallest district in Nepal. Bhaktapur was chosen as the target of this study because of its efforts to maintain the city as one of the cleanest in Nepal. It already has a number of successes to its credit. Claimed as the cleanest and least polluted city in Nepal, UNESCO has recognized Bhaktapur as a World Heritage Site. The municipality also won the UNESCO Peace Award in Asia and Pacific in 1999 and the UNESCO Peace Prize 1998–1999 in recognition of its efforts towards safeguarding its cultural heritage. Urbanization in Bhaktapur, as in other cities in developing countries, has been associated with an increasing burden of NCDs. According to Kshetri and Smith (2010), self-reported health problems among 204 elderly people sampled in Bhaktapur indicate that pain and swelling of joints (72.5 percent) and back pain (40.4 percent) were higher in the rural elderly population whereas indigestion (67.6 percent) and hypertension (37.85 percent) were higher in the urban population. Pain and swelling of joints (66.7 percent) and indigestion (69.6 percent) were higher in males, and hypertension (50.0 percent), back

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pain (38.2 percent) and chronic bronchitis/asthma (39.2 percent) were higher in females. Bhaktapur municipality recognized that the quality of the urban environment has both direct and indirect impacts on health. Since 2000, the municipality has engaged multiple sectors and stakeholders to preserve the beauty of traditional architecture, increase public spaces and decrease pollution in order to build a more livable city. The Local Self-Governance Act (LSGA) of 1999 defined a municipality such as Bhaktapur as an autonomous body with extensive functions and responsibilities. For instance, the municipality independently formulates its periodical and annual plans, prepares budgets, and imposes tax levies and associated penalties. The municipality also coordinates with governmental, non-governmental and donor agencies for infrastructure development and planning for various sectors such as education, environment, sports, culture, health services, social welfare, industry and tourism (MOLD, 2000). This chapter examines five intersectoral interventions aimed at increasing the availability and utilization of, and access to, public green space in Bhaktapur. Within this study, public green space is defined as publicly available urban space – including parks, gardens, picnic areas and squares, among others. The interventions assessed were: (1) preserving existing public land for future greenery development; (2) developing new public green spaces; (3) increasing access to public green spaces; (4) curbing outdoor pollution and (5) encouraging the use of public spaces. In addition, Bhaktapur’s measures to curb pollution within the urban area and to encourage physical activities in the new green public spaces are introduced (Bhaktapur Municipality, 2004). Figure 11.1 summarizes the goals of Bhaktapur and the strategies and interventions carried out to achieve them.

Urban planning interven˜ons

Health impact Counter-factual indicators: Health/u˜liza˜on of public green space/u˜lity

Ins˜tu˜onaliza˜on (Establishment of Environment Department)

Availability Preven˜ng Exis˜ng public Space

Strict industrial regula˜ons for curbing pollu˜ng agents

Access

Developing new public space

Increasing access to public green space

U˜liza˜on Encouraging physical ac˜vi˜es in public space

Interven˜ons

FIGURE 11.1

Objectives and strategies to address health and livability in Bhaktapur

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The research used a qualitative, exploratory case-study method as described by Yin (1994) for its strength in conducting focused area research and analysis of data to support the research objective. The method allows a comprehensive description of the policy, processes and impact. The research methods were interviews with government officials and local people, collection of secondary data, and field observations. The primary sources of information included a field survey through semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and conversational interviewing. A total of eight semistructured questionnaires were administered to personnel of the major local government departments (administration, environment, planning and sanitation) as well as city supervisors and a ward secretary who were selected for interviews. The semi-structured questionnaire captured information on bureaucratic procedures, challenges, opportunities and sector involvement in providing and preserving green public spaces in Bhaktapur. Similarly, two focus group discussions with local people were conducted at the intervention sites (Chonga Ganesh picnic spot and Shaid Smriti Park) to gather information on the utilization of these spaces and the possible impact on health. A “go-along” technique was used to conduct conversational interviews with people using the public spaces. This was coupled with field observation to capture the interaction of people in their local environment, as suggested by Carpiano (2009). In the span of three days, a total of ten respondents using or living around the intervention sites (Chonga Ganesh picnic spot, Shahid Smriti Park, Siddhi Pokhari pond) were randomly selected for conversational interviews. In the process of primary data collection, respondents were first informed about the survey objective and answering procedure, and this was followed by a conversation lasting for 10–15 minutes. The survey was set up after a small pilot study that included a literature review, a site visit and a meeting with the official at the municipality to identify and verify the most pressing issues and related interventions. On the basis of their answers to the questionnaire, people’s perceptions were used to measure the impact of public green space on their health and well-being. Secondary data was used to support the primary data for the analysis of the urban planning process, implementation mechanisms and coordination among sectors. These data included official records of the municipality (such as work descriptions of the Environment Department), official documents on the formulation of user’s committees, Bhaktapur municipality’s meeting records, land-use plans, building codes, the yearly budget, municipality newsletters and articles published in Bhaktapur, a monthly magazine that summarizes developments in the municipality.

Urban planning interventions to increase livability in Bhaktapur Five urban planning interventions aimed to increase the availability of, access to, and utilization of public green spaces in Bhaktapur.

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Preserving existing public spaces: Shahid Smriti Park Preserving existing public spaces was one of the urban planning programs initiated in Bhaktapur. The target of the program was to identify areas of unclaimed local government land and to appeal to the Ministry of Land Reform and the Home Ministry for transfer of ownership to the municipality so that efforts to reclaim land that had been encroached upon and to preserve public space from future encroachment would become easier and more efficient. This is significant, considering the findings in Sridhar and Reddy (2010) who reported that in many Indian cities, there is no record of which public land belongs to which level of government or department. According to A. Dhaubadel, head of the administration department in the municipality, the local Heritage Department, in collaboration with the Environment Department, was taking the lead in restoring public land that had been encroached upon and preserving legally unclaimed land (personal communication April 17, 2016). As of 2013, the Environment Department had assigned 17 ward offices to identify accurately the boundaries of public spaces, government lands, unclaimed land and playgrounds so that they could be mapped by the Heritage Department. The map was used to verify the evidence of encroachment of public and unclaimed land with the help of land records. Reclaiming encroached and unclaimed land is a complicated and controversial issue, which requires the involvement of multiple government sectors. An example of the impact of this intervention is Shahid Smriti Park, which is constructed on an unclaimed wasteland. Local ward secretary L.P. Duwal remembered the area being a dumping site where people used to throw household garbage before 1999 (personal communication, April 16, 2016). Since it was a wasteland of little value, people in the vicinity used a portion of it for farming and some as a landfill. One corner was used as a children’s cemetery, thus preventing the site from being used for anything else. People living in the ward formed a User’s Committee and appealed to the municipality for the site to be developed with a clear land-use purpose. In 2000, the municipality – together with a team of architects, engineers and students from Nepal Engineering College – designed a park in memory of the martyrs of the 1990 civil movement for democracy and prepared the plans for construction. The construction work was implemented under direct supervision of the User’s Committee and was funded by the municipality. Shahid Smriti is now a beautiful well-maintained park. The main challenge in preserving public and legally unclaimed land is that people have encroached on these areas and transferred ownership to individuals or institutions through the Land Revenue Office. The office’s right to transfer land ownership without proper verification is identified as the main policy challenge in preservation of public properties. The annual progress report presented by the municipality for the fiscal year 2011–2012 suggested the need for a separate department for the development and protection of green areas (Bhaktapur Municipality, 2012a). This underscored the necessity felt by the municipality for green public spaces in the city. Although the development and protection of

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green areas are among the many responsibilities of the Environment Department, the department’s priorities were often not consistent with ensuring the maintenance of green spaces.

Developing new public spaces: Liwali land-pooling project The Liwali land-pooling project began in 1996 after local people demanded planned land development in Liwali that was a farmland area outside the city boundary. According to S.K. Nyaichyan, technician at the Planning Department, the municipality formed a management committee together with the Town Development Committee (TDC) and some local people and provided financial support and technical assistance to the TDC (personal communication, May 26, 2016). The private land areas were pooled by the government for a period of time, during which irregular land boundaries were re-plotted and services for new plots were provided before the land was eventually handed back to the former owner with some open space ensured. The municipality worked closely with the Water, Sanitation and Road Departments, as well as with local communication and electricity corporations, to provide services in the area. The project was completed in 1999. However, the development of open spaces was still in progress as of the time of writing, including enhancement programs for open spaces and the addition of green belts along the river. The success of the land-pooling project led to the replication of similar projects in three other areas around Bhaktapur. The land-pooling project mandated that 3–5 percent of the total land area should be kept as public green space (S.K. Nyaichyan, personal communication, May 27, 2016). Apart from limitations on ground coverage when constructing buildings (ranging from 50 percent to 80 percent depending upon the plot size), the building code of Bhaktapur also mandates the provision of public spaces at land-pooling and community housing development sites (Bhaktapur Municipality, 2012b). Adhering to this regulation, the planners of the TDC and the municipality marked out five plots (about ten square meters in size) within the land-pooled area of Liwali to be developed as public spaces. The municipality was also planning to create a “green belt” along the road running parallel to a river close by the Liwali site (S.K. Nyaichyan, personal communication).

Increasing access to public green spaces: Chonga Ganesh picnic spot The Chonga Ganesh picnic spot at Sallaghari is an effort by the municipality to increase access to and recreational use of Sallaghari, the only forest in the Bhaktapur area. A major section of the forest is under the control of the Nepal Army. The project was initiated in 1995 by the Chonga Ganesh Development Committee (CGDC), which felt the need to develop this socio-culturally important area for public use. Though approved by the municipality board and

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the city council (Nagar Parishad), there was opposition from the Nepal Army to the municipality’s decision to develop the temple complex as a picnic spot. However, the city council, exercising its strong position and with considerable political will, successfully negotiated with the army for access to the temple complex which had once been public land. It was after the rigorous process that in 2000 the CGDC could formally demarcate the picnic spot and start construction of steps and paths for pedestrians. Inclusive planning, with the participation of the community and negotiation with concerned entities, was crucial for the success of this intervention. According to A. Dhaubadel, “[the participatory approach] had helped in developing a sense of ownership, improved quality and decreased the cost of construction work” (personal communication, April 5, 2016). In the project, the direct involvement of the CGDC as the User’s Committee was crucial in settling disputes with other local residents who protested against dumping waste from the city in the area during the construction of the picnic spot. Within the municipality, the involvement of engineers and experts from relevant departments ensured the development of a sound structure to support the filling site, which convinced the local people of the structural integrity of the project and helped solve a major problem of waste management in the city. Chonga Ganesh Badminton Club, established by locals, contributed money for the construction of two badminton courts in a section of the former landfill site. In addition, various agencies were involved in providing services such as water and electricity to the site. As an example of intersectoral coordination to increase access to public and green spaces, the temple complex now serves multiple purposes – as a place for religious activities, a place for socializing and picnics and a place for physical activities with yoga classes and badminton courts.

Curbing outdoor air pollution within the city In addition to increasing the overall livability of the city and encouraging outdoor activities, Bhaktapur, with the support of the User’s Committee, has also worked for better air quality in recent years. The municipality completely banned heavy vehicles from entering the old city, and all motor vehicles were prohibited in the historical Palace Square area during the afternoon. These policies created and maintained a pedestrian-friendly environment and reduced pollution within the city. Moreover, consistent with industrial regulations, the municipality does not permit any pollution-prone industries to operate within the densely populated and historic city center, and the industries that were previously there were relocated elsewhere. As another intervention to reduce pollution in 2002, the Government of Nepal decided to replace obsolete technology for brick production with cleaner options (Raut, 2003). This was a result of protests in the 1990s by people living near the brick kiln areas of Bhaktapur and Lalitpur who suffered from the pollution generated there. They were supported by local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

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that conducted studies to show the negative environmental effects of the industry. Local media also played a role in the process by highlighting the findings of studies, which strengthened criticism of the brick manufacturers. Continued pressure from the local community and NGOs forced the government to take action: several illegal kilns were shut down and the government completely banned such polluting kilns despite opposition from the industry. Several donor agencies helped to reduce opposition from the industrial sector by demonstrating the feasibility of adopting cleaner production technologies. Ultimately the industry agreed to switch to the new low-pollution technology. Pollutants from brick kilns, fuel burning, road dust and vehicular pollution continued to contribute to poor air quality in Kathmandu, with the result that even as of 2020, Nepal was ranked 178 out of 180 countries in air quality (Wendling et al., 2020). An air quality management action plan for the Kathmandu valley has been recently formulated; however, there is a lack of effective implementation (Quest Forum, 2017), and no specific law to address air quality, except as part of environmental legislation; although several government departments mandated that activity should not be undertaken that pollutes the air, there is no coordinated enforcement across the departments.

Encouraging the use of public space for activities Bhaktapur municipality also addressed the importance of encouraging activities to increase the use of public spaces. In order to underscore the benefits of an active lifestyle for physical and mental well-being, the municipality introduced and supported various programs, along with the construction of infrastructure to cater to the spatial needs of activities (personal communication, April 10, 2016). One prominent action in this regard was the establishment of Bhaktapur Municipality Sports Committee, which actively promotes sport-related activities throughout the city. The Sports Committee is under the responsibility of the Education, Culture and Sports Committee and is funded by the municipality. The municipality has constructed four covered halls for indoor sports and has reserved Shahid Smriti playground and Tudikhel for outdoor games and tournaments. Local people actively use the spaces at Chonga Ganesh and Shahid Smriti playground for different types of games such as badminton, volleyball and karate. The Sports Committee has also hired trainers to teach sports through the Ward Sports Committee (L.P. Duwal, personal communication, April 12, 2016). According to A. Dhaubadel (personal communication), the municipality allocates NRS 2.5 million (USD 25,000) as a yearly budget to promote and support physical activities and to motivate the younger generation to participate in sporting activities.

The framework of intersectoral action in Bhaktapur Before initiating the interventions, the municipality discussed with local people, community-based organizations and experts how to design local policies

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and interventions for upgrading public space and curbing negative impacts. The establishment of an Environment Department in 2004 in the municipality was a milestone for the projects, as this was responsible for public spaces in Bhaktapur and introduced various strategies to improve the city environment. Bhaktapur produced a generic work schedule for the execution of any program within the municipality, clearly mentioning the sectors involved. In addition to the Environmental Department, the municipality coordinated with the Physical Planning and Construction Department for the provision of designs, estimates and technical guidance for the projects, whereas the Heritage Department led the task of demarking public and illegal land for preservation. The Environment and Planning departments coordinate the physical development programs with other departments when needed. According to the head of the Planning Department, U. Shakha, policy interventions for developing and protecting green public spaces fall under the Environment Department (personal communication). However, activities are initiated either by the local people or by the municipality. As a first step, the ward offices submit their plans to develop or protect public spaces in their areas along with a funding request. The Environment Department prepares a list of selected areas in need of development or protection. The proposals are presented at the annual board meeting at which the city council, consisting of elected local representatives, selects priority proposals to be included in the annual agenda. Communities have a key role in local policy-making in Nepal. Under the LSGA of 1999, local people have a constitutional right to form user’s committees when introducing a new project at the local level. These committees represent specific interest areas such as water, parks or sanitation according to the provisions of the LSGA. The committees normally consist of around ten voluntary members. The local people unanimously select a chairperson for the committee. To ensure the participation of women, the LSGA requires that at least 33 percent of seats in user’s committees are filled by women (MOLD, 2011). Roles and responsibilities are defined by the local people. If they face problems with services, they can report the problems – and possible solutions – to the user’s committee. The committee is also supposed to call public meetings with groups likely to be affected by a project. Once the user’s committee is formed, it signs a memorandum of understanding with the Planning Department. The Planning Department then makes a detailed estimate of costs and work to be done, provides the budget, and communicates the selection of the project to the appropriate ward office with clear guidelines on the committee’s role in project planning and implementation.

Restorative impacts According to the data of the Ministry of Health and Population, in 2012 the burden of NCDs was lower in Bhaktapur (44.18 percent) than in the capital city of Kathmandu (46.89 percent) (MoHP, 2012), while the probability of premature

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death due to NCDs as a whole for Nepal in 2017 was 66 percent (NHRC et.a l, 2019). This difference cannot be directly associated with the urban environment. However, it is clear that the intermediate impacts of the assessed interventions were a cleaner and greener city, better access to physical activities and increased levels of physical activity among some residents. There were also benefits for the communities in Bhaktapur. For instance, Shahid Smriti Park used to be a wasteland. Mr. Ramesh Sainju, whose house is close to the park, reported, when I was young, this area was used for burying children and was also used by the butcher community to rear pigs. […] But after the construction of this park, our life has changed and this area has now got a completely new look. The park has increased the environmental, physical and visual value of the neighborhood. Now I take my children to the park to play and it is a pleasure to see people walking around during the morning and evening. With a lighting system, cleanliness, maintenance and security provision, Bhaktapur municipality has really transformed this place for the better. Discussions with local people ( June 8, 2016) make clear that the built environment has a significant impact on physical activity and that people-friendly designs promote active lifestyles. During a group discussion, members of Chonga Ganesh Badminton Club shared positive impressions of the availability of public spaces. Mr. Uttam Shrestha stated that [k]nowing that this area is under the Nepal Army, we did not hesitate to invest more than NRS 100,000 [USD 1,000] to develop it for the health benefit of the people. It has brought people together to form a club and has helped us to socialize. I am a patient of high blood pressure and I play badminton every day until I drench myself in sweat and my pressure is under control. According to Mr. Dil Bahadur Shahi, a local resident, the revitalization of traditional public spaces such as ponds and small areas of water has improved the built environment within the city with added space for recreational activities. An example is Siddhi Pokhari, one of the largest ponds in the city, which in the early 2000s was in a dilapidated state as the water was dirty and covered with vegetation. Due to its run-down condition, people were afraid to go there even during the daytime. However, after the municipality renovated it, local people use it extensively. Mr. Shahi stated: I go around the pond five times every morning, and that is my dose of morning walk. If you come in the early morning, you will find more than 300 people walking around this pond complex which was a dead area just a decade ago.

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The ban on vehicles in the city center and strict regulations on brick manufacturing were crucial in improving air quality in Bhaktapur. Even if the air quality data of Kathmandu for the past 15 years shows a many-fold increase in suspended particulate matter, from 2003 to 2005 Bhaktapur municipality recorded a significant decrease in PM10 (particulate matter of fewer than 10 microns), with average levels falling from 131.0 μg/m 3 in 2003 to 111.1 μg/ m 3 in 2004 and to 96.4 μg/m 3 in 2005 – i.e. a decrease of 26.5 percent in two years (ICIMOD, 2007), and to a low of 12 μg/m 3 and a maximum of 23.88 μg/ m 3 as of October 2020 (MOFE, 2020). It is possible that this achievement was possible due to the replacement of old Bull’s trench kilns by cleaner technology and vertical-shaft brick kilns (ICIMOD, 2007). Improved outdoor air quality can be an incentive for people to increase their use of public spaces for health benefits.

Conclusions An open space strategy is the result of collaboration between many partners, including the public sector, community organizations and private entities. The local community and local authority took the lead. Endogenous knowledge and information can be utilized to identify the appropriate places to choose and the mechanisms to use to increase access to open space.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank Mahmud Khan, Nephil M. Maskay, Pragya Joshi and Suvi Huikuri, for providing valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier draft. Financial support for the survey of Bhaktapur study was provided by WHO Centre for Health Development, Kobe.

Note 1 Newars are the indigenous people of the Kathmandu valley. Newari art, architecture and culture f lourished in the valley, especially between the 12th and 17th centuries.

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12 THE AIR POLLUTION CONUNDRUM IN DELHI Agenda setting in environmental policy and the politics of solution-making1 Ashish V. Prabhakar

Introduction New Delhi’s air is bad by the standards set for air quality; in fact, it is unfit for humans to breathe. This is a claim that has been reiterated, well established, and corroborated by almost all the studies done on the topic (Bhalla et al., 2019). As Firdaus and Ahmad (2011) observe, the city’s air follows a nearly universal pattern of deteriorating urban air quality with concentrations of pollutants being well above the prescribed upper limits by the World Health Organization (WHO). Much like its counterparts in Asia such as Beijing (Zhang et al., 2016) and Singapore, New Delhi has also been grappling with the issues of photochemical smog. The condition has been continuously worsening, indicating the need for immediate measures to tackle the same. Various studies and commentators tend to affix the causality of the poor quality of the air to a multitude of factors, which have, in turn, informed policy-making in tackling air pollution. The factors identified fall along a broad spectrum, ranging from traffic congestion, high vehicular density and poor public transport infrastructure to pollution by industries both small-scale and largescale and stubble burning by farmers in Punjab, Haryana and other states, along with the geographic factors such as the winds from the desert and dry winds and heat inversion in winter, etc. But what do human activities such as stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana and geographical factors such as temperature inversion and dry desert winds have to offer by way of explanation of the conundrum of Delhi’s air pollution? It is argued that accounting for non-local factors would aid in understanding the problem of air pollution in Delhi from a broader perspective. Such factors could perhaps provide much more detail in terms of understanding the phenomenon. In other words, it must be understood that the issue of air pollution is one DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-12

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that affects a geographical area – a region, so to speak – and not merely the NCR/ NCT of Delhi. In order to achieve this more comprehensive perspective, it is essential to view human practices along with natural factors as forming part of a coherent narrative, which is, in turn, centered around a regional approach. In the present chapter, I discuss the nature of air pollution in NCR/NCT of Delhi by analyzing the policy responses and how these policies have been effective (or not as the case may be). In doing so, the intention is to probe how the concept of air pollution itself is framed and analyze such framing by juxtaposing it against the concept of risk. The emphasis here is on ref lecting upon the ways policies are currently formed, and consequently, the policy alternatives. In doing so, the emphasis is on the politics of solution-framing that is engaged upon as a result of this process, which can be argued to be mono-causal or linear at best.

Population in Delhi The National Capital Region (NCR) of New Delhi is composed of the NCT (National Capital Territory) of Delhi along with the satellite cities of NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority), Faridabad, Greater NOIDA, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Muzaffarnagar, among others. Much like another world city, Beijing, which has been grappling with heavy smog and pollution, with particulate emissions reaching record-breaking scales (Huang et al., as cited in Zhang et al., 2016), Delhi (NCT/NCR or plain old Delhi) too has been in the throes of this problem. The levels of air pollution data in Delhi sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and other independent sources such as the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) reveal that the amount of NOX (oxides of nitrogen), SO2 and other suspended particles such PM10 particulate matter (with diameters less than 10 μm) and PM2.5 (diameter less than 2.5 μm) have an abnormally high concentration. So much so that various studies have found that the composition of PM10 and PM2.5 is more than ten times and seven times, respectively, the permissible limit set by the WHO during 2012–2014 (Goel and Pant, 2016). By any standard, the air in Delhi is noxious to breathe and contributes to increased incidences of respiratory-related illnesses and associated morbidity (Rizwan, Nongkynrih, and Gupta, 2013). It is quite striking to note that New Delhi occupies the position of the country’s most polluted city and the world’s fourth most polluted city and in other accounts as the world’s most polluted city (Mohan, 2016). A variety of factors have been pointed out as sources of air pollution; it is interesting to note that often, public policies follow these lines of thinking as well. The most common sources cited are (1) vehicular emission; (2) road dust and related construction activity; (3) small-scale industrial activity; (4) emissions by power plants; (5) geographical phenomena such as dry, dusty desert winds from the neighboring Thar desert and heat inversion effect during winter (in turn inf luenced by human activities); and (6) stubble burning around the NCT

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(which happens during the winter months further contributing to the temperature inversion effect).2

Policy responses Greenstone (2017) and others point out that almost all policy instruments visà-vis pollution in India are primarily drawn from three major domestic legislations, The Environmental Protection Act (1986), The Air Act (1981) and The Water Act (1974). An examination of these instruments reveals that these can be roughly grouped under the rubric of “command and control.” The major policies that were framed to tackle the issue of air pollution in Delhi, have been in terms of the “command” side of the strategy. Whereas, a combination of disincentives, an example of which is the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) charged for commercial vehicles entering the city limits and outright bans, have been used as methods of the “control” side of the strategy (Greenstone et al., 2017). With regard to the issue of air pollution, several policies, formulated within the strategy of “command and control” have been broadly in response to these six sources and are captured in the following.

Switching from petrol and diesel to CNG In response to the judicial orders in 1985, which were, in turn, a response to various PIL (Public Interest Litigation) and efforts by the civil society groups such as the Center for Science and Environment, the Delhi government made the switch from petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to those on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) for its f leet of buses. By 2002, the buses operated by DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) and smaller autorickshaws were to have switched over entirely to CNG.

Setting of emission standards and phasing out older vehicles Similarly, the Delhi High Court mandated the setting of a minimum emission standard in line with the Euro standard. Furthermore, the government was asked to phase out (take out of circulation) vehicles that were older than 15 years, along with an instruction to stop the registration of new diesel vehicles (capacity larger than 2000 cc) within Delhi limits in the year 2016. More recently, in another order, the judiciary mandated that diesel vehicles older than ten years also be phased out.

The odd/even rule The odd-even scheme is a system of road space rationing, which mandates that on dates ending with an odd number, a private car with a license plate number ending with an odd digit was allowed to operate(Govt of NCT and Transport

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2016). Likewise, on dates ending with an even number, a private vehicle3 with a license plate number ending with an even digit was allowed to operate. It came into force in a pilot mode in 2016 and in a more concrete mode in 2017 (Narain & Jayaram, 2016). The broad chain of events with respect to this system are given below: i. In December 2015, the Delhi government announced the launch of the odd-even rule for January 2016. Greenstone and others point out that the scheme worked as follows: first, cars were classified into odd and even categories on the basis of the last digit of car license plates. Next, it was mandated that only vehicles with odd-numbered license plates could operate on odd-numbered dates and even-numbered plates on even dates. The scheme was effective during the hours of 8 am to 8 pm for the first 15 days of January 2016 (Greenstone et al., 2017). This scheme was applicable to vehicles registered outside Delhi as well and operating within the NCR/NCT. ii. After the pilot was completed, the odd-even rule was extended in April 2016. iii. However, unlike the odd-even system in Beijing, where such a rule was applied only during a “red alert,”4 the situation in NCR/NCT was launched in 2017 on an experimental basis ((Hindustan Times 2017) and has been implemented in phases, usually in the month of November.5

Restriction of transport trucks In the analyses of air quality, one of the factors highlighted was the presence of dust particles primarily caused by the massive construction in and around the NCT. The plying of silt and soil-bearing trucks (which are often uncovered) transporting the material from one site to another is also shown as a reason for the increase of suspended particles in the air. In order to tackle this, the entry of construction debris–bearing trucks into the city was banned from 6 am to 9 pm. In addition to this, the owners of trucks that were deemed to be of a specific make and year were compulsorily retired. In a comparable but different case, the Chinese state had imposed similar stringent controls on heavy vehicles (so-called Yellow-Label Vehicles) in and around Beijing (Zhang et al., 2016) during the 2008 Olympic Games.

Relocation of industries to outskirts As Jain and Khare (2008) noted, “By 1996, the total number of small-scale industries in Delhi grew to a record number of 1,26,000, most of this growth has been witnessed in the pollution-intensive areas and sectors.” In order to control industrial emissions, India’s Central and State Pollution Control Boards set a permissible limit on the concentration of pollutants that can be emitted from industrial unit stacks (i.e. the chimneys). In addition to this, the Delhi

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government, in accordance with the Supreme Court guidelines, relocated these highly polluting industries (which mostly relied on coal and fuel oil) outside the limits of the city. This was proposed ostensibly to decongest the city’s residential areas and provide relief from air emissions of these industries. It is to be noted that most of these industries were small/medium-scale in nature and were mostly owned by small operators and employed daily wage labor (Guttikunda, 2012).

Switching from coal to gas-powered plants According to a study done by Jain and Khare (2008), three coal-based power plants based in the NCR had been found to be the most prominent contributors to air pollution, causing as much as 10 percent of the total air pollution. Based on this background, one of the significant steps taken was that thermal power plants located within the city were switched from coal-based functions to gas-powered plants (Guttikunda, 2012).

Effcacy and effects of the policy solutions As Lipschutz puts it, public policy literature, by extension, the policies so framed, neglect the web of causes and effects in phenomena and therefore fail to frame policies that take into account this complexity (McGinnis, 1999). Delhi’s case is no different; as mentioned earlier, the policies framed followed mainly in response to the factors which were perceived as sources of air pollution. Despite this, it would appear that these policies have had only a marginal, if any, effect on air pollution, especially on PM10 and PM2.5. For instance, as Narain and Jayaram (2016) argued, studies conducted after the implementation of the oddeven scheme showed mixed results. Similarly, despite the ban on the sale and use of fireworks, Delhi’s air pollution had remained more or less high (Pulla, 2017). As Goel and Pant (2016) argued, these policies concentrated disproportionately on the vehicular sources of pollution and further contributed to the framing of subsequent policies that concentrated on infrastructure building such as expressways and f lyovers which has encouraged the use of private vehicles, further exacerbating the issue. As Wheeler (2009) remarks, the extensive freeway building in metropolitan areas, in addition to contributing to suburban sprawls and increased congestion, worsens air quality. As Goel and Pant (2016) observed, the low demand for CNG led to inaction from the vehicle manufacturers, who had no financial incentives to improve their designs or to step up production of CNG-enabled vehicles. Resultantly, diesel emerged in popularity as an alternative to CNG and therefore witnessed a higher adoption rate. Nevertheless, as Mohan (2016) noted, the switch from petrol to diesel had not been smooth, for instance, the higher cost of production of piped CNG ensured that the DTC passed on the burden to the consumers, which in turn resulted in the commuters opting to use personal vehicles instead

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of public transport, leading to the eventual termination of the short-lived BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System). These policies, Goel and Pant (2016) argued, became ineffective because they did not take into account geographic as well as anthropogenic factors in the generation of air pollution. Ray and Kumar (2016) noted that the answer was in the prevailing weather conditions of the region, attributing high pollution levels to be contingent on wind patterns as well. However, one would argue that such framings do not take into account socioeconomic realities that these policies have had as well, leading to the formulation and implementation of policies that end up doing more harm than good. Many commentators have pointed out the socioeconomic effects of many of Delhi’s pollution mitigation policies, for instance, as Mohan (2016) pointed out, that the shifting of the major industries out of Delhi while ostensibly was to ensure cleaner air, resulted in thousands of jobs being lost and livelihoods of those dependent on these industries being shattered. In another instance, the switch from coal-based to gas-powered thermal power plants resulted in frequent power cuts, which, in turn, prompted the use of localized diesel generators (DG) which were installed in various commercial and industrial establishments (CPCB, 2000 in Jain and Khare, 2008) leading to further deterioration of air quality. It would appear that there are clear implications of policy formulations on the socioeconomic fabric of Delhi.

The problem of farming air pollution As mentioned earlier, most commentators were of the view that the current approach to tackling Delhi’s air pollution remained unidimensional with emphasis on one or another source of pollution, the policies thus framed also ref lecting this line of thinking. In many ways, the perception of air pollution by different groups, including policymakers, needs to be unraveled as such perception would lead to diverging ways of framing the problem itself. In popular narratives surrounding air pollution, Delhi usually is taken to denote the NCT of New Delhi. The NCT is governed by both the Union Territory government and the central government (NCR being the national capital) (Rizwan et al., 2013). Various commentators have been quick to point out that these fractured responsibilities have contributed to the lack of holistic planning and have formed the basis for continued conf licts between the center (Central or Union Government) and NCT governments (Véron, 2006). While the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB), an administrative body, was constituted to oversee the development of NCR recombined areas within a larger region, the executive power rests with many stakeholders, each with varying rationales. These rationales do not always mesh; rather, they almost always are in conf lict. Furthermore, Nath (as cited in Jain and Siedentop, 2014) observed, the NCRPB tends to evaluate its policies based on current situations rather than policy performance. This practice along with the conf licts that arise

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out of the overlapping administrative jurisdictions tends to have a compartmentalized effect on policy-making, which is evident in the policies so formed and is indicative of the “dismal situation of policy evaluation in Delhi and the region” ( Jain and Siedentop, 2014). Interestingly, it is in these very popular narratives that have seen Delhi assuming the significance of both the NCT and NCR, with most commentators using all three names (Delhi, NCT and NCR) interchangeably. However, it is to be noted that the NCT of Delhi and the NCR have different administrative setups with responsibilities often as Véron (2006) points out elsewhere, these administrative conf licts can also be one of the challenges facing a comprehensive regional approach to tackling air pollution, effectively rendering them blind to the regional character of air pollution.

Studying Delhi’s air pollution: risk(y) business Véron (2006) argued that any study on Delhi’s air pollution must consider two factors: a) Air quality as a pressing issue has been championed by civil society groups such as CSE. Véron argues that civil society groups such as CSE often end up representing middle-class interests over that of the urban poor. The marked class bias is evident in the campaign topics espoused by CSE, which largely relied on English media to convey their message, clearly targeting the educated urban elite. b) The brunt of the environmental measures is disproportionately borne by the lower-income groups. For example, the lower class autorickshaw drivers who are most of the time vehicle owners had to bear the costs of the engine reconfiguration and increased maintenance costs, driving them to financial loss. Indeed, Tiwari (2003, as cited in Véron, 2006) along with many other commentators, highlights that fact most of Delhi’s environmental policies are aimed at addressing air pollution and congestion of traffic and therefore are inherently biased against the most vulnerable groups, a trend that seems to occupy much of middle-class activism across the country; for instance, Upadhya (2017) observes that in Bengaluru, the roots of environmental activism are firmly based on middle-class experiences and framings situated in such particular class situation. In fact, Véron argues elsewhere that “socio-economic surveys seem to confirm that water supply and sanitation, rather than clean air from the greatest environmental priorities for the Delhi’s poor inhabitants” (Véron, 2006). Citing Baviskar (2003, in Véron, 2006), it is argued that for the poor, housing, sanitation and electricity are more pressing needs than environmental hazards. Even Sridhar and Kumar (2012; 2013), confirmed that in India’s cities, inadequate solid waste management, sanitation and sewerage were much bigger environmental problems to

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surmount than carbon emissions. This seems to confirm the middle-class bias that is evident in the concerns raised, privileging air pollution over other forms of pollution. The class bias in terms of air pollution in Delhi becomes even more evident when one takes into account the fact that air and air quality play an important role in the land market. For instance, the increasing demand for residential areas that are far removed from pollution and “polluted areas,” in such cases the premium charged is for the quality of the air, is itself indicative of such an underlying bias. Although, the problems faced by Delhi and the NCR have received much wider attention, as Ashok (2017) pointed out, air pollution as an issue was one that was faced by a larger tract of northern India as well (as cited in Kumar, 2017). Somers (1987) pointed out that pollution often does not respect political boundaries, yet the NCT/NCR is considered to be the venue of the detrimental effects of air pollution. This particular focus on NCR/NCT can be witnessed in the headlines of major newspapers, carrying harrowing tales of Delhi’s worsening air quality. Bhalla and others in their (2019) work on analyzing media discourse on Delhi’s air pollution framing asserted that “media may also attribute blame for causing or ascribe responsibility for fixing societal problems” (Holton et al., 2012, in Bhalla et al., 2019). Such framings6 give the impression that certain factors “cause” phenomena, in this case, certain events/factors, cause Delhi’s air pollution. A similar approach is seen in the recent media reports that highlight the paddy stubble burning by farmers in Haryana and Punjab (typically occurring in the month of October and November) (Pulla, 2017) as a contributing factor to the air pollution levels during winters. Despite the fact that the effect of transboundary pollution is felt more keenly on the poor, it is quite evident that the dominant narrative is skewed against the poor and vulnerable. A closer examination of the recent narratives that one encounters surrounding the air pollution problem in NCT has a singular focus on the stubble burning in surrounding Punjab and Haryana as being affixed as the chief cause. Furthermore, it appears that some sources even go as far as to implicitly treat stubble burning as the cause; such is the case in the paper entitled “Delhi Smog 2012: Causes and Concerns” 7 (George et al., 2013). Indeed, it is almost as if other sources or factors are not considered at all and therefore have no role to play in the phenomenon. Such narratives, even in academia, are indicative of the lack of nuanced understanding of the issue of air pollution, particularly in NCT/NCR and other urban areas in general. An important factor in Véron’s and other commentators’ analysis is the fact that the middle class understands that they are at risk from the effects of air pollution, risk perception, therefore, is crucial in the manner in which policy responses are formed. It also has a crucial effect on how the issue at hand is framed as well. As Oltedal et al. (2004) pointed out, “Demand for risk mitigation is the demand for risk-reducing means put down by the public,” but how this

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is done depends heavily on the manner in which the risk – in this case, the ill effects of air pollution – is perceived by a particular class. Upadhya (2017) argued that Bengaluru’s middle-class activists highlight those issues that they are most “visible” and in their back yard, i.e. those by which they are directly affected. This, in fact, significantly inf luences their risk perceptions and, consequently, how they frame the particular issue. Debates about NIMBYism8 have also been significantly seen to affect the policies that have been formed here, such as the series of judicial pronouncements that led to the evictions of the Yamuna Pushta in New Delhi (Bhan, 2016). It is important to consider the effect the visible phenomena have on the perceptions of the risk, in case the effect of those times that haze and or smog has appeared is significantly more in than those in which the pollution remains invisible to the naked eye.

Agenda setting and the problem of solution-framing Advocating an alternative approach is by no means an easy task. Many commentators have put forward ideas ranging from tighter government regulations to harnessing more sophisticated data to utilizing market-based instruments such as cap-and-trade to correct the issue, but it bears reminding that any alternative framework must begin with the framing a particular problem in a holistic manner. It is this particular act of framing that one turns to now. Many commentators point out that policy-making involves a convergence of “problems policy alternatives and politics” (Martel 2017) to reach a policy agenda, what one could call a “delicate dance of messiness” where carrying an opportunity to enact a particular policy involves the entanglement of a myriad of actors and stakeholders. Kingdon’s (2014) highly inf luential framework on agenda setting 9 in policies provides an interesting viewpoint into why certain issues make it to policy, furthermore why certain issues do not. Kingdon’s equal emphasis on problem formation recognition) along with the generation of policy proposals (responses) and political processes indicates the significance that problem formation holds in the arena of public policy. Here it is important that one understands that in order for something to be designated as a problem involves the articulation of “‘objective conditions’ [quotes in original] that can be observed and carry the possibility of measurements and even understood as ‘bad’ [quotes in original]” (Guber and Bosso, 2012). This is true in the case of Delhi’s air pollution, where myriad studies10 bear testament to the toxicity of the city(-region)’s air. However, as Kingdon points out, not all problems leading to policy alternatives make it to policy levels; instead, they are contingent on opportunities – what he terms policy windows (Kingdon 2014; Soroka, 1999) – of the attention to the policy being constructed. Scholars such as Downs and Kingdon, among others, suggest that for any policy entity, especially the environment, “to generate public concern, and for that concern to move onto the policy agenda, an entirely different

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‘causal story’ [quotes in original] is required” (Guber and Bosso, 2012). This warrants that one focus attention on this “causal story,” which in simple terms would imply the problem and consequently a solution, which Charles Lindblom (1996, in Guber and Bosso, 2012) suggests would mean that policymakers have identified and framed a problem but also perhaps advocated solutions or policy alternatives contingent on the problem. It is in this stage that one must recognize the importance of solution-framing as the endpoint to the exercise that began with problem-framing. Problems and solutions often follow, to put it in Anthony Downs’ words, an “Issue-Attention Cycle,” wherein “public attention” to the problem often follows a cyclical format wherein the “public” becomes suddenly aware of this problem and then gradually loses interest (Soroka, 1999). This is especially true of environmental issues such as climate change or pollution. Downs also points to another crucial aspect of this process: a scenario wherein repeated cycles of the attention and inattention result in the relegation of the issue to “limbo” (Downs, 1972 in Guber and Bosso, 2012; Soroka, 1999) and which then leads to the assertion (or re-assertion, as the case may be) of “normal” or “business as usual politics” which are often dominated by organized interests with clear (economic) stakes in the status quo. In other words, to quote Schattschenider, “the group that successfully describes a problem will also be the one that defines solutions to it” (1960/1975 as cited in Birkland, 2007). Put simply, the groups that have been successful in controlling the definition of the problem are most often the ones that propose solutions as well, thus becoming part of their agenda. Environmental policy, especially with respect to air pollution in Delhi, often has followed an issue-attention cycle with attention being drawn toward “the issue” in the vicinity of September, every year. In following an agenda in not only the problem-formulation but also in solution-framing, policymakers in effect betray an elitist bias vis-à-vis the more disadvantaged sections; nowhere is this more visible than in Delhi and its policies on air pollution. Observing the policies that have been hitherto framed, it is evident that these have been at best unidimensional and at worst heavily biased against the urban poor. It is also evident the effects of the said policy interventions have been at best partially successful due to the faulty manner in which the problem itself is framed. As Kumar (2017) notes, when the problem itself is being wrongly framed, it follows logically that the solutions are also being sought in the wrong places. Any approach to understanding Delhi’s air pollution issue must be holistic and integrated. This implies that in framing these policies, policymakers themselves must recognize the biases that are inherent in the process of the formulation. More significantly, it is then imperative that such an approach be inherently critical of the taken-for-granted assumptions regarding the environment and pollution, both policy and concept-wise. Such an approach must also take into account the various stakeholders, necessarily including the poor and vulnerable as well.

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Towards an alternative: a regional approach? To conclude that air pollution is merely a “Delhi” problem, then, is the basis of false logic that seems to inform most of the policy interventions done in this regard. Policy framing must necessarily grasp that “What applies in Delhi must be extended across all the areas in the Indo-Gangetic plain for it to be truly effective” (Kumar, 2017). What is instead needed is an integrated approach that seeks to not only combine but reexamine anthropogenic, geographic and socio-political dimensions in order to better understand the issue at hand. One interesting viewpoint would be to reorganize the policy outlook itself. In constructing the role of nature, pollution and economic growth, it is traditionally considered that nature is a malleable, controllable object. However, recent scholarship has emerged that has been highly critical of such a reductivist stance and the transmutation of nature into a commodity, instead of the “unruly-ness” of nature, which is pointed out as both an inherent characteristic simultaneously a social construct (Krishnan, Pastore and Temple, 2015). It is also asserted that in many ways, the problem of framing issues that urban spaces encounter (such as water, solid waste, etc.) mostly stems from this notion of “incomplete mastery and environmental uncertainty” over nature. Furthermore, it is pointed out that in future planning exercises, it would bode well for all those formulating policies to keep in mind the increasingly entangled characteristics of human–nature interactions. A regional approach in this sense would mean to convey the need to integrate the environmental – while anchoring it in the specific regional topographic and geographic elements – with the social and political aspects of the problem. Such a political-ecological approach would then contribute toward laying bare the politics that are inherent in human–nature relationships along with other general forms of social relationships. Véron (2006), in his work, showcases the relationship between the biophysical, social and political worlds. It is also explicitly argued that taking into account the various socio-environments in urban areas would be a more fruitful way to analyze issues of air pollution, especially since Véron argues that the open-access characteristics of air and air quality would result in various socio-environments being produced that those produced by land or water (Véron, 2006). It is worth observing that most analyses would not focus on such aspects, rather opting to concentrate on traffic congestion or industrial pollution, an integrated regional perspective, however, would give scope to other lines of argument. Several streams of scholarship have put forth alternative frameworks that explicitly advocate an integrative agenda. An example of such an integrative framework is that of “bio-regionalism.” Michael McGinnis, along with other scholars (McGinnis, 1999), seeks to address both the social and physical aspects of human relationships to the environment (Church, 2014). Church (2014), extends this model of bio-regionalism, dubbed the “urban bio-regional model,” to include the dynamics involved in policy analysis and implementation, taking

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into account the relationship between the built environment, nature and urban residents. Yet another approach seeks to redefine the relationship that the city poses to itself and to other geographical areas around it. The concept of “City-Regions” is a relatively new entrant in urbanization theory (Neuman and Hull, 2009), yet as is evident from the variations of the concept, it has assumed a renewed significance in the backdrop of rapid and often unbridled urbanism in the world. As both Roy (2009) and Healy (2009) contend much of this scholarship has been centered around the experiences of Europe and the global north, in general, and perhaps the time has come for the urban experiences of the global south are brought to the fore. Roy (2009) and others also argue that governance in such spaces is complicated by many factors, not the least of which is a multiplicity of actors (institutions) who lack a unitary purpose (Seberg, 2007 as cited in Neuman and Hull, 2009). Although city-regions as concepts have found popularity in urban planning in the global south, Neuman and Hull (2009) pointed out that the changing nature of the urban regions has affected the manner in which the city is viewed and the manner in which the city views itself – a fact that bears heavily on the governance of the same, more so in the case of environmental governance. Nevertheless, there is a consensus amongst scholars that sustainability planning would be very much needed in the future of megaregion/megacity planning. There are, however, challenges, such as the vulnerability of the megaregion/city-regions’ governance framework to the changing local, state and national politics (Wheeler, 2009). Wheeler (2009) suggested that it would be fruitful for regional planners to be able to apply the holistic approaches proposed by ecological theories in order to bring about “regional sustainability” and develop options for a sustainable future. A combination of these approaches may yet aid in tackling the issue at hand. However, as Kumar (2017) points out, there are no easy “fixes” to the problems of air pollution in northern India. However, any discussion regarding this issue must begin by acknowledging its multi-faceted, as well as its regional character and that, must necessarily recognizing the biases in the manner in which the problem itself is framed.

Conclusion The problem of air pollution is a complicated, multi-layered one in most urban areas, more so in the case of New Delhi as it is the national capital and hence occupies a more significant place in the popular imagination. This chapter has endeavored to understand the manner in which air pollution in Delhi continues to be tackled. It has been discussed that erroneous problemframing can be seen to be at the bottom of the cyclical and recurrent nature of the crisis, it has also been discussed that the policies hitherto taken to tackle this crisis, have not only been unidimensional but have also, in effect, not been centered

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around the most vulnerable sections, almost to the detriment of these sections. In engaging in such analysis, probing the framing of air pollution and juxtaposing it against the concept of risk, the chapter has endeavored to point out that: a) Delhi’s air pollution is one that gets attention in a disproportionate manner to the rest of the Gangetic plain. To be explicit, air pollution is a transboundary phenomenon affecting not only New Delhi, the NCT and/or the NCR but also the larger region in the vicinity. However, more often than not, this fact is underrepresented or under-portrayed in conversations on the subject. Instead, this issue has been portrayed as exclusively that of Delhi. It is this bias that one observes while examining the policies that have been designed to “tackle” air pollution. b) Peeling back further, one comes to realize that these policy responses all have a common denominator of risk assessment and classification. This is, however, contingent on which group assesses and classifies the risk factor. The group which then becomes successful in classifying this risk is able to successfully frame the problem and consequently propose solutions. In other words, the group that is able to define the problem of Delhi’s air pollution is often able to propose solutions and, in turn, is able to push its agenda. It is clear that the policy responses to Delhi’s air pollution have been framed in a manner that is often mono-causal or linear at best and often ends up having unintended consequences vis-à-vis the more vulnerable sections. As Marshall’s study on the effects of air pollution in California shows, there is a disproportionate effect of air pollution on the less privileged compared to the well-todo (Marshall, 2008). This fact underscores that care must be taken to include the vulnerable whilst designing policies. Véron (2006), makes a salient point when he argues that “Air quality generally takes an active part in the coproduction of society and the urban environment, and air-pollution policies are often highly contested and can produce socially uneven outcomes.” It also signifies that approaching a problem from any angle save a holistic one would ensure that these vulnerable sections stand a big chance of losing out on the benefits of the policies framed to tackle the issue. In other words, it is crucial that the “command” part of the “command and control” strategy be dwelt upon more adequately than it has been before. In doing so, it is worth noting here that while the issue of pollution is one that crosses physical and political boundaries, the case of Delhi’s air pollution seems to be creating a new one – that of class and caste. In advocating a solution, it is emphasized that looking at the issue at hand from a holistic perspective – one that takes into account the politico-ecological

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factors – would provide a fruitful avenue. It is also argued that incorporating certain alternative planning philosophies, such as “bio-regionalism,” would enable planners and practitioners alike to approach the crisis in a different manner and perhaps being the journey towards developing an integrative approach. It is to be reiterated that any approach to solving the issue must first acknowledge the conf licting claims and contested spaces that Delhi represents. An approach that turns a blind eye to these realities is inherently f lawed, and bound is to fail.

Notes 1 The current chapter has been adapted from a previous essay. The author is grateful to Dr. Arvind Susarla, Ms. Geetha Krishna and Ms. Swathi M. for their insightful comments and remarks. 2 The temperature inversion effect typically often occurs in the winter months between October to January. For more see Kaltenegger L. (2011) “Atmosphere, Temperature Inversion.” In: Gargaud M. et al. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. 3 This system was, however, not applicable to two-wheelers, women drivers driving alone or with a child less than 12 years of age, private vehicles who are transporting school children during school time, vehicles of people with disabilities, vehicles of the president, vice-president and other important dignitaries of government, judges, emergency enforcement vehicles, defense and paramilitary forces. 4 The “red alert” situation is one where the ambient PM levels reach a high risk to dangerous levels. 5 With the latest being implemented in-between the window of November 4 and November 15, 2019. 6 In communications research, framing is often associated closely with the process of agenda setting. For more see Bhalla and others, 2019. 7 The paper seems to draw a direct correlation between stubble burning and surprisingly, depression systems in lower Bay of Bengal as the prime causes of the Smog of 2012, in Delhi. More alarmingly, it is to be noted that the authors are members of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and can be safely regarded as having some role in the framing of a policy aimed at tackling air pollution. 8 NIMBYism or the NIMBY “Syndrome” is elaborated as Not in My Back Yard. 9 Agenda setting in public policy has been studied extensively by Cobb and Elder (1975), Kingdon (2014), Downs (1972), and Baumgartner and Jones (1993). However, for the purpose of simplicity, I follow the definition of agenda setting as a “process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public and elite attention” (Birkland, 2007; Pralle 2009). 10 See, studies such as Rizwan, Nongkynrih, and Gupta (2013), Chaudari, Gajghate, and Singh (2015) among others.

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13 THE PERI-URBAN POOR AND ECOLOGY IN THE MEGACITY OF KOLKATA Haimanti Pakrashi

Introduction: the emerging problems of megacities “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” is the famous quote of Neil Armstrong on taking the first step on the surface of the moon in 1969, which can be called one of the several milestones that the human race achieved which would have seemed impossible a century earlier. As time went by, we humans kept increasing our benchmarks. Mars missions, discovering new Milky Ways, creating artificial life – it seemed nothing could stop us from marching ahead. But unfortunately, Mother Nature has now started reminding us very frequently that she is the boss. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, frequent f loods, unpredictable forest fires, dust storms, erratic monsoons and abnormal heat waves in different parts of the world have all made millions vulnerable to the forces of nature. Weather warning systems definitely help in saving lives but sometimes the devastations are so huge that it takes years for the affected communities to get back to their feet. These calamities are caused by forces of nature but anthropogenic causes have been blamed for their increasing intensity and frequency. In today’s world, 55 percent of the population lives in urban areas. Urbanization increases vulnerability because life and asset losses are much larger in cities than in the countryside when a disaster strikes. In this context, the issue of climate change becomes particularly relevant to cities. While the extent and timing of the disasters might still be unclear, there is no more doubt that the challenge is real and imminent, and that different cities will face different but urgent challenges (Kahn, 2010), although Sridhar and Kumar (2013a, 2013b) found that poor solid waste management, inadequate sanitation and sewerage were much bigger environmental problems to overcome in India’s cities when compared with those caused by carbon emissions. It has been predicted that the urban poor in some of the cities DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-13

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in developing countries are the most vulnerable and the rural residents are even more vulnerable because the infrastructural facilities are weaker there than in urban areas. This is especially true for Asian nations such as Bangladesh and the Pacific island countries (ADB, 2012). However, the predominance of disasters in rural areas hides the fact that cities are becoming centers for major natural disasters in the present day. Indeed, megacities are beginning to be affected by disasters in ways that challenge available scientific knowledge and existing management institutions (Mitchell, 1999). The increasing intensity and frequencies of hurricanes on the East Coast of the United States is only one example of this. Many Asian cities, some of which are now megacities, have been built in the deltas of major rivers where ports could link the cities to the global economy. So it is not surprising that many of them are f lood-prone. Though some of them have extensive experience dealing with f loods, increased f looding induced by climate change may well push these cities’ infrastructures beyond their current capacities. Mumbai’s f loods of 2005 and 2019 are cases in point. Dhaka has an elaborate set of mud banks for protection but time will only tell how long they will be able to protect her (ADB, 2012). Developing further coastal engineering protection will place an increasing burden on the resources of such cities. According to a report published by ADB (2012), 18 percent of Asian urbanites were at risk of coastal f looding, versus 11 percent for Africa, 8 percent for Latin America and 7 percent for Europe. In terms of the total urban population, 251 million Asians were exposed to this risk, compared with 40 million Europeans, 32 million Africans and 24 million Latin Americans. Similarly, high proportions of total and urban land are found in lowlying coastal areas of Asia relative to other continents. These areas are not only at greater risk of future sea-level rise but also at risk of coastal f looding arising from more frequent and intense storms. Before going further, let us quickly look at this megacity, about which we are talking. The dictionary definition of a megacity is that “it is a huge city with a population of more than 10 million.” Following this definition in 1975, only three cities in the world, Tokyo, New York and Mexico City, qualified as megacities with a population of more than ten million residents. Presently, about 7 percent of people live in cities with eight-digit populations. The United Nations projects the global number of megacities to grow from 31 to 41 by 2030, housing some 8.7 percent of the global population (Cox, 2017). Tokyo, Japan, is the largest city in the world with 38 million residents. That’s about 12 million more people than New Delhi, India, the second-largest. They are followed by Shanghai (24 million), Mumbai (21 million) and São Paolo (21 million) (Cox, 2017). Though these cities have grown due to mainly the economic opportunities they provide, yet not all are skilled jobs. A huge chunk of the population are engaged as domestic help, cleaning staff, caregivers, construction laborers i.e. semi-skilled, less paid workers, who nonetheless contribute to the city economy

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in many important ways (see Sridhar and Reddy, 2014a, 2014b taking the cases of Bengaluru and Chennai respectively). Decent housing is a very big issue for this stratum of the population in these megacities and monthly expenses are pretty steep (Sridhar et al. 2013). However, lack of opportunities in the rural areas forces them to stay in these megacities in spite of all the hardships they face in these cities. The large population base of the megacities makes them vulnerable during natural calamities and also requires a huge steady supply of resources for sustaining its inhabitants. In the case of the former, scientists are predicting a rise in the number of big storms in the coming decades. September 2018 saw the wrath of Hurricane Florence on the East Coast of the United States and Typhoon Manghut in South East Asia and only emphasized our helplessness. But even if humanity is increasingly urban, we are still as dependent on nature as before. Cities are, for example, dependent on the large hinterlands needed to provide raw materials and take care of output from the city. In a study of the 29 largest cities in the Baltic Sea region, it was estimated that the cities claimed the ecosystem support of areas at least 500–1,000 times larger than the area of the cities themselves (Folke et al., 1997).

Role of wetlands in mitigating disasters and providing resources In this complex scenario, this chapter discusses the roles that wetlands can play in solving these major issues. Wetlands are natural buffers; they help reduce the impact of disasters by collecting and holding water during f loods, releasing water to reduce droughts and protecting against coastal storm surges. Wetlands in a healthy state can also help communities recover from disasters and help mitigate further climate change (Ghosh, 1999). Yet wetlands continue to be degraded. More than 64 percent of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1900, and degradation continues at alarming rates around the world (Ramsar, 2017). The services provided by wetlands are called “ecosystem services,” and are defined as “the benefits human populations derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions” by Costanza et al. (1997). Wetlands are found in all the continents (except Antarctica) and are also of different kinds. Mangrove forests, lakes, bogs, peatlands, estuaries and marshes are all different kinds of wetlands. The ecosystem services provided by wetlands are therefore also very varied. Some of the services provided by wetlands in urban areas are listed below.

Air fltration Air pollution caused by transportation and heating of buildings, among other things, is a major environmental and public health problem in cities. In general, vegetation is much better than water or open spaces for filtering the air (Bolund and Hunhammar, 1999). But having a water body acts as a cooling agent.

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Weather control Local climate and even weather are affected by the city. In studies of US cities, some of these differences have been quantified (Haughton and Hunter, 1994). The phenomenon, sometimes called the urban heat island effect, is caused by the large area of heat-absorbing surfaces, in combination with high amounts of energy use in cities. All-natural ecosystems in urban areas will help to reduce these differences. Water areas in the city will help even out temperature deviations both during summer and winter. Vegetation is also important (Hough, 1989).

Drainage and sewage treatment Marshy areas contribute to solving this problem in several ways. The soft ground of vegetated areas allows water to seep through and the vegetation takes up water and releases it into the air through evapotranspiration. In areas under vegetation, only 5–15 percent of the rainwater runs off the ground, with the rest evaporating or infiltrating the ground. In vegetation-free cities, about 60 percent of the rainwater is instead led off through stormwater drains (Bernatzky, 1983). In many cities, large-scale experiments are taking place where natural systems, mainly wetlands, are being used to treat sewage water. The wetland plants and animals can assimilate large amounts of the nutrients and slow down the f low of the sewage water, allowing particles to settle in the bottom. Up to 96 percent of the nitrogen and 97 percent of the phosphorous can be retained in wetlands, and so far wetland restorations have largely been successful, increasing biodiversity and substantially lowering costs of sewage treatment (Ewel, 1997).

Recreation Wetlands also provide urban areas with spaces for recreation. They also add to the aesthetic and cultural values of the city and lend structure to its landscape. This chapter discusses a wetland ecosystem that has been utilized by the locals for almost a century to recycle liquid sewage, rear fishes in the recycled water and carry out paddy farming. It provides employment to thousands of peri-urban poor. This wetland is called the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). The data in this chapter is part of my M.Phil. work (2017), titled, “Changing lives of Women in a Peri Urban Wetland: A Case Study of Ecosystem Services of East Kolkata Wetlands” from the Centre for Regional Studies, University of Hyderabad. I did primary data collection from the mauzas (a local division of area) of Kharki, Dhapa and Dhapa Manpur in EKW. The reason behind selecting these areas was the diversity in terms of their land use. Paddy cultivation is the primary livelihood practiced in Kharki, whereas for Dhapa Manpur it is sewage water fishing and for Dhapa it is vegetable farming. The diversity helps us to

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understand the roles played by the women in these three practiced livelihood practices.

Emergence of EKW as a natural waste recycling plant Situated on the eastern fringes of the city of Kolkata these wetlands formed the f lood bank of the river Bidyadhari which dried in 1920. These wetlands were located between the river Hooghly on the west and the river Bidyadhari on the east. Locals used to do saltwater fishing in these water bodies since Bidyadhari was a distributary of the Hooghly river and thus saline. Maps from the 17th century show these wetlands covered almost the entire city of Kolkata except for Fort William and the surrounding area. As the city of Kolkata grew under the British it started eating up the wetlands in the east. The British decided the marshy wetlands could be utilized for dumping the liquid and solid waste from the growing city. In 1772, Calcutta became the capital of British India and yet until the beginning of the 19th century, the city did not have any proper drainage system. The night soil and other sewage used to be dumped in the river Hooghly directly through different natural creeks and channels. While the ones f lowing towards the salt lakes were used to drain the sewage into the marshes and the Bidyadhari river. These channels badly got silted up with time and were also unhealthy for the stink and the mosquitoes they invited. In 1853, the then–Chief Sanitary engineer of Calcutta Corporation, one William Clerk, was asked to prepare a detailed drainage scheme. The drainage committee approved Clerk’s underground drainage scheme, which included a number of pumping stations, which would help to take the sewage to salt lakes (Kundu, 1994) and finally into the Bay of Bengal through the Bidyadhari and Matla rivers (CMG, 1945). It is interesting to note that this was also the time when the present-day drainage system of London was also under construction during the mid-19th century. The work was enormous and expensive and as a result, it was done in different phases and finally completed in 1896 (Nath and Majumdar, 1990). Clerk’s system over time was expanded to accommodate sewage from the numerous suburbs of the growing city. The number of pumping stations increased, but the overall system remained the same till the Bidyadhari river, which used to carry the sewage to the city, dried up. In the last decades of the 19th century, the salt lakes were cut into little areas by local fishers and embanked. The water from the distributaries was used to bring in fishes into these embanked areas during high tide. At ebb tide, a certain amount of water would be let out using simple bamboo entrapments, a method which is still in existence. These embanked water bodies were used to rear saline fishes and prawns. This was a very profitable business since there was very little production cost involved. Turning waste into an asset is perhaps a good way to describe the efforts of the landlords and fishermen in these wetlands. Whereas the British had

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considered these wetlands only fit to be a dumping site, the locals recognized its potential. One wonders how they figured that sewage water could be treated naturally, but they used it to their advantage by rearing fishes in the treated water after cleverly switching over to sweet water varieties from saline ones. There might have been some hiccups in the initial stage but the practice seems to have become a success in the long run. Thus the innovativeness of the landlords and the hard work of the fishermen together made sewage water fishing a profitable enterprise in the first half of the 20th century, in the eastern fringes of Kolkata. Water scarcity is perhaps the biggest worry of the present and future generations. Thus, sewage water–fed fishing and farming seems like a boon in the contemporary water shortage scenario. EKW has been using this unique system for almost a century now. The cleaning of the water is basically done by oxidation, radiation and biological breakdown of organic waste (Mukherjee, 2006) and all this is done with the help of photosynthesis. The fish farms are kept very shallow to allow the rays of the sun to pass through them. Once the eff luents settle, the water is then channeled into the maturation ponds where fishes are grown. Maturation ponds also help in nutrient cycling (Chakraborty, 2013).

The story of Dhapa Thus the liquid waste from the city got channeled through the canals into the Kulti and the city of Kolkata gets to dispose of its sewage water, but what about the solid waste? In the 19th century itself, the city’s administrators, the Justices of Peace (Predecessor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation) came up with an idea to dump the growing city’s solid waste in the uninhabited region of the marshy swamp or saltwater lake, far away from the city. (Chattopadhyay, 1990). For this purpose, a square mile area of land was acquired in the salt lake region (Kundu et al., 2012). In 1865, the Salt Water Lake Reclamation Company was formed by the British, which started experimenting with sewage farming under the guidance of the then health officer, Dr. Fabre Tonnerre. Meanwhile, lands in the Dhapa area were leased out to local landlords for purpose of cultivation (Chattopadhyay, 1990). Now this land is owned by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which allows farmers to work as tenants or sub-tenants, responsible for the entirety of the farming operations and marketing in Dhapa. At present, some 325 hectares of vegetable farms are located within the EKW, and particularly in and around the Dhapa area. There are around 3,000 farm plots in Dhapa, ranging in size from 0.03–0.20 hectares (Mukherjee and Ghosh, 2015). Farmers produce 11–16 different varieties of crops and vegetables, using water from the ponds and sewage canals. These farms reportedly produce 1,500 quintals of vegetables per half a hectare per annum, providing employment to hundreds of local people (Mukherjee and Ghosh, 2015). One might wonder if this practice of consuming vegetables grown using sewage water is safe or not but researches have shown that it is (Bunting, 2004). The sunlight reaches the bottom of these

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shallow ponds and kills the germs present. Only after processing the water using the sun, is the water then used in the vegetable farms. The city receives nearly one-third of its daily fish and vegetable requirements from the EKW at more economical prices due to the proximity of the wetlands. This practice of farming using the solid waste in the wetland area was also not a natural occurrence. We have seen wetland areas are used for dumping waste, however, utilizing the space for converting into manure and subsequently growing vegetables is another important provisioning service provided by EKW to the city of Kolkata. Thus the dry river bed of the Bidyadhari river has been put to use very cleverly by the peri-urban fishermen and farmers in Kolkata. Let us now take a further look at the ecosystem services provided by EKW to the city of Kolkata.

Other ecosystem services of EKW In the case of drinking water, Kharki had piped water supply managed by the Panchayat, whereas in Dhapa Manpur and Dhapa Matpukur, the city corporation had installed water lines. In Kharki the ponds and canals carry sewage water and are not used for human consumption, although some ponds are maintained in Kharki for bathing and cleaning purposes, which are rain-fed and sometimes dry up in dry seasons. Amongst the three field sites, Kharki is the only area where paddy cultivation is practiced. In recent years, the quantity of water in the sewage canals has decreased as alleged by the respondents and as a result, several small farmers are now forced to use groundwater for irrigational purposes. Running a pump is expensive, thus not every farmer can go for a harvest in the dry season. The inhabitants of EKW depend on the wetlands for fuel. Cowdung cakes could be seen drying in Kharki, while wood is collected by the residents of Kharki and Dhapa for cooking fuel. Kharki residents also collect thatching materials from their surroundings. These are the provisioning services obtained from EKW. According to Chatterjee (1999), keeping in mind the latitude, temperature range and average annual rainfall, the EKW (computed for 365 days on 3,000 hectares of the wet surface) generates 248,291.25 tons of oxygen per year. However, this is quite dated and newer research on such dimensions would give more accurate information. Apart from these, EKW acts as a retention basin in general. The tilt of the land is towards the east, thus water inevitably f lows toward the wetlands by gravity. But with urban growth the wetlands on the east have been reclaimed, many have atrophied or converted into residential areas. This causes f looding in the city after a heavy downpour. The west side of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass acts as a virtual dike cutting natural spill basin in the erstwhile salt lake swamps (Ghosh, 1993).

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Urban wetlands also act as the only sources of water for domestic use for populated urban settlements. Bathing and washing clothes in local ponds are very common in Kolkata. Such sources of water act as protection against fire hazards (Ghosh, 1993). In the recent past, several of the larger fish ponds from the wetland area have converted their ponds into amusement parks, water sports parks, boating and picnic spots. Visitors have a good time while the fishermen make some extra profits. Usually, such places usually function during the winter months.

Locating the peri-urban poor The paper has so far explained the ecosystem services of EKW, now focuses on the peri-urban poor who actually help in the optimization of the ecosystem services of EKW. A peri-urban interface (PUI) can be defined as one “where, rural and urban features tend to coexist increasingly within cities and beyond their limits” (Allen, 2003). EKW can be called the PUI of Kolkata. It is still situated on the outskirts of the city. In fact, it runs along the length of the city on its east. Parts of it are very well connected to the city since the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass was built by taking up land from the wetland area, while there are also parts that are located quite far away from the main road. The sustenance of Kolkata thus heavily depends upon its interaction with its PUI, i.e. the EKW. This area acts as a transitional zone for a rapidly urbanizing space. The proximity of the wetlands to the city and their interdependence is what sustains them. In spite of this, the PUI is significantly dwindling in size, heavily interrupting the ecological balance and threatening the socioeconomic benefits for both the wetlands and the city. Kolkata has urbanized rapidly with an east-centric bias during the post-independent period, at the cost of her wetlands (Mukherjee, 2006). In 2002, 12,500 acres of these wetlands were put under protection under the Ramsar Convention. During 2002–2016, a committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal found, based on satellite imagery, even greater encroachment of the area with residential developments. Perhaps more research on this feature of the city might help in realizing its importance and thus help in saving it before it disappears altogether. EKW being the PUI for Kolkata provides a range of ecosystem services for the city. The advantages derived from EKW include ease of disposal of its sewage, economical fish, vegetables and creation of recreational spots. Kolkata provides EKW with a market for selling its products. However, since EKW does not have its own source of water, it is also dependent on the liquid sewage from the city. The monsoon season indeed adds to the water in the numerous ponds and canals but in the dry seasons, the sewage water from the city is their own source of water for fishing and irrigation. Megacities are increasingly becoming dependent on their PUIs for supplying them with a wide range of resources and services and the sustainability of natural

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resources needs to be kept in mind while trying to protect the marginalized sections living in these areas (Allen, 2003). In the case of EKW, however, conserving the peri-urban area works in favor of both the marginalized sections living there and also for natural resource management.

Marginalized women working in Dhapa All the respondents to this research worked full time in the vegetable patches. They started working from 5 in the morning during the summers and continued till 9 am. After the morning shift they went home, cooked, cleaned for their families, rested for a while and again came back at 1 pm to work until 6–7 pm. The farmers paid them on a daily basis. The average rates vary between Rs. 120–200 (per day), depending on the nature of the work. Other than leasing the land, paying for the seeds, getting the field plowed and paying the wages of the daily laborers, the farmer remains in the background. During the fieldwork for this research, some farmers were seen along with the workers on the field, but they were merely instructing. It was the women wage workers who did all the work. Only the plowing work had been outsourced. The work these women do was found to be back-breaking. For hours they bent over the fields, sowing, plucking weeds, watering and finally harvesting them. Depending on the quantity of the vegetables, the mode of transporting them to the market was determined. The women carried it to the market if they could manage or else they hired cycle vans to transport them. Sometimes, they sold the vegetables on the bypass itself. Cars could be seen stopping and buying freshly cut corn, caulif lowers, sugarcane, etc. Many of my respondents admitted being rag pickers at the solid waste dumping ground, before. One of them shared the fact that the gold earrings she was wearing had actually come from the solid waste dumping ground. There were days when they would get unburnt coal, wood, reusable metal products, plastic and other usable household products while sifting through the garbage. Some of their husbands also worked in these plots or on fishing farms when additional labor was required.

Life stories of these women The section below gives us a deeper look into the lives of the peri-urban women working in Dhapa and living in the EKW region. Maternal homes: the women who were interviewed had their maternal homes in different places like Sunderbans, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, etc. At the time this research was completed, most of the women lived in Dhapa Matpukur, which refers to the area behind the high rises, on the other side of the road. Some of the older women had been living there, even before the EM Bypass bifurcated it.

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Home: all my respondents working in Dhapa lived in mud houses with thatched or mud-tiled roofs. They collected thatching materials from the field or bought them. None of them owned their houses, all rented their dwellings. Water Woes: this area too had a regular supply of commonly piped water service. The communal ponds also acted as water sources for cleaning and bathing purposes. Cooking fuel: for cooking most used wood, which they collected from the vegetable plots or bought from local markets. A few of them also cooked using kerosene stoves. Education levels: all the women working on these plots had attended primary school. Their parents did not have money for more schooling. However, their children were all in schools and a few of them were even enrolled in college. Reproductive health: institutional deliveries were the preferred way to deliver amongst these women. Mass media and nearness to the city helped them in understanding the safety of having institutional deliveries. NREGA work: given their location in the peri-urban part, areas like Dhapa Manpur did not offer any job opportunities under the NREGA scheme. Thus the vegetable patches were the only sources of income for them. Occupational hazards: injuries these respondents had included cuts from weeding or while harvesting vegetables. However, since the women spent a lot of time bending over, they complained about back pain. Even though they were injured doing their job, they were not compensated by the farmers hiring them. Earlier, when they used to sift through solid waste dumps, cuts were very frequent from sharp hidden objects in the dumps for they never wore gloves. There were also terrible incidences where rag pickers had been buried alive in the garbage, especially at the time of the construction of the EM Bypass. Improvement of life: life for these women did not change much in the past decades, given they did the same job. Their wages had gone up but so had their expenses. Because they lived in close proximity to Bidhannagar and other high rises, some of the older women opted to work as domestic help. Some of their husbands and sons had started going to work in the city. Roads: Dhapa Matpukur, just behind Silver Springs, had metaled roads, though the ones in the different vegetable farms where they used to work were all mud/brick roads. Electricity: electricity came to this area more than two decades back. A lot of the houses have televisions. Toilet facilities: while the then–Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (now Swacchh Bharat Mission) did not cover this area, there were community toilets that these people used. Homes threatened: the bypass road which had been very beneficial to the city of Kolkata and its high-f lying residents had only brought problems and misery to the inhabitants of the wetland area. The area where most of this group of women stay, Dhapa Matpukur, was going to see even more real estate development. And as a result, these people would get evicted, for most of them did not own the

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houses they lived in. They were either leased or rented. The inf luential builders were hand in gloves with political party members and did not think twice before evicting them. That was one of the biggest worries these women had. They never lived in luxury, but if their homes were then they would have no other option but to leave the area and their jobs. Dependence on wetlands: though the group of women lived in a municipality area, they were dependent on the wetlands quite a bit. While they weeded and planted, they kept accumulating edible green leaves, which they ate with rice. They got their cooking fuel, thatching materials from the vegetable patches. Their primary earnings came from working on these plots, thus they were completely dependent on the wetlands for survival. Thus these peri-urban marginalized women had nowhere to go once their rented tenements were demolished for the development of the city. They are not alone; in most peri-urban areas this is a perennial problem. These women were not only helping their families to carve out a livelihood but also helped in the environmental management of the peri-urban areas.

Conclusion Increasing average temperatures and changes in seasonal rainfall patterns are already having an effect on agriculture across South Asia. Low-lying Bangladesh and the Maldives are increasingly vulnerable to f looding and cyclones in the Indian Ocean. The scientific literature suggests that such events will grow in intensity over the coming decades. Dhaka, Karachi, Kolkata and Mumbai – urban areas that are home to more than 50 million people – face a substantial risk of f lood-related damage over the next century (ADB, 2012). Thus under the circumstances, making optimum use of the wetland ecosystem will help in making the megacities sustainable. Unfortunately, wetland areas are looked upon as land to be converted for development. The story of EKW is similar to this, unfortunately. The city of Kolkata is growing in size at the cost of these wetlands. The policymakers need to understand that “developmental” projects won’t be helping anyone if there is no city left to live in. The time has come where economic prospects should be given a backseat and the environment should take the front seat. EKW is a very good example of how wetlands can be used for making megacities sustainable. Policymakers of threatened megacities should start taking lessons from EKW wherever possible and apply them in their cities for a sustainable tomorrow.

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Mitchell, J.K. Megacities and Natural Disasters: A Comparative Analysis. Piscataway, NJ: Department of Geography, Rutgers University, October, 08854–08045. 1999. Mukherjee, J., and Ghosh, A. Water Justice City Profile: Kolkata, India. Translocal Learning for Water Justice: Peri-Urban Pathways in India, Tanzania and Bolivia. London: UCL BartlettDevelopment Planning Unit, 2015. Mukherjee, Madhumita. “Waste Water fisheries in Peri Urban Kolkata”. In: The Peri Urban Interface: Approaches to Sustainable Natural and Human Resources, edited by Duncan McGregor, David Simon and Donald Thompson, 104–115. UK and USA: Earthscan. 2006. Nath, K.J. and Majumdar, Arunava. “Drainage, Sewarage and waste disposal”. In: Calcutta, the Living City: The past, Vol. 1, edited by Sukanta Chowdhury. Michigan: Oxford University Press, 167–172. 1990. Ramsar. How is the ongoing loss of wetlands linked to people leaving their homes and land? 2017. https://www.ramsar.org/news/how-is-the-ongoing-loss-of-wetlands-l inked-to-people-leaving-their-homes-and-land. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Kumar, Surender. “India’s Urban Environment: Air/ Water Pollution and Pollution Abatement”. Economic and Political Weekly 48, 22(6) (February 9, 2013): 22–25. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Kumar, Surender. “India’s Urban Environmental Challenges: Land Use, Solid Waste and Sanitation, Yojana”. Journal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India), 57 (2013a): 30–34. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Reddy, A.V. “Contribution of the urban poor: A pilot study from Bengaluru, India”. Inclusive Urban Planning: State of the Urban Poor Report 2013. New Delhi: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India and Oxford University Press, 2014. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Reddy, A.V. Contribution of the urban poor: Evidence from Chennai, India. Asia Pacific Development Journal (UNESCAP) 21(2) (December 2014b): 53–76.

14 STATE OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS A study of Bengaluru Kala S. Sridhar and K.C. Smitha

Background Even though only 31 percent of India is urban as of 2011, cities are very inf luential economically and politically, as citizens ideally are the ones who initiate the demand for better basic services. The extent to which such citizen participation happens and the effectiveness of service delivery are determined largely by governance. During 2001–2011, census data show that the percentage of Bengaluru Urban (the district)’s households with access to a latrine facility increased from 91 percent to 97 percent. Surprisingly, however, Paul et al. (2012) found that Bengaluru had more public parks (516) than public toilets (421) (based on data during 2006–2009). Public sanitation was found to be a clearly low priority. The delivery of urban services such as water supply, sanitation, sewerage and roads is impacted by the institutional arrangements for their provision and more importantly their governance. Frequently many problems of urban service delivery are attributed to governance. This chapter summarizes the current governance problems of urban development in Bengaluru, based on large (2,700) primary surveys of households that were conducted in 2017. It may be instructive to note that Sridhar et al. (2015) found that a majority of respondents reported that they preferred to continue living in the city despite its many civic problems, which has implications for rejuvenating the city’s creaking infrastructure. Similarly, a series of Citizen Report Cards (CRCs) were published by the Bengaluru-based Public Affairs Center (PAC) to track the status of public service delivery and invoke citizen groups for debates and discussion to improve the governance of the city. We further note that the city of Bengaluru emerged as the “worst city” in urban governance in the annual survey of India’s City System (ASICS) 2017, carried out by DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-14

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Janaagraha, a city-based non-profit organization. As that report suggests, among 23 cities surveyed, Bengaluru ranked 22nd considering several parameters – urban planning, urban capacities and resources, transparency, accountability and participation, empowerment and legitimacy. One of the leading urban governance problems in Bengaluru is its complex civic institutions.1 Despite the implementation of the 74th CA (Constitutional Amendment) Act, democratic decentralization through the institutionalization of ward committees and Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) to usher community participation at the local level remains a distant dream. As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, only Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Faridabad had constituted MPCs as of 2014. Bengaluru’s MPC was in the initial stage of constitution and Ahmedabad’s was yet to be constituted. Given the MPC has failed to take off in most states, we find that there is no way to directly involve citizens in service delivery. In order to fill the gap created by not having MPCs, various forms of associations such as resident welfare associations (RWAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) have sprung up to collaborate with local governments implicitly or explicitly as development partners in Indian cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, in the line of the “new public management” perspective also referred as public–private partnerships (PPPs) (Harriss, 2005; Coelho, 2005; Lama-Rewal, 2007; Baud and Nainan, 2008; Sridhar, 2008; Kennedy, 2009; Kamath and Vijayabaskar, 2009; Smitha, 2010; Mahadevia, Bhatia and Bhatt, 2014). Such PPPs are typically welcomed by governments of developing countries as they reduce their own burden and responsibility of governance and public service delivery. In this chapter, we review the state of local governance in Bengaluru, taking into account perceptions of citizens, based on large primary surveys of 2,700 households representatively sampled throughout the metropolitan area. This chapter is organized as follows. It first reviews the existing state-of-theart literature on city-level governance, followed by a description of the methodology adopted for the research reported here, then summarizes the findings of the primary surveys of more than 2,500 households in Bengaluru before concluding.

Existing work on city governance Studies present different dimensions of scope, scale and implications of civil society and local associations on urban governance. The emergence of the middle class in cities as part of contemporary metropolitan democracy not only redefines citizenship rights as claims but also re-territorializes the city space which could be aptly referred to as “Social Municipalism” – as Manuel Castells defines it – a citizen-initiated involvement in municipal affairs that aims to bypass or correct the electoral machine. For instance, the agitation to protect Cubbon Park in Bengaluru in 1998 was firmly anchored in the new forms of activism in the city (Nairm 2006). A study by Harriss (2005; 2007) defines civil

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society as “middle class activism” or “assertion” while the middle class engages in “activism” and the urban poor in “politics” in fragmented ways. The study finds that the emergence of such vibrant local associational activities anchors “new politics” which is built around the competing demands and governance failure expressing voice and participation. Coelho and Venkat (2009) reported that RWAs in Chennai had emerged as “vehicles for aspirations of urban citizenship” referring to urban poor consolidating their rights over urban property and demand for better civic services which is promoted by the state as “instruments of institutionalized co-production.” Evidence further suggests that middle-class associations provide an alternate arena for civic participation and improvements in service delivery. Harriss (2007) succinctly captures the presence of rather f luid and fragmented collective action in New Delhi where people are commonly associated in informal ways to address their civic or social issues. Baud and De Wit (2009) studied how governance of Indian cities is changing in response to the economic liberalization of the 1980s and 1990s, the constitutional amendment in 1992 and globalization, studying whether urban local bodies took their autonomy seriously and whether the liberalization led to increasing citizen participation in local governance and to more inclusion. They reported that states have bestowed little power on their ward-level committees, and city-level governance is characterized by fragmented institutional structures. The study by Baud and Nainan (2008) examined various forms of “invited spaces” – local networks that exist between local government and citizens determining the extent of access to basic services and their political rights as citizens in the context of Mumbai. The study found that both vertical and horizontal accountability had increased and there was a clear potential of ward committees building up participatory democracy closer to residents in the city. India’s 74th Constitutional Amendment Act made it mandatory to set up Metropolitan Planning Committees in cities with populations of one million or more to formulate a plan for the metropolitan area, considering the plans made by the municipal body and the requirement for integrated development of infrastructure. Regarding the composition of the MPC, the Constitution specifies that the MPC should consist of citizen representatives, which was also a mandatory reform required by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( JNNURM). However, as of 2014, as per the Ministry of Urban Development, only Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Faridabad had constituted MPCs. Bengaluru’s MPC was in the initial stage of constitution and Ahmedabad’s was yet to be constituted. Given the MPC has failed to take off in most states, we find that there is no way to directly involve citizens in service delivery. A working group set up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (2011), Government of India, to examine urban strategic planning recommended that area sabhas at the neighborhood level and ward committees at the ward level should be used to institutionalize citizen participation in urban governance, which, however, has not happened.

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There is an entire stream of studies on the importance of resident welfare associations and their role in city-level governance. Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009) pointed out that while RWAs in general were successful in resolving the problems of local public service delivery, there were considerable limits to middle-class collective action in metropolitan areas. They referred to the work of RWAs as “elite inf luence” rather than “elite capture” who rely on private contractors for service delivery and have not been successful in inf luencing policy or legislative changes. But Lama-Rewal (2007) viewed local neighborhood associations as mostly RWAs which represent a local type of activism focusing strictly on resolving civic issues by promoting interface with local departmental officials for the maintenance of civic infrastructure. Kennedy (2009) argued that the role of RWAs and their activism were perceived as “stakeholder-participation” in the local affairs, therefore, explicitly recognized the role of non-state actors as actively engaging in civic activities as a result of both top-down and bottom-up processes. In various metropolitan cities, RWAs are institutionalized as development partners through government-led programs such as the Bhagidari (New Delhi) and Advanced Locality Management (ALMs) in Mumbai (Mahadevia, Bhatia and Bhatt, 2014). Zerah (2007) reported that in a large urban agglomeration such as Mumbai, ALMs were a part of a larger “civic network” – a group of micro-level institutions that have partnered with municipal administration for the improvement of urban services. As per this study, ALMs were successful in capitalizing on partnership and harnessed visibility which is leveraged for political mobilization. Smitha (2010) found that the RWAs representing a new form of democratic engagement in Bengaluru created a platform to voice the demands of urban citizens regarding the improvement of local infrastructure like roads, pavements and sanitation. Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2013) argued that the language of elite RWAs resonated with reformers emphasizing “constructive engagement” as responsible citizens since local governments are incapable of delivering efficient services. Lama-Rewal (2007, 2013) argued that the strong presence of middle-class RWAs in Delhi is what Rosanvallon called the sphere of “counter democracy”2 to lobby for civic infrastructure as well as promote local conviviality. In fact, the success of the Bhagidari scheme in New Delhi was attributed to the active cooption of middle-class driven RWAs. Mahadevia, Bhatia and Bhatt (2014) also reported that RWAs were actively involved at BSUP (Basic Services for the Urban Poor) sites of Ahmedabad to pool various stakeholders to establish participatory governance, besides taking care of local civic issues and infrastructure problems. These RWAs eventually created local pressure groups and empowered the people to participate in the delivery of urban services. Depending upon the scale and scope of the RWAs, the study classified RWAs into the broad categories of (1) elite, (2) middle and lower middle class, (3) traditional middle class and (4) new elites. In a different study, it was found that 200 representatives of 118 apartment associations had formed a federation to address civic issues with local agencies of

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Bengaluru (Deepika, 2017). However, Sridhar and Reddy (2014a) reported that only 14 percent of the surveyed urban poor (residing in slums) of Bengaluru were members of a neighborhood or slum welfare association. In Chennai, Sridhar and Reddy (2014b) reported that most (91 percent) of the slums did not have a slum dwellers’ welfare association, however, of the slums in that metropolitan area that had associations, only 30 percent of the respondents were members. This chapter outlines the state of local governance in the city of Bengaluru. We tried to capture the perceptions of the households on dynamics of local governance in terms of accountability, responsiveness, community participation, civic activism, citizen interface with the local government and so on. In this, we examined various channels such as resident welfare associations and ward councilors, who are approached by the residents in order to address their local civic and developmental issues. The study also sought suggestions from the residents to improve local governance. The central questions addressed here include participation trajectory, the kind of processes that occur during the interface between the citizens, the various channels thereof and their outcomes.

Methodology The study is based on extensive primary surveys of 2,700 households in 27 representative wards of Bengaluru to gather information and to answer the various questions that have been raised in this study. A controlled selection of city wards (which were all well-defined) was made such that they were geographically dispersed in the different parts of the city which consists of 198 wards in eight zones, and we selected 27 wards from each, of which 100 households from each selected ward were randomly sampled for purposes of the study (see map 14.1). In addition to the primary survey capturing perceptions of citizens, interviews were conducted with political representatives and local RWAs. Interviews with two elected councilors and two local RWAs situated at Nagarabhavi were held during the field study. The rest of this chapter elaborates on channels used by residents to address their civic problems – resident welfare associations, ward councilors, local leaders, Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) or local departments – and the type of issues discussed, following which these channels are discussed in terms of their access and effectiveness, followed by a section which summarizes.

Analysis and key fndings Channels to address local civic problems The city of Bengaluru is fraught with many civic problems such as roads riddled with potholes, lack of adequate access to potable water, broken sewer pipes, waste dumps on roads resulting from irregular waste collection, intermittent supply of electricity, lack of frequent, convenient and affordable public buses and so on. To address these civic issues, citizens often contact local channels such as

MAP 14.1

Selected wards marked on the map of Bengaluru city

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resident welfare associations, local ward councilors, local corporators or MLAs. Sometimes residents directly approach the concerned local departments (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike [BBMP], the urban local body, or the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board [BWSSB]) to redress their grievances. From Figure 14.1, which is based on our primary surveys of 2,700 households, it is clear that the majority of the residents (nearly 31 percent) approached the ward-level office (BBMP) to redress their grievances. Nearly 8 percent consulted their local ward councilor or concerned departments (7 percent) at the local level to resolve their issues. Some residents (nearly 5 percent) contacted local leaders to attend to their problems and very few (less than 1 percent each) approached either their RWAs or MLA. It was striking that a significant number of them approached none (47 percent) to redress their civic issues.

Presence of resident welfare associations The city of Bengaluru is known for its civic activism and thriving presence of RWAs (see Smitha, 2010). Sridhar and Reddy (2014a) reported that even the poor in Bengaluru resorted to membership in such RWAs because they presumably thought it improved their access to public services or officials. Studies indicate that RWAs provide a vibrant participative avenue, especially for the middle class, to engage with local governance (Sridhar, 2008; Kamath and Vijayabaskar, 2009; Smitha, 2010; Lalitha and Vijayabaskar, 2013). Based on our surveys, we found that nearly 97 percent of the respondents were not aware of the presence of RWAs in their localities as against only 3 percent who are aware of the presence of RWAs in their localities. The finding substantiates the argument put forward by Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2013) that middle-class mobilization is fragmented and marked by low levels of participation, often by the small core group of members. Much more dissemination is needed for the role of RWAs as a vehicle for solving civic problems.

50.00 45.00 40.00 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00

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We compared parameters of local governance with the delivery of various public services, our hypothesis being that where civic activism is strong, public services will be better. In many planned wards (see Figure 14.2), a positive correlation was found between the presence of RWAs and civic amenities, particularly in the wards of Koramangala (ranked 1 on the presence of RWAs), Kumaraswamy layout (ranked 2) HSR layout (ranked 3), Bagalkunte (ranked 4), Sampangiramanagara (ranked 5) and Kengeri (ranked 6) respectively. These high-ranked wards in which RWAs were present had well-maintained parks and playgrounds and an adequate supply of drinking water. Therefore, proactive RWAs not only guarded their wards against any lapses in civic services but also inculcated a positive spirit for better and improved services in a planned manner. Those who were members of the RWAs were a minority (11 percent), when compared to those who were not members (nearly 89 percent). This is consistent with our earlier finding that more than 96 percent of residents were not even aware of the existence of RWA in their neighborhood. Usually, RWAs conduct meetings every month or once in three or six months. From Figure 14.3, we find that 50 percent of the members of RWAs attended meetings once a month, 25 percent attended these meetings once in three months, and the remaining 25 percent attended RWA meetings only once in six months. Nonetheless, a majority (80 percent) of members of RWAs attended RWA meetings as compared to those who did not attend the meetings (only 20 percent). RWAs provide a platform for discussions and debate on various civic issues affecting the community. In this regard, respondent members of RWAs mainly discussed access to basic amenities (75 percent) and safety issues (25 percent) affecting them. This shows the importance of civic services and safety to the respondents and demonstrates that the potential exists for a Tiebout kind of voting with the feet. In other words, there exist non-political solutions for the free rider problem in local governance. Among members of RWAs, those who strongly believed that RWAs could resolve the issues pertaining to their locality were low (40 percent) as compared to those who were of the view that RWAs were not effective in resolving issues of their locality (60 percent). The 74th Constitutional CA Act ushered constitutional status to the local governments with more inclusive participation of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women. To manage the local affairs, ward committees represent participatory space facilitating the interface of ward-level councilors, municipal bureaucrats and civil society organizations like RWAs with regular meetings and interact with different branches of the local government (Kennedy, 2009; Tawa Lama-Rewal, 2013). To either lobby or address the challenges and issues of locality, residents of Bengaluru choose various alternative forums like RWAs or sometimes directly contact their ward-level councilor. From Figure 14.4, we see that nearly 42 percent of residents interfaced with their respective ward-level councilors directly to inf luence better changes and redressed their immediate

FIGURE 14.2

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60 50

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local grievances. There were a few households (3 percent) who personally met councilors either once in two months or once in a month (1 percent) to resolve their issues. But, a majority of the residents (54 percent) did not contact their councilor. This eventually negates meaningful decentralization. Some reasons for less interaction of residents with local councilor are nonexistent ward committees and lack of administrative support for ward-level meetings or interaction, supported by what other studies have found. As a

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result, holding meetings or interacting with local residents is not binding for the councilor. Among the top five wards in Bengaluru ranked for better interaction with their ward-level councilor were the high-income HSR layout (ranked 1), Konanakunte in the south (ranked 2), Uttarahalli (ranked 3), Bagalkunte (ranked 4) and Chokkasandra (ranked 5) (see Figure 14.5). Among those satisfied with the work of their ward-level councilor, we find that peripheral Kempegowda ward (ranked 1), peripheral Yeshwanthapur ward (ranked 2), southern ward Jayanagar (ranked 3), centrally located Padarayanapura (ranked 4) and centrally located Subhashnagara (ranked 5) were in the top (see Figure 14.6). Among those who contacted their ward-level councilor for redressing their grievances, only 7 percent were satisfied with their councilor’s work and 9 percent were not satisfied, while nearly 84 percent of them could not definitively say if they were satisfied (see Figure 14.7). The 74th CA Act mandates state governments to delegate and implement 28 functions to the elected councilors at the ward level (Kathyayini and Rao, 2003; Baud and Nainan, 2008). Various recommendations were offered by the residents to improve interaction with ward councilors, which included the following: (i) Institutionalization for systematic redressal of grievances to promote sustainable development of the ward, rather than their engagement in temporary solutions to individual contacts. (ii) Promotion of transparency with respect to the developmental funds or ward-level budget grants received and spent on ward-level works. (iii) Attempts at transparent and accountable local administration and lessening corruption, enabling people’s participation. (iv) Conducting regular ward committee meetings promoting bottom-up accountability and bridging the gap between ward councilor and the people. Further, when we probed local residents on whether their suggestions were incorporated in actual policies, 86 percent of them were of the view that they were not considered; only 14 percent were sure that their suggestions were considered while implementing local works of their locality. Residents offered various suggestions for improving local governance (see Figure 14.8). A majority of them (35 percent) preferred to have improved and better interaction with their ward-level councilor, which is followed by demand from 44 percent suggesting that the BBMP must further improve city-level services (such as solid waste collection, street cleaning and access to clean public toilets). While nearly 11 percent preferred direct interaction with the local MLA to improve services, 11 percent suggested conducting ward sabha at their locality to promote interface with the officials of local-level departments (see Figure 14.8). The 74th CA Act provides for constituting ward committees consisting of one or more wards within the municipal limits. To institutionalize community participation in the implementation of municipal functions, the State Government

FIGURE 14.5

Interaction with ward councilors

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Satisfaction about the work of ward councilors

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of Karnataka enacted the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, 2011, for the constitution of area sabha and ward sabha committees in the state of Karnataka. Further, the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Ward Committee) Rules, 2013, notified in March 2014 proposed additional amendments and recommendations with respect to the functioning of ward committees.

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FIGURE 14.9

Demand for ward sabha meetings

But unfortunately, despite several directives and government orders, the BBMP has not constituted the ward committees yet. So, it is not surprising that the demand for constituting ward committee meetings (see Figure 14.9) was strong in the wards of Chokkasandra (ranked 1), Jayanagara (ranked 2), Yeshwanthapura (ranked 3), Kempegowda (ranked 4), Uttarahalli (ranked 5) and Konanakunte (ranked 6).

FIGURE 14.10

Suggestions are incorporated into the policies

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Among 27 selected wards (see Figure 14.10), households from Kempegowda (ranked 1), HAL Airport (ranked 2), Yeshwanthapura (ranked 3), Malleshwaram (ranked 4) and Sampangiramanagara (ranked 5) were satisfied that their suggestions were incorporated into the policies implemented by the local governments.

Summary and discussion Our study demonstrates that improvements in basic services were positively correlated with local government involvement in their provision. Summarizing the findings on the state of local governance, we find that the households relied on various channels of collective conglomerations like RWAs or neighborhood associations to address their daily grievances. It is clear that the majority of respondents were not aware of the existence of RWAs in their neighborhood. Possibly due to this, many visited ward-level offices to redress their civic problems. The city is known for its civic activism for community participation and RWAs are the most prominent. They provide a participatory avenue for discussing and resolving issues on basic amenities and any other local issues. Though the residents often interacted with ward-level councilors as well as using the RWAs to redress their problems, their effectiveness in resolving the local issues was limited for the obvious reasons that the local governments are fraught with issues of inadequate finances, inefficient administration and insufficient capacity. We find that those wards with the active presence of RWAs experienced improved quality of life with efficient delivery of civic services such as water supply and maintenance of parks and playgrounds being much better than in wards that did not have a single RWA. The finding is very similar to the study by Baud and Nainan (2008) who found that from the perspective of citizenship rights, interfaces between citizens and the “invited spaces,” particularly RWAs, were expanding, yet exclusionary (with respect to slums) and moving from users to choosers groups as citizens claiming larger “political spaces.” While a majority of residents did not know about the work of their ward councilor, among those who were satisfied, the residents of both central and peripheral wards were satisfied with the work of their councilors. Those residents who strongly perceived their suggestions are incorporated belonged to both central and peripheral wards. However, the demand for improvement in the local government’s performance arose primarily from the residents of peripheral wards. As supported by other studies, the emergence of RWAs as interest groups pushing the agenda of participatory democracy led to the renewal of local democracy by inf luencing critical changes in the production of urban spaces. There is no doubt that there needs to be better information access among the people and effective institutionalization of the interface between ward-level councilors and the residents to promote “local self-governance.”

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Notes 1 Several local government bodies such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA), the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) exist with sometimes overlapping responsibilities and jurisdiction. 2 Counter-democracy as defined by Rosanvallon (2006) “is not the opposite of democracy; it is, rather, that form of democracy which contradicts the other one; the democracy of indirect powers disseminated in the social body; the democracy of organized distrust facing the democracy of electoral legitimacy” (Rosanvallon, 2006: 16 in Tawa Lama-Rewal, 2007).

References Baud, I.S.A. and J. De Wit (Eds.) (2009). New Forms of Urban Governance in India: Shifts, Models, Networks and Contestations, India: SAGE Publications. Baud, Isa and Navtej Nainan (2008). “Negotiated spaces” for Representation in Mumbai: Ward Committees, Advanced Locality Management and the Politics of Middle-Class Activism. Environment and Urbanization, 20(2): 483–499. Baud, I. S. A. and J. de Wit (2008). New Forms of Urban Governance in India. New Delhi: Sage. Chamaraj, Kathyayini and Prasanna Rao (2003). Functioning of Wards Committees in Bangalore: A Case Study. Report, Bengaluru: CIVIC. Coelho, Karen (2005). Unstating the “Public”: An Ethnography of Reform in an Urban Water Utility in South India. In: The Aid Effect: Giving and Governing in International Development, Pluto, 171–195. Coelho, K. and T. Venkat (2009). The Politics of Civil Society: Neighbourhood Associationism in Chennai. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(26/27) ( June 27–July 10, 2009): 358–367. Deepika, K.C. (2017). Now, a Federation of RWAs in the Making in Bengaluru. The Hindu. Access from: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/Now-a-fe deration-of-RWAs-in-the-making-in-Bengaluru/article17081366.ece. Harriss, John (2005). Middle Class Activism and Poor People’s Politics: An Exploration of Civil Society in Chennai. Working Paper Series No. 05-72, London: London School of Economics and Political Science. Harriss, John (2007). Political Participation, Representation and the Urban Poor: Findings from Research in Delhi. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(11) (March 12–18, 2005): 1041–1054. Kamath, Lalitha and M. Vijayabaskar (2009). Limits and Possibilities of Middle Class Associations as Urban Collective Actors. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(26–27): 368–376. Kamath, Lalitha and M. Vijayabaskar (2013). Urban Reforms and the Middle Classes: Fragmented Collective Action and the Incomplete Project of Stakeholder Participation. In: K. Coelho, L. Kamath and M. Vijayabaskar (eds.), Participolis, Consent and Contention in Neoliberal Urban Governance, pp. 151–173, New Delhi: Routledge Publication. Kennedy, Loraine (2009). New Patterns of Participation Shaping Urban Governance. In: Joel Ruet and Stephanie Tawa Lama-Rewal (eds). Governing India’s Metropolises, pp. 55–80, New Delhi: Routledge.

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Lama-Rewal, Tawa S. (2007). Neighbourhood Associations and Local Democracy: Delhi Municipal Elections 2007. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(47): 51–60. Lama-Rewal, Tawa S. (2013). Participation as a Support to Neo-Populism? The Case of the Bhagidari Scheme. In: K. Coelho, L. Kamath and M. Vijayabaskar (eds.), Participolis, Consent and Contention in Neoliberal Urban Governance, pp. 207–221, New Delhi: Routledge Publication. Mahadevia, Dharshini, Neha Bhatia and Bijal Bhatt (2014). Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) in BSUP Sites of Ahmedabad: Experiences of Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT). CUE Working paper 25, Ahmedabad: Centre for Urban Equity: CEPT University. Nair, Janaki (2006). Social Municipalism and the New Metropolis. In: Mary E. John, Praveen Kumar Jha and Surinder S. Jodhka (eds), Contested Transformations: Changing Economies and Identities in Contemporary India, pp. 125–146, New Delhi: Tulika. Paul, Samuel, Kala Seetharam Sridhar, A.Venugopala Reddy and Pavan Srinath (2012). The State of Our Cities: Evidence from Karnataka, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Rosanvallon, P. (2006). Democracy Past and Future. New York: Columbia University Press. Smitha, K.C. (2010). New Forms of Urban Localism: Service Delivery in Bangalore. Economic and Political Weekly, 45(8): 73–77. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam (2008). Better Cities: The IPL Way. Mint. ( Joint Venture Between India’s Hindustan Times and Wall Street Journal), June 2. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and A.V.Reddy (2014a). Contribution of the Urban Poor: A Pilot Study from Bengaluru, India, in Inclusive Urban Planning: State of the Urban Poor Report 2013, New Delhi: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India and Oxford University Press. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and A.V. Reddy (2014b). Contribution of the urban poor: Evidence from Chennai, India, Asia Pacific Development Journal (UNESCAP), 21(2, December): 53–76. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam, S.Manasi and K.C.Smitha (2015). Bengaluru City surveys-2, Draft Report, June: Institute for Social and Economic Change. Zerah, Marie-Hélène (2007). Middle Class Neighborhood Associations as Political Players in Mumbai. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(47): 61–68.

15 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN SHANGHAI’S URBAN REDEVELOPMENT UNDER STATELED NEOLIBERAL URBANISM Zhumin Xu

Introduction The existing literature suggests that community residents and organizations were excluded from decision-making processes in urban redevelopment and residential relocation in China under neoliberal governance (He and Wu, 2005; Ren, 2011; Shin, 2011; Weinstein and Ren, 2009). However, the role of public participation in neoliberal governance has been addressed by scholars in neoliberalism in the form of participation schemes (Tang, Wong and Lau, 2008; Jones, 2003; Vaddiraju et al., 2016). In addition, there has been limited attention to district and community-level politics in urban redevelopment in China. Scholars in political science have also inquired into the transforming role of the Chinese state to understand why China has been able to maintain strong economic growth and political stability (Heilman and Perry, 2011). The special relationship of housing requisition and public participation is what makes participation a government strategy to understand how the local government works to maintain social stability in the process of urban redevelopment. This chapter examines ideological dimensions of local government’s activities in urban governance and the role of public participation in China’s urban redevelopment. Citizen participation is defined by Arnstein (1969) as citizen power. Arnstein (1969) argues that participation without redistribution of power is an empty and frustrating process for the powerless. It is the “redistribution of power” that enables the powerless citizens, excluded from the political and economic processes, to be deliberately included to “share in the benefits of the society” (Arnstein, 1969: 216). I define citizen participation in this study as a function of both presence in decision arenas as well as impacts on decision outcomes (Arnstein, 1969). I look deep into citizen participation in urban redevelopment in Shanghai by studying its pattern and residents’ presence at the site, DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-15

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specifically understanding whether the residents attend public hearings, give opinions on relocation plans, and how they mobilize themselves toward the decision-making of housing requisition and relocation. Community participation or public engagement suggests local communities have a role in contributing local knowledge to decision-making but local communities have different assumptions with regard to the transfer of power and authorities to determine outcomes. Since inner-city redevelopments often result in improved housing conditions and better quality of the living environment for local residents (Ye, 2011), those inner-city redevelopment projects have been claimed by the state and local governments as projects for the “public interest.” Both the 2011 Regulation on Housing Requisition and Compensation on State-owned Land (State Council of China, 2011) and the Shanghai Bylaw require that all the relocation projects for inner-city renewal meet the “common good” scrutiny. The “public interest” notion, which comes out of Western liberalism tradition, argues that there are contradictions between capital accumulation and “pursuit of the common good” (Raskin, 1986: 38); struggles against capitalist accumulation depend on the exercise of collective power to reshape the processes of urbanization or urban redevelopment (Harvey, 2008). Therefore Ye (2011: 346) argues that the key to urban redevelopment and regeneration in China is to develop a scheme in which the government, private developers and residents act collaboratively to “develop equitable compensation, relocation and redevelopment policies and implement the policies efficiently and effectively.” Centered on a case study, this research examines what roles the state and local authorities play in housing requisition, and how this is associated with urban redevelopment regimes under changing governance. While there is increasing focus in the development and planning literature on participatory approaches to urban redevelopment, not much literature exists on the internal dynamics of urban redevelopment (Lin, 2009, 2015) and how the redevelopment policies are implemented to meet the interests of different stakeholders on the local level, with much literature discussing it on the municipal level, rather than the district or community level. Scholars have addressed the missing roles of the community in urban redevelopment regimes. Zhang (2002a) argued that the motivation for and consequences of redeveloping Shanghai revealed the characteristics of a socialist regime featuring successful government intervention, active business cooperation, limited community participation and uneven distribution of benefits and costs of new developments. In addition, Yan et al. (2011) argued that due to the limits on resident participation, there is a loss of interest and benefits from urban redevelopment in China. Under the new regulations of 2011, government intervention remained strong at the municipal and district levels, while community participation continued to be limited. The excluded actors of the housing requisition projects were those people who were not able to register in the neighborhood – such as the f loating population or renters (Xu, 2015).

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This chapter examines the roles that district government and community residents have played in transforming the structure of the metropolis in response to local and global development pressures. The chapter takes a critical look at the changing role of the state and decentralized urban governance in the urban redevelopment of Shanghai.

Towards a better framework of urban redevelopment regime Regime theory helps to understand urban politics in a period characterized by changing forms of urban governance (Stoker and Mossberger, 1994). A regime involves not just any informal group that comes together to make a decision but an informal, yet relatively stable group with access to institutional resources (Stone, 1989). To Stone (1989), regimes are the mediating agents between the ill-defined pressures of an urban environment and the making of community policy. Regimes concerned with property development become dependent upon capital resources rather than popular participation (Stoker and Mossberger, 1994). The regime approach offers a helpful perspective for analyzing the political economy of a city in transformation, as it emphasizes the construction and institutionalization of cross-sector governing coalitions (Strom, 1996). Stone (1989: 212) argued that the efficient execution of an agreed-upon project can be achieved by a relatively small body of actors, reinforced in their cohesion by selective incentives. According to regime theory, political restructuring ref lects the concerns of a governing coalition, as well as its capacity to understand and appreciate the consequences of its actions (Stone, 1993). Zhang (2002a) identified two assumptions in Stone’s (1993) regime theory to apply to the Shanghai context: (1) an urban governing coalition seeks to use political power for the purpose of social production and (2) regimes, as informal arrangements among coalition partners, are formed by government officials. Regimes, as Stone (1989) conceived them, are understood in terms of (1) who makes up the governing coalition and (2) how the coalition achieves cooperation. Both points illustrate how an unequal distribution of resources affects politics and what differences the formation in a regime makes. Stone (1993: 11) pointed out that “those with more resources, especially resources that can build additional support or advance a policy purpose, have a superior opportunity to rally support for the cause they favor.” Regimes do not directly emanate from economic globalization. However, they may be “more likely where states respond to globalization by decentralizing political power to localities than in states where the center is restructuring but retaining political power” (Davies, 2003: 266). Symbolic regimes occur in progressive cities aiming at changing the ideology of local governance, or in cities pursuing a change in image to revitalize the fortunes (Stoker and Mossberger, 1994).

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Institutional decentralization and growth coalition-building in China and Shanghai The Chinese city has three administrative levels in its urban areas: the municipal government, the urban district government and street offices. Infrastructure projects are the responsibility of the municipal government; land preparation for leasing is initiated by both the municipal and district governments; the development and management of housing projects and derelict housing clearance are under the municipal and district governments, and implemented by the district government and street offices. Since the mid-1990s, the Chinese central government has stopped allocating funds for local urban redevelopment, as a means of decentralizing its fiscal authority (Ye, 2011). Decentralization makes local efforts to foster growth more active. With decentralization, the central government adopted policies of tax sharing and shared development decision powers with local governments to promote local economic growth (Zhang, 2002a, b). Moreover, as Ye (2011: 343) argued, the financial and political relations between the local and central governments in China forced local governments to “pursue land-centered urban (re)development in order to collect significant amount of revenues from land leasing,” which Sridhar, et al. (2013) found led to significant increases in housing prices in China’s cities.

The driving forces of redevelopment in the center of Shanghai Known as China’s leading metropolis or “the Dragon Head,” Shanghai is situated on the eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The Huangpu River – a branch of the Yangtze River – divides the city into two parts, namely Pudong (east of the Huangpu River) and Puxi (west of the Huangpu River).1 Geographically, Shanghai is endowed with remarkable advantages over other cities: a favorable location, earlier and better global connections as one of China’s “Treaty Port,”2 and a concentration of talents drawn from all over the country. As one of the largest cities in the country and national economic powerhouses, Shanghai had a total population of 24 million inclusive of a large migrant population estimated at 10 million in 2017 (Shanghai Statistical Bureau, 2018). Administratively, Shanghai is composed of 16 urban districts of which the Chongming Island was originally a suburban county and was converted into a new urban district in January 2017.3 Traditionally land development was handled by public bodies or state-owned enterprises in China. In the case of the Pudong redevelopment in the 1990s, however, the local municipality could hardly obtain sufficient money from the central government, and it could not spare from its own budget either (Chen, 2007). Involving the private sector helped Shanghai to gain more knowledge of the market and experience in collaborating with the private sector in urban development and renewal. The role of Shanghai in the global economy could be explained by Sassen’s (2009) observation:

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Working and residential landscapes in Shanghai have become more visibly fragmented as a result of globally linked sectors and jobs, the inf lux of mostly poor rural migrants, the government’s plan to reduce older kinds of high-density housing in the center of the city, and the promotion of more diverse and globally oriented lifestyles. One critical strategy has been for the government and/or real estate developers to offer compensation to entice residents of older types of central city housing to vacate their homes so that their units can be replaced with new commercial towers and luxury apartment buildings. (Sassen, 2009: 21) At the district level, there is a decentralization of land lease negotiations. The district governments are the landowners so they have to pay for resettlement and have the responsibility to resettle residents and enterprises relocated by redevelopment. Districts would prefer to resettle residents on land for which they have the land use right. Districts lacking sufficient vacant land have to enter into contracts with districts that have land, paying them to resettle residents. Since land is cheaper on the outskirts of the city, district governments are more likely to supply land at locations with lower resettlement costs (Fu et al., 1999). As districts within cities become an increasingly important level of local government, they compete with one another for the revenues that can be raised. In many districts, revenues from land leases are the primary sources of financing for local services (Zhang, 2009).

State-led participation in housing requisition Stone (1989: 186) argued that the traditional solution to the collective-action problem was selective incentives; that is, to supplement group benefits by a system of individual rewards and punishment administered to support group aims. Those residents who go along with the group receive individual rewards and services; those who do not go along lose valuable economic benefits. In housing requisition projects, incentives play a large role in persuading residents to move out of their residences earlier. There is an incentive fee for the residents of certain blocks within a community who move earlier than other blocks, thus the decision-making of the residents is affected by many factors including the incentives.

The legitimacy of housing requisition projects Located in industrial Shanghai’s Yangpu District, consisting of 0.33 square kilometers and 16,000 households, Pingliang West Lot was a part of Shanghai’s municipal plan to “renovate old neighborhoods” through the demolition of large patches of land filled with old alleyways. The government was to stash away the empty land and auction it off to developers for the professed purpose of

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improving the livelihoods of the residents who would get cash compensation or move into modern apartments in the suburbs. Pingliang Blocks 2 and 3 were located on the riverside of Yangpu. Some open-air farmers’ markets, low-end retail shops and community alcohol stores were located in the area. The food street crossing the area was famous for seafood in Shanghai, and the street was closed for urban redevelopment in this area. The demographic information of the community was not available to the public, thus I used the demographic information for the whole Street Office of Pingliang. Around 15 percent of low-income residents could get the bonus compensation for the disadvantaged. For example, if each member of the household on average received less than 220,000 RMB, which is the minimum compensation cutting line for this project, the disadvantaged group, such as seniors, the disabled and veterans, would receive the exact amount of 220,000 RMB per person. This happens when the number of people registered in the household is large but the f loor area of the apartment is relatively small: We have four households under one property title. I am no longer living here. I used to live in the attic on the third f loor. We could hardly stand up in the attic, so I changed the structure and made the storey as high as the first and second f loor. In the 1980s I wrote to the housing authorities to make the f loor area officially confirmed after the staff from the housing authorities checked the f loor area for me. I did not realize that I would get compensation from today’s relocation project at that time. As we only have the use right of the housing, I was thinking I made a contribution and renovated the housing for the government. (Interview with Resident) The state regulation on housing requisition provided some residents with an opportunity to make a profit from housing requisition rather than to improve their living conditions because they would probably stay in other parts of the city, which was presumably preferable to the resettlement housing. One of the stated purposes of the housing requisition policy is to improve the living condition of relocated residents. Although the residents living off-site could rent the resettlement housing to immigrants or just take the cash compensation, they could be more satisfied with housing requisition in terms of the economic benefit, while their living condition still might not improve.

The impact of resettlement housing In the Pingliang Blocks 2 and 3 project, around 75 percent of residents pre-signed the contracts before the official signing day on September 12, 2014 (Table 15.1). According to the policy adopted by the Yangpu District, 2,000 households who already signed the contract needed to draw an order to select their resettlement apartments. Relocated residents gathered around the place where the ballot was

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TABLE 15.1 Pingliang project timeline

Year

2003

2004

2013

2014

1. On June 3, The district First 1. The developer The developer the district government quit because of stage successfully government started the shortage of leased the restarted the making the development land from the redevelopment relocation funding. government. and relocation plan and 2. The district project. applied for a government loan from the 2. First-round public initiated voting started state-owned the housing on June 9 and bank. demolition reached 97% in project. one week. On September 12, The project The district Second 1,000 the second public government aborted. stage households hearing started received the (roughly and it reached loan from the 25% of the 85% on October bank using community) 10. government relocated in guarantees. 2003. Source: created by author with data from the Yangpu District.

going on. Only one representative from each household was allowed to enter the hall to do the draw. However, some residents mentioned that the 78 percent might not be real as residents figured out fewer neighbors than they expected actually signed the contracts. Some people complained about the rule of the game that those who did not sign before the first official signing day could not choose the locations of their resettlement apartments.

The selection of appraisal company Voting for the appraisal company happened on June 19, 2014, and each household had one ticket to enter a temporary meeting site adapted from a parking lot where they could draw the vote for the appraisal company (they had to select one out of five companies). Both Pingliang Blocks 2 and 3 started the process at the same time. The two lots finished the first round of public hearings on June 11, 2014. Over 90 percent of them agreed to move. Some residents mentioned that those whose housing condition was acceptable did not want to relocate because they enjoyed the easy location of the residence. Many residents came to the voting site by private cars, which meant a certain percentage of residents did not live in the area anymore. The surrounding areas of the housing requisition projects were filled with cars. The voting event started at 7 pm and continued till 8 pm, lasting for one hour. Police and security staff had to maintain order on the site

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because thousands of residents were around the area. Five stakeholders were supposed to be present on the rostrum; representatives from the Pingliang Street office, the No. 1 Resident Committee, and Yangpu District Housing Bureau, the developer and the lawyer. Some residents left immediately after they cast their vote at 7:05 pm before the final results came out. I asked them why they did not wait for the voting results on-site and they responded that it did not matter; the company might be selected beforehand if it had a close relationship with the district government. It took time for the district government to regain the trust of the relocated residents because the relocation process was not transparent before the new regulations. When the selection result was announced and the appraisal company was selected, some residents were not sure whether the whole process was fair although they were watching the process. Residents had the right to vote, but the result was given by the staff who counted the ballot in a circled area. Some residents questioned since the selected company, Shen Yang Property Company, was associated with the Yangpu District, and there could be a potential conf lict of interest. The residents were concerned whether the company would assess the housing fairly. Other residents argued that it was not a big deal which company was selected because the prices of the housing would be assessed in a certain range (Observation, 2014). The final compensation package was a big deal but not the housing price alone. Some residents felt the voting process provided a platform for the residents to share the information and at least communicate with each other because some of the neighbors moved out earlier while others never talked to neighbors before.

The story of resident Wang (pseudonym) Resident Wang’s family had seven people registered in one household and its f loor area was 52 square meters. Wang was born in this neighborhood and stayed there for over 40 years and used to be an engineer working in the space satellite field. Wang was not among the first few who pre-signed the contract with the government before the official signing date because he did not have other apartments in the city and he had more concerns about the location of resettlement housing. When asked about how his household would share the compensation benefits from relocation, Wang mentioned that while everyone would get some compensation, it was not enough. He was planning to get a three-bedroom apartment in the Baoshan District for himself, and his brother would get a two-bedroom apartment, given his family size. Wang was concerned that they were being compensated with a smaller than average package. The district government tried to use a pilot study for this project, one big piece of cake, which meant they would not walk into each household solving conf licts among family members. Instead, one household got one compensation package to be divided amongst the family members (Interview with resident). In contrast, in the socialist regime, staff from

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the resident committees used to take care of everyone and helped to solve the conf licts among the family members within a household. The compensation package was determined by the government according to regulations and formulas: We are in the community of interests. We released the compensation amount a month ago. You calculated by yourself according to the regulations and the formula they provided. If the total amount is almost the same, then it is done. If not, that means you are smarter than them. The working staff did this for long, and if you can get different numbers according to those formulas, it is not easy. (Interview with resident) Wang was not quite satisfied with the relocation and compensation scheme, and he did an analysis for the advantaged residents and the disadvantaged for relocation: It is complex. Moving into a bigger apartment is better but we will lose lots of the life here. My mother-in law is 98 and we will not move into the outskirts as she is used to the life with good health-care facility in the city center. Our area is a very good location because it is close to the Huangpu River where the district government will have the waterfront redevelopment projects here. We can go to other places in Shanghai from all four directions but if we move to the outskirt for example the eastnorth Baoshan District, we can only go out to one direction – the city center, other directions will go out of the city, where we usually do not go because all of our family members are living in Shanghai. The neighbors here are helpful and we will not have those close neighbors in the new neighborhood. (Interview with resident) However, Wang did not visit the district government or talk to his neighbors about his experience in the housing relocation project. He used some of his personal relations as he mentioned, “I know people from other demolition companies. We talked a lot. I thought it over and over. Then I talked to the working staff here for our project and they had some feedback for me.” The interaction between the expert who had worked in this field for a long time and this knowledge helped Wang make his decision. Wang felt he got the right information by himself. He understood how the power was decentralized from the municipal government to the district government and from the district government to the street office; therefore he thought there was no need to talk to the officials at the municipal and district level. Wang believed he should make decisions by himself and his next step would be leasing an apartment in the close-by area. At that point, although he had not signed the contract with the government, he felt the

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project would reach 85 percent participation from residents finally (Interview with resident). As for the resettlement housing, Wang mentioned that residents would get relocation housing built in the outskirts in two years and his mother-in-law would have to stay in the same location. For his own family, wife and 21-year-old daughter, he would like to choose one three-bedroom apartment in the Baoshan District after serious consideration and visiting all the resettlement housing sites. Wang considered the structure of apartments in the Baoshan District to be the best. Also, the district government priced the resettlement housing at different prices for different locations. The housing price of resettlement units in the same district (Yangpu) was close to the market price, around RMB 20,000 Yuan/m 2 in 2014. Wang thought the resettlement housing located in the same district was too expensive for his family. There was less incentive for popular resettlement housing. His favorite choice in the Luodian, Baoshan District cost RMB 8,500 Yuan/m 2. Wang further explained (Interview with resident): Only households with more than 5 people can have three-bedroom apartments. Less than 4 people can get two-bedroom apartments. If you have only one resident registered in one household, you would better get one apartment in the same district in the Yangpu District which is more expensive but not large compared to those in the outskirts. Yes, the government regards this as fair that you are not allowed to pay much more than standard to get three-bedroom apartment. The subsidized resettlement housing has limited supply. When commenting on how to get the resettlement housing Wang would like to get, Wang mentioned that relocated residents had to sign the contract before they had the opportunity to select the apartments. Wang regarded this process as reasonable. Some people do not know the policy, and they are trapped. When they pre-signed the contracts, they put information such as two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartment and the name of the district but did not know which specific apartment they would get. The residents had to draw the ballot and select the apartments. “If someone else gets it, we have to choose another suit of housing,” Wang mentioned, “And I think it is fair enough. If you are lucky, you can get the apartment you want. In the past, if you knew some officials or managers, you would get a better compensation package.”

Trust or mistrust – mobilizing residents Relocated residents normally gathered together in groups of five to ten members in the community discussing the relocation issues. In most cases, the residents were complaining about the compensation package or comparing the benefits in the Pingliang project with those in other projects. The residents also discussed resettlement housing issues and compared which locations could be

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better in terms of the environment, housing structure and subway connections (Observation, 2014; Interview with resident and official). Some residents printed out news downloaded from the internet regarding the relocation policies and sold them to the other residents for 0.20 RMB yuan (the cost of printing one piece of paper). A judge from the Supreme Court introduced in an interview by the national TV stations stated that the compensation package from a housing requisition project should refer to the market housing price of the commercial housing in the same locations. According to the Second Article of the 2011 Regulation, if the compensation package is lower than the market cost of replacement housing, even if it involves thousands of residents, it will be revoked. Some residents believed this information after reading the material handed out by the neighbors, other residents questioned that it was still too general that it did not mention the housing size and some other criteria. Finally, those residents felt that they could hardly argue with the government, using this evidence (Interview with resident).

Fairness Before the 2011 Regulation, residents who stayed to the end received more compensation. Therefore the majority of the residents would rather stay. It was interesting that the project lasted for a long time period, over several years even. Both municipal and district governments understood they could no longer work in this way to conduct a housing requisition project. Moreover, residents did not trust the government anymore as they believed that they could stay to the last minute and bargain for more (Interview with resident and official). Furthermore, the old regulation was not good for the building of the government image. The district government was hesitant to undertake too much forced relocation (Interview with resident). At the experimental stage of the 2011 regulations, the percentage set by the government for the second round hearing was 70 percent consent rather than 85 percent consent of the community residents. It was not feasible because the more residents stayed in the community; the more it cost the government to solve the remaining issues (Interview with project manager). Some residents complained that households who did not pre-sign the contract within the time period (ten days for this project) the government set for the purpose, would not be able to select the resettlement apartments they liked. They argued that everyone should have the same opportunities to select resettlement housing (Interview with official; Observation, 2014). It was rather a different set of factors that forced residents to sign the contract earlier than the stipulated deadline, with the district government. Another prominent contradiction for residents in the housing requisition project was family conf lict. Some families could not decide who should get the resettlement housing, especially for those big families with several generations whose parents had passed away. The old regulation before 2011 usually compensated up to three families registered in the same household. This Pingliang

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project under the new 2011 regulations provided a compensation package to only one household no matter how many people were registered in it (Interview with resident).

Discussions and conclusions The more “participatory” approaches to housing requisition opened participation channels for the residents allowing them to participate more actively in the relocation and requisition process. It showed that the more the district government contributed to the preparation of a housing requisition project, the fewer conf licts would rise and residents were more likely to relocate and leave the old apartments. The preparation could be measured by having more financial support, more resettlement housing sites and more public hearings for residents’ comments. Nevertheless, in housing requisition projects, those who were not registered in the neighborhood had no voting rights or compensation. They were either immigrants from other cities or apartment renters leasing from registered residents. These people had to look for residences on their own without any financial assistance. The housing requisition regulation or policy did not cover this group of people. The excluded actors could not make or gain a voice in the decision-making process of housing requisition for urban redevelopment. Residents with property stakes received compensation from the housing requisition projects. The transparency of the policy made it more a neighborhoodbased process of compensation negotiation with the district government hosting public hearings for the residents. Before the 2011 regulations, the negotiation was an informal process carried out on a one-to-one basis between residents and the district government. The district government employed strategies such as adding compensation for residents who moved out earlier, which affected the decisionmaking of residents, especially those who had other properties in the city. This strategy made the participation process more efficient. The district government also provided more compensation to the disadvantaged groups including seniors, the disabled and veterans. This showed a social welfare approach to compensate the disadvantaged through housing requisition projects rather than through a social welfare channel. The Chinese government still considered housing as a social welfare issue when it transferred towards a neoliberal path of urban governance. The factors inf luencing residents’ participation in urban redevelopment can be understood in Hirschman’s (1970) exit-voice-loyalty model. Hirschman (1970) argues that there are two ways by which people may address the declining performance of a firm, organization or state. To “exit” means to abandon it. Hirschman (1970: 30) defined “voice” as any attempt at all to change, rather than to escape from, an objectionable state of affairs, whether through individual or collective petition to the management, through appeal to a higher authority with the intention of forcing a change in management, or through various types

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of actions and protests. Hirschman (1970: 77) defined loyalty as a “special attachment to an organization.” In Hirschman’s model, loyalty increases the likelihood of pursuing voice by effectively reducing the costs of the action. Due to the legacy of China’s political history, the cost of pursuing the voice option in China is higher than choosing the exit option. Relocated residents adopt strategies such as mobilizing around the neighbors, sending letters or making visits to the government departments (petitioning), or conducting informal discussions with government officials. Relocated residents could change the redevelopment and compensation plans; however, there was no open channel for residents to get involved in making the plans. The power relations are still dominated by the district and municipal government. In conclusion, this chapter examined the complex nature of housing requisition and the extent of residents’ consultation and participation in the Yangpu District. Two reasons explained ineffective participation from the residents in housing requisition in Shanghai. First, the participation schemes act as procedures, which do not meet the expectations of the relocated residents. Second, the level of economic compensation plays a more important role, however, the relationship between people and their home is also important in the housing requisition; the new compensation schemes sometimes neglect the important aspects of an effective participation mechanism.

Notes 1 Based on official designations, stratified geographical zones in the city of Shanghai could be named as city-core, outer-core, near suburbs and outer suburbs. The bund (Waitan) is a waterfront area in the city-core of Shanghai in the Huangpu District. This area is centered around a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement. Puxi is distinguished from Pudong to its east, which is separated by the Huangpu River. 2 In 1842, the British established the first five treaty ports in China at the conclusion of the First Opium War by the Treaty of Nanking. The Treaty established five treaty ports in Shanghai, Canton (Guangzhou), Ningpo (Ningbo), Fuchow (Fuzhou) and Amoy (Xiamen). 3 The urban districts are namely Huangpu, Xuhui, Changning, Jing’an, Zhabei, Hongkou, Yangpu, Minhang, Baoshan, Jiading, Jinshan, Qingpu, Songjiang, Fengxian and the Pudong New Area. The Huangpu District is the result of the merger of three long-standing districts of Shanghai: Nanshi, Huangpu and Luwan. The Nanhui District was merged into Pudong New Area in May 2009. In November 2015, the Zhabei District merged with Jing’an District into a new Jing’an District. The suburban county Chongming was established in 1396. In 2016 Chongming was approved by the state council to be upgraded into an urban district of Shanghai; the district government was formally established in January 2017. As a result, Shanghai now has had 16 urban districts.

References Arnstein, S. (1969) A Ladder of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4): 216–224.

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Chen, Y. (2007) Shanghai Pudong: Urban Development in an Era of Global-local Interaction, Netherlands: ISO, Delft University Press. Davies, J. (2003) Partnerships versus Regimes: Why Regime Theory Cannot Explain Urban Coalitions in the UK. Journal of Urban Affairs, 25(3): 253–270. Fu, Y., Somerville, T. and Gu, M. (1999) Land Use Rights, Government Land Supply, and the Pattern of Redevelopment in Shanghai. International Real Estate Review, 2(1): 49–78. He, S. and Wu, F. (2005) Property-Led Redevelopment in Post-Reform China: A Case Study of Xintiandi Project Redevelopment in Shanghai. Journal of Urban Affairs, 27(1): 1–23. Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City. New Left Review, 23–40. Heilman, S. and Perry, J. (2011) Mao’s Invisible Hand: The Political Foundations of Adaptive Governance in China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center. Hirschman, A. (1970) Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States, 1st edition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England. Jones, P. (2003) Urban Regeneration’s Poisoned Chalice: Is There an Impasse in (Community) Participation-Based Policy? Urban Studies, 40(3): 581–601. Lin, G. (2009) Developing China: Land, Politics and Social Conditions. London and New York: Routledge. Lin, G. (2015) The Redevelopment of China’s Construction Land: Practising Land Property Rights in Cities through Renewals. The China Quarterly, 224: 865–887. Raskin, M. (1986) The Common Good. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Ren, X. (2011) Building Globalization: Transnational Architecture Production in Urban China. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. Sassen, S. (2009) The Global City Perspective. In: Chen, Xiangming (Ed.) Shanghai Rising: State Power and Local Transformations in a Global Megacity, pp. 3–29. University Of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. Shanghai Statistical Yearbook (2011–2016) http://www.stats-sh.gov.cn/data/toTjnj.xht ml?y=2016. Shin, H. (2011) Right to the City and Critical Reflections on Property Rights Activism in China’s Urban Renewal Contexts. Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics: London. Sridhar, Kala, S. Gu, and S. Yao (2013). Land Sales as a Public Financing Tool in China and India. In: Bin Wu, Shujie Yao and Jian Chen (Eds.) China’s Development and Harmonization, pp.160–179. London: Routledge. State Council of China (2011) Regulation of Housing Requisition and Compensation on State-Owned Land (In Chinese). http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2011-01/21/conten t_1790111.htm. Stoker, G. and Mossberger, K. (1994) Urban Regime Theory in Comparative Perspective. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 12(2): 195–212. Stone, C. (1989) Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. Stone, C. (1993) Urban Regimes and the Capacity to Govern: A Political Economy Approach. Journal of Urban Affairs, 15(1): 1–28. Strom, E. (1996) In Search of the Growth Coalition: American Urban Theories and the Redevelopment of Berlin. Urban Affairs Review, 31(4): 455–481. Tang, B., Wong, S. and Lau, M. C. (2008) Social Impact Assessment and Public Participation in China: A Case Study of Land Requisition in Guangzhou. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 28(1): 57–72.

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Vaddiraju, A. S. N. Sangita and Kala Sridhar (Eds) (2016) Urban Governance in Karnataka and Bengaluru: Global Changes and Local Impacts. UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Weinstein, L. and Ren, X. (2009) The Changing Right to the City: Urban Renewal and Housing Rights in Globalizing Shanghai and Mumbai. City and Community, 8(4): 407–432. Xu, Z. (2015) Citizen Participation in Housing Requisition in Shanghai. China City Planning Review 24(4): 65–71. Yan, R., Zhou, S. and Yan, X. (2011) Research on Urban Redevelopment in China. Progress in Geography, 30(8): 947–955 (In Chinese). Ye, L. (2011) Urban Regeneration in China: Policy, Development, and Issues. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, 26(5): 337–347. Zhang, T. (2002a) Urban Development and a Socialist Pro-Growth Coalition in Shanghai. Urban Affairs Review, 37(4): 475–499. Zhang, T. (2002b) Decentralization, Localization, and the Emergence of a QuasiParticipatory Decision-Making Structure in Urban Development in Shanghai. International Planning Studies, 7(4): 303–323. Zhang, T. (2009) Striving to Be a Global City from Below: The Restructuring of Shanghai’s Urban Districts. In: Chen, Xiangming (Ed) Shanghai Rising: State Power and Local Transformations in a Global Megacity pp. 157–189. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

16 IMMUNIZATION FOR MEGACITIES Issues and strategies to reach urban poor in Bangalore Vahini Aravind

Introduction The 20th century witnessed rapid urbanization due to various economic, socialpolitical policies and transformation. The 2011 census report projected the urban population as 37.7 crores or 31.16 percent of the population, although Sridhar (2020) and other government documents have argued that India would have been more than 50 percent urban even as of 2011 if its definition of urban were to be more liberal. As per the UN’s projection, if India’s urban population grows at this rate then 46 percent of the population will be living in urban areas by 2030. Due to rapid urbanization, there is an inf lux in migration, an expansion of city boundaries and a parallel rise in slum population and urban poverty. Expensive private healthcare, lack of information and assistance, social exclusion and perceived poor service lead to poor performance of health indicators in urban areas compared to that in rural areas. Since 1900 India has been practicing vaccination. During the 1940s it became popular when it was used to combat smallpox. In 1962, BCG immunization was included in the National Tuberculosis Control Program. A formal program under the name of the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) was launched in 1978 which was concentrated on urban areas with limited reach. This gained momentum in 1985 under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP). In 1986 technology mission on immunization was introduced to monitor the coverage of infants. UIP was merged with the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Program (CSSM) in 1992–1993. Since 1997 immunization activities have been an important component of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Program. A National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) was set up in 2003, and a Mid-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) was developed in 2004. Since April 2005, immunization has been an important component of RCH DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-16

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II under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) (Agarwal, 2008). The Government of India declared 2012 as the “Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization.” In 2013, India, along with the Southeast Asia region, declared its commitment toward measles elimination and rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) control by 2020.

Objectives In the present study, the existing urban health programs and immunization in Bangalore were evaluated to understand the challenges in reaching out to the needy and to evolve possible strategic solutions. In this background, the present study examines the concerns of urban immunization and explores the need for urban-specific strategies to reach the unreached. The specific objectives are to know the urban health programs, to gather information related to immunization programs of government-specific to urban areas, to explore the concerns of urban immunization and to find out the effective strategies to reach the marginalized and slum people with appropriate information services. To fulfill the objectives, primary data was collected from the respondents which included personnel working at different levels of the health system through in-depth interviews. The document analysis was done to understand the expected level of achievement and the actual achievement along with the plan of action. The case study of Mission Indradhanush was done to analyze the mission’s mode activities and its mode of implementation to cover the gap. The research has identified the successful practices and the techniques of designing the implementation plans to reach the underserved urban poor.

Scope of the study There is a requirement for different kinds of mobilization and motivation strategies for the urban poor. The integration of the needs of the urban poor into an urban health plan is one of the necessities to enhance the health delivery system. The present study contributes to developing strategies with respect to policy and practice along with communication strategies to reach the unreached by exploring the problems from the execution point of view.

Chapter overview The chapter has dealt with each objective beginning with the focus on urban health programs. First, there is a compilation of immunization activities in megacities, followed by a literature review. Then a section focuses on the methodology adopted by the study, followed by the analysis of findings pertaining to the health department structure in BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), strategies adopted, issues in immunization programs implementation, challenges of Universal Immunization Program implementation, innovative

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strategies adopted in Bengaluru and communication strategies to fulfill the expected level of achievements. The chapter concludes with the policy implications of the work.

Policies and communication strategies related to immunization in India The National Health Policy 2002 made provisions for universal immunization of children against vaccine-preventable diseases. The country developed a comprehensive multi-year Strategic Plan for Immunization in 2005, which was revised in 2013. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also revised the National Vaccine Policy in 2011. The strategy included policy-making and guidance for consistent information activity through coherent messaging. The communication strategy considered media advocacy, proactive planning and effective media response. It was believed that media can create awareness, thus motivating people to demand immunization services, sustain and report vaccine-related features and timely completion of routine immunization schedules for their children and build grounds for new vaccines. In the National Health Mission, immunization comes under reproductive and child health programs. This division takes care of activities related to routine immunization, campaigns (supplementary immunization activities) such as for polio, measles and Japanese encephalitis, monitoring adverse events following immunization (AEFI), vaccine and cold chain logistics, strategic communication and training related to immunization programs. The immunization in the past concentrated on rural areas. However, concern over urban immunization activity has grown due to rapid urbanization in the country posing different challenges. There cannot be uniform strategies of reaching everyone with respect to health service delivery as there are urbanspecific issues and patterns that require specially designed plans and policies. Though the health service reach and coverage is higher in urban areas, the gaps are masked and non-delivery of service is mostly not reported. Availability of service, accessibility, awareness and time can still be a challenge in reaching the urban poor and slum dwellers. The service delivery strategy requires careful consideration of various urban-specific issues to make the program a success.

Literature review Polio eradication in India became possible because of the support of a social mobilization and behavior change communication strategy, which encompassed a range of equity-focused community engagement efforts to overcome the challenges in the most at-risk communities (Weiss et al. 2013). Studies of polio campaigns found that the resistance to immunization was associated with religion. Therefore social mobilization was deemed to be the inevitable resort to reach the underserved communities.

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Polio programs demonstrated key strategies such as evidence-based communication planning and micro-planning, development and maintenance of interpersonal communication skills for mobilization of individuals and groups, strong outreach and advocacy, systematic building of an effective partnership for communication and strong supervision and accountability for action which can be adopted for universal immunization programs (Deutsch et al., 2017). An experimental study conducted in two districts of Addis Ababa of Ethiopia. In this study the intervention group received a reminder sticker and the control group did not. All other services were identical. The study concluded that the reminder sticker is effective in reducing immunization dropout rates (Berhane, Y., & Pickering, J., 1993). As of 2016, in Uttar Pradesh, 49,266 inf luencers were identified and engaged by the SMNs (Social Mobilization Networks) to systematically support polio immunization and the Universal Immunization Program. These included religious leaders, doctors and health practitioners, quacks and rural medical practitioners, teachers, government workers, community-based women groups, Panchayat Raj Institution officials, community leaders and elected representatives, shopkeepers and brick-kiln owners (UNICEF, 2016). The key findings of the Health of the Urban Poor (HUP) Project revealed that the multiplicity of media channels, high media access and penetration in cities were juxtaposed with the poverty of health information and skills among the urban poor. Evidence from a number of studies point to the inadequate and low quality of outreach and behavior change communication (BCC) services provided to the urban poor. Overall, communication or information, education and communication (IEC, as it is popularly known) is a highly neglected area of work within health programs, and more so in the urban area. The program is crippled by poor staffing (some of the project states have staffing which is 6 percent of the total posts sanctioned) and capacity within government systems. Further undermining the program is the extremely low priority given to this program component and the perception that it does not require specific training or skills (Population Council, 2010).

Methodology of study The present study is qualitative in nature. In-depth interviews were carried out with 65 health officers and managers to understand the needs of developing urban-specific strategies. The relevant policy documents at the international and national levels were evaluated to understand the existing plan and execution methods. The data were collected from Bangalore as it is the capital city of Karnataka with all necessary categories of target groups. Even though capital cities have a number of advantages, as pointed out by Sridhar and Wan (2010), they have special challenges like illegal settlements and newly expanded zones along with nomadic populations. The Mission Indradhanush campaign is taken

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as a case study in this chapter to understand its strategy and contribution to filling the gaps of routine immunization in Bangalore. The data from the health department was compared for the performance evaluation at different levels. Thus enumerated data was evaluated and interpreted to arrive at conclusions about each objective.

Analysis of fndings Over a period of time, the approach to child health has seen a paradigm shift. The paradigm shift is observed from vertical program to integrated service delivery, from camp to client orientation, target to goal orientation and quantitative to qualitative orientation. This has provided improved results though the implementation had challenges to make health department human resources understand and execute the essence of it. According to the plan of the health department, immunization, intrauterine devices (IUD) and sterilization camp concepts are complemented by a full range of reproductive and child health services based on the needs of specific geographic areas. In a target-oriented approach, the concentration was to arrive at certain numbers rather than question or revisit its purpose. The performance was judged based on numbers, characterized by a top-down approach in execution and target driven. However, in a goal-oriented approach, the performance is evaluated based on the quality of service, information f low from bottom to top, client need and the extent to which community participation is encouraged and facilitated to achieve the target.

Health programs for urban populations Some of the government health programs are the World Bank–funded Karnataka Health System Development Project, the Karnataka Health System Development and Reforms Project and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, to name a few. Presently all health programs are executed under NUHM. The public health wing of the urban health system implements national programs like the Reproductive and Child Health Program (RCH), Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program, National Immunization Program, Pulse Polio Program, National Vector-Borne Diseases Control Program (NVBDCP), Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), HIV-AIDS Control Program, National Leprosy Control Program (NLCP), Communicable Diseases Control Program (CDCP), Human Rabies Control Program, National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) and Food Safety Program, etc. The public health wing also undertakes health checkups for municipal solid waste management workers, general health check-up camps, the Bangalore Healthy Urbanization Project (BHUP), the Cancer Detection Program (CDC), a nutrition awareness program, awareness campaigns about violence against women under the

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Domestic Violence Act, Yoga for high school children, the Vajpayee Arogyashree Program, a thyroid disease screening program, non-ICDS screening, etc. Under Reproductive and Child Health Program care, the state health department takes care of family planning, child survival and safe motherhood, client approaches to healthcare and the prevention/management of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Government schemes under the RCH program are the Maternal and Child Tracking System (MCTS), Taayi Card, Janani Suraksha Yojane ( JSY), Madilu Yojane, Prasuthi Aaraike, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakrama ( JSSK), family planning incentives, Suvarna Arogya Chaithanya Karyakrama (school health program), Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), quarterly health check-up, immunization and the follow-up of severely malnourished children.

Immunization programs by the BBMP health department The routine immunization program includes BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin), DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus toxoid), OPV (oral polio vaccine), measles, hepatitis B, TT (tetanus toxoid), JE vaccination (in selected high disease burden districts), Hib containing the pentavalent vaccine (DPT+HepB+Hib), diseases protected by vaccination under UIP (which are diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis [commonly known as brain fever], meningitis and pneumonia caused by the Haemophilus influenzae type). Karnataka has different surveillance models for vaccine-preventable diseases with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP). The child survival elements included in health planning are essential newborn care, prevention and management of vaccine-preventable diseases, urban measles campaign, neonatal tetanus elimination, surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases, cold chain system, pulse polio program, acute respiratory infection control program, diarrhea control program, oral rehydration salts (ORS) program, prevention and control of vitamin A deficiency among children and the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). To fill the gap in immunization the central health department introduced the Mission Indradhanush (MI) program in selected cities. Bangalore is one of the cities in which the Mission Indradhanush is implemented in the first phase. Mission Indradhanush was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on December 25, 2014, to increase the immunization coverage and fill the gaps of routine immunization. The main objective was to cover all children who were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated by 2020. MI Phase I was started as a weeklong special intensified immunization drive and with a campaign mode. In the first three phases, 28.7 lakh immunization sessions were conducted, covering 2.1 crore children, of which 55 lakh were fully immunized. The special immunization campaign targeted high-risk areas, urban slums with migration, construction sites, underserved and hard-to-reach populations. In Karnataka, Bangalore Urban is one of the districts covered in

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this program. The data revealed that the MI had achieved considerable success by vaccinating around 13 lakh children and 2.7 lakh pregnant women in four years in Karnataka including Bangalore Urban district. An intensive training program was conducted for health workers. An accountability framework was established through a task force.

Strategies adopted by the health department The strategies adopted in urban areas are bottom-up planning, community need assessment approaches, decentralized participatory planning and implementation, strengthening infrastructure, integrated training packages, improved management systems, interventions, monitoring and evaluation. The new strategy also includes constituting empowered action groups, clustering border districts, integrated management of childhood illness, etc. The evaluation of the information revealed that at a policy level the plans look very fancy, however, the actual implementation demands solving many issues and considering development support activities. The MI campaign sought inter-sectoral coordination and got 11 other departments involved in the execution of campaign objectives. Intensified MI was closely monitored at the district, state and central levels at regular intervals. Further, it was reviewed at the national level and will continue to be monitored at the highest level under a special initiative called Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI). This had made the health workforce more responsible and efficient.

Health facilitating structure in BBMP BBMP serves eight zones catering to a population of 8.7 million with its health programs. There are 26 maternity homes, six referral hospitals and 86 urban primary health centers under the Bangalore metropolitan corporation jurisdiction. There are 961 private health centers (BBMP health department, as of September 3, 2018).

Issues in immunization programs’ implementation The data reveals that there is an acute shortage of human resources in the BBMP health department. In the areas where BBMP serves, it is facing a huge human resource crisis. Among regular doctors, there is a 71 percent vacancy. There are 18 contractual doctors and the majority are retired. There is no regular performance appraisal. Among doctors, there is a high attrition rate. At urban primary health centers (UPHC), lady health visitor (LHV) posts are 100 percent vacant, therefore reporting is very difficult with no regular supervision or monitoring. At a supervisory structure at the zone level, there are no block health education officers (BHEO), Sr HAs (senior health attendants) or lady health visitors at

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the block level and MOHs are burdened with other activities. Among auxiliary nursing midwifery (ANMs), there is 54 percent vacancy amongst sanctioned posts. Amongst contractual employees hired by the National Health Mission, there is a high attrition rate and vacancies. There is a separate pay scale for NHM staff. Total auxiliary nursing midwifery needed as per norms (1/10,000 population) is 586 thus there is 50 percent vacancy in the auxiliary nursing midwifery category. Presently 640 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) are working out of 860 required. Data revealed that two to three ANMs are serving 80,000 to 100,000 people in one or two wards (see Table 16.1). As per Health Management Information System (HMIS) data from April to August 2018, 5,997 immunization sessions were held. There are fixed sessions and outreach sessions. During the period from April to August, all sessions were held as per the fixed schedule (see Table 16.2). The health managers revealed that staff shortage ends up with inadequate delivery of health services. There was a lack of training to convince the target population due to language problems, knowledge and communication skills. The human resource shortage also leads to a lack of monitoring and evaluation from time to time, thus leading to less accountability. For a certain period of time, polio was overemphasized and it adversely affected routine immunization. This also inf luenced the target group as they perceived that only polio vaccine was necessary. Only special drives can take care of inter-sectoral coordination whereas routine immunizations do not get support from external players. It is challenging for the health workers to convince the parents who TABLE 16.1 Human resource status in the BBMP health department

BBMP

Non-government organization National Health Mission State supported

Total

Source: BBMP Health.

Sanctioned In position Vacant Sanctioned In position Vacant Sanctioned In position Vacant Sanctioned In position Vacant Sanctioned In position Vacant

Medical officers (actual number of posts)

Lady health visitors (actual number of posts)

Junior health attendants (F)

62 18 44 13 11 2 9 25 –16 2 2 0 86 56 30

48 0 48 13 10 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 63 12 51

186 86 100 39 30 9 0 172 –172 6 5 1 231 293 –62

Source: BBMP Health.

86,478 86,478 86,478 86,478 86,478 86,478

BCG LPV1 LPV3 MR 1 MR 2 DPT

8,401 16,173 16,918 20,796 19,807 20,075

BBMP

Expected level of Achievement

Vaccine 13,524 12,815 12,586 12,621 8,423 8,836

Private hospitals

Achievement

Vaccination sessions during 2018–2019

13,082 2,609 1,973 1,939 1,565 1,046

Government hospitals

TABLE16.2 Number of vaccination administrations in BBMP during 2018–2019

35,007 31,597 31,477 35,356 29,795 29,957

Total 40.48 36.53 36.39 41% 34% 35%

% 36,032 36,032 36,032 36,033 36,033 36,033

Target

35,007 31,597 31,477 35,356 29,795 29,957

Achievement

April to August 2018

97.15 87.69 87.35 98% 83% 83%

%

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always prioritize their profession over their child’s vaccination. Parental time constraint also leads to inadequate immunization or untimely vaccinations. The problem lies at various levels – planning, training, implementation and monitoring. It is a practice new vaccines are introduced through special drives. Recently the measles and rubella (MR) vaccine was introduced by the Government of India with a special campaign. The MR campaign rigorously sought inter-sectoral coordination. The schools were involved to make the campaign successful. It is necessary to take care of the strategies at the health facility level so as to ensure their access and awareness. However, the global strategies to incorporate vaccines and providing them with subsidized prices will not suffice to include new vaccines in routine immunization. It is necessary to concentrate on the effective usage of existing resources. It is necessary to bring immunization closer to the community, use IEC activities to create demand for vaccines and improve the supervision and monitoring system along with fixing the responsibility at all levels of the service chain. Just like the polio campaign was done where vaccines were taken to the doorsteps of the needy, routine immunization should be made available at public places such as schools, Anganwadi, shops, etc. where people frequently visit. For information, education and communication (IEC) activities, multiple channels should be used to create awareness about the benefit of immunization. Intensive micro-planning is required for better performance. Pediatricians and immunization providers are key opinion leaders. Therefore continuous support of pediatricians is essential for the acceptance of routine immunization. Usually, new vaccines are introduced top-down from the international level to local health departments. However, new vaccine introductions should be based on local needs, the feasibility of widespread use and sustainability, proper evaluation of the quality of the product and its potential impact on disease epidemiology. The Government of India supports the training of frontline workers (ANMs, LHVs, Anganwadi workers and ASHAs) to motivate and strengthen the capacity of frontline workers to reduce dropouts and left-outs and improve the quality of services. The Universal Immunization Program has a set of indicators to monitor progress under different components of the program and evaluate the coverage of immunization amongst the target population. There is a regular reporting system from the health sub-center to the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), district, state and national levels. This reporting has been computerized in the country as a part of Health Management Information System, and the data is available from the health facility level and above every month. Recently MOHFW also implemented a Mother and Child Tracking System to track every pregnant woman, mother and child up to five years of age to ensure delivery of health services. A review mechanism is established at all levels of the program implementation. At the national level also, the immunization division has constituted

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the Immunization Action Group (IAG) to review the program, discuss issues and suggest solutions. To be successful the immunization program needs political commitment, assured financial support, continuous innovation, innovative communication strategy and effective partnership with NGOs and international agencies. Communication strategies include accelerating community participation with the active involvement of religious leaders, opinion makers and civil society. For the success of any health program, integrating socio-cultural issues with biological issues is necessary. In urban areas, disease importation is a major challenge. Due to migration and illegal settlements, there is a risk of importation of viruses from neighboring countries and states, just as the case of COVID-19 showed. Similarly, surveillance gaps and population immunity against vaccination are also challenges in urban areas. Due to the differing uses and gratification of messages, preparing communication messages is always a tough task.

Challenges of UIP implementation The middle managers and health officers expressed that there are diverse challenges with routine immunization. There were challenges related to geographic area, education, economic level, socio-cultural background and managerial level. Challenges, as summarized by them, were: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Diverse population. Huge migration. Human resources – huge shortage of junior health attendants (female). Shortage of permanent JHAs(f ) and medical officers. Health centers are not sufficient (need one health center per ward). Poor private hospital participation and poor reporting. Poor response from the elite pockets and upper-middle-class areas. No site for outreach immunization. Mismatch of field timings. Some of the Anganwadis are very small and hence parents prefer HC/hospitals for those services. Language barriers. Non-availability of MCP cards with the migrants. Auxiliary nursing midwives are sitting in health kiosks and attending evening outpatient departments (OPDs) at health centers. Doing surveys in Bengaluru is highly challenging. Regular recruitment is not happening in BBMP to the health department. Baseline population denominator is not available and there is an unscientific expected level of achievement (ELA) fixation.

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17. Ward-wise data of births is not available. There is need for an app at all Medical Officer of Health (MOH) offices to segregate births and forward to health centers ward-wise. 18. Poor monitoring and supervision at zonal level. 19. No LHVs at UPHCs for supervision. 20. Few health centers are located far from field activity. Some limitations summarized were as follows. According to health managers, it was challenging to reach the poorest and the richest. Reaching migrated population and people living in apartments with health services was a tough task. Due to non-accessibility, enumeration and tracking of beneficiaries, the reports were incomplete. In BBMP limits, area demarcation was not done for UPHCs, there was no clarity of boundaries leading to non-service, and ANM distribution was not properly done. As per respondents, there was resistance from the minority community, migratory and elites in the BBMP area. The use of mass media in urban areas was very expensive due to their multilingual nature. The promotional activities were done in one language and one channel would risk not reaching all. Health managers expressed that there is a huge manpower crisis, as evidenced by Table 16.1. In spite of repeated notifications for recruitments, due to their poor salary, the applicants were very few.

Innovative strategies adopted at BBMP To address the challenges summarized, the BBMP health department had taken some measures. They are: evening vaccination in UPHCs, mobile vaccination units for construction sites, mobile applications to segregate births and forward to health centers ward-wise and mobile applications to collect reports from private clinics. The BBMP proposed to have a city task force for routine immunization. The functions of such a task force will be to seek inter-sectoral coordination, involvement and cooperation of different agencies like the Labour Department, NGOs and other professional bodies.

The plans to address the challenges of immunization A majority of the respondents said there needed to be better inter-sectoral coordination and support. As they mentioned some of the support they expected from the state’s women’s and children’s health department were regular sector meetings with health department staff, sharing of immunization data, antenatal care registration, fixed days and fixed sites for arranging outreach activities, issuance of Thayi cards, strengthening of Anganwadi centers (AWC) with more space and in numbers, surveys in Anganwadi areas to enlist beneficiaries and share data with BBMP, mobilization for routine immunization (RI) sessions and addressing the refusal cases.

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The respondents mentioned many problems with the services provided by the state to BBMP. Some of the problems commonly mentioned were difficulty in monitoring HMIS and the Mother and Child Tracking System on a day-to-day basis, shortage of UPHC, unavailability of denominators at zone level to plan the immunization programs and provide resources, and inability to update MCTS. BBMP expected the involvement of medical college hospitals and state-level hospitals in service delivery; support in data entry, the linking of ASHA software, the elimination of ward linking issues and remuneration issues, separate pay scales for NHM staff and the provision of travel allowances in metropolitan areas were some of the expectations to be fulfilled by the state government. High attrition rate and vacancies were the major challenges needing to be addressed at all levels. The private health sector also should shoulder certain responsibilities as per respondents. They said the private health system provides the facilities but they do not report. There is no uniform tool or established mechanism or software to send reports. In some places, ANMs collected the information but non-reporting was a majority. Therefore the BBMP expected the identification of a focal person to coordinate with them, developed a mobile Anganwadi application or web-based tool for private hospital/clinics to improve reporting, expected the sensitization of the private sector in proper HMIS reporting of immunization services and sought the involvement of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics and Indian Medical Association. Human resource training is another area that can contribute to better surveillance and implementation. Skill upgrade training with a focus on improving/upgrading the skills of healthcare providers, integrated skill training for peripheral health functionaries such as medical officers and health inspectors and improving managerial and communication skills of health staff were some of the training areas identified. To address the non-reporting, amendments should be done to the necessary legislation to include reporting activities by private practitioners to the government. In Tamil Nadu, public health nurses take the responsibility of linking the private practitioners and government system. A similar initiative should be taken up by BBMP to fill the reporting gaps. Quick surveys should be conducted from time to time to plan and implement immunization programs.

Communication strategies to fulfll the expected level of achievements The study found all respondents reporting that communication was essential for the success of any program. However, they did not stress the techniques to address communication issues. The analysis of data revealed that there is an overemphasis on resource mobilization and distribution rather than tracking the implications. Micro-planning is a key component of the success of immunization programs. Bringing greater efficiency in the preparation of micro-planning is very

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essential. Similarly, the micro-plan of communication needs to be done. The communication micro-plans at all levels should be based on need and prepared with a comprehensive mapping of households and issues at the field level. In this, special concentration can be given to migrant sites and high-risk areas. To strengthen immunization coverage in urban areas, mass media and educational materials should be used effectively. Ground-level community engagement with community leaders and mothers, along with the use of key community sites such as mosques, schools, or religious festivals should be done to generate demand. For the Universal Immunization Program, mobilizing communities through house-to-house interpersonal communication and group counseling sessions addressing myths and misconceptions and ensuring correct knowledge about vaccines are the required activities according to health officers. Getting a supportive media environment is essential to make media report with appropriate information and persuasive messages. Regular workshops for journalists along with field visits, briefings and campaigns will improve the quality of reporting. Appeals from political and religious leaders in the print and electronic media and the use of local channels to answer localized rumors will help to build faith in vaccines. The respondents opined that strengthening communication will improve the RI (routine immunization) program in BBMP. Social mobilization networks are valuable at the community level, enjoying high credibility, and can be formed to strengthen the RI campaigns and programs. In the Mission Indradhanush campaign, a well-carved strategic communication plan was formed to reach the communities and hard-to-reach populations and build trust in healthcare services. To generate awareness and demand for immunization services, need-based communication strategies and social mobilization activities to enhance participation of the community in the routine immunization program through mass media, mid-media, interpersonal communication (IPC), school and youth networks and corporations were conducted. The communication efforts were closely monitored. Evidence-based and focused implementation of the communication plan was prepared and corrective measures were taken from time to time based on needs. The communication monitoring system measured IEC (information, education and communication) and BCC (behavior change communication) activities. The monitoring was planned at three levels – starting from the district, planning unit and session site. This campaign provided further input for health communication strategies such as strengthening ration dealers and local inf luencers’ involvement, standardization of IEC materials and strengthening the concept of mothers’ meetings, Nukkad Natak, video presentations in the community, etc. (Mission Indradhanush Operational Guidelines, 2016). It improved the coverage of immunization by 6 to 7 percent. Mission Indradhanush was implemented in 17 districts of Karnataka vaccinating 611,420 children. The mid-term evaluation of the Mission Indradhanush Campaign came out with the strategies to strengthen

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phase 4. They are defining state-specific measurable, achievable and understandable plans, carrying out intensive community awareness, using communication techniques for social mobilization, involving respective district administration and political leaders for accountability and using tracking technology along with a patient reminder call system.

Conclusions Several studies on the cost-effectiveness of various vaccines have found that the cost of treatment is always higher than the cost of vaccination. Therefore the expenditure on preventive healthcare services such as universal immunization programs is the investment required for the sustainable development of the country. There are several urban-specific health programs to address the unique problems of urbanites. This study found that urban-based routine immunization components are similar to national routine immunization programs. The new vaccines are introduced through a special drive making them successful and popular. The respondents listed many challenges including language, illegal settlements, multiple cultures, shortage of human resources and lack of efficiency in micro-plans, monitoring and implementations, to name a few. Nonetheless, they also provided tentative solutions to address urban routine immunization problems. Respondents stressed seeking inter-sectoral coordination, microplanning, using multiple languages, training the human resources to persuade the target group and making provisions to reach the target group with necessary facilities. The data revealed that micro-planning of communication should be done while mapping the target group about the health requirements. Social mobilization networks can be effectively used to provide convincing and credible information. Multiple channels are a necessity to spread awareness as the beneficiaries in metropolitan areas are multilingual. The research found that there is less preference for communication and an overemphasis is given to the resource allocation and supply chain for the vaccines. However, it is essential to give due importance to communication strategy to improve the immunization programs’ performance and reach the high-risk and underserved urban poor. The strategy may be including community leaders, developing reliable information spread, strengthening the feedback system and prioritizing media advocacy.

References Agarwal RK (2008). Routine Immunization: India’s Achilles’ Heel! Journal of Indian Pediatrics. 45: 626–628. Berhane Y, Pickering J (1993). Are Reminder Stickers Effective in Reducing Immunization Dropout Rates in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 96(3):139–145.

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Deutsch N et al. (2017). Legacy of Polio—Use of India’s Social Mobilization Network for Strengthening of the Universal Immunization Program in India. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 216(suppl_1):S260–S266. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2016). Mission Indradhanush Operational Guidelines. Government of India. https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/216846291201 489665182.pdf Population Council (2010). Increasing Early and Exclusive Breastfeeding in UP: Implications for Behavior Change Communication. Routine Immunization in India. http://www.whoindia.org/en/Section6/Section284/ Section286_506.htm. Sridhar KS, Wan, G (2010). Firm Location Choice in Cities: Evidence from China, India, and Brazil. China Economic Review, 21(1): 113–122.. UNICEF (2016). SMNet Management Information System (MIS), UNICEF, New-Delhi, India. http://unicef.in/Publications. Accessed August 2018. Weiss WM, Choudhary M, Solomon R (2013). Performance and Determinants of Routine Immunization Coverage Within the Context of Intensive Polio Eradication Activities in Uttar Pradesh, India: Social Mobilization Network (SM Net) and Core Group Polio Project (CGPP). BMC International Health and Human Rights. 13:25.

17 ENHANCING THE BENEFITS OF AGGLOMERATION IN LATIN AMERICAN MEGACITIES The role of urban policies and a framework for policy action Cynthia Goytia Introduction Big cities, those with populations of more than 10 million inhabitants, are often referred to as “megacities.” All over the world, these large metropolitan areas are the main drivers of the development of nations. They harbor productive processes of high complexity and added value, which support greater economic opportunities. Megacities in Latin America are no exception, which explains the rapid increases in urbanization rates in all the larger metropolitan regions of the continent. As these cities increase in size and population, they become home to a growing part of the overall urban population in their countries. More than 92 million people live in five Latin American megacities; it’s now the region with the largest share of this population in this type of city (UN-Habitat, 2018). In fact, this number represents 20 percent of the world’s population living in megacities globally. In 2018, five of the world’s 33 megacities were located in Latin America. The cities of São Paulo and Mexico City each had populations of more than 21 million. According to the United Nations, that makes them two of the world’s largest cities. This phenomenon, which the academic literature has called “urban primacy” (e.g. Henderson, 2002), encompasses the big metropolitan regions of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogotá (Colombia), LimaCallao (Peru) and Mexico DF (Mexico). All the Latin American megacities developed in a region that is the second most urbanized in the world,1 after North America, surpassing even European urbanization levels. Latin America has also had the fastest-growing urban population since 1950; it went from an urbanization rate of 41 percent in 1950 to 80 percent in 2015. Indeed, migration to cities from the rural sector has been

DOI: 10.4324/9781003093282-17

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driven, in most cases, by the pursuit of the opportunities that can be found in these cities (Daude et al., 2017). There are costs associated with urban and megacity growth, which takes a toll in the form of poor public services and infrastructure with limited finances, exacerbated by poor metropolitan governance structures and low revenue collection and investments affecting local governments in many of the developing countries, as has also been clear from the chapters in this volume. Indeed, most megacities in this region also harbor processes that eclipse their attainments. The growth of these cities also increases commuting times (see Nayka and Sridhar [2019] for evidence regarding commuting time in an Indian city), levels of pollution (Sridhar [2018] contains a comparison of the determinants of pollution in India and China), housing prices, crime rates and even contagious diseases, among other phenomena. Furthermore, by attracting low-income rural households that migrate in search of better opportunities, cities also make poverty and inequality more visible. In fact, both in the present day and in past decades, the growth of cities is associated with the creation of informal settlements and poverty belts with limited access to public services and precarious property rights. The imbalances created by these trends in some cities raise a critical question about the future of urbanization in the region: will the megacities of Latin America be sustainable and equitable three decades from now? This chapter throws a spotlight on the most critical challenges megacities of the region are facing in their development and offers conceptual elements that can help overcome them through public policy interventions. To address these issues, this chapter explores four fundamental dimensions of Latin America’s megacities. It presents a comparative framework on urbanization among continents, which highlights the specificities of the cities in this region. Second, it discusses the benefits and costs of urbanization from a conceptual standpoint. Following that, the density comparison among cities in Latin America and developed countries allows to show the more intensive use of urban land in the region, where urban densities are high, at least higher than those of Western Europe and North America, but lower than those of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast and South Asian cities. Following that, the concept of “accessibility” is highlighted as a fundamental measure of well-being in cities. The chapter also explores one fundamental dimension of megacities sustainability: infrastructure. It finalizes stressing the relevance of infrastructure finance to overcome this pressing problem of all megacities in Latin America while presenting several alternatives for accomplishing such a goal. In this regard, the cities’ ability to increase productivity, wealth and well-being in greater proportions than traffic, pollution, crime, contagious disease, informality and poverty crucially depends on public policies and the ways in which they manage to take advantage of the economic benefits of urbanization, while reducing its social costs through adequate provision and finance of transportation infrastructure and basic services, in the context of appropriate planning governance.

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Comparative framework among continents: urbanization, industrialization and income When examined in a comparative framework, Latin America’s urbanization exhibits three distinguishing characteristics. First, in Europe and the United States, urbanization was always followed by the expansion of the manufacturing sector in urban areas, helped initially by the increase in agricultural productivity, and followed, in the middle of the 19th century, by the Industrial Revolution. Those developments freed up rural labor to move to other predominantly urban sectors. These two factors are the most inf luential in determining the urbanization dynamics and response to productive incentives. These are regions with productive cities, industrial and financial sectors with high value-added services and high wages. In contrast, in most Latin American countries, urbanization occurred at the end of the first half of the 20th century in response to the increase in prices of natural resources and to improvements in health, which led to a drop in the mortality rate and an increase in natural population growth. After its late start, urbanization in the region occurred much more rapidly than in developed countries. In the middle of the last century, the average annual growth rate of the urban population in Latin America was almost 5 percent; today, that rate has fallen as low as 2 percent, which is lower than the average rates of Asia (3 percent) and Africa (4 percent). As a ref lection of their lagging urbanization, which is chaotic and guided by reasons other than the development of the manufacturing sector and high value-added services, most cities in the region show low average wages and high levels of poverty and inequality, quite in contrast with the cities of China and India (see Chen et al. [2019] for evidence on China, Sridhar [2019] for evidence on India). Second, given its level of urbanization, Latin America lags in terms of per capita income compared to developed countries considering their high degree of urbanization (World Bank, 2018). That is to say, today Latin America has an urbanization rate (80 percent) similar to that of developed countries (81 percent in the United States and 73 percent in Europe), but it lags by half a century in relation to Europe and 70 years in relation to the United States in terms of per capita income levels (but per capita income ranged from USD 1,100 to USD 30,500.) As already noted, despite closing urbanization gaps among regions of the world, income gaps have increased (CAF, 2017). This explains why the positive relationship between urbanization and wealth is weaker in most cities of developing countries, including Latin America’s megacities, than in developed countries. Third, the incidence and growth of informal settlements in Latin America are some of the most pressing public policy issues in the region. Furthermore, informality in cities is one of the most important transversal themes, what can be called a “triple informality” which can be seen in labor, but also in transportation and housing. The United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat,

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2018) estimates that, between 1995 and 2014, the world’s population living in these conditions grew by more than 200 million people, reaching 880 million. Everything seems to indicate that this number will continue to increase in the coming decades in the region. In summary, although historically urbanization has accompanied the development process in many countries, Latin America has seen a low level of development accompany its uniquely high rates of urbanization, which produced some of the world’s largest megacities. This lack of development is a direct consequence of the region failing to take advantage of all the potential benefits of urbanization while suffering many of its costs. The benefits and costs of urbanization are presented, from a conceptual standpoint, in the following section.

The balance between agglomeration benefts and urban costs The highest productive gain of modern-day metropolises in Latin America is that they shape large and integrated labor markets that can greatly enhance productivity. These effects are explained by the increase in metropolitan size, expanding the availability of specialized inputs, which in turn raises the productivity of final goods production. One policy implication of this fact is that uncoordinated development within the metropolitan space can minimize the chances of achieving the benefits of agglomeration economies determined by firm co-location and economies of scale that give metropolises their strength. Indeed, more integrated metropolitan labor markets are more productive, which certainly requires great coordination among fragmented decision-making (Slack, 2018). A salient quality of megacities is that the larger size of a city is correlated with greater gains from agglomeration, but also with higher urban costs. There are negative effects derived from the spatial concentration of the population (Duranton, 2008). These megacities also harbor processes that can overshadow their agglomeration achievements – things like increased commuting times, greater levels of pollution, higher housing prices, growing criminality rates, but also increased rates of contagious disease, among other concerns.

Urban primacy, a distinctive characteristic of Latin America’s megacities Despite the benefits of agglomeration economies – which indicate a positive association between the size of a city and its productivity – the existence of agglomeration economies does not indicate that the optimal size of a city can be set without limits. However, most of these megacities dominate the hierarchy of the respective countries’ urban systems. Take the example of Buenos Aires (BA) in Argentina. The BA Metropolitan Area is among the first 30 metropolitan areas in the world ranking. The country has the highest concentration of population in the capital city among countries with large territories, according to

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the index of spatial concentration developed by Campante and Do (2009). The country’s urban hierarchy is dominated by the weight of this megacity, which is nearly 11 times as large as the second-largest agglomeration. With a population of about 13.6 million, the Buenos Aires metropolitan region (BAMR) is the fourth of Latin America’s megacities, accounting for 38 percent of the national urban population and 47 percent of Argentina’s GDP (INDEC, 2010). Moreover, the city’s economic primacy is higher than for cities at the same level of economic development. For example, in 2012, Mexico City contributed 21 percent of its country’s national GDP, and São Paulo contributed 18 percent. In line with its demographic primacy, which has remained stable over time, Buenos Aires has consolidated its economic primacy over the past decades, with f luctuations following national macroeconomic trends. In contrast, Brazil has two megacities and a low value in terms of both indicators, which is an example that stands out in the region, because it has a more diverse urban network with a group of large cities that act as a counterbalance of megacities primacy (UN-Habitat, 2016). The academic literature offers many theories that are used to explain the reasons for the presence of inefficiently huge megacities in Latin America compared to the developed world. Some of them are associated with the time period in which the late urbanization of developing countries’ regions took place, after the epidemiological transition, which made all these cities experience much lower mortality rates than those experienced during the urbanization processes that occurred in the 19th century. Moreover, the natural population growth in late urbanization cities was greater ( Jedwab and Vollrath, 2017). All these explanations seem to be feasible, but there are political and institutional factors that also strongly contributed when generating a bias favoring those living in the larger cities. Those biases could include the assignment of urban public employment in the capital cities in exchange for political support, and many other distorting public policies, such as excessive trade protectionism, (Krugman and Elizondo, 1996; Bates, 2005; Sridhar and Wan, 2010 for evidence from China, India and Brazil regarding the importance of capital cities for firm location decisions). In addition, the production and export of primary product specialization favor population concentration (Gollin et al., 2016) by promoting the production of non-tradable goods in large urban consumer markets, helping cities to grow in size to become the megacities of today. The agglomeration benefits of metropolises are just one side of the coin. The costs of urbanization are a critical barrier that could limit urban productivity and well-being. But both agglomeration gains and urban costs coexist in any big city, and the most prosperous metropolitan regions are those that manage to establish a balance. The fact that Latin America’s megacities’ urbanization has been pushed partly by causes other than the genuine processes of industrialization and innovation (such as distortions in relative prices or urban-based clientelistic policies over years) may explain why all these urban costs of density (such as congestion, pollution, contagious disease, criminality, informality, among others) are

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high compared to the agglomeration gains in several cities in the region, which find themselves with an imbalance between those two forces.

Density and urban extension: the Latin American case Urban growth and transformations in city structure are becoming important issues for public policy in Latin America. In megacities, the population is concentrated in central areas where employment opportunities are agglomerated, while those living in peripheral areas experience limited accessibility due to the poor quality or widespread lack of adequate infrastructures, such as paved roads, and a lack of public transportation. This inefficient layout of cities results in intensification in the demand for centrally located housing, which, along with restrictive land-use regulations (Goytia et al., 2015), has driven up land and housing prices over the years. Consequently, high prices have been preventing middle-low to low-income households from accessing housing in the formal market, leading to new slums development and the growth and densification of existing ones. These factors explain two essential characteristics of Latin America’s cities: relatively high population density and high levels of segregation coupled with informality. This density comparison among cities in Latin America and developed countries shows a more intensive use of urban land in the region. Urban densities in Latin America are much higher than those of Western Europe and North America, but lower than those of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asian cities. The average density of cities in the region in 2015 (90 inhabitants per hectare) is significantly higher than the average of Europe (51 inhabitants per hectare) and North America (21 inhabitants per hectare). But these differences are even larger for big metropolises: 120 inhabitants per hectare in Latin America against 60 inhabitants per hectare in Europe and 25 inhabitants per hectare in North America (AUE, 2016). Despite such conditions, the variation over time of this indicator reveals a new dynamism that could be changing the prevailing urban characteristics described in recent times. The period circa 1990–2015 shows a tendency towards declining densities in all regions, but a substantial heterogeneity in the size of variations. In larger Latin American cities, the densities fell by 4 percent, but for the whole set of Latin American cities density dropped by 13 percent; in Europe it was about three times that figure, and in North America the drop was almost twice that figure. Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Mexico City are the ones that stand out for their relatively wide extension, with suburban areas extending at a distance greater than 50 km from the city center. Their total extension is comparable to certain European cities, such as Madrid and Paris, as well as Chicago in the United States, which is a classic example of a city with extended suburban areas that reach as far as 60 km from the city center (CAF, 2017). Bogotá is a very particular case, where the density of built-up area grew by 35 percent between 2000 and 2010, increasing from 180 inhabitants per hectare to 245 inhabitants per hectare.

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Similarly, a considerable area of cities like Lima and Bogotá encompasses a radius of 20 km from the city center. These cities are denser and the extension of the urban area between 2000 and 2010 is much lower than in others of the region. The available evidence for Latin America suggests that urban expansion has been mostly chaotic when compared to other regions. The unplanned growth of Latin American cities has caused not only high-density urban areas but also an inadequate city structure, understood as the allocation of urban space to different activities. In this sense, the concept of “accessibility” is highlighted as a fundamental measure of well-being in cities. Accessibility refers to the ability of households and firms to take advantage of the opportunities the city offers. For families, this means the opportunities to obtain well-paid jobs, to have quality housing and to enjoy urban services and amenities. For firms, this means the opportunity to access inputs and skilled labor and easily reach more consumers. Thus, accessibility depends both on a city’s ability to generate jobs and attract and train qualified workers, as well as on urban structure driven by land-use regulations determining the location of activities within the cities. One basic fact for every megacity is that metropolitan productivity also relies on a broad range of infrastructure investments – from roads to international airports – which are needed to provide accessibility and the mobility of people, goods, services, ideas and technologies. Indeed, when the provision of trunk road infrastructure is inadequate, the accessibility structure, and even congestion externalities within jurisdictions, are significantly disturbed. Unfortunately, not all of these big metropolises are dealing effectively with their huge infrastructure requirements. Using data from satellite observations, the Atlas of Urban Expansion (AUE, 2016) suggests that the fast-growing areas of Latin America’s metropolises display a notable failure to lay out new areas for development, which results in the inadequate provision of streets and roads, which are necessary to provide the accessibility structure needed to boost agglomeration economies and reduce congestion costs. The failure to finance infrastructure in areas of urban extension increases overall housing and urban costs and enhances the prevalence of informality. If not addressed properly, all these conditions can lead to serious harm in the form of traffic congestion and accessibility, both of which are very hard to rectify after development has occurred. For instance, in Buenos Aires, 95 percent of 5.1 million jobs were accessible within a 60-minute drive by car. In comparative terms, the region’s relatively high densities and extension growth without appropriate infrastructure have created pressure in terms of housing demand that not having been properly addressed, has led to the emergence of slums, both in central and peripheral urban areas. This informal land use phenomenon has intensified in recent years to such an extent that today it represents more than a third of the urban territory of the region. Consequently, developing an efficient metropolitan urban structure driven by planned land use, transportation and infrastructure systems confronts policy with coordination demands. Adding to that, one needs to keep in mind

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nonetheless that major transportation and infrastructure networks are extremely costly investments that span across municipal boundaries with very real needs for finance based on economies of scale. Thus, one unintended consequence of administrative fragmentation and uncoordinated metropolitan governance is that it can foster unnecessary sprawl, an inefficient spatial allocation pattern of activities and severe difficulties to finance the required basic infrastructure.

Infrastructure investments in the messy urban growth scenario of Latin American megacities In most Latin American countries, metropolitan areas have experienced rapid development in their outer suburban rings – significant, impactful development that has not been properly laid out. While low density makes it difficult and costly to provide public transportation and basic infrastructure services, greater ratios of land consumption to population growth increase the amount of undeveloped land converted to urban uses that require increases in per-capita expenditures for the provision of basic services/infrastructure. Consequently, the majority of the cities still experience high levels of inequality, not only associated with income but also related to households’ welfare – such as dissimilar access to infrastructure and public services. (Goytía et al., 2015). Moreover, the observed pattern of urban expansion has a direct effect on mobility and housing options, particularly for lower income groups (Peralta Quirós and Mehndiratta, 2014).2 The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region is also affected by this trend. There, the urban built-up area grew by 38 percent in the period 2001–2010, equivalent to an annual increase of 3.7 percent, which is above the average annual growth of 3.5 percent for the other urban agglomerations of the country. Over the period 2001–2010, four municipalities of the third urban ring of Buenos Aires showed a decrease in population density close to 60 percent. But what is even more relevant is that half of this growth is due to the extension of the urban area when leapfrogging growth includes both very low-income household settlements without infrastructure and rich, gated neighborhood developments. And the description of the socioeconomic scenario would not be complete without mentioning the proliferation of informal urbanization. The urbanization of these settlements imposes a very important challenge to the authorities at every government level. Policy instruments to approach this problem are of varied nature (legal titling with the upgrading of public services, housing improvement, job creation and community support structures). On the one hand, the previous description illustrates the development of a “messy” urban growth scenario that has been replicated in most Latin American metropolises. In fact, the lack of urban infrastructure has affected vast areas where income distribution is highly variable. The estimated coverage gap remained very high for an upper-middle-income economy such as Argentina’s. Around 16.5 percent of households lack access to drinking water and 41.5 percent lack access to the sanitation network. The poor situation of the existing

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infrastructure determined that an intermediate step for updating the efficiency and capacity of the core services was needed prior to the expansion of the domiciliary connections. On the other hand, the level of coverage in the different municipalities is heterogeneous and presents important variations within them, highlighting the presence of extremely low levels of coverage in several jurisdictions on the periphery, around 10 percent in drinking water and 5 percent in sanitation (INDEC, 2010), just as the chapter 10 on India shows in this volume. It is no surprise to see that the areas with the highest percentage of the population with a service deficit are located on the edge of the urban agglomeration at the same time that the areas of greatest urban growth, due to expansion and discontinuous development, are those with the lowest coverage of network services. This territorial distribution of public services is also related to the increasing incidence of housing qualitative deficit growing toward the periphery of the metropolis. While in the municipalities adjacent to the City of Buenos Aires, the qualitative housing deficit affects around 15 percent of dwellings, at the edge this incidence grows by up to 40–50 percent.

Infrastructure fnance: Latin American implementation of land value capture instruments One main concern of metropolitan regions in Latin America is how the required infrastructure can be financed. Planning, land-use regulations and selected local investments in infrastructure are among the generally perceived responsibilities of municipal governments in most federal countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. For example, the case of sanitation and water infrastructure finance and policies in most megacities highlights the relevance of how governance structures between different levels of government, as well as among very diverse sectorial policies, is impacting the coverage of the service that is delivered, as the chapter by Nallathiga and Sridhar in this volume shows, taking the case of two large Indian cities. In this sense, jurisdictional fragmentation in the megacities’ administration generates coordination failures between different levels of government giving rise to a decoupling between the territorial reach of infrastructure services and formal institutional management bodies. Adding to that, most infrastructure policies are not related to land use, transportation and planning policies, raising vertical and horizontal failures of policy coordination. Consequently, with the lack of infrastructure and absence of funding, they do in fact reveal strong governance problems in delivering satisfactory responses to present infrastructure challenges. Many scholars have described the unsatisfactory operation of fiscal federalism in countries like Argentina due to the excessive centralization of revenue collection at the national level, the extended use of fiscal transfers to cover expenditures at the provincial and municipal levels and, consequently, the need to

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reduce the imbalances among collections of own resources and expenditures at the sub-national government levels. In this context and considering the fact that metropolitan governance structures are nonexistent, there are two other sources of revenue that will be valuable to finance infrastructure. One, an increase of the property tax revenue, could contribute to create larger fiscal space for local management of urban development and improve local government accountability. However, due to many other distortionary taxes collected in these Latin American countries, increasing rates doesn’t always seem feasible. The second one, land value capture instruments (LVCs), is considered in many cities as a potentially efficient strategy for increasing municipal fiscal revenues. In practice, LVCs have proved to be a powerful tool that can help fill in specific gaps in the infrastructure financing plan in the region (Peterson, 2008). Currently, it is gaining importance as an element for financing the urban infrastructures of these countries, where cities are growing rapidly and urban planning challenges must be addressed (Blanco et al., 2016).3 Sridhar and Reddy (2010) present simulations of what would happen to municipal finances if revenues from land leasing and sales were taken into account in India’s cities. It is worth noting that the urban property and land tax is a well-established instrument, both legally and operationally. LVCs are used less often, but their adoption is increasing, because the range of public actions permitted for their application is broader, while the legal backing of these instruments is varied and dispersed. In fact, LVC is a longstanding practice in some Latin American countries (LACs), such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay and more recently, Panama (BorreroOchoa, 2014). A wide range of fiscal instruments has been implemented over the years in an attempt to capture the value generated by public actions that affect land prices. Although all of these mechanisms use land value as a basis for financing urban infrastructure improvements, they represent legal instruments that widely differ from each other in their strategy and implementation. Besides providing a source of public finance, many authors point to the idea of value capture as a wealth redistribution instrument. The theory behind these instruments bases the rationale of the levy as the recapture of part of the “unearned increment” in land values of certain property owners whose actions played no part in changing the property value. The notion is finally to mobilize and share with the whole community the benefits that usually end up in private hands when the costs of providing urban infrastructure and services are socialized (Smolka, 2013). The feasibility and efficiency of each instrument will depend on the specific project, the policy goal pursued and the conditions under which they develop. However, the international experience helps us identify possible advantages and disadvantages. For instance, four administrative conditions for implementing a betterment levy include: the capacity to quantify the impact on land values, the ability to identify the beneficiaries and the political will together with the public

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mechanism to implement the levy (Day, 2005; Bahl and Wallace, 2008). Each stage represents an administrative and political challenge. While the rationale for using these instruments seems quite simple and fairly reasonable, many authors question why these policies have not been more widely adopted around the world and attempt to identify reasons for this lack of implementation. These include some of the instrument’s drawbacks, such as technical difficulties in measuring the increment in value generated by public interventions and its interpersonal distribution; the risks of high initial costs and implementation problems; and in some cases, general public resistance (Blanco et al., 2016). Smolka (2013) points out that successful implementation demands management skills to deal with many complex factors (e.g. benefit valuation, allocation of tax burden, collection methods, etc.) and proper understanding of land market conditions. A work produced by the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and UN-Habitat concluded that LVC systems are better implemented through a decentralized authority for effective implementation. However, in the case of developing countries, a proper valuation and re-valuation of land requires the authorities to incur setup and operating costs which might be beyond the reach of most sub-national government tax administrations, but feasible for jurisdictions in big metropolitan regions. In line with these shortcomings, the implementation of LVCS is often designed as a cost recovery mechanism and the amount of the land value captured is limited to the cost of a specific infrastructure investment. In any case, the use of LVCs also requires the identification of benefited land followed by a proper allocation of a share of the cost to each plot, taking into account the relative levels of benefits received and the payment capacity of each family.

Land value capture and inequality in metropolitan regions It’s important to stress that the concern about the impact of LVCs on income distribution is less frequently mentioned in the literature and is often associated with the experience of developing countries. For instance, in South Africa, where this aspect has been explicitly considered, authorities have argued that betterment contributions are progressive because owners of large properties must pay more, thus complying with the ability to pay principle, but recognizing the need for tax relief of poorest cohorts. In Colombia, according to Borrero Ochoa et al. (2011), the parameters used to calculate the betterment contributions include considerations of the affordability of the levy. In the experience of developing countries, it is widely recognized that investment in urban infrastructure has a very high rate of social return. However, the kind of infrastructure involved makes a difference from the point of view of the local user. Moreover, the expansion of public domiciliary services (drinking water, energy, etc.) is highly valued by the population, but not every household can afford a monthly payment for them. Thus, even though the availability of natural gas, energy, drinking water and sewerage is desirable for both private and

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public agents, some households will not be ready to pay a contribution for their expansion. This same effect is also noticeable when the public investment is in roads. In this case, the improvement capitalizes on the value of the land and households experience some direct benefits, such as the reduction of the time to work or the reduction of security risks in their neighborhoods. On top of that, a higher price of land might translate into an increase in the property tax in the future. However, in the case of shops and industries, this kind of investment and the derived benefits are translated not only into land value but also into higher revenues. Targeting business activities to pay relatively more for urban investments could be a feasible alternative for governments. In Latin American cities, betterment contributions are well-adapted instruments for financing infrastructure projects that have the potential to benefit a wide range of households in a specific area. Moreover, they have the advantage of being in use already at several ones. However, the implementation of betterment contributions may be subject to several risks due to the unequal distribution of income and the importance of land in wealth composition prevailing in most megacities.4 One aspect of this strategy to be considered is the development of an adequate balance between the rate of the betterment contribution and the size of the improvement impact (measured through land valorization). This balance should be a key component to gain the acceptance and success of the urban infrastructure plan. It’s important to highlight two issues related to the successful implementation of LVCs in cities of the region. First, affordability and willingness to pay for the urban improvements are two key elements, stressing the importance of “social acceptability” (Borrero Ochoa, 2011) based on a participative process. In fact, the issue of the payment capacity of the contributor is recognized as a problem in most of the countries that apply this type of levy in LAC, but the solutions are scarce and unsatisfactory. In general, the procedures to apply the levy do not include a study of the payment capacities of the contributors, although in some legislations it is explicitly stipulated (Honduras, Brazil, Panama). Colombia is the country more advanced in the evaluation of the payment capacity in the region, implemented in Bogotá and Medellín. In the case of residential properties, the authorities use data of the household survey on living conditions and the national income and expenditure survey, which collect information on employment conditions, income and expenses. They evaluate the component of “other expenses” and appropriate 20 percent of this item to be applied to the payment of the contribution (Borrero Ochoa et al., 2013). Second, regarding the relationship between income distribution and LVCs, the idea of betterment contributions as an “anti-poor levy” includes the experience of Lima, in Peru, where a successful infrastructure program in a low-income neighborhood used a contributory tool to finance public works (Smolka, 2013). Moreover, a simulation developed for the implementation of betterment contributions in Mexican cities distributes the burden of the betterment levy on the households according to the position of their property in a quartile distribution

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of property value. This assumes that the greater the cadastral value of the properties, the greater the impact of the improvements and the household’s ability to pay for the contribution (Blanco et al., 2016). Given these conditions, the following policy recommendations may be of interest. In the first place, the distribution of the levy burden should take into consideration the current income instead of (only) the value of the plot as a base to allocate the cost to each household. The method in Bogotá in Colombia is a very useful example. Second, the burden of the betterment contribution may be conveniently distributed over time to smooth the impact on the current income of households. The gap between payment for the project and contributions collection may be covered by the financial market (through municipal public bonds) or by upper government levels (through fiscal transfers).5 A final concern is that considering the need for extensive investment in urban services in most cities, such as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan region, betterment levies can be organized to anticipate the collection, targeting a larger group of actual and future beneficiaries of the public action. In this case, betterment contribution revenue should be earmarked for the execution of the urban plan. A fund for urban development could be a transparent instrument toward that end.6

Conclusions Walking through any of the great Latin American megacities, such as Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro, one can readily appreciate how aff luence and opportunities coexist with traffic congestion and environmental deterioration. Additionally, by attracting low-income households – migrants from rural areas who are searching for better prospects – these megacities also make inequality and poverty much more evident. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter was to explain the phenomenon of agglomeration in Latin American megacities offering conceptual elements that can help overcome the imbalances that are emerging through public policy interventions. To contribute along these lines, a diagnosis of Latin American urban structure is provided as well as the specific conditions of megacities in a comparative context. Those are related to higher densities, urban primacy and a great trend towards disorganized urban extension, which lack the appropriate infrastructure that increases existing inequalities in access to opportunities for a vast share of the population. Since urban expansion has been mostly chaotic when compared to that in other regions, a great share of the population has concentrated in central areas of these megacities, where employment opportunities are located, while those living in more peripheral areas experience limited accessibility due to the poor quality or the complete absence of public transport and the lack of adequate roads infrastructure, not different from cities in other countries such as India studied in this volume. There, an increase in the demand for centrally located housing has driven up their market price, preventing middle-low to low-income households from accessing the formal housing market,

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resulting in the rise of slums, their growth and densification of existing ones. In fact, in all of them, growth is combined with the development of informal settlements lacking land property rights and with limited access to public services and infrastructure. The analysis of urban structure in Latin American metropolitan cities is fundamental to guiding public policies that seek to promote the benefits of agglomeration, and at the same time, keep urban costs under control. In fact, urban growth and changes in city structure are increasingly becoming relevant issues for public policy in Latin America’s megacities. The debate on this topic is often extremely oversimplified and reduced to the discussion of compactness – and the desire for increasing density – versus the expansion of cities. This conceptual simplification has contributed to a generalized perception that urban growth in extension is undesirable since it diminishes accessibility by increasing commuting time, causing environmental deterioration, reducing agglomeration economy and productivity. Unable to finance the appropriate infrastructure, many cities have recently turned to land use policies seeking to limit urban expansion while increasing already high existing urban densities. However, this is might not necessarily be so: a growth in urban extension combined with adequate land use regulations (opening new residential and business areas in suburban and peripheral locations) and the necessary infrastructure (such as roads, public transport, tap water and sewer services) can facilitate the access to quality housing without necessarily compromising access to jobs and other services. In this way, improvements in transport infrastructure aid commuting, while the appropriate decentralization of population could enable the development of business and services sub hubs. From a public policy perspective, planning an organized expansion and closing the infrastructure (transport, water and sewage network, etc.) gap between central and peripheral areas should become a central matter to these cities. This infrastructure investment must be complemented with better landuse planning and regulation that foster the supply of formal housing as well as provide space for mobility infrastructure and other critical facilities (shopping areas, amenities, etc.). In short, urban policy needs to shift its focus. The goal should not be to have a larger or more compact city. The goal is to achieve higher accessibility, which can be obtained both in a monocentric city of relatively low extension and high density through good quality of massive public transit system (i.e. trains and subways) as well as in a more extended, polycentric city, where highways, the use of cars and the decentralization of employment equally allow families access to jobs and other services. Therefore, making accessibility a priority should become particularly important to transform Latin American megacities into drivers of productivity growth. Hopefully, the evidence discussed in this chapter would encourage implementing more innovative urban policy instruments, such as LVC that would allow financing the required infrastructure to promote urban development and well-being. Its effective implementation should remain the primary challenge.

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Notes 1 The term Latin America includes Mexico, while the United States and Canada comprise North America. 2 The deficiencies in public transport and the low-density growth of this urban agglomerate resulted in an increase in the “motorization” of circulation within the region, with losses in the well-being of the population due to increasingly long journeys and risks. While in the early 1990s, 25 percent of the trips in the region were by car, at the end of 2000 that percentage increased to 45 percent. Given that a substantial part of public transport is made up of trips to work, a loss of labor productivity as a result of congestion and delays is also highly probable. 3 Smolka (2013) indicates that exactions are the most common value capture tool used throughout Latin America. When they are applied, landowners are compelled to make cash or in-kind contributions to obtain special approvals or permission to develop or build on their land. These contributions may be stipulated through subdivision or development negotiated on an individual basis. 4 Booth (2011) indicates that “arriving at the market value of land would appear to be an inherently uncertain process.” This is particularly so in the presence of price volatility. 5 In the case of issuance of public debt, the municipalities of MABA are limited by a provincial law and their total debt has a limit equivalent to 10 percent of their current revenues. 6 In Argentina, this kind of fund can be implemented as a traditional fiscal tool (extrabudgetary funds) or as a financial trust under Law 24.441 and 26.994. In the case of municipalities of Buenos Aires Province, the law ruling the fiscal attributions of local governments is open to the implementation of new instruments such as fees and levies, but taxes are strictly a provincial attribution (Decreto-Ley 6769/58).

References Angel, S., Blei, A., Parent, J., Lamson-Hall, P. and Sánchez, Galarza. 2016. Atlas of Urban Expansion (AUE). Database. http://www.atlasofurbanexpansion.org/Data. Bahl, R. and Wallace, S. 2008. Reforming the Property Tax in Developing Countries: A New Approach. International Studies Program. Working Paper. Georgia State University: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, pp. 08–19. Bates, R. H. 2005. Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Agricultural Policies: With a New Preface. EE.UU.: University of California Press. Blanco, A., Carrión, D., Fretes Cibils, V., Hurtado Tarazona, A., Mendive, C., Muñoz Miranda, A. and Sandroni, P. 2016. Expandiendo el uso de la valorización del suelo: La captura de plusvalías en América Latina y el caribe. Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Blanco, A., Moreno, N., Vetter, D. M. and Vetter, M. F. 2016. The Potential of Land Value Capture for Financing Urban Projects: Methodological Considerations and Case Studies. Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Booth, P. A. 2011. The Unearned Increment: Property and the Capture of Betterment Value in Britain and France. Booth, P. A. 2012. Chapter 4. The Unearned Increment: Property and the Capture of Betterment Value in Britain and France. In: Value Capture and Land Policy, (eds. Gregory K. Ingram and Yu-Hung Hong). Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, pp. 74–91 Borrero Ochoa, E. 2014. Use of Betterment contributions in Latin American Countries, other than Colombia. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Lincoln Reference #: LOB092013

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Borrero Ochoa, O. 2013. Contribución de valorización o mejoras en Colombia. Análisis de la experiencia colombiana. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Lincoln Institute Product Code: WP14OB1SP. Brooks, N., Kieran, D., and Knaap, Gerrit-Jan (Eds.) 2011. The Oxford Handbook of Urban Economics and Planning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. CAF - Banco de Desarrollo de America Latina. 2017. Crecimiento urbano y acceso a oportunidades: un desafío para América Latina. Bogotá: CAF. Retrieved from http:// scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/1090. Reporte de Economia y Desarrollo. Caracas: CAF. Campante F., Chor D., Do Q-A. 2009. Instability and the Incentives for Corruption. Economics & Politics, 21(1), 42–92. Chen, Z., Lu, M. and Ni, P. 2019. Urbanization and Rural Development in the People’s Republic of China. In: Cities of Dragons and Elephants: Urbanization and Urban Development in the People’s Republic of China and India, (eds. Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, pp. 9–39. Daude, C., Fajardo, G., Brassiolo, P., Estrada, R., Goytia, C., Sanguinetti, P.., … Vargas, J. 2017. Crecimiento urbano y acceso a oportunidades: Un desafío para América Latina. Review of Education. Bogotá: CAF. Retrieved from http://scioteca.caf.com/h andle/123456789/1090. Duranton, G. 2008. Viewpoint: From Cities to Productivity and Growth in Developing Countries. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue Canadienne d’Économique/Revue canadienne d’économique, 41(3): 689–736. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5982.2008.00482.x. Goytia, C., Dorna, G., Cohen, J. and Pasquini, R. 2015. An Empirical Analysis of Land Use Regulation Determinants. Working Paper No. WP15CG1. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Henderson, J. V. 2002. Urban Primacy, External Costs, and Quality of Life. Resource and Energy Economics, 24(1), 95–106. Jedwab, R. and Vollrath, D. 2017. The Urban Mortality Transition and Poor Country Urbanization. Unpublished Paper. https://growthecon.com/assets/Jedwab_Vollrath _Web.pdf. Krugman, P. and Elizondo, R. L. 1996. Trade Policy and the Third World Metropolis. Journal of Development Economics, 49(1), 137–50. Nayka, Shivakumar and Sridhar, Kala S. 2019. Determinants of Intra Urban Mobility: A Study of Bengaluru. ISEC Working Paper 437. Bangalore: ISEC. Ochoa, Borrero, Durán, E., Hernández, J. and Montero, M. 2011. Evaluating the Practice of Betterment Levies in Colombia: The Experience of Bogotá and Manizales. Working Paper. Peterson, G. E. 2008. Unlocking Land Values to Finance Urban Infrastructure. The World Bank. Peralta Quirós, T. and Mehndiratta, S. 2014. Accessibility Analysis of Growth Patterns in Buenos Aires, Density, Employment and Spatial Form. Slack, Enid. 2018. Finance and Governance of Metropolitan Areas: Learning from International Experience. Presentation to ADB Conference on Urban Development and Economics in the Developing World, Shanghai Jiaotong University, August 8. Smolka, M. O. 2013. Implementing Value Capture in Latin America: Policies and Tools for Urban Development. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam. 2018. Urbanization and Carbon Emissions in India and China, Environment and Urbanization Asia (Sage), 9(2): 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1177 /0975425318783544.

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Sridhar, Kala Seetharam. 2019. Costs and Benefits of Urbanization: The Indian Case. In: Cities of Dragons and Elephants: Urbanization and Urban Development in the People’s Republic of China and India (eds. Guanghua Wan and Ming Lu). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, pp. 40–80. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Reddy, A. Venugopala. 2010. State of Urban Services in India’s Cities: Spending and Financing. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 148 pp. Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Wan Guanghua. 2010. Firm Location Choice in Cities: Evidence from China, India, and Brazil. China Economic Review, 21: 113–122. UN-Habitat. 2018. Habitat III Regional Report. Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved from https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019-05/habitatiiiregional-report-lac.pdf World Bank. 2018. World Development Indicators (WDI). Retrieved from http:// databank.worldbank.org/data/

INDEX

abatement, 160 Abdullah, 52 Abhiyan, 251 accountability, 88, 90, 94, 109, 144, 256–257, 259, 265, 291, 294–295, 302, 313 accrual, 83, 86 accumulation, 172, 177, 274 activism, 231, 256–262, 270–271 actors, 233, 236, 258, 274–275, 284 adaptation, 173 ADB see Asian Development Bank (ADB) Addis ababa, 291 Adesugba, 4–5, 29 Adhikari, 9, 206–208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220 adverse events following immunization (AEFI), 290 advocacy, 290–291 AEFI see adverse events following immunization (AEFI) Agarwal, 289 agglomeration, 11, 77, 124–125, 127, 258, 304, 307–310, 312, 313, 316–318 Ahluwalia, 87, 94–95, 125, 144 Ahmad, 126, 133, 139, 171, 225 Ahmedabad, 6, 9, 13, 80, 85, 101, 147, 150–152, 154–156, 161, 163, 256–258 Akinyele, 53 Alderman, 44 alleviation, 99, 122, 211, 257 allocation, 33, 45, 55, 84, 87, 178–179, 310–311, 314

Alperovich, 105 Amare, 30–31, 33–34, 36–37, 44–45 Amerasinghe, 170 amortized, 66–67, 71–72 Anganwadi, 297, 299–300 Angelakis, 168 anthropogenic, 167, 230, 235, 242 Aravind, 11, 288–289 Arid, 168, 177, 180 Arimah, 3–4 Arimond, 32–34 Arnbjerg, 168 Arnstein, 273 Asian Development Bank (ADB), 79, 93, 210, 243, 252 Atlas of Urban Expansion (AUE), 304, 309–310 AUE see Atlas of Urban Expansion (AUE) autonomy, 34, 44, 78–79, 95, 257 autoregressive, 26 Azad, 53 Bagalkot, 187 Bahadur, 220 Bairoch, 80 Ballot, 278, 280, 282 Bangalore, 2, 4–11, 13–14, 60–65, 74, 80–81, 83–85, 88–91, 94, 99–109, 111–113, 115–119, 121–123, 127, 184, 186–192, 196, 200, 231, 233, 244, 255–262, 288–294 Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), 63, 271

322 Index

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), 111–113, 191, 261, 271 Baoshan, 280–282, 285 BBMP see Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) BDA see Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Beijing, 225–226, 228 below poverty line (BPL), 20, 24, 27 Berhane, 291 Berlin, 238 Bernatzky, 245 Bhagirathi, 171 Bhaktapur, 9, 210, 212 Bhalla, 225, 232, 238 Bhatnagar, 144 Bhatt, 256, 258 Bidyadhari, 246, 248 Bilinsky, 33 Birkland, 234, 238 Bogard, 52 Bolund, 244 Borewell, 7, 69, 71, 74 BPL see below poverty line (BPL) Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), 63–64, 85, 100, 102, 104–105, 117, 119, 196, 261, 265, 268, 289, 293–296, 298–301 Buckley, 4, 15 BWSSB see Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Bylaw, 274 CAF, 306, 309 Calamities, 242, 244 Calcutta, 200, 246–247 Campante, 308 Carlino, 2 Carpiano, 214 caste, 159, 237 Castells, 256 Cattell, 212 causality, 7, 21–23, 27, 34, 36, 160, 225 census, 5, 20, 60–61, 79–80, 99, 101–102, 104–105, 111, 113–114, 116, 124–125, 127, 144, 151, 186, 188, 207, 255, 288 centralization, 104, 119, 312 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 226, 230 CEPT, 154 CGWB, 149, 174, 177 Chaithanya, 293 Chakrabarti, 247 Chanakya, 119

Chandra, 7, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 126 Chapagain, 168 Charmarbagwala, 44 Chatterjee, 248 Chattopadhyay, 247 Chaudari, 9, 167–168, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178, 180, 238 Chen, 3, 21, 37, 276, 306 Chennai, 6, 80–85, 87–89, 200, 244, 256–257, 259 Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), 83–84 Cheru, 15 Chicago, 309 Chitrakar, 211 Chokkasandra, 265, 268 Chonga, 214, 216–218, 220 Chongming, 276, 285 Choudhary, 125 citizenship, 256–257, 270 civilization, 109, 159, 161 Claderon, 125 CMWSSB see Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) Coase, 6 Coelho, 256–257 Coimbatore, 197 cointegration, 21–27 collaboration, 10, 215 Commission, 79, 81–83, 88–89, 94, 126 Commissioner, 84; see also Commission communicable, 106, 208, 292 competitiveness, 99, 125, 207 complementary, 36 compliance, 94 composition, 84, 212, 226, 257, 315 composting, 118–119 comptroller, 87–88 contagious, 3, 6, 305, 307–308 conundrum, 13–14, 225, 227, 229, 231, 233, 235, 237 convention, 87, 249 convergence, 233 cooption, 258 coproduction, 237 Coronavirus, 6, 11 cosmopolitan, 11 Costanza, 244 councilor, 261–262, 264–265, 267, 270 Covariates, 37, 54 CPCB see Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Cubbon park, 256

Index

cultivation, 53, 245, 247–248 customer, 148, 152–153 Dang, 150 Datta, 14 Daude, 305 decentralization, 256, 264, 276–277, 317 decomposition, 118, 133 Decreto, 317 Deepika, 259 Delhi, 6, 9–10, 13–14, 60, 80–82, 85–89, 91, 93, 101, 121–123, 127, 169–171, 173, 225–238, 243, 256–258 Delphi, 103 democracy, 215, 256–258, 270 densification, 309, 317 density, 2, 5–6, 8, 12, 100–105, 119, 123, 134, 151, 179, 199–200, 206–207, 209–210, 225, 277, 305, 308–311, 317 Deshiyanagar, 189 Detroit, 81 Devadas, 9, 147–148, 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164 Devkota, 207 devolution, 79, 88, 92 Dey, 77 Dhaka, 243, 252 Dhapa, 10, 13, 245, 247–248, 250–251 Dharwad, 101 Dhaubadel, 215, 217–218 digital, 9, 32, 128 Dorward, 52 Dowall, 6 Dudheswar, 151 Dumas, 32–35 Dupont, 14 Duwal, 215, 218 dynasty, 61 Ecuador, 313 Edokpa, 53 effectiveness, 10, 255, 259, 270, 302 efficiency, 6, 10, 85, 91–92, 94, 101, 111, 115, 119, 148, 152–153, 164, 168, 300, 302, 312–313; see also effectiveness Ehiakpor, 53 eigenvalue, 25–26 elasticity, 36, 79 electricity, 13, 85, 147, 153, 160, 216–217, 231, 251, 259 Elegbede, 53 Elizondo, 308 encephalitis, 200, 290, 293 encroachment, 61–63, 174, 210, 215, 249

323

endogeneity, 34–36 England, 1 Engle, 22 entrepreneur, 197 epidemiology, 297 episodes, 168, 173 equilibrium, 21, 23, 25 equity, 290 Estache, 125, 148 estimation, 31, 94, 100, 102, 173 Euromonitor, 80 evictions, 233 Ewel, 245 expenditure, 7–9, 31, 33–34, 45, 79, 84, 87–93, 107, 109–111, 121, 153, 155–156, 164, 302, 315 experimental, 228, 283, 291 exponential, 60–61, 102 externality, 6, 69, 71–72, 74, 212 Fadare, 44, 55 Falkenmark, 168 FAO see Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Faridabad, 226, 256–257 Feagkias, 77 federalism, 311 Fengxian, 285 Ferguson, 167 Firdaus, 225 fiscal, 79, 92–93, 95, 215, 276, 312–313, 316, 318 Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 33–34, 52, 148 Fuzhou, 285 Gajghate, 238 Gandhi, 193 Gandhigrama, 199, 201; see also Gandhi Ganga, 171 Ganges, 169; see also Ganga garbage, 93, 101, 115, 118–119, 129, 135, 197, 215, 250–251 Garret, 45 Garsous, 125 gazette, 154 Gebeyehu, 53 Ghaziabad, 226 Ghitorni, 176 Ghosh, 36, 125, 169, 244, 247–249 Glaeser, 1–4, 208 globalization, 2, 257, 275 Gödecke, 44 Goel, 226, 229–230 Gollin, 308

324 Index

Gowswami, 63 Goytia, 11, 304–305, 309, 311 gradient, 6, 31, 100, 102–104 Granger, 21–23, 27 gravity, 248 Greenstone, 227–228 Griffith, 78 Guangzhou, 285 Guber, 233–234 Güendel, 30 Guinea, 185 Gujenvis, 150 Gulbarga, 192, 201 Gupta, 226, 238 Gurgaon, 226 Guttikunda, 229 gynecological, 199 Haathnikund, 171 Haemophilus, 293 Hagadur, 107 Haimanti, 10, 242, 244, 246, 248, 250 Harappan, 161 Haritas, 81, 95 Harre, 15, 29 Harriss, 256–257 Hartig, 211 Haughton, 245 Hauz khas, 177, 179–180 Havaldar, 149 Headey, 44 Healey, 236 Hegganahalli, 107 Heidelberg, 238 Heilman, 273 Heinrigs, 15, 29 Hemavathy, 65, 69–70, 72 Henam, 87 Heralding, 67 Herrera, 211 heterogeneity, 29, 31, 36, 309 highways, 317 Himalayas, 206 Hindu, 87 Hindustan, 123, 228 Hirschman, 284 Hirvonen, 30 HMWSSB see Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) Hochstrat, 168 Hoddinott, 37 Hodler, 36 Hoek, 30 Hoekstra, 168

Holian, 5, 100 Holton, 232 Honduras, 313, 315 Hongkou, 285 Hooghly, 246 Howrah, 250 Huang, 226 Huangpu, 276, 281, 285 Hubli, 101 Hunhammar, 244 Hyderabad, 6, 8, 13, 80, 126–127, 135–143, 245 Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), 127, 135 Iannotti, 32, 37 ICRA see International Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) ICRIER, 78–79, 85, 87, 92, 94 ICSSR see Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) IEC see information, education and communication (IEC) Ikelegbe, 53 imagination, 236 immigrants, 210, 278, 284 immunization, 11, 13, 288–295, 297 Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), 100 Indradhanush, 289, 291, 293, 301 industrialization, 18, 78, 156, 184, 306, 308 inequality, 13, 37, 53, 99, 101, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 208, 305–306, 311, 314, 316 inequity, 118–119 information, education and communication (IEC), 291, 297, 301 Infosys, 81 innovation, 13, 197, 298, 308 Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), xx, xxii, xxviii International Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), 89, 91, 93 Internet, 85, 283 ISEC see Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) Ishtiaque, 209 Jacobs, 80 Jain, 228–231 Jal, 174 Janaagraha, 85, 256 Jaspur, 151

Index

Jayanagar, 75, 107, 265 Jayaram, 228–229 Jedwab, 308 Jiading, 285 Jing, 285 Jingfeng, 5 Jinshan, 285 Jnnurm, 121, 151, 189, 191, 257 Johansen, 22, 25 Joshi, 126, 133, 139 jurisdiction, 10, 128, 135, 294 justice, 13–14 Kalaburagi, 6 Kamath, 256, 258, 261 Kannada, 109–110, 187 Kansal, 167–170, 172, 174, 176, 178, 180 Kaplan, 211 Karachi, 252 Kathmandu, 208–210, 212, 218–219 Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA), 210 Katwaria, 177 Kehinde, 29 Kempegowda, 61, 75, 265, 268, 270 Kengeri, 262 Kennedy, 256, 258, 262 Khan, 45 Khare, 228–230 Khas, 177, 179–180 Kibbanahalli, 65, 70 Kiln, 217, 291 Kim, 125 Kingdon, 233, 238 Kishangarh, 177 Knowles, 15 Kodagu, 187 Kohler, 37 Kolkata, 6, 9–10, 13, 60, 80–82, 88–89, 242, 245–249, 251, 256–257 Koramangala, 75, 262 Korth, 52 Kosec, 35 Kotarpur, 151, 155 Kraas, 77 Krishna, 75, 238 Krishnan, 235 Krugman, 308 Kshetri, 212 Kulkarni, 172 Kumar, 44, 171, 176–177, 230–232, 234–236, 242 Kumaraswamy, 112, 262 Kundu, 78, 246–247

325

Kunj, 176–177 KVDA see Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA) Lagging, 30, 306 Lagos, 3 Lalitpur, 217 Lall, 125, 127 Lama, 77, 256, 258, 262 Landfill, 133, 139, 176, 215, 217 Latha, 9, 99–100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 184, 186, 188, 190, 192, 194, 196, 198, 200, 202 Lau, 273 liberalization, 257 Lima, 304, 310, 315 Lin, 274 Lindblom, 234 Lipschutz, 229 Liu, 168–171 livability, 213–214, 217 Liwali, 216 Lo, 21 Lucknow, 161 Luodian, 282 Lutz, 15 Luwan, 285 Madilu, 293 Mahadevia, 256, 258 Mahmud, 21 Majumdar, 246 Makropoulos, 179 Malleshwaram, 270 Manasi, 9, 99–100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114–116, 118, 120, 184, 186, 188, 190, 192, 194, 196, 198, 200, 202 Manpur, 245, 248, 251 marginalized, 250, 252, 289 Marmara, 21 Martel, 233 Masika, 15 Matemilola, 53 Matpukur, 248, 250–251 Mauzas, 245 Mavrotas, 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 29–30 McGinnis, 229, 235 McKinsey, 80–81, 87 McNamara, 44 mechanism, 11, 94, 285, 297, 300, 314 Mehndiratta, 311 Mehrauli, 176 Mehta, 209 Melbourne, 167 Mellander, 36

326

Index

Menon, 30 Mertins, 77 metropolis, 11, 60, 74, 123, 206, 275–276, 312 MGI, 124 Mikkelsen, 168 millet, 198 Minhang, 285 Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUA), 99 Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), 100, 118, 126, 131 Mistura, 29 Mizoram, 187 mobility, 101, 310–311, 317 mobilization, 89, 258, 261, 289–291, 299; see also Mobility Mohan, 169, 226, 229–230 MoHUA see Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUA) MOLD, 213, 219 Monkkonen, 6 monocentric, 317 morbidity, 106, 185, 226 Moriconi, 4, 15, 29 Mosites, 32–34 Mossberger, 275 Motunrayo, 29 MoUD see Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) Mugamba, 210 Mumbai, 2, 6, 60, 80–81, 83, 87–90, 101, 127, 184, 200, 243, 252, 256–258 municipalism, 256 municipality, 92–93, 212, 252, 276 Munirka, 177 Muruganantham, 197 Muzaffarnagar, 226 Muzzini, 209 Mysore, 75 Nabarro, 52 Nagarabhavi, 113, 123, 259 Nagpur, 256–257 Naina, 149 Nainan, 256–257, 265, 270 Najafgarh, 176 Nallathiga, 8, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 312 Nanhui, 285 Nanking, 285 Nanshi, 285 Narain, 228–229

Narayanan, 6 Nasem, 208 Nath, 230, 246 Natrajan, 198 Nayandahalli, 193 Nayka, 77, 121, 305 NDMC see North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Nehru, 151, 191, 257 neoliberalism, 273 Neuman, 236 New delhi, 80, 85, 87, 93, 101, 121–123, 225–226, 230, 233, 236–237, 243, 256–258 Nexus, 4, 54–55 Nguyen, 20 NHRC, 220 Nielsen, 168 Niemczynowicz, 77 Nimby, 238 Ningbo, 285 Nirmal bharat abhiyan, 251 Noida, 176, 226 Nongkynrih, 226, 238 North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), 87, 91, 93 Nowlan, 78 Nrega, 251 occupation, 62, 159, 195 Oceanic, 31, 55 OECD, 79 Ogunniyi, 7, 29–30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 Okata, 77 Okhla, 226 Olagunju, 29 Oltedal, 232 Ombudsman, 94 Oyeleye, 29 Oyeyemi, 29 PAC see Public Affairs Center (PAC) Padarayanapura, 103–105, 265 Pakrashi, 10, 242, 244, 246, 248, 250 Panchayat, 190, 248, 291 Pant, 226, 229–230 Paris, 309 participatory, 178, 217, 257–258, 262, 270, 274, 284, 294 Paul, 101–102, 113, 255 Peru, 304, 315 Peterson, 313 Pingali, 44 Pokhari, 214, 220

Index

pourakarmikas, 119 Prabhakar, 10, 225–226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236 PRAGATI see Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) Pralle, 238 Prasuthi, 293 Premji, 100, 121 Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI), 294 Public Affairs Center (PAC), 101, 255 Pudong, 276, 285 Puxi, 276, 285 Qian, 208 Qingpu, 285 Quirós, 311 Rajendran, 32–34 Ramanujam, 144 Ramaprasad, 63 Ramsar, 244, 249 Randstad, 81 Ranney, 174 Rao, 90, 101, 123, 177, 265 Raskin, 274 reclamation, 247 redressal, 128, 132, 134–135, 138–144, 152–153, 265 refurbishment, 152, 155 regeneration, 274 regionalism, 235, 238 regression, 21, 102, 104 resettlement, 277–280, 282–284 Rizwan, 226, 230, 238 Rosanvallon, 258 Roy, 236 Sabarmati, 150 Sadashivanagar, 104 Saglio-yatzimirsky, 77 Saharan, 3, 44, 55, 305, 309 Sahrin, 181 Sainju, 220 Sallaghari, 216 Samaddar, 77 Sampangiramanagara, 262, 270 Sangraula, 3 Sarfaz, 148 Sarkar, 176 Sarvagnanagar, 189 Sassen, 1–2, 276–277 Savenije, 168–169, 171

327

Schistosomiasis, 185 Seberg, 236 segregation, 118–119, 309 Sen, 77 Sengupta, 63 Seto, 78 Shaban, 14 Shah, 172 Shahdara, 176 Shahi, 220 Shahid, 214–215, 218, 220 Shakha, 219 Shamsi, 179 Shanghai, 7, 10–11, 14, 243, 273–278, 281, 285 Sharif, 171 Sharma, 167–168, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178, 180, 208 Shen, 280 Shiferaw, 45 Shin, 273 Shinde, 168 Shirley, 212 Shivani, 185, 188 Shivapura, 190, 201 Shrestha, 220 Shroff, 44 Sibhatu, 32–34 Siddhi, 214, 220 Siedentop, 230–231 Simtowe, 53 simulation, 160, 315 simultaneity, 77 Singapore, 2, 225 Singh, 8, 44, 77–78, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 238 slum, 83, 101, 106–107, 109, 112, 116–117, 119, 157, 186, 188, 190–193, 197–201, 203, 259, 288–290 Smitha, 10, 61, 121, 123, 255–256, 258, 261 Smolka, 313–315, 318 socialist, 274, 280 Sodhi, 8, 77–78, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94 Solecki, 78 Somers, 232 Songjiang, 285 Sorensen, 77 Soroka, 233–234 spatial, 4, 15, 32, 99–103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 212, 218, 307–308, 311 Spence, 1 spillovers, 207

328

Index

Sridhar, 1–2, 4–6, 8–10, 12, 14, 22, 29, 45, 60–61, 63, 78, 80, 91, 99–102, 104, 106, 108–110, 112–114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142–144, 148, 208, 215, 231, 242, 244, 256, 258–261, 291, 305–306, 308, 312–313 standardization, 122, 301 stationarity, 23–25 Stoker, 275 Strom, 275 Subashnagar, 103 subnational, 31–32, 92 Suhag, 149 Sunderbans, 250 surveillance, 12, 292–293, 298, 300 Sutlej, 169, 171 Suvarna, 293 Swacchh, 251 Swanthatrapalya, 189 Swindale, 33 Taayi, 293 Tahir, 21 Takano, 211 Tamil, 81–84, 88–89, 173, 197, 300 Tang, 273 Tawa, 262 taxation, 79, 92 Tehri, 169, 171 Telangana, 127 telecommunication, 81 Telugu, 109 temple, 217, 235 Tenreyro, 55 Tewari, 101, 123 thatched, 251 Thippaiah, 61, 64 Tiebout, 262 Tigabu, 53 Tiwari, 231 TLU see total livestock unit (TLU) Tokyo, 243 Tombe, 53 Tonnerre, 247 topography, 159, 161 Torero, 54 total livestock unit (TLU), 32, 34–38, 40–42, 44–46, 48–50 transportation, 119, 133, 139, 147, 156, 160, 244, 305–306, 309–312 tribes, 262 Tripura, 187 Tubers, 55 Tudikhel, 218 Tumkur, 65, 75

UDPFI see Urban Development Plan Formulation Implementation (UDPFI) UGD see underground drainage systems (UGD) UGS see urban green space (UGS) UIP see Universal Immunization Program (UIP) ULB see urban local bodies (ULB) ULG see urban local governments (ULG) Underemployment, 3–5, 29 underground drainage systems (UGD), 117–118 Undeveloped, 311 Unemployment, 3–5, 29 UNESCO, 212 UNICEF, 44, 117, 149, 184–185, 291 Universal Immunization Program (UIP), 288, 293, 298 unplanned, 208, 210–211, 310 UNU, 122 Upadhya, 231, 233 UPHC see urban primary health centers (UPHC) Urban Development Plan Formulation Implementation (UDPFI), 134 urban green space (UGS), 174 urban local bodies (ULB), 89, 121, 169, 179 urban local governments (ULG), 127–128, 132–135, 138, 141–143 urban primary health centers (UPHC), 294, 300 urban services, 5–6, 8–9, 15, 78, 99–100, 102, 125–128, 143, 255, 258, 310, 316 urbanism, 236, 272; see also Urbanization urbanization, 1–11, 13–24, 26–27, 33–38, 40–46, 48–50, 52–64, 74–78, 95, 106, 109, 118, 126, 184, 206–209, 211–213, 215, 217, 219, 236, 242, 274, 288, 290, 292, 304–308, 311 URDPFI, 173 Urdu, 109 Uruguay, 313 Usman, 21 Uttarahalli, 265, 268 Vaddiraju, 273 Vajpayee, 293 Venezuela, 312 Venkat, 257 Venkatesh, 63 Véron, 230–232, 235, 237 Vijayabaskar, 256, 258, 261 Vollrath, 308 Vörösmarty, 168

Index

WACC, 156 Waitan, 285 Wang, 21, 280–282 Wannous, 52 Warangal, 127 waterfront, 281, 285 watershed, 156, 173–174 Wazirabad, 171 West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (WBIDFC), 83 WBIDFC see West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (WBIDFC) Weinstein, 273 Weiss, 290 Wendling, 218 Westfall, 123 Wetland, 177, 245, 248–249, 251 Whiteley, 4 Whittington, 147 Wipro, 81 Wong, 273 Wratten, 15 Wu, 273 Xiamen, 285 Xu, 11, 77, 273–275, 277 Xuhui, 285

Yadav, 7, 18, 20, 22, 24 Yadgir, 187 Yamuna, 169, 171, 174–177, 233 Yan, 274 Yang, 170, 280 Yangpu, 277–280, 282, 285 Yangtze, 276 Yao, 53 Yarabnagar, 189, 201 Yatzimirsky, 77 Yeh, 77 Yelahanka, 190 Yeshwanthpur, 107 Yin, 214 Yoga, 217, 293 Yojana, 197 Yuan, 282–283 Zak, 15 Zeng, 168–172 Zerah, 258 Zevenbergen, 170 Zhabei, 285 Zhang, 168, 225–226, 228, 274–277 Zhao, 21 Zhongshan, 285 Zhumin, 11, 273 Zilla, 190

329