The Dilemma of Urbanisation in Indian Himalayas
Urbanisation across the hills of India, mainly the Himalayan part, has a long history that started before the advent of the British. Today the hills of the country accommodate over 500 towns, mainly the small and medium towns.
Not after many years from now, more than half of the world’s population will be living across the cities and towns for the first time in human history. Urban settlements are so basic to the idea of human progress that even the word ‘civilisation’ has its roots in the Latin word for city, civitas. According to the recent study of Ford Foundation, today towns and cities dominate the world with more than 200,000 people moving from a rural area to an urban area. This is a new development for the planet and a profound change in human organisation. Hills and mountains located across the globe have not been an exception in this regard. Although development and urbanisation started relatively later in these part of landforms they, nevertheless, are in a critical situation as of today. Developmental works, growth of population both natural and through migration, unplanned tourism etc across the urban settlements have both been up-gradational and degradational in nature.
Urbanisation across the hills of the India, mainly the Himalayan part, has a long history that started before the advent of the British. The earliest urban characters were mainly the capital towns built by different rulers. They were essentially rural in character made up mainly of the palaces, high walls, temples, pavilions etc. With the advent of the British and subsequent colonization of the Indian soil, centers for collection and other related activities started along with the development of administrative activities. Partition of India affected the towns by changing the population size and area of the towns. In the post independence era under the planned effort of development, decentralization activities started and administrative units were reorganized. The second half of the 20th century saw tremendous pace in the level of urbanisation and urban growth in the uplands of the country.
Today the hills of the country accommodate over 500 towns, mainly the small and medium towns. If we dissect the hill towns it is found that small chunk of large towns accommodate considerable urban souls. For instance, out of the total urban settlements class one towns comprise only 4 percent but shelter 28 per cent of the total urban population of the region. Over 70 percent of the hill towns are small in character but accommodate less than 40 per cent of the urban population. Such scenario does indicate that the distribution of urban population in the hills of the country is also top heavy as in mainland India. Information available in the preliminary census report also reveals that urban population in our hill towns are unevenly distributed among the different size classes of towns and cities as also over space.
The implication may, however, be different as against mainland India. The hills with different environmental set up and geographic and geomorphic characteristics may not support the excessive concentration of urban population in its towns and cities. Further, the hilly terrain may not have the scope for lateral expansion of urban settlements as in the plain lands. Hence the hill towns in the long run may create hosts of environmental problems and thereby impact the livelihood of the people. Moreover, majority of the urban settlements across the hills are not planned, they grew historically as a trade or administrative centers.
There is a need for the policy makers and planners to revisit the urban situation across the upland settlements of the country. Class I towns in the region have very little scope for their spatial expansion keeping in view the physical set up of the region. Moreover cities in hills have not emerged as a result of planned intervention historically. They are the expanded version of the trade centres in the region. Hence these centres need to be controlled and directed in a sustainable path. It is also that the geomorphic attributes of the region do not permit too many large towns. The medium and small towns particularly class III, IV and V towns are expanding with appreciable pace. They can be developed as major growth centres in the region through appropriate planning and policy intervention to accommodate the rising urban population. Such intervention may also reduce the spatial disparity in the levels of urbanisation in the region.
Some Cases
1.Simla: As in the past, Shimla remains one of the most important tourist destinations on the tourism map of India. Tourists visit the city from far and wide including the western countries. In spite of the fact that a large number of hotel rooms have been added over the years, to get hotel accommodation in Shimla remains a problem specifically during the tourist season because the floating tourist population is nearly twice that of the local population. Population growth and geographical spread of the city, particularly after 1966, has resulted in a large number of problems of governance and management. A large number of trees have been cut only to be replaced with multi-storied buildings. Offices are spread out in a rather haphazard manner. Most of the city is littered with solid wastes. Sewers and drains are choked in many places. Vehicular pollution, traffic snarls and bottlenecks, lack of parking spaces and terminal facilities, haphazard growth of offices and residences have serious debilitating effects on the environment of the city. Planning violations, encroachments, unauthorized construction, and growth of slums have defaced this once beautiful city.
2.Darjeeling:The British designed the town in early nineteenth century for the population of about 10,000 probably only the European bureaucrats. The present population of over 1lakh is surely a hazard to the health of the queen of hills. The town as a district head quarter acts as the center of all types of economic activity, which attracts the rural folks of the district to migrate to the town for better opportunity. Besides, the invigorating climatic asset of the town compels the people from the surrounding states to migrate and settle permanently in the region. This has made the town more prone to the environmental problems in recent decades.
3.Shillong: Shillong the capital city of Megahalya, which was planned by the British as a hill resort, has undergone substantial change – both in character and form. A tiny administrative unit has now become an unpleasant commercial centre overshadowing the proud title of the Scotland of the east. Shillong like any other towns has developed principally as an administrative and commercial centre employing a large number of workers in these sectors. With the growth of commercial activity and with the sustained increase in population the city infrastructure has been utilised to the limit. Population of Shillong as of today stands at around 1,32,836. With the rapid growth of urbanisation, Shillong now faces shortage of water, inadequacy of sanitation and civic services that are strained to the limit. Shillong at present has the problem of a big city including long and unending queues of cars, a long line of kerosene consumers and degraded urban environment.
4.Gangtok: Gangtok is a rapidly growing hill city dependent on a fragile environment. It is the primary city of a predominantly rural state of Sikkim. Population of greater Gangtok is about 1.2 lakh and distributed between the core (28%), periphery (50%) and outer periphery (22%). The Government of Sikkim reclassified the city limits of Gangtok in 1991, causing the population and the city area to shrink by 60 percent. Rapid expansion following the 1971 merger with India had pushed the urban boundary well beyond the municipal boundary with which it was originally contiguous. Strong public pressure to revert to the original limit led to the reclassification leaving 65,000 residents outside the city boundary and only 25,000 inhabitants in the city core. Land ownership lies at the heart of this situation, as, according to Sikkim legislation, land outside designated urban areas can only be owned by specified groups of people. The definition of the current boundary to exclude large urban areas of greater Gangtok has a significant impact on the provision of services. Responsibility for water and environmental sanitation services rests with the Public Health Engineering Department (urban water and sanitation), the Urban Development and Housing Department (solid waste management), the Rural Development Department (rural water supply and sanitation) and the Irrigation Department (drainage). There is no municipality (Municipality suspended in 1985).
An Interview
Dr. Shrawan Kumar Acharya, Associate Professor, School of Planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad is a trained Urban and Regional Planner. He has been in the planning field at the teaching, research and consultancy levels for the last 17 years. Himself a permanent inhabitant of Darjeeling Hills, Dr. Acharya has been associated with various urban & regional planning and development projects across the Himalayan region of the country. Dr. Acharya clarifies some of the queries of Vimal Khawas with regard to the urban planning and development issues across the hills and mountains of India.
V.K. What is the scope of urban planning in the country in general and hills in particular?
S.K.A. As per the 2001 census nearly 28 percent of India’s population reside in the urban areas. The growth of the economy at 6 to 7 percent per annum in the last decade and also anticipated in the future implies rapid urbanisation. Economic growth and the functional integration of the space economy, because of liberalisation and commensurate development of infrastructure, have brought marginal areas like the hills and mountains under urban processes. The anticipated opening of the trade routes in some Himalayan regions, like Sikkim, implies rapid development of urban areas. In order to reap the benefit of urban economies there is a need to anticipate and plan the growth and development of the urban areas. But planning is required not only to accommodate the anticipated changes but also improve the existing conditions of the hill towns most of which are under severe stress. Moreover hills are environmentally sensitive areas needing special attention. Therefore, scientific urban planning is important and planning of not only individual cities but also system of cities at a regional level is essential.
V.K. What are the areas covered by urban planning and how attractive is it as a career option?
S.K.A. Planned settlements have been a feature since ancient civilisation. Examples abound in the Indus valley, Ancient Greece and Rome. Urban planning then was more a reflection of power and grandeur. Emphasis was on architecture and aesthetics benefiting the rich and the powerful than the common people. Modern urban planning emerged as a discipline to address the problems arising out of the industrial revolution in U.K and Europe. The degeneration of quality of life as reflected in high incidence of poverty, mortality and morbidity made public health major issues. Town planning sought to address these issues. In the beginning the profession was engineering and architecture oriented because improvement in public health was sought to be addressed by physical improvements in water supply, drainage, housing, roads etc. However towards the 1920s the importance of social sciences mainly, geography, sociology and economics was also realised. After all a city is not only a physical entity but is also a social, cultural, economic and political entity. A good city plan will have to address these issues. Planners like Ebenezer Howard, Patrick Geddes and Louis Mumford have been very strong proponents of multidisciplinary approach to city planning. This tradition has continued and City Planning programmes today, at least in European and American institutes, include much wider discipline. Beginning 1980s the neo liberal agenda has envisaged a much wider and important role of the cities in the development of any country. Cities are being seen as competing productive entities and corporate units in a globalising spatial economy. Because of this, management and governance have become important features in urban planning pedagogy and practice along with physical and socio-economic concerns.
Urban planning is an attractive career option. Increasing urbanisation and importance of the cities in economic development of the nation has considerably widened the scope of the profession. Career options have increased tremendously. In the past, government was the main employer but today large number of planners are being employed by the private consultancy firms, both domestic and international, research institutes and non governmental organisations. The jobs are not only challenging but well paying also. Mobility, vertical and spatial, has considerably increased. Internationalisation of consultancy services has opened avenues for planners to work in different countries. One can also start a private consultancy services as an independent service entrepreneur, which are in high demand.
V.K. Has the urban planning institutes located across the metros and other mainstream cities been able to address the urban planning and development issues of hill towns in the country?
S.K.A. To some extent yes, but still lot needs to be done. As a colony India tremendously benefited from the British planning pedagogy and practices. India has good institutions, skilled manpower and professional organisation in the field of planning. The tradition of preparing development plans and the planning legislations are quite rich and have evolved over a period of time. Most hill towns, including Gangtok and Shimla, have development plan and there are town planning departments, independent or within the municipality, to address the planning issues. However, the implementation is weak. Political decisions take precedents over rational planning decisions, which have adversely affected the utility of the plans. Plan making and implementation is also skewed in favour of large cities and towns. Therefore, despite the mandatory requirement small towns, many in the hills, do not have good plans and effective authorities and manpower to execute it. Moreover, hill areas are special zones they require different treatment. Very often planning education and plan making do not address this uniqueness. Same techniques, planning norms and standards, which are applied in other regions, are also applied in the hill region. Professionals and academics are not sensitive to the special requirement of the hill areas. To some extent this is because there are no institutes, which are located in the hill areas. The existing institutes do not have specialisation in hill areas planning except occasional seminar or workshop organised by planning bodies like the Institute of Town and Country Planners. Problems in the hills are still considered to be miniscule compared to other areas. There is also less number of students from the hills pursuing this course. But in the recent days planning of hill towns is getting attention. Environmental problems and deteriorating living environment is forcing government as well as the people to rethink about their habitation. Media, NGOs and international donor agencies like AUSAID, as in the case of Gangtok, are becoming active in supporting planning initiatives in these regions.
V.K. Most of the recent urban planning ventures in our hill towns are attempted by the mainstream urban planners who are not adequately acquainted with the pros and cons of the hills. Is it so because we do not have professional urban planners in the hills?
S.K.A. To some extent it is true that lack of professional planners from the hill area is a concern. In absence of qualified professionals and planning institutes one has to depend on outside experts or consultants especially in an era when the role of the government planning machinery and responsibility has considerably reduced. It is also the effect of liberalisation and globalisation. After the 1990s the role of international planning agencies has considerably increased in India. Many cities in India are being planned by international consultants despite India, as a whole, having a good manpower. It is nothing but the operation of free market economics in the service sector. This is also true in the hill areas.
Local knowledge and acquaintance matters and it helps in planning and addressing issues properly. We certainly need to have more local professionals. But even if there are local professionals there is no guarantee that they will be sensitive to local issues and will prepare good plans. Politics take precedent over technicalities. We also need to remember that corruption rules the day (Planning deals with land!!). Good plans fail because of corruption and political interference besides poor manpower base, institutional and legal bottlenecks.
We also need to understand that the non hill professionals/outsiders, who plan the hill towns, may not be sensitive to the problems of the hills partly because s/he is an outsider but also because he may not have been trained properly in the scientific discipline or he does not give enough time to understanding the region and the development issues (for which the plan is being made!!). The problems become serious in absence of local monitoring and regulatory mechanism of the plan making and implementation process. This is one reason for the proliferation of shoddy consultancy reports, which has no rigour as a professional document. The problem is increasing because consultancy is a big business very often without any accountability. There has to be mechanisms to ensure accountability from the consultants both local and outside.
V.K. Why have the planning schools not been able to attract young boys and girls from hills in the ways they should have attracted?
S.K.A. The main reason is hill students are not aware of the discipline. They lack information and proper guidance regarding the course and the career option. Location of the planning institutes in far off areas also acts as a disincentive. We also need to remember that large number of planning student in the postgraduate programme is from Engineering and Architecture background. There are limited numbers of hill students in this professional course. There are under graduate planning programmes in few planning institutes in India and even in these programmes there are hardly any hill students. Sometimes competition also becomes a deterrent. Economic factors are also important considerations especially if the student has not qualified GATE or NET exams. GATE and NET qualified students are entitled for full scholars to pursue the two-year planning programme all over India.
Planning schools have also failed to pro actively engage the student community from the hills. There are hardly any promotional programmes regarding the course and no interview centres in the hills. The curriculum does not give enough attention on the problems of the hills.
V.K. What is the future of our hill towns in view of the present rate of urbanisation and unplanned urban development across the hills of the country?
S.K.A. If the present rate of unplanned urban growth takes place in the hills they will get converted to urban ghettos. One can see the ill effects all across the Himalayas like Simla, Darjeeling etc. Congestion, haphazard traffic, pollution, deficiency in basic utilities like water is already a major problem. Increase in urban population will further aggravate the problem. Comparative advantage of hill towns as tourist destination will decline. The present pattern of urban growth has also made all hill towns vulnerable to natural and man-made disaster. High-rise structures in seismic and landslide prone areas are certainly not a rational land use plan. In a way the hill settlements are a high-risk settlements needing urgent attention!
V.K. How should we address our urban development and planning issues in order to put our hill towns into a sustainable tract?
S.K.A. There is still time to avert the catastrophe. The first and foremost thing one needs is the political will to prepare plans and implement them properly. Somebody has to take the lead. Secondly, the citizens will have to wake up to the reality and act as an advocacy groups to address the urban problems. The role of the neighbourhood committees is increasingly becoming important. Urban issues should become core development agenda in the local and provincial elections. Provisions of 74th amendment act needs to be implemented properly and local bodies need to be given power and authority. The role of the state governments should be minimal. Planning, management and governance of urban areas should be emphasised by developing institutions and appropriate laws and legislations. Skilled manpower should be increased. Unlike large cities in other regions hill towns are comparatively small. In fact small towns and weekly markets still play important role in the hills. Proper attention should be paid to the growth and development of these towns. The problems of capital towns like Gangtok are also because of under development of small towns. Along with the individual towns a proper regional settlement plan needs to be prepared to avert the urban crisis in the hills.
There is also a need for planning schools to emphasise on the problems of the hills. Planning schools can also introduce special programmes (short term/ long term) on hill areas planning. Besides the fresh students, mid carrier officials, professionals and college teachers should also be encouraged to enroll in planning programmes. Most of the planning schools in India have special provision to enroll sponsored candidates. The hill states need to take advantage of this provision. The states should also facilitate the Planning schools to undertake research and students studio programme in the hills. Such an interaction will considerably help the states and planning institutes to address the planning pedagogy and practice of and for the hills!
Moreover, states like Sikkim should take initiative in instituting Urban and Regional Planning Schools, with the support of the Central Government and other hill state governments in India. Establishment of such an institution in the North Eastern Region of the country is strategic and important given the need and the development potential of the area. The increasing attention given by the central government in the recent days to the North Eastern states also makes the option viable and possible.
Urbanisation across the hills of India, mainly the Himalayan part, has a long history that started before the advent of the British. Today the hills of the country accommodate over 500 towns, mainly the small and medium towns.
Not after many years from now, more than half of the world’s population will be living across the cities and towns for the first time in human history. Urban settlements are so basic to the idea of human progress that even the word ‘civilisation’ has its roots in the Latin word for city, civitas. According to the recent study of Ford Foundation, today towns and cities dominate the world with more than 200,000 people moving from a rural area to an urban area. This is a new development for the planet and a profound change in human organisation. Hills and mountains located across the globe have not been an exception in this regard. Although development and urbanisation started relatively later in these part of landforms they, nevertheless, are in a critical situation as of today. Developmental works, growth of population both natural and through migration, unplanned tourism etc across the urban settlements have both been up-gradational and degradational in nature.
Urbanisation across the hills of the India, mainly the Himalayan part, has a long history that started before the advent of the British. The earliest urban characters were mainly the capital towns built by different rulers. They were essentially rural in character made up mainly of the palaces, high walls, temples, pavilions etc. With the advent of the British and subsequent colonization of the Indian soil, centers for collection and other related activities started along with the development of administrative activities. Partition of India affected the towns by changing the population size and area of the towns. In the post independence era under the planned effort of development, decentralization activities started and administrative units were reorganized. The second half of the 20th century saw tremendous pace in the level of urbanisation and urban growth in the uplands of the country.
Today the hills of the country accommodate over 500 towns, mainly the small and medium towns. If we dissect the hill towns it is found that small chunk of large towns accommodate considerable urban souls. For instance, out of the total urban settlements class one towns comprise only 4 percent but shelter 28 per cent of the total urban population of the region. Over 70 percent of the hill towns are small in character but accommodate less than 40 per cent of the urban population. Such scenario does indicate that the distribution of urban population in the hills of the country is also top heavy as in mainland India. Information available in the preliminary census report also reveals that urban population in our hill towns are unevenly distributed among the different size classes of towns and cities as also over space.
The implication may, however, be different as against mainland India. The hills with different environmental set up and geographic and geomorphic characteristics may not support the excessive concentration of urban population in its towns and cities. Further, the hilly terrain may not have the scope for lateral expansion of urban settlements as in the plain lands. Hence the hill towns in the long run may create hosts of environmental problems and thereby impact the livelihood of the people. Moreover, majority of the urban settlements across the hills are not planned, they grew historically as a trade or administrative centers.
There is a need for the policy makers and planners to revisit the urban situation across the upland settlements of the country. Class I towns in the region have very little scope for their spatial expansion keeping in view the physical set up of the region. Moreover cities in hills have not emerged as a result of planned intervention historically. They are the expanded version of the trade centres in the region. Hence these centres need to be controlled and directed in a sustainable path. It is also that the geomorphic attributes of the region do not permit too many large towns. The medium and small towns particularly class III, IV and V towns are expanding with appreciable pace. They can be developed as major growth centres in the region through appropriate planning and policy intervention to accommodate the rising urban population. Such intervention may also reduce the spatial disparity in the levels of urbanisation in the region.
Some Cases
1.Simla: As in the past, Shimla remains one of the most important tourist destinations on the tourism map of India. Tourists visit the city from far and wide including the western countries. In spite of the fact that a large number of hotel rooms have been added over the years, to get hotel accommodation in Shimla remains a problem specifically during the tourist season because the floating tourist population is nearly twice that of the local population. Population growth and geographical spread of the city, particularly after 1966, has resulted in a large number of problems of governance and management. A large number of trees have been cut only to be replaced with multi-storied buildings. Offices are spread out in a rather haphazard manner. Most of the city is littered with solid wastes. Sewers and drains are choked in many places. Vehicular pollution, traffic snarls and bottlenecks, lack of parking spaces and terminal facilities, haphazard growth of offices and residences have serious debilitating effects on the environment of the city. Planning violations, encroachments, unauthorized construction, and growth of slums have defaced this once beautiful city.
2.Darjeeling:The British designed the town in early nineteenth century for the population of about 10,000 probably only the European bureaucrats. The present population of over 1lakh is surely a hazard to the health of the queen of hills. The town as a district head quarter acts as the center of all types of economic activity, which attracts the rural folks of the district to migrate to the town for better opportunity. Besides, the invigorating climatic asset of the town compels the people from the surrounding states to migrate and settle permanently in the region. This has made the town more prone to the environmental problems in recent decades.
3.Shillong: Shillong the capital city of Megahalya, which was planned by the British as a hill resort, has undergone substantial change – both in character and form. A tiny administrative unit has now become an unpleasant commercial centre overshadowing the proud title of the Scotland of the east. Shillong like any other towns has developed principally as an administrative and commercial centre employing a large number of workers in these sectors. With the growth of commercial activity and with the sustained increase in population the city infrastructure has been utilised to the limit. Population of Shillong as of today stands at around 1,32,836. With the rapid growth of urbanisation, Shillong now faces shortage of water, inadequacy of sanitation and civic services that are strained to the limit. Shillong at present has the problem of a big city including long and unending queues of cars, a long line of kerosene consumers and degraded urban environment.
4.Gangtok: Gangtok is a rapidly growing hill city dependent on a fragile environment. It is the primary city of a predominantly rural state of Sikkim. Population of greater Gangtok is about 1.2 lakh and distributed between the core (28%), periphery (50%) and outer periphery (22%). The Government of Sikkim reclassified the city limits of Gangtok in 1991, causing the population and the city area to shrink by 60 percent. Rapid expansion following the 1971 merger with India had pushed the urban boundary well beyond the municipal boundary with which it was originally contiguous. Strong public pressure to revert to the original limit led to the reclassification leaving 65,000 residents outside the city boundary and only 25,000 inhabitants in the city core. Land ownership lies at the heart of this situation, as, according to Sikkim legislation, land outside designated urban areas can only be owned by specified groups of people. The definition of the current boundary to exclude large urban areas of greater Gangtok has a significant impact on the provision of services. Responsibility for water and environmental sanitation services rests with the Public Health Engineering Department (urban water and sanitation), the Urban Development and Housing Department (solid waste management), the Rural Development Department (rural water supply and sanitation) and the Irrigation Department (drainage). There is no municipality (Municipality suspended in 1985).
An Interview
Dr. Shrawan Kumar Acharya, Associate Professor, School of Planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad is a trained Urban and Regional Planner. He has been in the planning field at the teaching, research and consultancy levels for the last 17 years. Himself a permanent inhabitant of Darjeeling Hills, Dr. Acharya has been associated with various urban & regional planning and development projects across the Himalayan region of the country. Dr. Acharya clarifies some of the queries of Vimal Khawas with regard to the urban planning and development issues across the hills and mountains of India.
V.K. What is the scope of urban planning in the country in general and hills in particular?
S.K.A. As per the 2001 census nearly 28 percent of India’s population reside in the urban areas. The growth of the economy at 6 to 7 percent per annum in the last decade and also anticipated in the future implies rapid urbanisation. Economic growth and the functional integration of the space economy, because of liberalisation and commensurate development of infrastructure, have brought marginal areas like the hills and mountains under urban processes. The anticipated opening of the trade routes in some Himalayan regions, like Sikkim, implies rapid development of urban areas. In order to reap the benefit of urban economies there is a need to anticipate and plan the growth and development of the urban areas. But planning is required not only to accommodate the anticipated changes but also improve the existing conditions of the hill towns most of which are under severe stress. Moreover hills are environmentally sensitive areas needing special attention. Therefore, scientific urban planning is important and planning of not only individual cities but also system of cities at a regional level is essential.
V.K. What are the areas covered by urban planning and how attractive is it as a career option?
S.K.A. Planned settlements have been a feature since ancient civilisation. Examples abound in the Indus valley, Ancient Greece and Rome. Urban planning then was more a reflection of power and grandeur. Emphasis was on architecture and aesthetics benefiting the rich and the powerful than the common people. Modern urban planning emerged as a discipline to address the problems arising out of the industrial revolution in U.K and Europe. The degeneration of quality of life as reflected in high incidence of poverty, mortality and morbidity made public health major issues. Town planning sought to address these issues. In the beginning the profession was engineering and architecture oriented because improvement in public health was sought to be addressed by physical improvements in water supply, drainage, housing, roads etc. However towards the 1920s the importance of social sciences mainly, geography, sociology and economics was also realised. After all a city is not only a physical entity but is also a social, cultural, economic and political entity. A good city plan will have to address these issues. Planners like Ebenezer Howard, Patrick Geddes and Louis Mumford have been very strong proponents of multidisciplinary approach to city planning. This tradition has continued and City Planning programmes today, at least in European and American institutes, include much wider discipline. Beginning 1980s the neo liberal agenda has envisaged a much wider and important role of the cities in the development of any country. Cities are being seen as competing productive entities and corporate units in a globalising spatial economy. Because of this, management and governance have become important features in urban planning pedagogy and practice along with physical and socio-economic concerns.
Urban planning is an attractive career option. Increasing urbanisation and importance of the cities in economic development of the nation has considerably widened the scope of the profession. Career options have increased tremendously. In the past, government was the main employer but today large number of planners are being employed by the private consultancy firms, both domestic and international, research institutes and non governmental organisations. The jobs are not only challenging but well paying also. Mobility, vertical and spatial, has considerably increased. Internationalisation of consultancy services has opened avenues for planners to work in different countries. One can also start a private consultancy services as an independent service entrepreneur, which are in high demand.
V.K. Has the urban planning institutes located across the metros and other mainstream cities been able to address the urban planning and development issues of hill towns in the country?
S.K.A. To some extent yes, but still lot needs to be done. As a colony India tremendously benefited from the British planning pedagogy and practices. India has good institutions, skilled manpower and professional organisation in the field of planning. The tradition of preparing development plans and the planning legislations are quite rich and have evolved over a period of time. Most hill towns, including Gangtok and Shimla, have development plan and there are town planning departments, independent or within the municipality, to address the planning issues. However, the implementation is weak. Political decisions take precedents over rational planning decisions, which have adversely affected the utility of the plans. Plan making and implementation is also skewed in favour of large cities and towns. Therefore, despite the mandatory requirement small towns, many in the hills, do not have good plans and effective authorities and manpower to execute it. Moreover, hill areas are special zones they require different treatment. Very often planning education and plan making do not address this uniqueness. Same techniques, planning norms and standards, which are applied in other regions, are also applied in the hill region. Professionals and academics are not sensitive to the special requirement of the hill areas. To some extent this is because there are no institutes, which are located in the hill areas. The existing institutes do not have specialisation in hill areas planning except occasional seminar or workshop organised by planning bodies like the Institute of Town and Country Planners. Problems in the hills are still considered to be miniscule compared to other areas. There is also less number of students from the hills pursuing this course. But in the recent days planning of hill towns is getting attention. Environmental problems and deteriorating living environment is forcing government as well as the people to rethink about their habitation. Media, NGOs and international donor agencies like AUSAID, as in the case of Gangtok, are becoming active in supporting planning initiatives in these regions.
V.K. Most of the recent urban planning ventures in our hill towns are attempted by the mainstream urban planners who are not adequately acquainted with the pros and cons of the hills. Is it so because we do not have professional urban planners in the hills?
S.K.A. To some extent it is true that lack of professional planners from the hill area is a concern. In absence of qualified professionals and planning institutes one has to depend on outside experts or consultants especially in an era when the role of the government planning machinery and responsibility has considerably reduced. It is also the effect of liberalisation and globalisation. After the 1990s the role of international planning agencies has considerably increased in India. Many cities in India are being planned by international consultants despite India, as a whole, having a good manpower. It is nothing but the operation of free market economics in the service sector. This is also true in the hill areas.
Local knowledge and acquaintance matters and it helps in planning and addressing issues properly. We certainly need to have more local professionals. But even if there are local professionals there is no guarantee that they will be sensitive to local issues and will prepare good plans. Politics take precedent over technicalities. We also need to remember that corruption rules the day (Planning deals with land!!). Good plans fail because of corruption and political interference besides poor manpower base, institutional and legal bottlenecks.
We also need to understand that the non hill professionals/outsiders, who plan the hill towns, may not be sensitive to the problems of the hills partly because s/he is an outsider but also because he may not have been trained properly in the scientific discipline or he does not give enough time to understanding the region and the development issues (for which the plan is being made!!). The problems become serious in absence of local monitoring and regulatory mechanism of the plan making and implementation process. This is one reason for the proliferation of shoddy consultancy reports, which has no rigour as a professional document. The problem is increasing because consultancy is a big business very often without any accountability. There has to be mechanisms to ensure accountability from the consultants both local and outside.
V.K. Why have the planning schools not been able to attract young boys and girls from hills in the ways they should have attracted?
S.K.A. The main reason is hill students are not aware of the discipline. They lack information and proper guidance regarding the course and the career option. Location of the planning institutes in far off areas also acts as a disincentive. We also need to remember that large number of planning student in the postgraduate programme is from Engineering and Architecture background. There are limited numbers of hill students in this professional course. There are under graduate planning programmes in few planning institutes in India and even in these programmes there are hardly any hill students. Sometimes competition also becomes a deterrent. Economic factors are also important considerations especially if the student has not qualified GATE or NET exams. GATE and NET qualified students are entitled for full scholars to pursue the two-year planning programme all over India.
Planning schools have also failed to pro actively engage the student community from the hills. There are hardly any promotional programmes regarding the course and no interview centres in the hills. The curriculum does not give enough attention on the problems of the hills.
V.K. What is the future of our hill towns in view of the present rate of urbanisation and unplanned urban development across the hills of the country?
S.K.A. If the present rate of unplanned urban growth takes place in the hills they will get converted to urban ghettos. One can see the ill effects all across the Himalayas like Simla, Darjeeling etc. Congestion, haphazard traffic, pollution, deficiency in basic utilities like water is already a major problem. Increase in urban population will further aggravate the problem. Comparative advantage of hill towns as tourist destination will decline. The present pattern of urban growth has also made all hill towns vulnerable to natural and man-made disaster. High-rise structures in seismic and landslide prone areas are certainly not a rational land use plan. In a way the hill settlements are a high-risk settlements needing urgent attention!
V.K. How should we address our urban development and planning issues in order to put our hill towns into a sustainable tract?
S.K.A. There is still time to avert the catastrophe. The first and foremost thing one needs is the political will to prepare plans and implement them properly. Somebody has to take the lead. Secondly, the citizens will have to wake up to the reality and act as an advocacy groups to address the urban problems. The role of the neighbourhood committees is increasingly becoming important. Urban issues should become core development agenda in the local and provincial elections. Provisions of 74th amendment act needs to be implemented properly and local bodies need to be given power and authority. The role of the state governments should be minimal. Planning, management and governance of urban areas should be emphasised by developing institutions and appropriate laws and legislations. Skilled manpower should be increased. Unlike large cities in other regions hill towns are comparatively small. In fact small towns and weekly markets still play important role in the hills. Proper attention should be paid to the growth and development of these towns. The problems of capital towns like Gangtok are also because of under development of small towns. Along with the individual towns a proper regional settlement plan needs to be prepared to avert the urban crisis in the hills.
There is also a need for planning schools to emphasise on the problems of the hills. Planning schools can also introduce special programmes (short term/ long term) on hill areas planning. Besides the fresh students, mid carrier officials, professionals and college teachers should also be encouraged to enroll in planning programmes. Most of the planning schools in India have special provision to enroll sponsored candidates. The hill states need to take advantage of this provision. The states should also facilitate the Planning schools to undertake research and students studio programme in the hills. Such an interaction will considerably help the states and planning institutes to address the planning pedagogy and practice of and for the hills!
Moreover, states like Sikkim should take initiative in instituting Urban and Regional Planning Schools, with the support of the Central Government and other hill state governments in India. Establishment of such an institution in the North Eastern Region of the country is strategic and important given the need and the development potential of the area. The increasing attention given by the central government in the recent days to the North Eastern states also makes the option viable and possible.
posted by Vimal Khawas at 2:13 AM
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