In what ways rural-urban migration contribute to urban poverty

Urban poorness and urbanisation

How bash we specify municipality poorness and however is it related to the process of urbanisation? Urban poverty is often characterised by challenges specified arsenic precocious surviving costs, constricted entree to affordable housing, and inadequate sanitation and healthcare facilities that are much noticeable successful industrialised cities.

In India, the knowing of poorness has a agrarian bias, and municipality poorness is often considered a effect of agrarian distress. Following economical liberalisation successful the 1990s, accelerated economical maturation accrued the request for skilled labour successful municipality areas. However, uneven maturation and attraction of economical benefits successful definite states and regions accentuated disparities successful the country. This led to the migration of radical from little developed regions to much prosperous regions, contributing to the emergence of municipality poverty. 

As of 2020-21, astir one-third of India’s full colonisation is migrants, with migrants forming 34.6% of the full colonisation successful municipality areas. As radical determination from agrarian areas to cities, the municipality colonisation grows on with the carnal enlargement of cities. This process is called urbanisation. Rapid urbanisation exerts unit connected housing, resulting successful overcrowding and the proliferation of informal settlements, which lend to the “urbanisation of poverty”.

Hence, municipality poorness refers not lone to the authorities of poorness oregon income deprivation but besides to a deficiency of entree to indispensable services specified arsenic housing, water, sanitation, health, education, livelihoods, and societal security. 

Urban poorness and slums

Another important facet of municipality poorness successful India is its narration to slums. According to the 2011 Census definition, a slum is simply a clump with a size cut-off of 60-70 households, careless of legality of tenure. This contrasts with the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and Planning Commission’s explanation of 20-household cut-off.

According to the National Report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, astir 23.5 per cent of municipality households were slum dwellers successful India successful 2001. This percent decreased to 17 per cent successful 2011. However, during the aforesaid period, the full fig of households successful slums roseate from 10.5 cardinal to 13.75 million. 

There is simply a inclination to equate slum populations with ample and metropolitan cities. However, immoderate studies person recovered that poorness successful tiny and mean towns is often much terrible and prevalent than successful larger and metropolitan cities. Notably, astir 62 per cent of the slum colonisation successful India is concentrated extracurricular of large and metropolitan cities. 

Therefore, treatment connected municipality poorness should not lone beryllium constricted to slums. Experts person argued that clusters with less than 60 households, excluded from the explanation of slums, often location immoderate of the astir susceptible residents. This exclusion results successful a important undercounting of the fig of slums successful India. 

Moreover, these excluded clusters with mediocre households and settlements besides thin to beryllium located successful environmentally hazardous areas similar flood-prone low-lying areas, stream banks, the sides of sewage drains, railway tracks, hillsides prone to landslides, discarded dumps, oregon adjacent polluting factories. More than fractional of municipality mediocre families unrecorded successful spaces smaller than the size specified for an perfect situation cell. Consequently, the municipality mediocre are much apt to beryllium exposed to biology disasters arsenic good arsenic to the interaction of clime change. 

Urban poorness and informality

Urban poorness is besides intimately related to the benignant of jobs the municipality mediocre do. According to a 1972 ILO report, which popularised the conception of “informal sector”, migrant and municipality dwellers are often absorbed successful small-scale activities erstwhile the modern sector cannot make capable occupation opportunities. The informal assemblage is characteristised by casual entry, small-scale operations, labour-intensive tasks, usage of section and adapted technology, skills acquired extracurricular the ceremonial acquisition system, and unregulated, competitory markets. 

Examples of informal assemblage jobs see home-based workers, home workers, petty traders, thoroughfare vendors, coolies, porters, tiny artisans, barbers, and gig system workers. The informal assemblage is often ample and dynamic. 

An estimated 80 per cent of each workers successful municipality areas are employed successful the informal sector. These jobs are mostly low-paying, insecure, and without benefits similar wellness insurance, pensions, oregon occupation stability. These economical activities are not regulated by the government. In addition, these jobs besides person galore caste, religion, and sex dimensions. 

Policy suggestions 

According to the NSSO’s Household Consumption Expenditure report, some agrarian and municipality inequality successful India has declined. The diminution was recovered to beryllium little successful agrarian areas arsenic compared to municipality areas. The study highlights that the apical 10 per cent of municipality households relationship for 25.7 per cent of wide depletion expenditure successful 2022-23 arsenic compared to 29.7 per cent successful 2011-12. However, the stock of the bottommost 50 per cent successful depletion expenditure is 28.6 per cent. 

This is successful opposition to findings by different experts who person claimed that inequality successful India has increased. It has besides been noted by immoderate experts that NSSO information undercounts the wealthiest households, thereby underestimating the depletion inequality. For instance, the mean monthly per capita expenditure of the apical 5 per cent of municipality households was reported arsenic lone Rs. 20,824.   

Irrespective of the skepticism implicit data, some agrarian and municipality poorness successful India request a nuanced understanding. While agrarian poorness has been a persistent argumentation concern, determination person been schemes similar Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban, Jal Jeevan Mission – Urban, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission, etc designed for the municipality poor.  These initiatives purpose to code issues similar housing, drinking water, sanitation arsenic good arsenic gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. 

However, the trouble of estimating the informal assemblage arsenic good arsenic slums becomes a pertinent contented successful capturing municipality poverty. Therefore, the enlargement of societal extortion and information nets whitethorn request to beryllium prioritised. Further, studies successful India person often recovered that households registered nether the schemes often bash not get the benefits oregon are not alert of them. Female workers are much improbable to get benefits from these schemes. Hence, adopting a broader position successful argumentation execution mightiness assistance guarantee that municipality poorness alleviation efforts are inclusive and effective.

Post Read Questions

How has migration from little developed regions to prosperous regions contributed to municipality poverty?

What are the economical and societal implications of rural-to-urban migration connected municipality poverty?

What relation did uneven economical maturation and determination disparities play successful the emergence of municipality poorness post-liberalization?

What are the cardinal characteristics of jobs successful the informal sector? Why are migrants and municipality dwellers often absorbed into small-scale activities successful the informal sector?

(Ritwika Patgiri is simply a doctoral campaigner astatine the Faculty of Economics successful South Asian University.)

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