Population environment and development: some issues in sustainability of Indian mega-cities of New Delhi and Kolkata(Calcutta)

Anuradha Banerjee, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Sharmistha Das, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Rapid population growth fuelled by in-migration has been the hallmark of the leading mega cities of India, creating a “top-heavy” structure of India’s urbanisation. This has resulted in a continuous urban sprawl and deterioration of the physical urban environment in most of these cities. The present paper is an attempt to decipher the effect of rapid growth of population, urbanisation and urban sprawl on physical environment, amenities and infrastructue of two Indian mega cities viz. New Delhi and Kolkata (Calcutta). Against this backdrop, the study tries to trace the urban genesis and development of these two mega cities in relation to their regional economy and population growth. The effect of urbanisation on land use, squatters and slums; changing land values; traffic density, and the environmental quality has been focussed. Role of metropolitan planning and the impact of liberalisation and globalisation and the future possibilities have been also examined in detail.