CEE Oct-Dec 2012

What should the government do to make cement industry more competitive? There are so many areas where we would welcome government support. These include legislation support and incentives to promote co– processing as being a more environmentally sustainable waste disposal method. We look forward to support in the area of improving clinker factor by suitably modifying and creating new Indian standards to allow higher percentage of blending. If regulatory support can ensure free availability of industrial wastes like fly ash and slag to cement plants, it would encourage the cement industry to increase absorption levels of such waste, which otherwise pollutes the environment. T bhaskar@dnamdia.net Courtesy: D.N.A. 3dh Nov. 2012. URBAN~URALCONVERGENCE Urban India is growing at an unprecedented rate. The census 2011 says for the first time since Independence, the absolute increase in population is more in urban areas than in rural areas. The level of urbanization increased from 27.81 per cent in 2001 to 31.16 per cent in 2011 , with a total urban population of 377 millions. The key reasons cited for such growth in urban population are rural-migration, natural increase, inclusion of peripheral areas within the boundaries of cities and towns and reclassification of rural settlements to urban. A global study on urban land expansion, where land expansion is equated to change in land use and land cover, says India is among the three countries that have seen the highest rates of urban land expansion, China and Africa being the other two. The projections made by various studies about India's future urbanization present a challenging situation. Me Kinsey's report on 'India's Urban Awakening 2010 , predicts that about 590 million people will be living in urban areas by 2030 in India and equates it to twice the total population of the US. To accommodate this population, the report estimates that about 700 - 900 square million metres of residential and commercial space would have to be built, which would be like creating a new Chicago city every year besides the 2.5 billion square metres of roads which have to be built and 7,400 km of Metro and subways to be constructed, estimated to be 20 times the capacity added in the last ten years. The report of the High Powered Committee on Indian Urban infrastructure and Services (2011) says the urban areas' share in the national GDP is bound to increase from 62 - 63 % in 2009- 2010 to about 75 per cent in 2030. Cities will continue to be India's engines of economic growth. However, to have sustained growth, an investment worth Rs.39.2 lakh crore on urban infrastructure and services would have to be made available over a 20-year period. This does not include the cost of land acquisition and an additional investment of Rs. 19.9 lakh crore for operations and management of the infrastructure and services. The question is what is the future of urbanization that we have set for ourselves? Would we allow urban population increase and urban sprawl to continue the way it has been or would we rather plan and guide the urbanization process and reap the benefits of urbanization instead of facing the everyday challenges of overcrowding, deficit urban services and lack of basic infrastructure in our cities? If the villages and small towns were to have matching infrastructure and employment opportun ities, would it contain migration to large cities? Quick, comfortable and affordable means of transport in regions surrounding large cities would deter people from migrating to the cities and encourage them to stay in small towns and villages and just commute for work, education and other requirements. This would also lead to an inclusive development of urban and rural areas in the region. The cities in India show peripheral expansion where small municipalities and large villages merge with the core city and become part of the larger metropolitan area . So infrastructure provision should not be a question of urban and rural , but should be planned for a continuous metropolitan area or for a larger 'urban region' that includes agglomeration area, urban periphery and urban fringes. For example the connectivity for clusters of small towns and villages with the larger metropolitan area/city would have to be planned first and decisions on investment and phasing of such a transport linkages should follow. This approach , known as city-cluster development, will help contain migration from villages to urban centres and promote inclusive development. Urban centres would typically house industry and service sectors and would have access to knowledge and skills and hence will remain the 47