Rural-Urban Migration and Climate Change

Necessity of Urban Planning in Indian Cities

- Chetana Chaudhuri and Amit Mitra write.

India’s rapid urbanization, driven by rural-to-urban migration, has led to significant socio-economic challenges, with almost half of urban dwellers living in slums. Climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation exacerbate these issues, putting pressure on cities’ infrastructure and health systems,

Between 2011 and 2021, India’s urban population grew by 27 per cent, with rural-to-urban migration accounting for a significant portion of this increase. As migrants flock into cities, the urban demographic landscape is undergoing dramatic shifts. According to the 2024 World Population Review, Delhi’s population grew from 22.7 million in 2011 to 31.2 million in 2021, with a significant proportion of this increase attributed to migration. Similarly, Bengaluru and Hyderabad recorded migration rates of 43 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively, during the same period. However, this rapid urbanization has not translated into equitable living standards. As of 2022, over 41 per cent of the Indian urban population lived in slums, and this figure is expected to rise sharply as migration accelerates. These slums often lack basic amenities, with over 40 per cent of residents lacking access to clean water and 60 per cent living without proper sanitation facilities. The human cost of migration is staggering, with health issues such as waterborne diseases and respiratory illnesses rising by 23 per cent in urban slum populations between 2015 and 2022 (Krishna & Raj, 2022).