Page 63 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes Migration
As already indicated, people migrate to towns/cities because of the relatively better employment
opportunities available there. In India, rural to urban and urban to rural migration is crucial. The
1991 census figures pointed out that in 17.7 per cent cases, migration was from rural to urban, and
in 11.8 per cent cases it was from urban to urban (Manpower Profile India, 1998: 26). The analysis of
intra-dsitrict migration (short distance migration), inter-district or intra-state migration (medium
distance migration) and inter-state migration (long distance migration) shows that about 68 per
cent migrations are short distance, 21 per cent are medium distance and 11 per cent are long
distance migrations (Bose, 1979: 187).
Entry of the rural poor into a city depletes sources of revenue. On the other hand, the rich people
today prefer to live in suburban areas. This movement of the rich causes financial loss to the city.
This migration to the city and away from the city aggravates problems.
Industrial Growth
While the urban population growth is 4 per cent in India, the industrial growth rate is about 6 per
cent per annum. The ninth Five Year Plan postulated an industrial growth rate of 8 per cent per
annum. This growth was expected to take care of additional job requirements in the cities. The
tertiary sector also provides refuge to migrants, though their earnings remain at low level.
A pathy of the Government
The administrative mismanagement of our cities is also responsible for the mess in which city-
dwellers find themselves. Municipal authorities have not kept pace with city growth, either spatially
or in terms of management infrastructure. There is neither the will nor the capacity to plan for the
future. There is also no skill and capability to manage what exists. Until we improve the capacity
of our cities to govern themselves, we cannot emerge from the urban mess. On the other hand,
state governments also put many restrictions on local governments in raising necessary funds for
dealing with particular urban problems.
Defective Town Planning
A more alarming factor in the general deterioration in the standard of civic services is the growing
sense of helplessness of our planners and administrators.. From the Planning Commission
downwards, there seems to be a fatalistic acceptance of uncontrolled growth of our metropolitan
cities. In fact, a member of the National Commission on Urbanisation had expressed a feeling that
very little is being done in our country to plan the growth of the cities in a proper way.
Vested-interest Forces
The last cause of urban problems is the vested interest forces that work against people but enhance
private commercial interests and profits. The city residents are usually powerless to affect decisions
that the elite make to further their own interests, power and profit. When these powerful elite can
make more money, they adopt plans and programmes no matter how many people are hurt in the
process. The best example of the role of the vested interests was the transfer of one Municipal
Commissioner in Maharashtra for 25 times in 25 years who refused to toe the line of politicians,
burreaucrats and petty officials for their motivated interests and got demolished many unauthorised
constructions.
Solutions to Urban Problems

Some measures have to be adopted if we want to remedy urban problems. The measures suggested
are as follows:
Systematic Development of Urban Centres and Creation of Job Opportunities
One important solution to our urban problems is the systematic development of the fast growing
urban centres and planning an investment programme, which over the next 20 years or so, could
give rise to a large number of well distributed, viable urban centres throughout the country. So far
we have been focusing attention on programmes for providing wage employment in rural areas

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