MAYA PUBLISHING HOUSE

During twentieth century, especially in later half, India witnessed rapid urban growth. Urban population has shown higher growth than its rural counterpart. Strangely, this tremendous urban growth has not resulted into proportional increase in urban centres and urbanisation level. The urban content is found hovering around one-third mark. Many estimates suggest that the country may touch half way mark in next fifty years. This steady growth has posed numerous challenges before the urban planners and managers. These consequential challenges include concentration of population in larger urban centres (metropolitanisation), haphazard and unplanned growth of bigger cities, mushrooming of un-served human settlements (slums and shanties), informalisation of urban economy (increase in street vending), emerging incidence of poverty (conversion of rural poverty into urban one), increasing shelter-less population, inefficient provision and delivery of civic services necessary for dignified human living, insufficient urban traffic and transportation facility, filthy cities, worsening sanitary conditions, unchecked pollution and deteriorating environment, etc. The desire of efficient and quality services by vocal and ambitious civil society and the incapacity of civic administration complicate the state of affairs. The Indian urban local government is in a piquant situation and thus has shown its unwillingness in managing the growing urbanisation