VISION 2028 PERSPECTIVE PLAN OF CIA : 2025 DRAFT-FINAL REPORT DECEMBER, 2005 vl KOLKATA METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITYIntroducing the Vision for KMA -Introducing the Vision for KMA The perspective plan within a planning cycle sets out the broad goals and objective to be achieved over a relatively long period of time, say 20-25 years. To achieve the goals and objectives, it is imperative to devise a set of strategies. The goals and objectives are outcome of the vision that is taken for a planning area. Vision 2025 is essentially a perspective plan for Kolkata Metropolitan Area for a period of 25 years from 2001 to 2025. Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the largest metropolis in eastern India, the second largest in India and the 10" largest in the World. KMA is the metropolitan outfit of the city of Kolkata which had housed the capital of India until 1912, when the British rulers had shifted the capital to Delhi. The historical importance of Kolkata in the sphere of economics, politics, culture is remarkable. The city is more than 300 years old and KMA is the oldest metropolis of India. Being the oldest in India and one of the largest in the World the metropolis is beset with unparallel magnitudes of problems and challenges. It is the metropolis, which has had the pioneering experience in urban planning dating back to early sixties when Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organization (CMPO) carried out a comprehensive planning exercise for the metropolis of Kolkata, with assistance from Ford Foundation. The Basic Development Plan, 1966-1986 and the Master Plan for Traffic and Transportation and the Master Plan for Water Supply, ‘Sewerage and Drainage had been the outcome of this pioneering effort of a group of multidisciplinary professionals. These plans have always constituted the benchmark for subsequent planning exercises. Realizing that planned initiatives only can bring about development in a socially desirable manner and that planning is a continual process, there have been periodical updating and revision of the perspective and the master plans for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area. As far as the perspective planning exercise is concerned, the first review of the BDP was carried out in 1976 and a revised development perspective formulated. The next review and revision of development perspective had taken place in 1981 and again thereafter in 1990. The present initiative of preparing the Vision 2025 started in 2001 and has undergone several revisions based on the feedback received from the consultative process. It is worth noting that this is the first time that the perspective planning exercise is scanned by elected people’s representatives constituting the Kolkata Metropolitan Planning Committee (KMPC). The Vision 2025 has projected the 2025 population of KMA at 21 million. The Plan envisions to provide sustained and improved quality of life through basic urban services in an inclusive manner and create an enabling environment for enhanced economic activities, by utilising available resources efficiently, in an eco-friendly manner, while conserving heritage. The visioning exercise has been followed up by five Setoral Master/Development Plans that have dealt with details in respect of norms, standards, technologies, strategies etc. The vision document presents the future metropolitan structure showning hierarchy of different orders of urban centers within KMA including the proposed new settlement areas/townships. The proposed metropolitan structure plan is essentially a multi-centred one with 1 Metro Centre, 1 Metro sub Centre, 15 Major Centres and 5 Trans-metro City System. The proposed number of new townships/settlement areas is 15 and that of new industrial growth centers is 17.This vision document holds special significance in the context of the State’s experiencing rapid growth in non-agricultural sectors, especially service sector industries. The West Bengal SDP has witnessed the highest growth rate during the recent years among the industrially advanced states of India, with the average annual SDP growth clocking at around 7 percent. The rate of growth of SDP in the tertiary sector has been observed to be even higher. Obviously, the role of Kolkata metropolis in facilitating economic growth and thus realizing the growth potential is immense. It has already been revealed that in IT&ITES industries, the competitive edge of the State and more so of Kolkata is tremendous. Food processing is another industry that holds a good potential within some areas of KMA, as KMA is surrounded by rich agricultural hinterland. Nevertheless. it is imperative to provide adequate infrastructural support for realization of whatever economic growth potential that the State or KMA may have. This has been highlighted in several reports prepared by international consultants. Vision appreciates that for providing and sustaining a healthy living for the projected population of KMA, also for supporting growth outside KMA, provision of various infrastructure and services is a sine qua non. The sectoral master plans and the development plans do recognize this aspect and have striven to address the same.Demographic & Spatial Dynamics & Urbanization Pattern in KMAUrban Planning and Development since 1960 Urban planning and development came to be recognized as a focused area of governmental attention starting from Third Five Year Plan, which commenced in 1961. Apart from realizing the necessity of developing master plans for mahor cities, the Central Government earmarked special financial assistance for development of city infrastructure. This was time when the city of Kolkata was not only exhibiting mammoth growth but also beset with severe inadequacy of civic infrastructure and services. The cholera epidemic of 1958 drew attention of national government and also international agencies like World Health Organisation (WHO). This led to creation of the first ever planning organisation in West Bengal, the Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organisation (CMPO) in 1961. The ‘Basic Development Plan: 1966-86" published by CMPO in 1966 presented a perspective plan first time of its nature in India. This was followed by two master Plans namely ‘Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan’ and Master Plan for Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage’. The Basic Development Plan recommended a short-term action program relating to improvement of civil infrastructures, primarily with a view to arresting further deterioration in public utilities and services. The Fourth Five Year Plan provided for special allocation for implementation of infrastructure development schemes in Kolkta, but the same soon turned out to be too small compared to needs. It was also concurrently appreciated that for implementation of any massive infrastructure development programme in a co-ordinated manner, a dedicated agency was required to be set up. Calcutta Metropolitan Developnment Authority (CMDA) was created in 1970 under a separate statute of the same title with the primary objective of formulating development programme, channelizing funds to implementing agencies and co- ordinating their implementation. Very soon, CMDA set up its own execution Directorates and a little later a Planning Directorate of its own. The Planning Directorate has so far produced several planning documents. Important among these. are ‘Development Perspective and Four Year Program’ with multi-centered development strategy (1976), ‘Perspective Plan and Action Program’ (1981), followed by the ‘Preferred Structure Plan’ (1983). ‘Integrated Transportation System for CMDA’ prepared in 1983 is also another important planning document. Following review of the development perspective for CMA, the State Planning Board, Govt. of West Bengal, published the draft ‘A Perspective Plan for Calcutta: 2011’, in 1991. This was closely followed by a series of planning reports prepared by CMDA, namely, ‘Plan for Metropolitan Development: 1990-2015’ in 1990; ‘Development Need of Calcutta Metropolitan Area: 1992-2002’ in 1992 and lastly the ‘Calcutta Megacity Program: Project Profile and Investment Plan’ in 1994. On behalf of Housing Department, Govt. of West Bengal, CMDA prepared the ‘Concept Plan for New Town at Rajarhat’ in 1994. A‘ Concept Development Plan of a New Town at Sonarpur Baruipur Area was also prepared by CMDA in 1995. Simultaneously, as statutory obligation in terms of the West Bengal ‘Town and Country (Planning and Development) Act, 1979, CMDA has been engaged in preparation of existing Land Use Maps and Registers (IMR) and Land Use andDevelopment Control Plan (LUDCP) [renamed from Outline Development Plan (ODP) by an Amendment in 1994]. CMDA is also carrying out development control functions in terms of LUDCP, as required under the Act. In addition to CMDA, planning and design of specific projects and programs had been carried out in CMA by various other organisation like Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT), Howrah Improvement Trust (HIT), Calcutta Metropolitan Water and Sanitation Authority (CMW&SA), Housing Board, Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), Transport Department, Irrigation & Waterways Department, PWD (Roads) Dept. of Government of West Bengal, central government agencies like Metro Railways, Eastern Railways, South Eastern Railways etc. In 1997, the Environment Department, Govt. of West Bengal, completed the ‘Calcutta Environmental Management Strategy and Action Plan’ (CEMSAP) for the CMA. In 1999 Calcutta's name was changed to Kolkata by the State legislature and in December 2000, the same change was accepted by the Central Government. Changing Scenario There have been qualitative changes in issues, policies and strategies. Matters like environment, urban agriculture, application of information technology, and remote sensing satellite images, heritage and urban’ conservation have gained prominence and need appropriate treatment in preparation of perspective Plan for Kolkata. The main objectives of the state government have been to make the process of urban growth and development sustainable; to make urban areas more environment friendly; and to make the urban areas investment friendly, particularly the metropolitan Kolkata. The State Government has assigned high priority to democratically decentralised urban governance structure in the state as a whole. The sustained practice of decentralized urban planning and development as a matter of policy and strategy has rendered the interventions more sustainable through better resource allocation between alternativ uses and effective people’s participation. The establishment of Kolkata Metropolitan Planning Committee (KMPC), the first of its kind in India, has strengthened the process of democratically decentralized urban planning. Kolkata is now a happening city, facilitated both by external and internal factors. Its importance in the eastern India has always been immense. The hinterland of Kolkata extends much beyond and also to the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. The Kolkata Port and the international Airport in Kolkata connect Kolkata to the rest of the world. The first spell of industrialisation in the country had taken place in the areas in and around Kolkata and resultantly the traditional industries like jute, chemicals, engineering etc. were located in and around Kolkata. In terms of not only the manufacturing industries, but also the wholesale and retail trades Kolkata occupies a pre-eminent position in eastern India, primarily helped by Kolkata Port. Agglomeration of all these major economic activities here have rendered Kolkata the character of a metropolitancity, which is by far the largest in eastem India in terms of demographic, social and economic parameters. A numbr of large and important infrastructure projects like North-south and East West Corridor under Golden Quadrilateral program, Kolkata Logistics Hub, West Howrah Township, Rajarhat Township, Second Vivekananda Bridge, Belghoria Expressway, Kalyani DumDum Expressway, West Howrah Township etc., are likely to create major direct impact on the developmental scene of KMA. The importance of KMA would continue to be significant in the context of various other factors. The Look East Policy of Government of India strives to enhance trade, between India and other countries in the East, especially China, Korea, Myanmar, Bangladesh - the neighbouring countries. In implementation of this Policy, the strategic importance of Kolkata along with Siliguri cannot be underestimated. With China being targeted as a major trading partner of India, to be facilitated by resumption of trade via Nathu la, freight traffic to Kolkata port is slated to rise considerably. Kolkata has already seen a spurt in real estate and service sector industries, especially IT & ITES industries. The IT&ITES industries has been growing at around 100 percent per annum. The IT and ITES have opened up vast possibility of introducing e- governance in ULBs and also in management of infrastructure. The comparative edge of West Bengal in this area reinforces the possibilities. A number of steps in this direction have already been initiated by the ULBs. The municipal accounting system is undergoing a total overhaul. Another major area of departure in the arena of urban policy has been that of enlisting private sector participation in infrastructure development and management. The State Government’s Policy on Infrastructure Development through Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been a notable step in this direction. The PPP Policy provides for participation of private sector in development and management of power, telecommunication, transport including roads, bridges, fly- over, waterways, ports, airports, water supply, drainage & sanitation, township & area development, housing & commercial complexes, recreational projects etc. The Perspective Plan for KMA This will provide a long-term vision and direction for future growth of settlements and economic activities in KMA, in tune with the State Development policies and strategies, keeping in view the national, regional, state and above all the sub-state/ metropolitan contexts. In preparing the perspective plan, a thorough inventory of all infrastructure and services is necessary al the district, CD Block as well as municipal and panchayet levels. This document, therefore, will intend to provide a development perspective with a new horizon of 2025 incluidng development strategies and sectoral action programs for development of infrastructures. The perspective plan is to be drawn up in the background of the following: © Metropolitan Kolkata shall continue to remain as the strong industrial and intellectual hub to the country as well as in its regional context. © Utilise all resources efficiently including urban land. Conserve natural reserve and heritage.© The major centers within the metropolitan region and their role in future shall need to be taken iinto account. Provide healthy & sanitary living condition to all. Provide social amenities, community facilities and securities to all. Stabilise urban growth in KMA at a time horizon for 2025 AD. Achieve an aesthetically pleasing cohesive urban from Kolkata Metropolitan Region During the preparation of “A Perspective Plan for Kolkata: 2011” by the State Planning Board (SPB) in 1990, delineation of the influence area of the metropolis of Kolkata was attempted by consideration of the following factors: Inflow of milk to Kolkata (Kolkata) and its suburbs Inflow of fruits and vegetables Communication of people to be represented by : Railway services Long distance bus services and Physical as well as time distance of commutation According to "Nearest Town" of Census 1971. ob OF ob oF OF Three levels of influence areas could thus be delineated as indicated below. on the basis of study made at the instance of State Planning Board during 1990-91, vide Table No. 2.8. * Inner Metropolitan Region - Areas falling in and around the 50-km orbit of Kolkata. %* Intermediate Metropolitan Region - Areas falling in and around the orbit of 75 km from Kolkata and, %* Kolkata Metropolitan Region - Areas falling in and around the orbit of 100 km from Kolkata. Table 2.8: Delineation of Metropolitan Regions of Kolkata Metropolitan Regions | Area (sq. km.) ] Population 1991 Density 2001 (persons/sq. km.) Kolkata Metropolitan 1350.0 12,520,000 9274 Area Inner Metropolitan 7574.5 18,560,853 2445 | Region (IMR) Intermediate 16213.5 25,918,048 1598 Metropolitan Region (Int. MR)Kolkata (Kolkata) 23185.8 30,762, 081 1320 Metropolitan Region (KMR or KMR) West Bengal 88700.0 68.08 768 India 2986400.0 844.32 283 Development Plan Frame Any large city is dependent on its influence area. The metropolis of Kolkata is no exception. It is therefore, essential that while preparing a perspective plan for the metropolis of Kolkata, the outlying areas over which the Metropolis exercises a good amount of influence should be kept in view. For realistic future planning, it requires identification of its zone of influence. Therefore, while preparing the development programs, it is necessary to consider the appropriate development plan frame in a hierarchical manner as detailed below: Kolkata Metropolitan Region — Influence area of the city as may be defined through daily commutation for the purpose of supplying workers to the city and the metropolitan district. Intermediate Metropolitan Region — Influence area of the city as may be defined mainly through the supply area of fresh vegetable and other perishable food items to the city and the metropolitan district. Inner Metropolitan Region — The influence area of the city as may be defined through the area of daily city bus services, milk supply zone as well as from nearest town criteria of census. Kolkata Metropolitan Area - Kalyani-Budge Budge on east bank and Bansberia-Uluberia on the west bank of the river Hooghly containing the whole of the Kolkata Urban Agglomeration along with rural pockets. This is almost similar to the Kolkata Standard Urban Area as defined by the census authority. Metro Core - Twin city of Kolkata and Howrah; with intensively built up surrounding areas spreading from Bally-Dakhineswar-Kamarhati to Andul-Garden Reach-Garia occupying about 34% of the KMA area. Central Business District (CBD) — Major locus of urban activities and covers about 8% of the city’s municipal area and about 1% of the KMA area. Municipal and Panchayat arcas — In view of the constitutional mandate following the provisions of the West Bengal District planning Committee Act 194 and West Bengal Metropolitan Planning Committee Act 1994, Municipalities and Panchayats will be responsible to prepare the development plan for their res jurisdictions. tiveEvolution of Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) has two major components: %* The conurbation meaning the continuous stretching in a linear pattern along the east bank and west bank of the river Hooghly. % The rural areas lying as a ring around the conurbation and acting as protective green belt. The concept of KMA (erstwhile CMD of 1960s) was first introduced by the Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Area (Use & Development of Land) Control Act of 1965. Through passage of time the boundary of KMA has changed several times. The present size of KMA and the composition of the different categories of areas are presented below. Composition of KMA: 2001 SI. Categories of Area No. | Areain no. Sq. Km. 1._| Municipal Corporations z 271.31 2._| Municipalities 38 | 615.49 3._| Non Municipal Urban (NMU)/Census Towns | 77 | 200.10 4 | Out Growths 16 18.19_| 5_| Rural Area 445 746.32 Total KMA 1851.41 Area and Population Size of population and its distribution over space play a very significant role in spatial planning. According to 2001 Census, 14.72 million people were distributed over 1851.41 sq. km. of KolKata Metropolitan Area forming an overall density of 7950 persons per sq. km. The distribution of area and population over different constituent units of KMA is shown in Diagram 3.1. Area category-wise distribution: Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the largest component of KMA, with 197.54 sq.km. of area accounts for 10.67% of KMA’s area and 45.73 lakh people covers 31.07% of KMA’s population. Other two municipal corporations viz. Chandannagore and Howrah extend over 3.98 (1.19 + 2.79)% of KMA’s land accounting for 7.95 (1.10 + 6.85) % of KMA’s population. 33.24% of KMA’s land is under 38 municipal towns that shelter 45.07% of KMA’s residents. The 77 CTs occupy only 10.81% of KMA’s area providing home to 6.69% of KMA’s population. A vast chunk of KMA’s land ie. 40.31% is rural in nature accounting for only 8.75% of KMA’s population. District-wise distribution: It will be observed Table 3.3 that, Kolkata district is fully within KMA, while 398.73 sq. km. of area, i.e., 12.66% of Hooghly district is under KMA accommodating 18.9 lakh, ie, 37.44% of district population, Howrah includes 17.89% of land and 52.85% of population. In cases of Nadia, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganasthe corresponding percentagesare 2.18, 4.20; 11.47, 49.31 and 4.39, 20.27 respectively. Considering the share of each district in KMA’s area and population, it may be seen that 398.73 sq. km., i.e. 21.54% of KMA land is under Hooghly district accommodating 18.88 lakh, i.e., 12.83% of total population of KMA. Howrah district with 262.47 sq. km. and 22.58 lakh population contributes 14.18% of KMA’s land and 15.34% of KMA’s population. North 24-Parganas district includes 469.41 sq. km area and 44.06 lakh population accounting for 25.35% of KMA area and 29.93% of KMA’s population. South 24- Parganas district covers 437.48 sq.km. of land and 14 lakh population constituting 23,63% of KMA’s area and 9.51% of its population. The area of 85.78 sq. km. under Nadia district accounts for 4.63% of area and a population of 1.9 lakh shares 1.32% of total population of KMA. So, according to area, North 24-Parganas District’s share in KMA is maximum. South 24-Parganas District comes second, Hooghly comes third, Howrah fourth, Calcutta fifth and Nadia sixth. But population wise Kolkata District comes first, next North 24- Parganas, while Howrah comes third, Hooghly fourth, South 24-Parganas fifth and Nadia sixth. The significance of the size of KMA can be better appreciated by comparing the same with some other cities of the world (Table -3.4). While Tokyo ranks first among the major cities of the world in population size, Calcutta’s rank is 9th and Mumbai's Sth. But average annual growth rate of Calcutta is higher than that of Tokyo, as may be seen from Table 3.4. Demographic Dynamics of KMA The diagram below indicates how the total population of West Bengal and KMA has changed over a period of time, between 1911 and 2001. Population trend and the growth pattern are one of the important demographic aspects that need to be considered in a perspective plan. The population in KMA has risen 16.46% over the last decade as indicated in Table 3.1. Almost all the constituent units of KMA, except KMC, have experienced a higher rate of growth. KMC’s population increased at a rate of only 3.93% during 1991-2001, which has pulled down the average rate of growth for KMA as the absolute share of KMC in KMA’s population is high. While Howrah Municipal Corporation has grown 6.01% during 1991-2001, the other municipal corporation, viz., Chandannagar MC grew at a rate of 15.59%. The corresponding growth rates for the period 1991-2001 for Municipalities, Census Towns (CTs), Outgrowths (OGs), Rural Areas have been 26.15%, 24.49%, 32.69% and 23.14% respectively. District-wise, South 24- Parganas experienced the maximum population growth, while Nadia district occupied the second place. If the demographic scenario of KMA is examined since 1971 as indicated in Table 3.5, it will be found that between 1971 and 2001, population of KMA increased 1.7 times (from 86 to 147 lakh), while that of KMC 1.23 times (from about 37 to 46 lakh). Population of all other districts except Howrah has multiplied by 1.9 to 3.3 times during this period. The Municipalities, CTs, OGs and rural areas have more than doubled their population during the same period. So far as the decadal growth rate is concerned, the population of KMA has risen more or less at a constant rate (21.85% in 1961-71, 21.83% in 71-81 and 20.48% in 1981- 91), except in 1991-2001, when the growth has declined to 16.46%, vide Table 3.6.But its constituent units showed marked variation in their respective growth of population over this period. All through this period, KMC’s inhabitants grew at a rate much lower than that of KMA and this rate has gradually fallen from 12.39% in 1961-71 to 6.61% in 1981-91 and 3.93% in 1991-2001. This clearly points to the fact that KMC has reached its saturation level and thus attract less people from outside and encourage spill over to surrounding suburbs. As expected, Municipalities, CTs, OGs and Rural Areas experienced very high rate of growth all through these decades compared to MCs & KMA, vide Table- 3.7 for this population trend since 1961. Population of the municipalities like Madhyamgram and Rajarhat Gopalpur have grown more than four times while municipalities like Khardah, Barasast, New Barrackpur, North Dum Dum and Sonarpur Rajpur have grown more than three times during 1961-2001, Special mention must be made of Kalyani, which has witnessesd more than 17 (seventeen) times rise in population over this period. A more clear picture of population growth in KMA is revealed if it is compared with that in India, W.B. and Kolkata City. Table 3.8 shows the population trend of India, W.B., KMA, KUA and Calcutta City. During 1921-91, the population of India, WB, KMA, KUA and Calcutta City multiplied by 4.1 times, 4.6 times, 6.3 times, 7.0 times and 3.19 times respectively. The index of population growth, considering 1921(=100) as base, is given in Table 3.9. Table- 3.10 indicates the growth rate of population for India, West Bengal, KMA and the city of Calcutta, for the decades 1941-51 to 1991-2001. Gross Population Density The densities of KMA and its constituent units over the period 1961-2001 are furnished in Table 3.11. Gross population density showing the land-man ratio in a given area at a given time has a great significance from the point of view of planning. The environmental problems in KMA assume alarming proportion in the areas of high density but somewhat less complex in areas of low density. Acquisition of land is much more difficult and relocation of population presents many more intricacies in high-density areas than in low-den..ity areas. On the other hand, the per-capita cost of providing urban amenities is likely to be lower in high- density areas. It is in this context of economic and social planning considerations that the significance of density variations must be understood. KMA is becoming more and more crowded as is reflected in its density continuously rising from 3817 persons per sq. km. in 1961 to 7950 persons/sq. km. in 2001. Obviously, KMC is the most congested area within KMA with a population density of 23149 persons per sq. km. It was 4.3 times as densed as KMA in 1961 but has fallen consistently to 2.9 in 2001. One notable thing is that Chandannagar Municipal Corporation is relatively less dense compared to other two corporations. It's density of 7362 persons per sq.km. is in fact lower than that of most of the municipalities. The average density of the municipalities is 10777 persons/sq.km.. which is higher than the average density of KMA (7950 persons/sq.km.). The densities of the other three constituent categories of units, namely, CT, OG and Rural are 4918, 3891 and 1726 persons per sq.km. respectively - all below the KMA level. Though the densities of all the districts have been observed to be increasing over time, the maximum rise has been seen in Nadia district. where density in 2001is 4.47 times higher than that in 1961 indicating its growth potential. Gross population densities of India, WB, KMA and Calcutta City during 1921-2001 are given in Table-3.12. The figures were 142, 394, 3817, and 28147 in 1961 for India, WB, CMA and Calcutta City respectively. They continued to rise over time and reached 324, 904, 7950 and 32037 in 2001. Thus the densities for India, WB, KMA and Calcutta City increased 2.3 times, 2.3 times, 2.1 times and 1.1 times over the last 40 years. Finally, while examining the contribution of different constituent units to KMA’s population over time, as may be seen from Table 3.2, it could be noted that during the decades of 1961 and 1971, the three municipal corporations accounted for more than half of KMA’s population, which thereafter gradually fell to 39.02% in 2001. On the other hand, the percentage of KMA population living in municipalities has been consistently rising, registering an increase from 31.32% in 1961 to 45.07% in 2001. The percentage of population living in other units like CTs, OGs and Rural units has also shown increasing trend over this period. though understandably their contribution remained very small. District-wise, KMC’s share in KMA’s population fell continuously from 46.80% in 1961 to 31.07% in 2001. As opposed to this, the shares of all other districts except Howrah have risen over time. According to percentage share in KMA’s population, KMC ranks Ist, North 24.pgs ranks 2™, Howrah 3, Hooghly 4" South 24-Parganas 5" and Nadia 6". This ranking has been found to remain the same throughout the period 1961-2001 Demographic Profile of the Municipalities in KMA The total population of KMA in 2001 was 14.72 million, of which 6.6 million lived in the 38 Municipalities within KMA. The municipalities within KMA however greatly vary with respect to area and population-size and the same needs to be taken into account in the planning and development perspective. Size of Population: All planning and development programmes are ultimately intended to increase the welfare of the people. It is therefore just and proper that we start the analysis with a discussion on the size of the population in the municipalities. It is interesting to find that municipalities vary greatly in population size. The largest municipality within KMA is Bhatpara with a population 6442 thousand and the smallest is Pujali with a population about 34 thousands only, as indicated in Table 3.7. The largest municipality thus has a population of about 13 times that of the smallest municipality. In between them lie the other municipalities scattered over KMA. The average size of East Bank (of river Hooghly) Municipalities is significantly larger than that of the West Bank Municipalities. Since trans-municipal development programmes would cover municipalities located on the same bank, this has an important planning implication. Area of the Municipalities: \t will appear that out of 1851.41 sq.km. of area in KMA, the Municipalities occupy 615.49 sq.km. or about 33% of the total area. The Municipalities differ considerably with regard to size of their areas. Titagarh Municipality has the smallest with an area of 3.24 sq, km.. while Sonarpur Rajpur Municipality is the largest Municipality with an area of 57.90 sq.kmThe size of Municipality area may have implications for certain developmental interventions and may call for amalgamation of some adjacent Municipalities for preparing combined programme for all of them together, notwithstanding the fact that amalgamation of Municipalities may not be politically feasible in all cases. Density of Population: In some of the Municipalities like Kalyani (3641 persons per sq.km.) or Gayeshpur (1835 persons per sq.km.), the density is very low and is almost equal to the dei in the rural areas of West Bengal. On the other extreme, in Municipalities like Titagarh (38337 persons per sq-km.), Baranagar (35220 persons per sq.km), Dum Dum (29276 persons per sq.km) and Kamarhati (28696 persons per sq.km.) on the east bank, and Serampore (33649 persons per sq.km.) in the west bank, the density is extremely high and is well above the density of even Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Density of population has important implications for planning. Upto a certain limit an increasing density may lead to a decreasing per-capita cost of development. Beyond that limit a higher density may lead to an increasing per- capita cost. So far as housing programmes are concerned, residential accommodation at an equal level of cost may yield greater amenities in a low- density area than such accommodation in a high-density area. Density greatly affects the environmental condition of urban life. The needs for parks, playgrounds and open spaces may be more urgently felt in high-density areas than in low- density areas. The scope for accommodating future addition to population in high- density areas is much smaller than such scope in low-density areas. How much of the additional population may be accommodated by increasing the density or by re- densification of low-density areas, and how much should be accommodated in new areas depends on the existing pattern of density in the various Municipalities. Sex Ratio Growth rates of population: Higher growth rates have been observed in Dum Dum (118.95%), South Dum Dum (68.57%), Bidhan Nagar (64.14%), Sonarpur-Rajpur (54.04%) and Rajarhat-Gopalpur (57.66%) municipal areas. Lower growth rates have been noticed in Garulia (-1.23%), North Dum Dum (- 7.97%) and Champdani (2.16%) municipal towns. As expected, the high-density areas have experienced a lower rate of growth compared to low-density areas throughout this period. Sex ratio defined as the number of females per 1000 males is an important indicator of demographic change and this has a direct bearing with the population growth, working population, age-sex distribution, fertility and other population characteristics. Out of 14.72 million people in KMA in 2001 the number of males and females were 7.84 and 6.88 million respectively thus showing a low sex ratio of 877 female per 1000 male. This low sex ratio has been the characteristics of KMA and Kolkata city for the period from 1941-2001. Table-3.13 indicates the change in sex ratio in the population of India, WB and KMA during 1941-2001. In case of India and WB, the sex ratios were 945 and 852 respectively in 1941, which were much higher than those in KMA (510) and Calcutta city (456). But the trendin the latter two regions gradually moved in favour of the female, as the sex ratios have increased to 877 and 796 respectively. Age-Sex Composition The age-sex composition in a society is important both biologically and sociologically. Regions differ greatly in the distribution of their population over age-sex categories. The demographic characteristics of KMA closely resemble those of KUA due to the fact that the latter shelters 87.95% of KMA’s population. In view of the above and in the absence of data, the age-sex composition of KUA’s population in 1991 has been considered as proxy for KMA. The same along with KMC’s age-sex distribution is presented in Table-3.14. The proportionate shares in the male and female population in different age groups differ but not significantly except for age groups of 5 - 14 years and 40 - 49 years. where a noticeable difference does exist between the sexes. The age-sex distribution of KUA is closely analogous to that of KMC. Dependency Ratio Dependency ratio is defined as the ratio of population below 15 years and above 60 years taken together to the population in the age group 15 - 59. It has an important economic significance. The low dependency ratio of a region implies that a low percentage of population depends on its working force for economic wealth to consume. The dependency ratio for KMA and KMC are found to be 0.53 and 0.49 respectively.Urbanisation Pattern West Bengal had 27.97% of its population living in the urban areas in 2001 compared to 27.78% in India, as can be seen from Table 3.15. The eastern region is the least urbanised zone in India. Among the 25 Indian states, West Bengal ranked 15" according to 2001 Census in terms of urbanisation. The relatively high percentage of urban population in West Bengal compared to the other states in eastern region is due to the presence of Kolkata metropolis. Out of 22.43 million urban population in West Bengal, KMA contains 13.43 million i.e. 59.88% of WB urban population. If KMA is set aside, the percentage of urban population in WB drops to 13.74%. Contrary to a popular belief that rapid urbanisation in developing countries is accompanied by massive migration from rural to urban areas, the migration from to rural to urban ares in WB has been found to be small owing to variety of factors of which the various reform measures in rural sector leading to agrarian prosperity in rural Bengal has been an important one during the recent decades. The change in urban population and the percentage share of urban to total population since 1941 for India as well as WB, KMA and Calcutta city are shown in Table 3.15. In India the percentage of urban population increased from 13.85% in 1941 to 27.78% in 2001, the corresponding change in West Bengal has been from 20.40% in 1941 to only 27.97% in 2001 The growth of urban population has been 547.23% in India and 376.24% in West Bengal between 1941 and 2001 and 99.84% in KMA between 196] and 2001. The urbanisation in WB is also characterized by regional unevenness. Of the 22.43 million urban population in the state, more than 13 million are headed into about 1100 sq. km. of Kolkata conurbation. Kolkata city alone with its 4.6 million urban population accounts for 20.39% of total urban population in the state. Barring Kolkata district, which occupies first position with 100% of its population as urban, there are only two districts, North 24 Parganas (54%) and Howrah (50%), where urban population is well above the average. There are three other districts viz. Darjeeling, Hooghly and Burdwan, where more than 30% of the people live in urban areas. On the other hand, there are as many as four districts where the proportion of urban population is less than 10%, of which Malda is the least urbanised district as will be evident from Table 3.16. Of the total urban population in West Bengal, Kolkata accounts for 20.39%, North 24-Parganas 21.63%, Burdwan 11.36%. On the other hand, Cooch-Behar contributes only 1.01%, Bankura 1.05% and Malda 1.07% to urban WB’s population. Such a skewed distribution of urban population is a consequence of uneven economic development in the different districts of the state, Distribution of towns according to size classes and of urban population over different classes of towns is shown in Table 3.17. The distribution for KMA. varies somewhat from that of West Bengal. Out of the total of 382 towns in WB, 44 nos. or 11.5% belongs to bigger Class | towns. For KMA. the share of Class-l towns is double i.e. 22.4% of the total of 125 towns. On the other hand, the share of Class-III towns in KMA (4.8%) is far less than that of WB (16.799). Again there is an abundance of Class-VI towns in KMA (14.5%) compared to that in WB. (5.7%). So far as the distribution of population over these size classes of towns is concerned, the shares of Class-Il to Class-VI towns in the total population ofKMA fall below the corresponding shares in WB. The share of Class-I town compensates this, which is higher in KMA. Only 1.61% of total population of KMA lives in Class -III towns, compared to 10.29% for WB. This is due to lack of Class-III towns in KMA as observed earlier. Although the percentage of Class-VI towns are more in KMA, their contribution to the total population is less than that in WB. Migration The contribution of migration to the growth of moder cities of the world has always been observed to be greater than that of natural increase in the early period of growth of the cities. Cities like London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo & Moscow corroborate this observation. This is also the case for cities like Bombay, Delhi & Kolkata. As a city grows older the contribution of natural growth through birth & death becomes larger compared to the contribution of migration. Besides, the impact of migration on the growth of a city varies from one period to another depending upon the social political and economic condition inside the metropolis and in the hinterland. Table 3.17 gives the data on migration to Kolkata since 1921. The huge influx of people during 1941-31 was due to partition of India, creation of two sovereign nations and communal tension in the then East Pakistan. Similarly, during 1961-71 the civil war in Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh led to a tidy Increase in migration to the city of Kolkata and its surrounding areas. In the other decades, however, the contribution of natural growth to the increase in city population has been greater. Migrants in KUA and Calcutta City are arranged according to their place of last residence in Table 3.19. Migrants in KUA from other places of West Bengal accounted for 40%. In case of Kolkata City, this percentage is 27.91. Migrants in Kolkata and KUA constitute 45.78% and 33.7% respectively of those who had come from other states of India. Foreigners contribute 26.28% of the migrants in Kolkata and 25.92% of migrants in KUA. Table 3.20 classifies the total migrants in Kolkata and KUA according to duration of residence. Almost 70% of migrants in Kolkata and more than 64% in KUA resides there for 10 years or more, 21% in Calcutta and 26% in KUA reside there for | to 9 years. Only around 1% has came to their present place of residence less than a year ago. Table 3.21 groups the migrant population according to the economic activities they pursue. Thus while in Calcutta 52% of the migrants are engaged in some kind of economic activity, the corresponding figure is 41% in KUA. Again in Calcutta maximum number of migrants, i.e. 13.26% of total are engaged in trade and commerce. In KUA maximum number 14.78% aire engaged in manufacturing and processing while 8.81% pursue trade & commerce. Another major activity is transport and storage where 7% of migrants in Calcutta & 4.39% in KUA are absorbed.The Population Perspective Under both laissez faire and centralised planning, the sizes of the current and future population are key inputs for urban planning exercise. Production programmes in agriculture, industry, trade and commerce are to be formulated on the basis of the anticipated population for whom food, employment shelter, transport, and other amenities are to be planned. If this is true for the nation as a whole this is no less true for a city, or a town. Those who are planning a water supply system for Kolkata Metropolitan ‘Area must be told how many people the water supply is to be arranged for. This ‘how many” is again linked to the question of ‘how long’. Actually the respective lengths of life of the various components of infrastructure determine the time horizon of infrastructure planning. So far as our present planning exercise is concerned we have taken a twenty-five year period 2001-2025 as our time reference. Actually, to generate projections for the twenty five-year period from 2001 to 2025 is complicated, because even though the economic planning or policy planning may be done at a micro-regional or local level; population projection for a single town, say, Dum Dum or Barasat, is much more complicated and involves a much greater uncertainty than the population projection for KMA as a whole. When a large area is concerned, the projection of population on the basis of the past behavior of its various components is the proper scientific approach. But when a small area is concerned, the policy with regard to allocation of population distribution becomes more relevant. In such cases, allocation of population depends on development programmes envisaged or decided upon for the respective areas. Here is an instance where the physical planners and the social scientists preparing population estimates have to interact with each other. Projection for KMA: In absence of adequate data related to the demographic variable like fertility, mortality and migration for the KMA as well as the age-sex distribution, it is difficult to estimate future population using the various demographic methods commonly known. That is why several alternative mathematical projections, were applied to estimate the future population of KMA using various functions. Out of seven such projections, Alternative-6, which is a second-degree fitting by the method of least square, seems to be a more reasonable one and may be considered for our planning purpose. Based on allocation of the projected population among the constituent micro units and cross checking of the same with future density and growth rate, the final projected population figure for KMA for 2025 has been determined at 21.068 million, vide Table 3.22. Projection for the Local Bodies and Panchayat Samities: Now the task is to apportion the estimated population of KMA over the various Corporations, Municipalities and Panchayat Samities. Even though the future estimates of population for small areas are likely to differ for many unpredictable and unforeseeable reasons and are more dependent on policy issues, still it is essential and desirable to make such estimates for the purpose of planning. Here again, a synthesis of the time honoured demographic-mathematical techniques and theallocative techniques have been adopted. Several alternatives for each of the local bodies and Panchayat Samities were applied to estimate the future population for the constituent units. Projected figures were crosschecked in respect of future density and growth rate. Most likely figures (from different alternatives) were clubbed together and adjusted to the total projected population of KMA and finally apportioned as detailed in Table-3.23. Figures providing the estimated population for the urban local bodies and Panchayat Samities have been derived.Urbanisation in KMA in Retrospect In the middle of the 16" century, Sutanuti was extended from Chitpur to the old Mint House. The area between the old Mint House and Chandpal Ghat belonged to Calcutta proper. Gobindapur occupied the site of new Fort William, including the RaceCourse. Sutanuti was the main seat of trade and commerce, while Calcutta and Gobindapur were thr places of residence. After 1757, Govindapur was cleared for the construction of new Fort William and Hastings was born as a coolie bazar. Dalhousie Square, now called Binoy Badal Dinesh Bag, was transformed to house various offices. Till the establishment of manufacturing industry in the suburbia of Calcutta by about middle of nineteenth century, Calcutta essentially remained as enlarged market centre boosted up by the intrusion of European traders. By the end of nineteenth certury, Kolkata (Calcutta) emerged as the most powerful metropolitan node, the citadel of the British Capital in India, the major gateway to London and the world at large. Demographically from a population of 12, 000 in a bunch of settlements, the city by 1901 had grown into a giant with nearly about 8,50,000 inhabitants. Some of the suburban towns of Kolkata were already in full existence long before Kolkata began its run as English factory settlements. Chinsura, Hoogly, Chandernagore, Serampore on the west bank of the river Hooghly were thriving markets patronised by Portuguese, the Dutch and the French. According to the Census 1872, the population of Hooghly and Chinsura together was nearly 35,000 while Serampore had a population over 24,000. During this period: > The history of growth of Calcutta’s suburbia took place in the manner that many of the suburban towns were independent entities for a long time associated with the rise or fall of European powers rival to the English, basically, Dutch and Portuguese. —+ The transference of these settlements to the English hand and subsequent establishment of the manufacturing industry, the relationship with Calcutta did not appear to have been substantially altered except for the links the mills had with their head office at Dulhouse Square, and with the port of Calcutta. > The option of developing stronger links between Calcutta and its suburban areas in the interest of metropolitan growth was never seriously considered even later. Thus the industries grew mainly along the westem bank of the Bhagirathi- Hooghly River about the middle of the nineteenth century. The first effort to link between cast and west banks of the river Hooghly was established through a pontoon bridge, while the present cantilever bridge was opened only two years before the independence. However the Bally bridge while inaugurated in 1927-28, the Bridge at Naihati was a much later addition some 40 km. north of Calcutta. ‘These transportation links made effective integration of suburb and the metropolis into an organic whole, that leads to the all round development of the suburbs through opening of new streets, betterment of civic services and so on. The suburban areas thus depend on the central city of Calcutta for their own growth. The introduction of the suburban train services along both banks improved the situation to some extent in post independence period, but highway linkages were still grossly inadequate. A massive geographical barrier in the form of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River has further complicated the situation.Post-Independence Period In the post-independence period, the suburban movement around the city received some momentum from those who were deprived of a foothold in the city due to steep rent and land speculation. Many concepts are available in the census reports to indicate the urban explosion of the Kolkata metropolis since 1951 Census. In fact, before the Second World War, form: of the conurbation with regard to the city of Kolkata and its adjacent urban tract that have grown over the centuries was not recognized. During this period the concept of Greater Kolkata (GK) was first conceived for the purpose of rationing. It covered all municipalities along a stretch of over 65 km on both banks of the river from Budge Budge in the south and Halisahar in the north, including Kolkata. The area of GK was more than 690 sq. km. The Census of 1951 officially recognized the Kolkata Industrial Region (CIR) for the first time and included 36 towns over an area of, about 420 sq. km. In the 1961 census, apart from continuation of the c wncept of CIR, another entity the Town Groups (TG), was considered. In 1971, a new concept viz. Urban Agglomeration (UA) was introduced. The Kolkata Urban Agglomeration (KUA) included the entire city of Kolkata and some of the urban portions of the districts of North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Nadia, Another new concept of Standard Urban Areas (SUA) was also developed in the Census in 1971, and included contiguous territories of an urban core that were likely to be urban over the next 20-year period or so under the influence of the core town. These areas are often in the category of rural areas. The Calcutta Metropolitan Standard Urban Area (CMSUA) for Kolkata, as defined in 1971 Census, however, was similar to that of Calcutta Metropolitan District (CMD); which was adopted as the planning base in the Basic Development Plan 1966-86, prepared by CMPO during 1960, and was subsequently considered for Calcutta Metropolitan Area (CMA) for the purpose of Town and Country (Planning and Development) Act 1979. Thus, the planning concept of the CMD was recognized in 1971 Census. Therefore, a continuous and interdependent urban explosion, stretching far beyond the statutory boundary of the municipal limits of Kolkata, was realised four and a half decades ago. Now, according to 2001 Census, there were 115 towns in KMA, out of which 41 were statutory towns like municipal corporations and municipalities and the remaining 74 Census Towns. The last category included areas that have pronounced urban characteristics but yet to be constituted as statutory towns. Besides these, there were 16 Outgrowths which were defined as bulge of an urban unit and accommodated its spill over population but did not fulfill the criteria as laid down in Census to qualify even as a Census Town. The urban settlement pattern may be viewed in terms of distribution of urban population in town size classes as well as differentials in the spatial distribution of towns over space. In India, there were 3696 urban settlements of all classes in 2001 (excluding Assam) as defined by Census. Among the States, West Bengal’s share was 7.88% being, inhabited in 382 urban centers. Number of towns rose from 120 in 1951 to 382 in 2001 Even though the share of urban population in West Bengal is not very high in comparison to other major states in India and, the situation in the state is quite different from the national scene. In 1991 there were 21 Urban Agglomerations in West Bengal of which one was the Kolkata Urban Agglomeration (KUA) and one each in the districts of South 24- Parganas, North Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Murshidabad, West Medinipur. Maldah and Jalpaiguri: three in Barddhaman and two in the Noh 24-Parganas and Coochbihar districts and five in Nadia district. The Kolkata Urban Agglomeration was the biggest of all with a population of 13.21 millions. It consisted of 99 urban units, ineluding 3 Municipal Corporations. 30 Municipalities, | Cantonment and 58 Census Towns. KUAalso includes 16 outgrowths. In 1991, i ntally, the KUA had 129 Urban units plus 25 outgrowths, with a population of 11.02 millions. It would be noted from Table 4.1 that the growth of urban population in both KMA and West Bengal showed a declining trend over the last three decades. However, the growth in all thé three levels of Kolkata Metropolitan Region (KMR), the population growth showed a rising trend over the last 30 years. In absolute numbers, the population of KMR increased from 21.67 to 38.91 million between 1971 and 2001, indicating an addition of 13.33 million. Table no. 4.1 Details of Urbanisation Parameters: 1971-2001 Population Parameters WB KMR_ | Int. KMR IMR KMA Total 1971 4431 [2165 | 18.42 13.32, 861 1981 54.97 | 2687 [22.87 16.40 10.49 1991 67.42 [30.76 | 25.92 18.56 12.64 2001 80.22 | 3891 | 33.07 23.80 14.72 Urban 1971 10.97 | 973 8.15 758 1981 1433 [1157 [10.39 9.64 191 17.19 [13.55 | 12.45 11.70 2001 72.44 | 15.75 | 14.88 13.76 Level of Urbanisation (%) 1971 2475 | 4490 [44.25 36.90 1981 26.47 | 43.10 | 45.43 58.78 1991 27.48 | 44.05 [48.03 58.50 2001 27.97 | 45.00 [48.00 68.80 Density (Person/sq. km.) 1971 500_[ 934 1136 1758 3596 1981 620_[ 1159 [1411 2165 5877 1991 760_| 1327 | 1599 2450 7081 2001 904 | 1678 [~ 2040 3146 8246 Decadal Growth (%) 1971 B = = z = 1981 24.06 | 24.11 | 24.16 23.12 21.83 1991 22.45 | 1448 [13.34 13.17 20.48 2001 17.65 [26.50 | 27.58 28.65 16.46 It should be evident from the data in Table no. 4.1 that the urban centers at all levels of metropolitan regions had low density with moderate base population, although showing high growth rate. This also indicates the potential capacity of the KMRs to accommodate more population and economic activities. It is interesting to note that the high degree of unevenness in the distribution of urban population between the KMA and non-KMA urban centers prevailing till early seventies has been reduced to some extent during last wo decades. This has been possible due to the policy of decentralized urban development giving special attention to the small and medium towns. There is still some imbalance in the present distribution pattern and this should be improved in funure. The planning exercise made in this regard by KMDA indicates that evenwith continuing efforts of decentralized urban development, the share of the KMA in 2025 would be around 50%. Demographic Pattern of Urbanisation In terms of percentage of urban population to the total population or the degree of urbanization, West Bengal occupied fourth position, and stabilized at sixth rank in the following two decades. The states that preceded West Bengal upto the dacade of 1961-71 in terms of degree of urbanization were Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. In the later two decades, Karnataka and Punjab overtook West Bengal, pushing it to sixth position. This analysis reveals that West Bengal’s base level urban population on which the growth rates are anchored was high relative to most of the states under reference, which gave lower percentage increase in urban population, though in absolute terms it was not so low in relation to other states. From Table no. 4.2, it may be noted that. in 1971, the KMA population was about 78.50% of urban West Bengal that was reduced to 65.60% in 2001. On the other hand, the share of KMA-urban constituted 86.18% in 1971 and gradually increased to 89.91%, Table no. 4.2; Urban Population of West Bengal and KMA | Yer west | West | KMA Kma KMA | KMA-urban iB ‘ (share in Bengal: a West Bengal urbany |") epsractaeh ton | 431 | 1097 | 861 78.50 742 86.18 vost | 5497 | 1433 | 1049 73.20 9:19 37.61 [voor | 6742 | 18.71 | 1264 67.60 11.02 87.18 2001 | 80.22] 22.43 | 1472 65.60 13.22 89.81 However, the process of urban growth in the state has revealed two broad trends, related to each other. In urban areas of the state outside KMA, the rate of growth of urban population in a dispersed manner resulted primarily from emergence of new towns facilitated by agrarian prosperity and also adequate attention paid by the State Government towards development of the small and medium towns across the state. By contrast, at the Kolkata Metropolitan Area level, the rate of growth of population witnessed decline but the absolute size of population and high density continued to characterize the process of urban growth. The phenomenon of an expansive urban continuum centering the cities of Kolkata and Howrah can be observed to have taken place within KMA. It was interesting to note that against the average urban growth of nearly 17.34% for the overall KMA, the municipal towns surrounding the metro-core witnessed a sizeable 27% growth in population during the 1991-2001 period. The rest of the municipal areas of KMA however experienced 26.89% growth during the same period, Such urban growth in and around Kolkata and Howrah reflects itself in increasing density of population. It is obvious that the urban continuum around the cities of Kolkata and Howrah would continue to grow and should have its impact on the projected population for KMAThe population of KMA has been projected to be about 17.25 million in 2011, 19.93 million in 2021 and 21.07 million in 2025. This projection takes due cognizance of the process of urban growth in the entire state. The projected growth would in no case go without adding to the already big problems of crowding, congestion, squalor and deprivation. Understandably, there has to be well-directed responses to not only rehabilitating the cities of Kolkata and Howrah, but also plan for a healthy urban growth in the entire metropolis. Municipal Urbanisation It may be observed from Table no. 4.3 that the municipal bodies in KMA yet continue to account for bulk of total municipal population of the State. Kolkata municipal area itself accounts foe about one-third of total municipal population. This merely shows the degree of concentration of municipal population of the State in KMA and more so in Kolkata city. It is however heartening to note that the trend has been showing a gradual reversal in terms of the non-KMA municipal bodies accounting for increasing share of total municipal population in the State. This is no doubt a healthy trend indicating dispersal of municipal population. This is happening owing to conscious policy of the State Government towards attaching more priorities to development of small and medium countries and thereby preventing inflow of people from small to large towns. The all round agrarian prosperity across the State is also a contributory factor to this phenomenon. The trend is also explained by the fact of reducing growth of population in not only KMA but also a substantial decline in population growth in Kolkata city during the last few decades. Table no. - 4.3 Percentage distribution of municipal population in West Bengal Groups of municipal] 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 [1991 | 2001 Jurban local bodies (ULB) All Municipal bodies 100 100 100 100 100 100 KMA-municipal bodies ary 75 72 70 64 47 Kolkata 45 39 | 33 [ 28 | 29 | 32 Howrah 8 7 8g 6 6 7 ‘Non-KMA Municipal 2 25 | 28 30 | 36 | 53 Bodies Sources: Census of India, 1951,1961,1971,1981 1991 and 2001 Looking at the figures, it may be seen that the steadily rising percentage of population in non-KMA municipal areas to total municipal population went up to as high as 53 percent in 2001 from an average of 22 percent in 1951. By implication, the growth rate of population in non-KMA municipal arca was much faster than that in KMA municipal areas. This is very much remarkable and noteworthy. As may be seen in Table no, 4.4, the average rate of growth in the KMA municipal area was. however. pulled down significantly by the very slow growth rate of Kolkata and lower growth rate of Howrah, Kolkata’s population growth hasbeen stagnating at least from the year 1951-61. Howrah’s population growth rate has been rather erratic in that the average annual rate of 1.8 percent in 1951-61 shoot up to 4.4 percent in 1961-71 and then slow down to 0.09 percent in 1971-81 and again revive to 2.72 percent in 1981-91, but again drastically drop to 0.61 percent only in 1991-2001. Table: 4.4 Annual rates of growth of population in municipal bodies in West Bengal Groups of _ municipal | 1951-61 | 1961-71 | 1971-81 | 1981-91 | 1991-2001 bodies _ Non- Municipal Towns _| 24.41 3.80 8.88 2.84 - All municipal bodies 2.50 2.70 1.10 2.26 |- KMA municipal bodies [2.10 [2.20 [1.10 2.94 | 2.69 Kolkata 0.80 0.80 0.45 0.63 0.41 Howrah 1.80 4.40 0.09 2.72 0.61 Non-KMA municipal | 4.00 3.80 3.80 3.95 - bodies ‘Source: Census of India 1951,1961,1971,1981 1991 and 2001. The average annual growth rate of population in the KMA municipal area has been found to erratic having steadily declined from 2.10 percent in 1951-61 to 1.10 percent in 1971-81 and then increase steadily to 2.69 percent during 1991-2001 On the other hand, the rate of growth of population in non-KMA municipal areas taken together remained more or less stable at around 4.0 percent per annum. This indicates that growth of urbanization in the KMA municipal area has been much slower that that in the non-KMA municipal areas. Spatial Pattern of Urbanisation The Kolkata Urban Agglomeration (KUA) is the urban component of Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), KMA being almost similar to the Kolkata Metropolitan Standard Urban Area (KMSUA) of Census 1971. However, KUA covered 662.45 sq. km., 852.23 sq. km., and 857.02 sq. km and 1025.85 sq. km. of areas with 74, 143, 154 and 116 numbers of different urban units at different levels of administrative jurisdictions during the Census years 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 respectively. The population load in these respective areas worked out to 7.42 niillions, 9.19 millions, 11.02 millions and 13.21 million respectively in 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 respectively, vide Table no. 4.5.Table 4.5 Details of constituent units in CUA: 1971, 1981 1991 and 2001 Census ‘Administrative units Total | Area | Population Year (nos.)_| (Sq. km. | (millions) 1971 | 3MC,28M,1NA,1C,41 NM 74| 662.45 742 1981 | 3 MC, 32M, 2NA, I C, 69 NM, 36 OG 143 | 852.23 919 1991 | 3 MC, 29M, 3 NA, IC, 93 NM, 25 0G 154] 857.02 11.02 2001 | 3MC, 38M, IC, 58 CT, 16 0G 116] 1025.85 13.21 Note: IC = Municipal Corporation, M = Municipalities, NA =Notified Area, C = Cantonment, NM = Non-municipal, OG = Out Growth, CT =Census Town. Spatial Pattern: Analysis of human settlement pattern and for that matter urbanisation has been traditionally conceived only on the demographic parameters as available in the decadal Census reports, with data made available for each lowest administrative unit. This type of analysis while giving a very fruitful guidance for preparation of the futuristic plans towards fulfilling the human needs, overlooks the basic issue related to land cover indicating the urban settlement pattern and their growth direction in spatial terms over time. The science of application of Satellite Remote Sensing Data in the field of land information system, specially by using the high resolution satellite imageries. has enabled preparation of land cover maps indicating spatial pattern of physical growth in terms of urban built up land. The main advantage of Satellite Remote Sensing data is its repetitive and synoptic coverage that facilitate preparation of updated spatial maps at different points of time. Urban Sprawl Studies for the cities of Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kolkata with the help of such applications have been done. The project of “Monitoring Urban Sprawl” (MUS) for selected million plus cities in the country undertaken by the Department of Space, Government of India has established nation-wide Natural Resource Management System (NRMS). Urban sprawl in fact is a phenomenon of haphazard growth of built up areas over land in and around an urban unit over a period of time. An attempt was made to examine the urbanization in KMA in terms of demographic distribution pattem on administrative jurisdictions based on census data and the nature of urban sprawl based on the land cover maps as obtained and analyzed in the reports of MUS for Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) conducted during 1989-90. Similar study is once again being carried out by KMDA in collaboration with Institute of Wetland Management and Ecological Design (IWMED), Environment Department, Government of West Bengal, but the same is yet to be completed. The city of Kolkata spatially grew in an unregulated and haphazard manner during World War II and after the Partition of Bengal, and also throughout the whole of the second half of the 20" century. As a result. the fringe agricultural land got converted into settlement areas for human habitation and engulfed into theurban fabric as urban sprawl, thereby making the city administration liable for provision of infrastructural facilities. This process of sprawl is evolving continuously. For timely interventions, it is important to regularly monitor urban sprawl, which is possible now with the help of remote sensing technology. Table no. 4 6 depicts the spatial extent of urban sprawl in respect of the cities of Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kolkata over time and space. It could be revealed that average annual growth rate of urban sprawl in respect of Ahmedabad city was noted to be 11.12 sq. km. / year during 17 year period between 1972 to 1989, and that in respect of Mumbai city was 15.26 sq. km. /year for a period of 19 years between 1968 to 1987, while the corresponding figure for Kolkata city in terms of CUA was 9.27 sq. km. / year during 14 year period between 1976 to 1990. Table no. 4.6 Urban Sprawl in respect of Anmedabad, Mumbai and Kolkata Study Area Study period | Built up Urban Sprawl ] (sq. km.) Geary area Area_| Growth | Annual (sq.km) | sq.km.) | (%) | growth | (sq. km.) Ahmedabad :1972 96 - - - 21989 7 285 189] 196.88 Mumbai + 1968 215 - - - 1987 19 505 290} 134.88 15.26 Kolkata 21922 256.4 - ~~ - 1976 52 608.3 352.9] 137.64 6.78 31990 14 738.2 129.9 21.35 9.27 Spatial pattern of urbanization in KMA can be observed from the Urban Sprawl Maps that would indicate the exact extent and direction of physical growth of the built up areas. The built up land in KMA stretched in a linear pattem on both banks of river Hoogly from south to north up to 1976 which has changed to Ribbon Development pattern along the major transportation corridor similar to other Metropolitan Cities in India. It may be noted from Table no, 4.7 that in 1922 the total built up area was only 256 sq. km. and given the dynamics of urban sprawl, the built up land shot up to 738.2 sq. km. in 1990, experiencing an expansion of about 482 sq. km. over a span of 68 years between 1922 and 1990, meaning an average annual growth of more than 7 sq. km. per year, also shown in Diagram 4.1.