‘Rampant urbanisation resulting in negative growth’

It seems that Gurgaon is following in the footsteps of metropolitan cities of the country such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Ajay Goyal writes.

It seems that Gurgaon is following in the footsteps of metropolitan cities of the country such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

HT Image

With ever-rising population and demand for basic amenities, the government is turning a blind eye as far as infrastructure like water, sewage, electricity, roads, public transportation, security, law enforcement, education, hospitals, parks, green areas, etc are concerned.

With expansion, residents are deprived of civic amenities like water supply, proper sewage and drainage.

The Millennium City is witnessing a daily increase of commuters and vehicles leading to demand for bigger and wider roads. The benefits of urbanisation and effectiveness of the infrastructure are gradually diminishing and resulting in negative growth in overall quality of life.

The main question that arises is whether there is any ‘optimum design’ or should there be a restriction on the growth of urban towns, cities and metropolitans? What I have observed is that cities that cross the ‘Urban Lakhsman Rekha’ of 2-3 million residents.... suffer from diminishing value of infrastructure, facilities and quality of life.

This has been amply demonstrated in a city like Gurgaon. Therefore, the ‘upper population limit’ for new and growing towns should be only 2 million, so that there is some space for future growth too.

We need to upgrade our civic systems and infrastructure to cope with the population pressure and ensure amenities for all. Only then can we call Gurgaon a Millennium City.

(The writer is a resident of Malibu Towne)