By Shanker Man Singh
Urbanization is not only about building a smart and green city, it is also about establishing a cultural, social, economic and political world. The government had envisioned 70 modern cities at various local levels of the country and the progress needs to be reviewed. It is to be remembered that urban life has been affected by water, and transportation problems especially parking space, environmental and river pollution. Temperatures have also risen in Nepal due to overcrowding in the valley and other major places. Due to the lack of drainage in the settlements, the problem of floods has become a problem of pollution in the rivers. It seems necessary for everyone to work towards this solution. Generally, urbanization is considered to be the acceleration of development.
As government offices and markets have developed into major centers of commerce, this area has become an area of attraction for everyone. In our case, settlement development is on the rise where the city is already. The rural areas, on the other hand, are becoming unmanned. Due to this, the problem is increasing day by day in the city. Development is also becoming city-centric. Municipalities have been declared without developing even the minimum infrastructure. Nepal’s unbalanced development or city-centered economic, administrative and educational development as well as the development of health, employment, etc., the city is centered, and the pressure of urban settlement has increased.
In Nepal, urbanization is officially defined on the basis of the population of the municipality. In 1981, there were 23 municipalities, home to 6.4 per cent of the country’s population. Between 1991 and 2011, the number of municipalities remained unchanged at 58, but the share of the population living in the municipality increased significantly from 13.9 per cent to 17.1 per cent at an annual growth rate of 3.38 per cent.
Today, there are an estimated 293 municipalities in the country, with about two-thirds of the national population living in municipalities. Even when measuring, urbanization can be debated in terms of the population of the municipality, the municipality being the area, and urban growth is likely to happen soon.
Nepal’s urban growth is mainly fueled by rural-urban migration. Cities offer many economic opportunities to attract rural migrants, including the poor. Urbanization is essential to reduce rural poverty. The Human Development Index (HDI) score for rural areas in 2011 was about 20 per cent lower than the urban HDI score.
Despite high expectations from the city as a vehicle for economic growth, urbanization in Nepal is often unmanaged, and some even compare it to the squatter settlement expansion. Most municipalities have infrastructure and services in place. Cities are inadequate in terms of both quantity and quality. These include many challenges.
Due to the belief that the current means of communication can be used while living in urban areas, international transactions can be done and a safe life can be lived, it seems that human psychology is inspiring people to live in urban areas. A cursory review of the history shows that Nepal’s Eighth Plan seems to have called for the establishment of a national urban system. Over time, Nepal’s development vision has evolved. Nepal’s urbanization has not benefited rural areas as expected: (i) minimum investment (both public and private sector), small growth of infrastructure and economic activities as a result of inadequate provision of materials in small towns, and (ii) inadequate road network and communication facilities Weakening trade relations.
Cities are welcomed as drivers of economic growth; however, much depends on the level and character of urbanization. “Urbanization and development go hand in hand: No country has reached a middle-income position without significant population change in cities. Urbanization needs to be sustained (although not in developing countries, and it has other benefits as well.) Urbanization Management is an important part of nurturing development. In the context of Nepal, the economic role of the city should be understood in its historical context. It is a fact that urbanization in Nepal is without industrialization. As mentioned above, the level of urbanization in Nepal is measured by the population of the municipality. Every time a new municipality is announced, the level of urbanization suddenly reaches new heights. It is easy to ignore the fact that most municipalities are still mainly rural in character. In fact, the now repealed Local Self-Governance Act, 1999 (Article 88) defined municipalities (excluding municipalities and sub-metropolitan areas) as ‘semi-urban’ areas. Many municipalities still have rural areas. It is no exaggeration to say that Nepal is still in the early stages of urbanization.
Nepal’s municipalities vary greatly in terms of population size and density. On the one hand, development costs are high in most municipalities due to low population density. On the other hand, the growing population in municipalities has led to large demand-supply infrastructure. Except for sparsely populated areas, high population densities generally demand large public sector spending, indicating “rapid population growth” that imposes a financial burden on established residents as lower service levels. This is not only in densely populated cities like Kathmandu (20,289 persons per square kilometer), Lalitpur (14,966) and Bhaktapur (12,753) but also in rapidly developing cities like Pokhara, Bharatpur, Madhyapur Thimi and Virendranagar. Six grew at a rate of more than 5 per cent between 2001 and 2011. Cities of all sizes need investment, but cost recovery in small towns is a major concern, while in the case of large cities, many of them appear to be financially weak to raise large investments.
In Nepal, urbanization is often interpreted in terms of the population of municipalities. Municipalities are the designated urban areas (cities and towns) that meet the minimum criteria for population, infrastructure, and revenue. However, in recent times the announcement of municipalities has been largely political. To satisfy the population and others, decision-making criteria, including easily defined new boundaries, are needed. However, the municipality can be considered as an area with the potential for urban development sooner or later. As of 2011, there were only 58 municipalities in Nepal and urbanization was only 17.1 per cent (treating municipalities as urban areas). Today, there are 293 municipalities out of a total of 753 local-level governments. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the 293 municipalities have a national population. Out of 293 municipal bodies, there are 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities and 276 municipalities.
In Nepal, urbanization has adversely affected public health and has become a playground for looters, robbers, corrupt people, depraved, and feudal groups. Malpractice, addiction, theft, fraud, unemployment, suicide, sexual abuse, loneliness, etc. have developed. Its impact is being felt at the family, community and national levels as well, which has a direct and indirect impact on the overall development of the country. Urbanization refers to the physical, social and economic expansion of an urban area, regardless of its area, population and infrastructure development. On the one hand, urbanization is a problem and on the other hand, it is an opportunity to eradicate poverty. Systematic urbanization is the development path. If we look at the last few years, we can see that Nepal’s population has increased rapidly. People are more attracted to the city. As soon as it is called a city, everyone thinks that there is a prosperous world. However, this is not what the rural community thinks about the city.
According to government statistics, millions of Nepali enter the city from villages in search of education, employment, facilities and simple life. Due to a lack of proper management, good policies and changeable plans, it has started spreading environmental impact and unmanaged settlement in urban areas. According to a United Nations study, Nepal is one of the top 10 urbanized regions in the world. The Local Government Operation Act, 2074 BS has set the criteria for a municipality with a population of 10,000 in the mountains, 40,000 in the hills, 50,000 in the inner Madhes, 75,000 in the Tarai and 100,000 in the Kathmandu Valley.
Looking at the nature of urbanization in Nepal, it is considered that urban development has taken place without infrastructure and even the lack of minimum basic amenities is seen. Urbanization has some special characteristics. First of all, it is understood as an integrated settlement with high population density. Similarly, the fact that the proportion of people engaged in non-agricultural business is higher than that of agriculture is another characteristic of the city. From this point of view, the city has three characteristics – integrated settlement, high population density and predominance of non-agricultural business over agriculture. These three characteristics also make a physical appearance and need specific. Just being an integrated settlement does not make a city.
Due to the rapid and unmanaged development of urbanization in Nepal, noise pollution is also seen as an environmental health problem in many cities. Environmental studies show that Kathmandu is the most polluted city in Nepal. Noise pollution is a major cause of traffic congestion, industrial activity, construction work, and crowds in the city. This is becoming a major problem in the Kathmandu Valley city and the urban areas around the highway, including major cities outside. Due to urbanization, public health has been adversely affected and it has become a playground for looters, dacoity, corrupt people and feudal groups.
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