Journal of Global Resources

Volume 5 (01)January 2019
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

Page 43-50

05
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN URBANISATION PATTERN AND BASIC SERVICES IN
GUJARAT
Shital Shukla
Head, Department of Geography, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India
Email: hodgeography@gujaratuniversity.ac.in
Abstract: The higher level of urbanization can contribute to the growth and development of thenation if it improves the well-being of people. However, the process of urbanization is dynamic,
complex and challenging. It is considered to be a key indicator of an economic development
where urban centres act as the engines of growth. At the same time urban areas have to cater
basic services to urban dwellers in an affordable and efficient manner. Therefore it is importantto understand the trend and pattern of urbanization within the state of Gujarat and to assess theregional difference in access to basic services in various parts of the state. This paper makes
an attempt to through light on these issues of urbanizations. The study has used Census data toassess the status of basic services in Gujarat. It has analysed that there is a huge regional
differences in the distribution of the basic services within Gujarat. Such analysis will be helpful
to planners for improving the service delivery and reducing disparity of basic services within thestate.
Key words: Urbanization, Regional Disparity, Urban water Supply
Introduction
Urbanization is a process which facilitates the growth of cities and towns mainly because ofrural to urban and urban to urban migration. The process of urbanization is dynamic, complex
and challenging. It is considered to be a key indicator of an economic development where
urban centres act as the engines of growth. The growth of urban areas can contributesignificantly to a development of a state or a nation if those urban areas adopt an efficient andsustainable mechanism to improve the quality of life for urban people. In order to do so, urban
centres have to increase the scale of urban basic services and an infrastructure. Failing to do so
can result into over explosion of population at some places compromising with the quality of life.
Such phenomena can increase regional inequality further by marginalising a few pockets.
Subsequently, it hinders the process of an integrated development. This paper makes anattempt to assess the regional growth and the pattern of urbanization as well as the differencesin access to basic services within the state. It tries to look into the variation observed in socioeconomic characteristics of urbanization pattern in general and particularly, the variation
observed in delivery of basic services within the state.
Urbanization in Gujarat: Trend and Pattern
India has more than one fourth (31.2 percent) of its population living in urban areas in 2011. At
the same time, the state of Gujarat reported very high percentage of urbanisation with 42.6
percent of people living in urban areas. (Table 1) The state of Gujarat ranks 12th in India withrespect to the proportion of urban population. Compared to its neighbouring states, Gujarat is
having higher proportion of urban population then those of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh andslightly less than that of Maharashtra. Gujarat is also considered to be one of the highest
urbanised states in India. In fact, in the last decade, the proportional increase in urban
population is also very high in Gujarat.

43

StateGujarat
Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh
Rajasthan
India

Table 1: Urbanization in Gujarat
Percentage of Urban Population Annual Exponential Rate of Growth
2001
2011
1991-2001
2001-11
37.4
42.6
2.08
3.07
42.43
45.22
3.01
2.12
26.46
27.63
NA
2.29
23.39
24.87
2.76
2.55
27.82
31.14
2.73
2.76

Source: Census of India, 1991, 2001, 2011

The growth of urban population in Gujarat is higher than the national average. It is
important to note here that India and neighbouring states have reported decline in Annual
Exponential Growth rate of urban population from the decade of 1991-2001 to 2001-11 while
Gujarat has reported an increase in Annual Exponential Growth rate of urban population for thesame time period. This shows that the urbanisation rate in Gujarat is increasing higher thanIndia and neighbouring states. Table 2 depicts an annual exponential growth of urban
population in Gujarat and India. It clearly shows that the growth of urban population in Gujarat
has remained higher than that of the rest of India since the beginning of the collection of the
Census data. However, the differences in growth rate have changed over a period of time.
One can divide the Trend of urban growth in four distinct periods: colonial period,
freedom Period, after liberalisation and globalisation period. During a colonial period, Gujarat
has reported higher growth than the nation. At the time of freedom, the state and nation grew at
the same rate of growth. This may be because of the large scale migration due to partition.
Gujarat being the bordered state experienced a vast political movement during the time of
freedom. Nonetheless, the state picked up growth very fast in comparison with that of Indian
average growth of urbanization. While the trend of urban growth in India was declining after
liberalisation, the growth of Gujarat continues to follow an upwards trend. The liberalisation andglobalisation has favoured the growth of Gujarat along with some other states such as
Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. This is due to huge investments in an industrial
sector. This process attracted a large number of people migrating towards Urban Gujarat.
Table 2: Annual exponential growth of urban population in sub regions of Gujarat
DecadeGujarat
CG*
NG*
S*
SG*
India
1920
2.5
2.2
1.5
2.0
2.0
0.8
1930
3.3
3.1
2.1
2.7
2.1
1.8
1940
3.5
3.1
2.1
3.0
2.9
2.8
1950
3.6
3.2
2.2
3.1
2.9
3.5
1960
3.7
3.2
2.4
3.1
3.0
2.3
1970
4
3.5
2.6
3.4
3.4
3.2
1980
4.2
3.6
2.7
3.5
3.6
3.8
1990
4.3
3.5
2.7
3.6
3.8
3.1
2000
4.6
3.8
2.9
3.8
4.1
2.7
2010
4.8
4.2
3.1
4.0
4.2
2.4
Source: Calculated from Census of India, Town Directory, 2001, 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

In short, the urban growth in Gujarat has remained higher than the national average andit has shown a steady increase over a long period of time. However, such growth is nothomogeneous within the state. This is revealed by calculating the growth rate of urban
44

population by sub-region. North Gujarat has reported the slowest growth rate among all the sub
regions. However, the growth of this region accelerated the growth of nation after globalisation.
The impact of Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor contributed the development of this region.
Hence, the growth rate increased after 1991. Nonetheless, compared to other sub-regions, thisregion has shown less growth rates of population. The central Gujarat has experienced highgrowth rate of urban population since the colonial period. It is obvious that the geographicalaccessibility of the central location of this region has contributed significantly for the urban
growth in the central Gujarat.
South Gujarat picked up after the freedom from the colonial period. In fact, the urban
growth rate in South Gujarat was less than that was in Saurasthra during colonial period. Lateron growth of South Gujarat accelerated which is due to the development of golden corridor
which attracted large scale investment on infrastructure and industries. The urbanization in
Saurashtra slowed down during 1980s and 1990s decades. It only picked up after the
globalisation and liberalisation that facilitated the development of new ports and silver corridorof the coastal region. This shows that the process of urbanization in Gujarat is complex anddynamic. There is a large regional variation among the different regions and their growthstories. This has also led to the regional imbalance in various other sectors.
Table 3: Town wise proportion of urban population
Class IClass IIClass IIIClass IVClass V Class VI

GujaratUrban
18580506 2325689
Population
Percentage
of total urban
72
9
population

Total

2707695

148573548443671222

25655283

11

6

2

0.4

100

Source: Town Directory, Census of India, 2011

Regions

Table 4: Demographic Statistics for urban Sub regions
Density
Sex Ratio% SC% ST% urban poor**

CG*
NG*
S*
SG*
Gujarat

4291
2307
2249
5292
3499

906
915
919
827
881

9.83
9.05
7.43
3.85
6.97

2.56
2.19
0.91
6.41
3.47

23.7
18.1
20.3
13.8
13.3

Source: Census of India, 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat**Source for urban Poverty rates are estimated by Chaudhuri, S. and Nivedita Gupta (2009) from NSSO

As far as town wise distribution of urban population is concerned, the pattern seems to
be heavily loaded on class I towns. Almost three fourth of the urban people are residing in class
I cities. Another 20 percent of urban residents live in class II and class III. One of the importantreasons behind the less proportion of urban people in class IV to class VI is non-availability of
employment opportunities in small towns in Gujarat. The above table shows the demographic
characteristics of four sub regions of Gujarat. It is obvious that the density is positively
correlated with urbanization process. Urban areas of South Gujarat have reported the highest
density of population. The development of golden corridor in last five decades has attracted alarge migrated population towards South Gujarat. This has led to the higher concentration ofdensity of population per sq. km. in this sub region. It is interesting to note here that migration
towards this region is male dominated and this has made the sex ratio of this region the lowest
compared to those of other sub regions. Nonetheless the sub region has reported the lowest
45

urban poverty in the state. Industrialisation and large scale investment projects might havecontributed to reduce the poverty levels in this region. Contrary to this, North Gujarat being lessurbanised has better sex ratio and have less urban poverty than Central Gujarat. The central
Gujarat with high urban growth rate has failed to remain at par with other sub regions(specifically North Gujarat) in terms of better sex ratio and less poverty rates which areimportant indicators of quality of life.
THE STATUS OF BASIC SERVICES
Status of Electricity in sub-regions of Gujarat: The status of electricity is an important
indicator of urbanization process. The domestic, commercial and road lightening connection ofelectricity are observed higher in urban areas of North Gujarat. The governance system of lessurbanised sub regions seems to be effective as far as coverage of electricity is concerned.
Industrial connections are more in urban areas of Central and South Gujarat but their proportionis very less in other three types of connections compared to other regions.

Regions

CG*
NG*
S*
SG*
GujaratTable 5: Coverage of electricity in various urban sub regions% HH Having
Industrial
Road Lighting
Commercial
Domestic
Connection ofConnection ofConnection ofConnection ofElectricity per 100 Electricity PER 100 Electricity per
Electricity
HH
HH
100 HH
93.8
4.3
11.0
24.3
94.0
3.9
16.3
29.7
93.4
4.5
17.8
25.1
86.3
6.4
14.2
19.1
90.9
5.1
14.3
22.8

Source: Census of India: 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

Variation in Water Supply services in urban areas in Gujarat: Drinking water is one of themost necessary basic facilities. The following table indicates the number of protected watersupply sources per ten lakh populations and the capacity of such sources in different sub
regions to provide water to urban Gujarat. It is interesting to note here that North Gujarat has
the highest number of protected sources of water supply. However, the capacity of such watersupply is the least in this region. This table also indicates that the central Gujarat and the South
Gujarat sub-regions have large water supply infrastructures with higher water availability perhousehold. This is because the precipitation is high in these two regions which facilitate thecollection of water quantity. But protected Sources generated per unit households are more in
North Gujarat which may be due to priority of urban governance towards drinking water
services. As far as water storage capacity of urban water reservoir is concerned, none of theregion is sustainable in terms of fulfilling minimum supply norms of 135 litres per capita per day.
All the four sub-regions have shortage of water holding capacity to meet the standards ofdrinking water provision. Deficits are severe in North Gujarat and Saurashtra. This is a matter ofconcern for the state to invest more to create large capacities of reservoir for the provision ofsafe drinking water to urban dwellers.

46

Table 6: Drinking water Services across various sub regions of urban Gujarat
Regions protected waterper Household Capacity of per capita Capacity ofsupply sources per
Sources to provide water
Sources to provide water
1000000 HH(in litres)(in litres)
CG*
260
649
130
NG*
520
339
68
S*
470
433
87
SG*
350
520
104
Gujarat360
528
106
Source: Census of India: 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

Status of Social Infrastructure: The infrastructural support such as Pakka road per unit area isan important indicator which provides easy geographical accessibility to urban people. It canfacilitate commuting for labourers and workers. The comparison among various sub regions
shows that South Gujarat seems to have better service delivery according to its population andarea size. The lower urbanised sub regions are lagging behind in terms of the roadinfrastructure provision according to their area and population size. This shows that highly
urbanized areas allocate good amount of financial investment in road infrastructure. This may
be due to the fact that highly urbanized sub regions divert their financial resources towards
intensive and expensive infrastructure rather than providing basic amenities.

Regions
CG*
NG*
S*
SG*
GujaratTable 7: Road Density across sub-regions of urban Gujarat
Density per sq. km. Pakka road per sq km Pakka roadof area
population
4291
2.37
55
2307
1.51
65
2249
1.78
79
5292
3.02
57
3499
2.21
63

per

lakh

Source: Census of India: 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

Table 8: Type of Drainage facility across sub-regions of urban Gujarat
Open
ClosedLatrines-Flush/Pour
Drainage
Both
NR
Drainage
Drainage
Flush per 100 HH
CG*
25.7
38.6
34.3
1.4
20.2
NG*
10.7
35.7
53.6
0.0
17.9
S*
23.7
28.9
42.1
5.3
16.9
SG*
6.6
35.3
53.7
4.4
21.3
Gujarat
16.4
33.9
46.0
3.7
19.5
Source: Census of India: 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

Better drainage facility along with proper sanitation can result into better health andhygiene status that can provide a better quality of life to urban people. That is why it is importantto have better coverage of such facilities in Urban Gujarat. Analysis of the above table showsthat there is a variation among sub regions in delivery of such facility. Overall, only 34 percent ofurban households have accessibility to closed drainage while only 19.5 percentages of urbanhouseholds have latrines with flush facilities in Gujarat. Across the sub-regions, Saurashtra is47

lagging behind the other regions. In spite of having less urbanised sub-region, North Gujarat is
almost at par with South Gujarat in providing closed drainage facility. Thus the state has a long
way to achieve sustainable development goal for urban areas. The Saurashtra region needs ahigh priority for the improvement in water and sanitation services.
Status of Health and Education in Urban Gujarat: The table 9 indicates that North Gujarat
ranks first in providing health facilities. Whether it is hospital or doctor or bed facility or otherpara medical staff, prevailing facilities per unit population is the highest in North Gujarat. Higher
number of availability of health facilities can provide better health to urban people. The central
Gujarat is having the highest number of bed facilities per unit population.
Table 9: Availability of Medical Facility across sub regions of urban Gujarat
Medical facility per 1000000 population
Regions
CG*
NG*
S*
SG*
GujaratAllopathic Hospital
5
17
9
6
7
Hospital Allopathic Beds
5585
1529
956 1228
2528
Allopathic Doctors-Total Strength
77
150
203 211164
Allopathic Para Medical Staff-Total Strength249
456
584 488438
Dispensary/Health Centre
17
26
18
13
16
Dispensary/Health Centre Beds
26
102
42
39
39
Dispensary/Health Centre Doctors
24
53
31
21
26
Dispensary/Health Centre Para Medical Staff
86
107
71
42
67
Census of India, 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat
Table 10: Health Infrastructure of selected States: Doctors and Specialists

StatesAndhra Pradesh
GujaratKarnataka
Maharashtra

2005

2015

RequiredDoctors at PHCs
In
Position
VacantShortfall

RequiredDoctors at PHCs
In
Position
VacantShortfall

1,570
1,070
1,681
1,780

2,137
848
2,041
3,158

0
222
0
0

1,069
1,247
2,353
1,811

1,412
889
2,196
2,937

0
358
157
0

360
222
196
0
2005

858
615
157
72
2015

Surgeons, Physicians & Paediatricians
In
Required
Position
Vacant Shortfall
Andhra Pradesh
656
224
182
432
Gujarat
1,088
92
229
996
Karnataka
1,016
691
152
325
Maharashtra
1,528
1,099
888
429
Source: Rural Health Statistics 2015

Surgeons, Physicians & Paediatricians
In
Required
Position
Vacant Shortfall
716
159
225
557
1,280
74
0
1,206
824
502
322
322
1,440
578
245
862

However, the availability of doctors and para-medical staff per ten lakhs population isless than compared to those in other three regions. Similar is the case of Dispensary and healthcentres. There is need to upgrade medical facilities in the Central and South Gujarat sub
regions. Although the initiative of 108 medical service is playing major role in providing
treatment on time, there is a strong need to expand the base of health infrastructure in Gujarat.

48

The table 10 shows the status health infrastructure of the selected states. It clearly shows thatthe shortfall of the doctors and specialists in Gujarat has increased over a decade. Compared toAndhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the state lacks the adequate human resources in health sector.
Table 11: Educational facilities across the sub regions of urban Gujarat, 2011
Region Govt.
PrivatePrimary Govt.
Senior Private Senior SeniorPrimary
Primary
SchoolSecondary
Secondarysecondary
SchoolSchoolSchoolSchoolschool
CG*
15
15
30
2
4
6
NG*
22
16
38
5
7
12
S*
17
27
44
3
6
9
SG*
12
13
25
2
7
9
Gujarat 15
18
33
2
6
8
Source: Census of India: 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

Educational facilities play an important role in developing society healthy andknowledge. As far as education facilities are concerned, North Gujarat stands first in providing
such facilities serving unit population. The government primary schools are prevalent in North
Gujarat and Saurashtra. North Gujarat has better status of government primary schools while
Saurashtra possess better status for private primary schools. Secondary schools facilities
catering unit population are more prevalent in North Gujarat. Availability of such facilities has
also transformed in better literacy rates. Urban North Gujarat has the highest literacy rates
compared to those in other sub regions (Table 12).

Region
CG*
NG*
S*
SG*
GujaratTable 12: Literacy rates across urban sub regions of Gujarat
Adult Literacy Rate
77.7
79.6
77.3
76.1
77.2

Source: Census of India: 2011
*Note: CG= Central Gujarat, NG = North Gujarat, S = Saurashtra, SG = South Gujarat

The Central Gujarat is lagging behind in educational facilities. The lack of infrastructural facilities
has reflected in comparatively lower literacy rates in sub-regions of Gujarat.
Conclusion
The above analysis indicates that there is a variation among the sub regions of Gujarat as far asurbanization trend, pattern and availability of basic facilities is concerned in the urban areas ofGujarat. Rapid urbanization in few pockets has increased the regional imbalance within thestate. Further, those rapidly urbanised sub regions do not fulfil the requirement of additional
availability of facilities. One can name such process as Pseudo-urbanization in which the urban
areas fail to provide adequate urban services to their population due to urban explosion or overurbanization. If such lacunae are not filled up, it would lead to further imbalances within thestate in providing effective and efficient basic services. Such disparity will result in inequality inhuman development of people residing in various parts of urban areas. Therefore, there is animmediate need to allot financial resources for developing basic social infrastructure to improve49

the human development of the urban dwellers in the state. It is recommended that the there isa strong need to focus on the allocation of basic services in Central and South Gujarat.
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