Odisha launches Rural-Urban Transition Policy
By Pradeep Kumar Panda
Bhubaneswar, July 11: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved the visionary “Odisha Rural-Urban Transition Policy” under 5T Governance. The policy aims at removing the rural-urban divide in providing essential urban infrastructure, amenities, and services to all citizens residing in the fast-growing rural areas adjoining the cities. This is a first-of-its-kind policy, which intends to introduce a series of progressive and pragmatic measures to address the challenges of unplanned and unregulated urbanisation.
The existing system of notification of a rural area as an urban area brings about abrupt changes in the political and administrative setup, impacting the socio-economic conditions of the citizens as there is no window period for them to accommodate the sudden change. It also lacks a participatory and inclusive approach, which often leads to resistance and breeds litigation.
There has been a steady increase in the Odisha’s urban population over the decades. As per 1941 Census, only 3% of the total population in Odisha lived in cities and towns as against 13.86% for India. Though the percentage of urban population is less in Odisha, the pace of urbanization in the State between 1941 and 2011 was low as compared to the pattern for the country as a whole.
In 2011 census, the proportion of population living in the urban areas of the state stood at 16.68% as compared to 31.16% for the country. Population density of Odisha stood at 269 per sq. km in 2011. Odisha ranks 31st in the list of most urbanized states of the country, while in terms of actual urban population, the state ranks 11th in the list of states with the largest urban population. Presently, 19% of Odisha’s population resides in urban areas and this is expected to reach 21% by 2031.
The growth of census towns or peri-urban areas accounts for nearly 40% of the urbanisation in the state. However, these peri-urban and rurban areas have been grappling with the challenge of inadequate access to social infrastructure and civic amenities and services even after declaring such areas as urban areas. After intensive consultations with the experts and practitioners, it has emerged that the absence of a comprehensive policy and robust institutions to contain unplanned urbanisation has been the primary reason for this situation.
As a significant shift from the previous system, therefore, the Rural-Urban Transition Policy aims at providing urban civic amenities of services to the people in the identified rural areas much before the areas are formally notified as urban areas. The policy allows the creation of a special budget for the implementation of infrastructure projects and delivery of services while actively involving the elected representatives, officials, and all other stakeholders in the planning, execution, and monitoring of the transition process.
Under the policy, rural areas after an intensive process of identification will be declared as urban areas coming into effect from the date on which the tenure of the existing elected representatives expires. During the interim period, the notified rural area will be taken up for up-gradation of infrastructure and services to provide all urban services on par with the adjacent urban areas.
During the transition period, ward delimitation and other administrative measures will also be put in place so that from the effective date the area will start functioning as a full-fledged urban area with all required urban infrastructure services.
This policy provides for the constitution of steering and implementation committees with top officials of the state government including the Chief Secretary and experts driven from various domains viz. urban planning, finance, engineering, management, IT, etc. This will ensure the convergence of government schemes and interdepartmental coordination for a smooth and seamless transition of the peri-urban and rurban areas into full-fledged urban areas.
The policy proposes to adopt a “Hub and Spoke” model with the State Urban Development Agency at the state level and District Urban Development Agencies and Development Authorities at the city level serving as the Hub and Spokes respectively.
The Odisha Government is of the firm belief that the new policy will transform the urban landscapes like never before while effectively balancing the needs of both growth and sustainability.
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