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problems associated with the living environment in million-plus cities in India | UPSC

 Discuss the problems associated with the living environment in million-plus cities in India. How can these be managed?  (UPSC-2020, 10 Marks, 150 words)

Answer: 


Living environment means a combination of the natural and cultural environment that is used by the inhabitant. Land, soil, water, road, houses, electricity, schools, hospitals, village, city, city structure, etc, all are parts of the living environment.

The following are favorable living environments required for cities:

  • Good quality of air.
  • Peaceful environment such as limited noises, low crime rate, freedom, etc.
  • Availability of sufficient infrastructure facilities such as housing, roads, schools, hospitals, parks, etc.
  • Availability of sufficient and good quality drinking water.
  • Good working environment and peaceful governing system.
  • Healthy flora and fauna.


As per the 2011 census, there is a total 46 number of million-plus cities in India. Due to unplanned growth and unplanned migration, all the million-plus cities are facing similar types of problems in India.

The following are problems associated with the living environment in million-plus cities in India;

Slum-related problems; 

  • Growing slums in million-plus cities are one of the main problems.

Infrastructure related problems:

  • Shortage of potable water.
  • Shortage of housing.
  • Load shedding.
  • Lacking basic health facilities.
  • Traffic and congestion.
  • Potholes on roads.

Environmental related problems

  • Air, water, Noise pollution.
  • Depletion of Groundwater and deterioration of quality of surface water.
  • Depletion of Forest and vegetation.
  • Urban Heat-island effect.
  • Urban Flood.

Social Problems

  • Overcrowding.
  • Growing crime against the female.
  • Urban crime.
  • Urban Poverty.

Finance problem;

  • Fiscal deficit in Urban Local Body.

The following are ways to manage these problems;

  • Cities should be financially independent to manage their own affairs.
  • Unplanned migration to be checked to control overcrowding. The smart village concept should also be implemented to reduce urban migration.
  • Sustainable development methods should be adopted to control environment-related problems.
  • Implementation of Sponge city concept and flood gate dam coding to control the urban flood and water shortage.
  • People's participation is needed at every level of implementation of the developmental scheme.
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