Hyderabad - A Future Mega City
Recently there was an article published here in India stating that Hyderabad will be a 'Mega City' by the year 2030. It is currently the fifth biggest city in India, but is currently pushing to be the third biggest in the very near future - that is some serious growth !! So what is a Mega City ? Based on the criteria put forward by the UN, a city is considered a mega city if it has a population greater than 10 million people. This is the actual city - not the greater metropolitan area.
There are currently five mega cities in India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Chennai, with Hyderabad and Ahmedabad soon to join the list. The constant move of people to the city regions for work and wealth are making the Indian cities grow at astronomical rates. It is believed that an additional 10 million people will move to Delhi alone by 2030 increasing the population there to 36 million ....... what crazy numbers !
Hyderabad currently has approximately 8.5 million people living in the city and with many large IT companies moving here and creating job opportunities, the population is increasing very very quickly. With such massive growth are the positives - increased employment and wealth. However, the down sides of growth like this in countries like India are even greater, as outlined in the diagram below from the UN.
Source:United Nations World Cities Report
Having only been in Hyderabad for a week, it is difficult to have a full grasp of the issues facing such a large city but there are some very visible things that need to be addressed if this new Mega City is not going to have the same issues facing Bangalore.
Pollution: the current mindset of how to manage and control waste needs to change. The disposal of household waste is not controlled in any way. The side of the roads are dumping grounds for waster, and waterways are heavily polluted because of this. Recycling is limited and this adds to the massive pollution issues. People just burn waste if/when they want too adding to the air pollution.
Clean Water: Hyderabad's location in the middle of the country, means it has limited water supplies, relying on 3 major reservoirs for it's supply. With major growth in the city, the water supplies are under pressure, and along with the pollution issues mentioned above, the water crisis in Hyderabad is serious.
Transport: the development of public transport options is well under way in Hyderabad. However, moving people from private cars/bikes to the metro and busses is an even bigger challenge. The major road developments currently underway will hopefully ease some of the traffic issues in the future but moving people off the roads is a mind shift, not a traffic issue.
Housing: the large amount of development being conducted in Hyderabad has increased the number of manual labour jobs in the city. However, the workers that have moved here to complete this work are currently living in slum like conditions located close to the construction areas. When the work is completed, where will these people go? There are hundreds of housing estates being built but will they be affordable ?
Employment: With all the growth comes lots of jobs but will the lowly skilled workers have opportunities in Hyderabad, or will they continue to be unemployed?
I hope officials have learned some lessons from cities such has Bangalore to ensure Hyderabad can grow and sustain a decent stand of living in the future.
There are currently five mega cities in India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Chennai, with Hyderabad and Ahmedabad soon to join the list. The constant move of people to the city regions for work and wealth are making the Indian cities grow at astronomical rates. It is believed that an additional 10 million people will move to Delhi alone by 2030 increasing the population there to 36 million ....... what crazy numbers !
Hyderabad currently has approximately 8.5 million people living in the city and with many large IT companies moving here and creating job opportunities, the population is increasing very very quickly. With such massive growth are the positives - increased employment and wealth. However, the down sides of growth like this in countries like India are even greater, as outlined in the diagram below from the UN.
Source:United Nations World Cities Report
Having only been in Hyderabad for a week, it is difficult to have a full grasp of the issues facing such a large city but there are some very visible things that need to be addressed if this new Mega City is not going to have the same issues facing Bangalore.
Pollution: the current mindset of how to manage and control waste needs to change. The disposal of household waste is not controlled in any way. The side of the roads are dumping grounds for waster, and waterways are heavily polluted because of this. Recycling is limited and this adds to the massive pollution issues. People just burn waste if/when they want too adding to the air pollution.
Clean Water: Hyderabad's location in the middle of the country, means it has limited water supplies, relying on 3 major reservoirs for it's supply. With major growth in the city, the water supplies are under pressure, and along with the pollution issues mentioned above, the water crisis in Hyderabad is serious.
Transport: the development of public transport options is well under way in Hyderabad. However, moving people from private cars/bikes to the metro and busses is an even bigger challenge. The major road developments currently underway will hopefully ease some of the traffic issues in the future but moving people off the roads is a mind shift, not a traffic issue.
Housing: the large amount of development being conducted in Hyderabad has increased the number of manual labour jobs in the city. However, the workers that have moved here to complete this work are currently living in slum like conditions located close to the construction areas. When the work is completed, where will these people go? There are hundreds of housing estates being built but will they be affordable ?
Employment: With all the growth comes lots of jobs but will the lowly skilled workers have opportunities in Hyderabad, or will they continue to be unemployed?
I hope officials have learned some lessons from cities such has Bangalore to ensure Hyderabad can grow and sustain a decent stand of living in the future.
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