GROWTH AND OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURES OF MILLION CITIES OF INDIA

Abstract

The past few decades have witnessed a rapid mushrooming growth of million cities in India. They now reveal a wide spatial distribution over the country; the exception being the northeastern and hilly states, and the peripheral islands. However, differential growth rates for these cities have become noticeable, and may become more so in the future. The question that comes to mind is: are the rates of growth in any way related to the occupational patterns of these cities? Again, do the growth and occupational structures of the various cities shed any light on the nature of urbanization of India or even the third world as a whole?

This is an attempt to investigate the population growth patterns of the million cities of India, and their occupational structures. Secondary data from the Census of India are used in the study.

The paper concludes that the younger million cities with a sound industrial base have grown at a much faster rate than the older mega cities. The result has been the lessening of the importance of the four traditional mega cities and their regional economy-driven urbanization. Yet, in general, it appears there is very little relationship between the rate of growth and proportions of employment of the labour force in either the primary, secondary or tertiary sectors. Clearly, the role played by an individual million city in its regional economy seems to be the determining factor of its growth. Finally, it is observed that the historical trajectory of urban growth in countries such as India is quite different from that of the industrialized world.