Lack of environmental planning exacerbating climate change risks in urban India: Experiences from megacities of Bengaluru and Mumbai

Abstract

The world is urbanizing fast and climate change impacts are already being felt in urban agglomerations across the globe. The United Nations Report has projected that India will add 404 million urban inhabitants by 2050 (World Urbanization Prospects 2014). Because of high population densities and increased industrial activities, cities contribute to climate change and also face serious risks due to impacts of climate change. Being engines of growth, cities are a hub of economic centres, thus, economic losses due to climate changes are expected to be significantly high in urban areas making them extremely vulnerable to disasters. In spite of growing evidence of climate change impacts on Indian cities, both the state authorities and the civic bodies are unable to wed urban planning exercise with environmental planning. Current plans and policies are not holistic, and fail to meet the future escalating demands of urban population and possible urban disasters. This paper explores these issues through two case studies of Indian megacities— Bengaluru in Karnataka and Mumbai in Maharashtra. Former focuses on problems faced by urban residential communities located in low-lying areas of the city. Poor urban planning and mindless construction mania has accentuated cases of urban flooding in Bengaluru. The second case study of Mumbai looks at the July 2005 floods when the entire metropolis was marooned due to unprecedented heavy rainfall. It puts in perspective various scientific studies that show impacts of climate change in Mumbai and the associated risks. Both the cases re-emphasise the fact that urban planning is not a top-to-down approach and it cannot be done undertaken in isolation. In wake of growing evidence of climate change impacts in urban areas, it is imperative that a holistic “environmental urban planning” is undertaken to help Indian cities adapt to climate change.