“Mounting Pressures, Crumbling Queen”: Dynamics of Urbanisation in the Mountains

Abstract

This chapter examines the political economy dimension of urbanisation in the Himalayan region. Although urbanisation is presumed to qualitatively transform traditional rural communities into modern urban habitats, characterised by improved quality of essential services and amenities, the experience reveals intensification of ecological stratification in the distribution of basic services. The high land costs, suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation result in slum formation. The Himalayan region, which for centuries remained untouched, due to the interplay of politico-economically determined urban dynamics, have been experiencing urbanisation for the last two centuries, primarily due to the British adventures in search of strategic locations of political, military and climatic importance. Since then, selectively planned, but largely unplanned, urban settlements serving the political and economic interests of certain classes have come up in the mountains, endangering its fragile ecology. Notwithstanding the ecological damages and dangers to human life, these interests often politicised by the land mafia in the name of public interests, the state itself violates the existing rules and regulations by regularising the irregular constructions.

This chapter is based on an empirical study titled The Blemished Queen: Population, Urbanisation and Environment, initially carried out as a Pilot Study sponsored by the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment, Government of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla. Later on, the study was re-designed and carried out with a randomly drawn sample of 1,032 respondents, selected from twenty-five wards of the city. The latter study was sponsored by the Institute of Integrated Himalayan Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. The author acknowledges with thanks both the institutions for the funding support received.