. Urbanization The pr ocess of society’s transformation from rural to urban is known as urbanization. Urbanization in India The level of urbanization is measured in terms of percentage of urban population. Goa is the most urbanized state.
Himachal Pradesh is the least urbanized state. Among the Union territories, New Delhi is the most urbanized region followed by Chandigarh. Among the major states, Tamil Nadu continues to be the second most urbanized state with . % percent of urban population followed by Kerala and Maharashtra .
Impact of Urbanization Urbanization and population concentration go hand – in – hand and are closely related to each other. Rural to urban migration leads to population explosion in urban areas. Metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi have more population than that can accommodate. The following are the major problems of urbanization in India.
It creates urban sprawl. It makes overcrowding in urban centres. It leads to shortage of houses in urban areas. It leads to the formation of slums.
It increases traffic congestion in cities. It creates water scarcity in cities. It creates drainage problem. It poses the problem of solid waste management.
It increases the rate of crime. Shershah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road to strengthen and consolidate his empire from the Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley in Bengal. This road from Kolkata to Peshawar was renamed as Grand Trunk (GT) road during the British period. At present, it extends from Amristar to Kolkata.
India - Population, Transport, Communication & Trade b) State Highways The state highways are usually roads that link important cities, towns and district headquarters within the state and connect them with national highways or highways of neighbouring states. These roads are administered and financed by state governments. c) District Roads District Roads provide connectivity between the district and taluk headquarters with the state highways and national highways. District Roads are constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department of the states.
d) Rural Roads (Village Roads) These roads are vital for providing links in the rural areas. It links the different villages with their neighbouring towns. They are maintained by village panchayats. e) Border Roads These are the roads of strategic importance in border areas.
They are constructed and maintained by Border Roads Organization. It was established in for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and northeastern border areas. Border Roads Organization has constructed world’s highest road joining Chandigarh and Leh in Ladakh. This road runs at an average altitude of , meters.
f) Golden Quadrilateral Golden Quadrilateral , km long road of / lanes connects, India’s four metropolitan cities: New Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai- New Delhi. This project was launched in .