IDRC-TTI Workshop on Rural Urban Linkage

Abstract

The workshop on ‘rural-urban linkage’, held at IRMA opened with a broad acceptance of the discourse that rural and urban are in continuum and cannot be seen as separate entities. In the present state of economic development and migration it would be a fallacy on the part of scholars, planners, and policy makers to view rural and urban as disjointed units. It was held that village as a self-sufficient unit is a misplaced concept there being ample evidence available from ancient times about the linkage existing between towns and villages for trade and livelihood purposes. In the present times there has been a greater influx of people from rural to urban areas searching for a better life, no longer available in villages owing to the lack of basic amenities. With these broad questions under consideration the workshop explored and discussed important issues faced by the Indian academia and policy-makers. The major focus was on broader issues concerning the rural-urban continuum and the role of policy and planners. A discussion was held on the agriculture-industry dynamics, trends in non-farm employment, issue of land acquisition and urbanization, and the existence of rural areas in urban centers like Delhi, and its policy implication. There was a discussion on the unique ways in which urbanization has been taking place in Gurgaon, the resettlement related issues of a village Nangal Devat in Delhi, the planning and development issues of Delhi and the environmental dimensions in rural-urban planning.

The impact of industrialization on rural communities was also discussed in general followed by case studies. Specific case studies regarding the impact of industrialization on rural communities of the Mundra Taluka in Gujarat and the issue of how a housing colony came up in Kanpur was also discussed. There was also a discussion on the issues of linking of rural-urban continuums while expressing concern for livelihood promotion, settlement, and understanding different dimensions of the subjective well being of people. Cases were discussed on topics concerning the i) supply chain management of tomato production in the Madanpalle region and the ii) Gherkin processing industry in India. Emphasis was laid on how imperative it was to take into consideration infrastructure issues such as rural roads, sanitation issues (cases from the Gujarat state and Kanpur city were discussed in this context), and health challenges while planning for rural-urban linkages.

Keywords: rural, urban, planning, development

JEL Classification: R00, R11, R14, R23, R49, R52