Abstract
Rising urbanization and economic inequality are concomitant in India and varies by type of urban localities such as Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Census Towns. Studies on developmental disparities by type of urban localities are limited. Using data from 7229 wards of Maharashtra consisting of 2076 wards from Municipal Corporations, 4738 wards from Municipal Councils, and 278 wards from Census Towns, this study examined the variations in the level of development in the wards of urban Maharashtra. Principal component analysis was used to compute the development index using 19 selected variables. Descriptive statistics and multilevel analysis were used in the analyses. In the composite index of development, Cantonment Boards ranked first, followed by Municipal Corporations and Nagar Panchayats. The variations in the level of development were the highest among Municipal Councils (Mean − 0.69; SD = 2.92), followed by Nagar Panchayats (Mean 0.47; SD = 2.88), and Census Towns (Mean 0.05; SD = 2.34). Around 64% of the variability in the development was explained at the ward level in the multilevel analysis. The study found large variations in development within and between urban localities. It suggests multi-sectoral approach including allocating resources in urban localities based on the level of development and relative population size. Ward development needs to be prioritized to reduce the growing urban inequalities among all three urban localities.
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Data availability
The data used in this study are available in the public domain of the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI), Census. https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-common/censusdata2011.html.
Abbreviations
- ORGI:
-
Office of the Registrar General of India
- GDP:
-
Gross Domestic Product
- BMC:
-
Brihan Mumbai Corporation
- PCA:
-
Principal Component Analysis
- VPC:
-
Variance Partitioning Coefficient
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Acknowledgements
We thank Mr. Debashish Chakraborty, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Planning and Mr. R. R. Shinge, Director, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Maharashtra for their valuable suggestions. We also thank Mr. Kanchan Dyuti Maiti, PME specialist, Dr. Abhay Pethe, Professor Mumbai University, and Udaya S. Mishra, Professor, Center for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala for their valuable insights, and guidance relating to issues and challenges of urbanization.
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Publications produced by the UNICEF India are contributions to global knowledge on children and may not necessarily reflect UNICEF’s policies or approaches. The views expressed are those of the authors and not of UNICEF.
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SKM: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis writing, reviewing and editing; RBB: Reviewing, and editing; SKS: Formal analysis and draft preparation; AN: Reviewing and editing; RM: Data preparation, and analysis.
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Notes
Census Town: Census Town is defined as, a minimum population of 5000, at least 75% of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits, and a density of population of at least 400/km2.
Nagar Panchayat: A Nagar Panchayat or Notified Area Council in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 11,000 and less than 25,000 inhabitants is classified as a Nagar Panchayat.
Municipal Council: A Municipal Council is constituted for a smaller urban area with a population of 5000 to 150,000.
Municipal Corporation: A Municipal Corporation is constituted for a larger urban area with a population of 50,000 to 500,000.
Cantonment Board: Cantonments boards are small and the institutions of central government.
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Mohanty, S.K., Bhagat, R.B., Sharma, S.K. et al. Development disparities across urban localities of Maharashtra: a multilevel analysis. SN Soc Sci 1, 171 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00182-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00182-x