Sansad TV Perspective: Unplanned Urbanisation and Flood Impacts

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic: ‘Unplanned Urbanisation and Flood Impacts’.

Anchor: Teena Jha

Guests:

1. Sudhir Krishna, Former Union Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development
2. Prof. Anil Gupta, Policy Planning, National Institute of Disaster Management
3. Prof. Ashish Verma, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Context: Several parts of  Bengaluru experienced flooding after unprecedented rainfall recently.

Highlights of the discussion:

• How has the situation of urban flooding has become a common problem in every metro city today.
• What are the factors contributing to this challenge?
• Challenges for Urban planners to build and redesign cities to overcome the challenges of urban flooding.
• Possible Solutions

Introduction:

• Unprecedented rainfall and overflowing of water bodies created flood like situations in certain areas of Bengaluru. 
• Bengaluru witnessed only a few millimetres less rainfall (370mm) in August 2022 compared to all-time high of 387.1 mm set in August 1998. 
• This resulted in all 164 tanks in Bengaluru being filled to the brim. 
• Every year, in the months of September and October, Bengaluru is extremely susceptible to flooding.
•  Kochi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai were the other cities which experienced floods previously.

What is Urban Flooding?

• Urban Flooding is an inundation of land in a constructed setting, particularly in densely populated areas. It happens when rainfall or allied instances overwhelm the capacity of drainage systems.
• Urban flooding is a serious problem as India reaches the tipping point of transitioning from a mostly rural to an urban society, urbanisation is intrinsic to development and often serves as a major driver of economic growth.  
• Any damage or loss of these vital infrastructures will lead to economic losses of great magnitude. In addition, it will lead to loss of life and property and a large sum of resources will be lost when they are put into relocating people to safe areas.
• By 2030, 40.76% of the country’s population is expected to reside in urban areas.

Image Source: Niti Aayog

Factors contributing to Urban Floods:

• Climate change: Resulting in higher and erratic rainfall patterns.
• Significant changes in the natural systems due to increasing urbanisation which  include alterations in the hydrologic flow regime.
• As an area is developed, the natural ability of the catchment to withstand natural hydrologic variability is removed. 
• Infiltration capacity is decreased due to the increase in impervious surface and disrupted native soils and vegetation. 
• Due to rapid urbanisation, natural canals have been blocked by construction layouts, residential apartments and academic institutions.
• Natural retention and detention capabilities of a catchment are removed through channelization of natural waterways.
• Anthropogenic activity also introduces chemical and biological constituents to the catchment.
• Encroachments on Drainage Channels such as lakes, wetlands and riverbeds which reduces the capacity of the natural drains resulting in flooding.
• Dumping of plastic and solid waste which blocks the drainage system.
• Indian cities drainage system has rarely been designed taking into account the storm water challenges. They were primarily designed to deal with sewage waste only. 

Challenges for Urban planners on redesign and planning of cities:

• A report by Niti Aayog on Urban planning stated that 65% of the 7,933 urban settlements do not have any master plan and laid importance on the ‘master plans’, which will be instrumental for guiding and regulating the development of cities for managing urbanisation as well as ‘spatial sustainability’.
• Response to urban flooding in India has always been a post-disaster response and recovery rather than building resiliency in the urban system and in the transportation network system.
• In India, minimal focus is given on improving the adaptability to the growing situations of extreme rainfall events.
• A study by Indian institute of science, Bangalore has shown that around 15 percent of the roads in Bangalore have a flood depth of half metre which makes it impossible for vehicles to pass through even in the event of regular rainfall.
• Study also found out that the situation can be significantly improved with focus on  adaptation or resiliency.
• Preparation of Master plans and reviewing existing outdated master plans taking note of the climate change and migration pattern (demographic changes) will help in building resilience against these challenges.

Solutions:

• Immediate solutions
  • Clearing the drainages that are  damaged due to encroachment and dumped solid plastic waste.
  • Inflow into the tank and outflow from the tank has to be corrected to avoid further inundation.
• Long term:
  • A prospective plan for the Metropolitan region by identifying vulnerable areas.
  • Effective water-shed management by constructing flood walls, raised platforms along flood prone river basins, timely cleaning and deepening of drainage channels.
  • Catchment areas of water bodies need to be maintained well and should be free from encroachment and pollution, thus keeping the course of water free from obstructions.
  • Emphasis must be given to expand the city horizontally by developing satellite towns  and ring roads and allow people to move out. 
  • Water resource management should be done in a holistic manner and not in a compartmentalised manner.
  • Land use planning and transportation planning should be integrated and also used as a tool to reduce the energy needs that arise from the transport sector.

Conclusion:

Urban flooding is predominantly a man-made disaster. Water management and water governance is crucial to address urban flood challenges in cities like Bengaluru.A proactive approach to build resiliency goes a long way in mitigating future urban floodings in Indian cities.

Sansad TV Perspective: Unplanned Urbanisation and Flood Impacts:- Download PDF Here

Read all the previous Sansad TV Perspective articles in the link.