URBANIZATION IN UTTAR PRADESH: CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

According to the 2011 census, the most populous state in India, Uttar Pradesh, is among those with moderate urban growth but a sharp increase in the number of census towns. Compared to 2001, the increase was quadrupled. Compared to its more urbanized, commercialized, and industrialized western counterpart, the eastern portion of the state has a greater number of smaller census towns. Despite being run as rural communities, these towns make up 8% of the state's total urban area. Priority should be given by the Ministry of Urban Development to the states to transform these census towns into statutory towns with urban local bodies. The state government appears committed to growing its urban network so that it can serve a sizable portion of the populace with essential services. Only a few hundred census towns have been turned into statutory towns in the past ten years, while about eighty new municipalities have been established. Census towns that are close to statutory towns ought to combine with the current statutory towns. Largely populated census towns in the west should be prioritized for conversion to statutory towns with municipalities. KEYWORDS: Urban Growth, Enhanced Revenue, Hidden Urbanisation, Visible Urbanisation and Dimension