Urban areas face many environmental problems due to high population density and lack of proper urban planning. Some of the key issues discussed are the development of slums due to migration of rural populations, improper management of solid waste leading to pollution, overexploitation of natural resources, lack of open spaces, and various types of pollution including air, noise, water pollution. Other problems discussed are violation of urban planning rules, water logging and drainage issues, high traffic problems, and increased temperatures due to urban heat island effect. The document uses Mumbai as a case study to highlight specific environmental issues affecting the city like shrinking mangroves, toxic air, pollution of lakes like Powai Lake, deaths of sea creatures, opposition to urban development plans,

1. Environmental
Problems – Urban
areas

2. Urban Areas
On the basis of population density, the different localities may be
divided as urban or rural areas. A municipality or notified area
council (MAC) or corporation or metropolitan city whose
population is more than 5000 and a population density” of more
than 400 people per square kilometre is called an urban area i.e. the
urban areas are the places of high population density.
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3. Trend of urban
population
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4. 1,346,433,296The current population of India
32.8 %Indian Population in urban
17.74 %India population is equivalent to the total world population
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5. Why ? Urban
Population
increases,
Better employment facilities,
Better medical facilities,
Better facilities for trade and commerce,
Better facilities for higher education,
Facilities for entertainment, sports and games etc.
Proximity to administration and important government
offices. 5

6. Environmental Problems
Development of Slum,
Management of solid waste,
Over exploitation of natural resources,
Non-availability of open space,
Air pollution,
Noise pollution,
Violation of urban planning rules,
Water-logging and drainage,
Traffic and floating population,
Unusual rise in temperature.
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Development
of Slum
The areas within the cities and towns (urban
areas) without civic and basic amenities are
called Slums. The slum settlement arises due to
un-flux of rural peoples into urban areas and
shortage of housing facilities for them.
They construct their dwellings using rusted tins,
empty tar barrels, tarpaulins, jute sacks etc.
Although these areas become overcrowded,
these lack civic amenities like light, water supply,
drainage, roads, toilets and medical facilities.

8. The areas of slum become
centres of a number of
environmental problems.
These areas without proper water supply dispose their waste
in an unplanned manner which pollute air and water.
The contamination of water causes diseases like typhoid,
cholera, enteric fever and gastroenteritis.
The unplanned waste dumping places and open defecation
become the sites of the growth of a number of disease
carriers like flies, mosquitoes etc. These cause health hazards
not only in slum areas but also in other nearby places.
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Slum
Rehabilitation
To avoid the above environmental problems, the
slum areas should be developed by providing the
civic amenities like light, water supply, drainage,
toilet and medical facilities.

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Management of
solid waste
Thickly populated urban area consumes large
quantities of material and simultaneously releases a
lot of solid wastes. The solid wastes include municipal
wastes, industrial wastes, hazardous wastes etc. The
solid waste production increases with an increase in
population. When these solid wastes are dumped for a
longer period of time, these produce foul smell and
poisonous gases and become breeding grand’s of
vectors of different diseases. The gases produced
cause air pollution, surface run-off from the wastes
cause water pollution and vectors cause different
diseases. In order to avoid the above environmental
problems, suitable methodology should be adopted to
dispose the wastes scientifically or to recycle them or
segregate organic, inorganic and recyclable wastes.

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Over
exploitation of
natural
resources
Due to high population density and expensive life style,
the rate of consumption of natural resources (e.g. water,
energy, fossil fuel, forest products etc.) is very high in
urban areas. There is also misuse of natural resources
whose immediate compensation becomes difficult. Few
acute problems of urban areas are scarcity of drinking
water especially the ground water, scarcity of forest
products, power cut due to excessive use of electricity
etc.

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Non-availability
of open space
Due to unplanned urbanization and thick population
density, urban areas are highly congested without open
spaces for parks, play grounds and recreation centres.
This results in non availability of free and clean air and
space of playing and recreation.

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Air pollution
The air of urban areas get polluted due to a lot of
anthropogenic activities, flying of large number of
automobiles, industries etc. These activities release
pollutants like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides
of nitrogen, oxides of sulphur, hydrocarbons, vapours of
organic compounds, particulates, toxic metals etc. which
are capable of inducing a number of health hazards.

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Noise pollutionThe noise produced from automobiles, vehicles, social
functions, industries etc. cause noise pollution in urban
areas which causes psychological and physical ailments.

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Violation of
urban planning
rules
The unplanned urbanization leads to violation of rules
laid down for establishing ideal urban settlements where
one can lead healthy and comfortable life. The buildings
constructed do not obey the prescribed floor space
index or floor area ratio.

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Water-logging
and drainage
The migration of large number of poor and rural people
without any civic sense, disposal of a large amount of
solid waste, unplanned settlements etc. in urban areas
cause water logging and drainage problem.

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Traffic and
floating
population
The large migration of rural peoples in search of job to
the urban areas cause serious traffic problem and
environmental pollution of all kinds.

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Unusual rise in
temperature
The unplanned constructions of large buildings in urban
areas absorb solar radiation and in the afternoon, these
emit heat radiations increasing the climatic
temperature.

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MUMBAI THE MEGACITY

20. Mumbai the mega city
Hindustan Times takes a look at ten
environmental problems that affect the city.

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Shrinking
mangroves
Encroachments, aquaculture ponds and
infrastructure development are taking a toll on
the stretches of mangroves. Mangroves prevent
soil erosion and protect shorelines against
cyclones and ecological disasters.
Environmentalists said around 80 aquaculture
ponds have been set up in a range of less than
six-kilometers in Navi Mumbai. Also, cases of
mangroves destroyed Airoli, Bhandup, Kasheli,
Vashi, Vasai, Borivli and areas close to the Gorai
creek are reported frequently. “Mangroves are
being perforated and damaged by influential
locals for creating these ponds,” said Stalin D
from NGO Vanashakti.

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Toxic Air
Though trial runs to calculate Mumbai’s air
quality index (AQI) have begun at the
Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s (MPCB)
Bandra station, poor air quality standards are a
major problem for city’s inhabitants. “Road
construction is the main cause of pollutants,
especially in the suburbs. Vehicular emissions
and smoke from bakeries and crematoriums are
other reasons,” said Rakesh Kumar, chief
scientist, The National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). Carbon
monoxide levels and particulate matter
emissions have risen owing to traffic congestion,
according to studies by the Mumbai
Environmental Social Network. Particulate
matter, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen
and a host of other pollutants make Mumbai’s air
a toxic mix.

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Dying’ Powai
LakeThough
“Around 50% of the surface of Powai Lake is
covered with water hyacinths, an invasive
weed,” said Elsie Gabriel from NGO Young
Environment Programme. The presence of water
hyacinths is an indication of low dissolved
oxygen levels and high pollution levels. The
beautiful lake has been neglected and is dying a
slow death, said environmentalists. The lake has
also used to dump construction debris and
sewage. “About 10 years ago, we arranged a
public meeting with residents and government
authorities and had come to a conclusion that
the lake will be cleaned and beautified. All we
got was some landscaping and fountains around
the lake,” said Gabriel.

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Sea creatures
dying
Dolphins, whales and porpoises have been
frequenting Mumbai’s shores, but sadly, all that
Mumbaiites can see are carcasses wedged in the
middle of rocks and cement tetrapods. While
officials from the Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute have said the reasons could
include senescence (old age), disease, fishing
gear entanglement or vessel (propeller) hit,
researchers have said the numbers could be
deteriorating due to an endemic viral infection
known as morbillivirus. “Frequent deaths of
marine animals are raising serious questions
about our conservation efforts. One of the
reasons could also be poaching,” said Pawan
Sharma from Resinq Association of Wildlife
Welfare (RAWW).

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Beautification
plan opposed
Environmentalists, NGOs and project
coordinators will hold a meeting on June 6 to
save Maharashtra Nature Park in Mahim. They
will question MMRDA’s ‘beautification’ plan for
the 37-acre park and discuss the proposal.
According to members of Observer Research
Foundation (ORF), an independent think-tank,
the MMRDA has entrusted the responsibility of
a makeover plan, which will be forth to the civic
authorities. “Everybody is of the opinion that
what is being proposed is not feasible. We will
assess the pros and cons of the proposal,” said
environmentalist Bibhas Amonkar.

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Dumping
ground fires
Residents of eastern suburbs are breathing a
concoction of chemicals released in the air due
to frequent fires at the Deonar and Mulund
dumping grounds. More than five incidents of
fires in a span of four months have highlighted
the poor solid waste management amenities
provided by the civic body. Residents have been
forced to leave homes from areas close to the
dumping ground due to excessive smoke leading
to breathing, skin and eye problems, said
doctors. “As per BMC’s agreement, 2,000 tonnes
of waste could be dumped at Deonar but nearly
6,000 tonnes is dumped daily,” said
environmentalist Raj Kumar Sharma.

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E-waste
‘poisoning’
Mumbai is the country’s e-waste capital. We
generate around 96,000 tonnes of the 12.5 lakh
tonnes of e-waste generated in the country
annually. As newer models of electrical and
electronic gadgets flood the market, safe
handling and disposal is proving to be a
challenge. A dismal 5% ends up at authorised
recycling centres with environmentally sound
technologies. Compact fluorescent lamps,
cathode ray tubes, mobile phone chargers and
CDs directly go into the landfills, contaminating
soil and ground water. “E-waste involves
complex material with huge amounts of toxicity
that can lead to health and environmental
problems if it is not managed well,” said Satish
Sinha, associate director, Toxic Links.

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Saving Aarey
Colony’The fate of Aarey
Colony remains undecided even as
environmentalists and citizens have been
relentlessly fighting to stop 2,298 trees from
being axed. Over three months, a series of
protests saw close to 5,000 residents uniting to
save the area’s biodiversity. "Development
should not be at the cost of the environment. If
open spaces are claimed, where will our children
play?" asked poet and actor Piyush Mishra.
BMC’s Development Plan 2034, which is
currently being revised, planned to develop
1,009 hectares of Aarey land. In addition to the
Goregaon-Mulund Link Road and Metro III card
shed site, bus rapid transit system (BRTS) and an
east-west link too may come up along the
stretch, which environmentalists have been
fighting against.

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Chocked with
plastic
Plastic takes thousands of years to degrade and
Mumbai produces 800 tonnes of plastic waste
per day. Yet we do not have separate bins to
dump plastic or plastic waste collection policy.
Rag pickers collect PET bottles, milk pouches and
plastic bags and sell them to recycling units in
Dharavi, Bhandup (West), Vasai and Saki Naka.
They make pellets, moulded plastic and yarn out
of it. “Mumbaiites have adopted a lifestyle of
convenience, whereby they tend to grab plastic
products without realising the collateral damage
caused to the environment,” said Monisha
Narke, founder, environment organisation,
Reduce Reuse and Recycle (RUR).

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A river or a
nullah?
Stretching across 15kms, the Mithi River meets
the Arabian Sea at Mahim creek, starting from
Powai and coursing through Kurla, Saki Naka,
Kalina and Vakola. The river has been reduced to
a nullah, where sewage, garbage and industrial
waste is dumped. According to experts, nearly
54% of the original riverbed has been lost to
encroachments, roads and development. The
Bandra-Worli Sea Link has constricted the
mouth of the river with as much as 27 hectares
of landfill in Mahim Bay. Social activists have
been fighting since 2005 after a public interest
litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay high court
on restoring water bodies across the state.

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