Growth of small and medium towns and industrial dispersal in Punjab

The present structure of urbanisation in Punjab must be seen in the historical context of its growth. The state had undergone significant population redistribution during the colonial period as a consequence of political compulsions. Even after Independence, it went through three phases of population change: a! replacement of a large number of "uslims b# the non$"uslims at the time of partition in %&'() b! population redistribution during %&'($** mainl# with extension of irrigation facilities and reclamation of new agricultural lands) and c! spatial containment of the population due to a chec+ on agricultural out$migration since its reorganisation in %&**. These made the state demographicall# more homogenous giving the ,i+h population a majorit#. -urther, regional disparities in population densit# narrowed down in the post Independent period, blurring the demographic distinction between the former .ritish administered and princel# ruled parts of the Punjab /opal 0rishan %&&1!. The urban structure in Punjab, inherited from the colonial period, was nevertheless relativel# balanced compared to all other states. It remained so until the %&(2s due to the policies noted above. The percentage of the population in class I cities was just one third of the total urban population in %&3%. The medium towns 4 with population between fift# and one hundred thousand 4 and small towns 4 with population less than fift# thousand 4 also claimed one third each .halla and 0undu %&15!. The balanced pattern of urbanisation in Punjab can also be seen in the fact that average distance between towns is just 55 +m, which is the lowest among the states. This compares favourabl# with the national figure of 6% +m. The balanced urban structure has often been attributed to the fact that agriculture has provided the main impetus to development since the beginning of the centur#. -urther, the /reen 7evolution in the %&*2s gave a boost to agro$processing activities in Punjab. This led to a growth in the demand for agricultural implements and the consequent establishment of a number of engineering units. Economic prosperit# of the people also led to investment in dwelling units and infrastructural facilities which was behind the increase in demand for steel and engineering products in construction lin+ed activities. 8rguabl#, when urban centres emerge to meet the economic needs of an agrarian econom#, their spacing tends to be more even. This is because the demand for agricultural services and urban facilities get lin+ed to mar+etable surplus which in turn depends upon the area under cultivation .halla and 0undu %&15!. The growth rate of the population in large cities has in general been higher than in the small and medium towns in post$Independent India. This is the pattern observed in most of the developed states. 9owever, this is not so in Punjab. 9ere, the annual exponential growth rate of population for towns with population between 32,222 and %22,222 was 6.* percent during %&(%$1%, which is higher than that of the cities. The small towns with population of between 3,222 and %2,222 grew at the same rate as the class I cities vi:. 6.6 percent. /rowth in agriculture and agro$based industries, established through demand and suppl# lin+ages, are behind the emergence and growth of small towns. 8s a consequence, the pattern of urbanisation here is not top heav#, as is the case in the countr# as a whole. The growth of small and medium scale industries in Punjab in the post$Independence period has a distinct regional pattern. The major factor behind this growth process is the

emergence of an urban industrial corridor along the ;udhiana, <alundhar and 8mritsar highwa#s. .esides the linear ph#sical growth of small and medium towns in the corridor, industrial units have tended to concentrate in the western districts of ;udhiana, <alandhar and 8mritsar explaining over *2 percent of the registered manufacturing units. This western industrial corridor, however, had some spread in the eastern Punjab as well, along the /rand Trun+ /T! road from ;udhiana to =elhi. "an# of the towns in this corridor were specialised in the steel industr#. Their location in the eastern region is partl# due to proximit# to =elhi and other suppl# and demand centres in the countr#. -urther, raw materials for the industr# being heav#, there were cost advantages in locating the units nearer =elhi. The state, thus, saw an impressive growth of industrial activities, dotting the two sides of the /T 7oad right from =elhi to 8mritsar during the %&32s, %&*2s and %&(2s. ,tarting from the grain mar+et town of ,amal+ha, now in 9ar#ana, about (2 +m from =elhi!, several towns saw the setting up of a number of iron foundries. These foundries not onl# fed the industries that were located in that belt, such as the c#cle manufacturing units at ,onepat and steel tubes units now closed! at /annaur, but also other engineering industries that came up in the adjoining areas. -urther west, the cit# of 0arnal became a centre for the >hite 7evolution and Panipat became a centre for handloom production. 8 number of units manufacturing scientific instruments lin+ed to the industries in the region came up at 8mbala. ,imilarl#, several steel pipe and foundr# units came up at 7ajpura, adjoining the grain mar+et at 0hanna. ,arhind became a township for bod#$building for truc+s. ;udhiana became a centre for bic#cles, hosier# and sports goods, set b# mostl# b# the entrepreneurs migrating from ,ial+ot Pa+istan! on the eve of partition. The border town of 8mritsar saw a large number of woollen cloth manufacturing units and adjoining .atala became a centre for cast iron foundries. 8ll these made Punjab an economicall# d#namic region with industries getting located not onl# in a handful of large cities but also in a number of small and medium towns /opal 0rishan,%&&(!. The steel re$rolling activities received a boost in the %&(2s due to growth of the mar+et outside the state of Punjab. 8lso, support from the government in the form of freight equalisation for bringing in the raw materials and sending out the finished products!, there being no restriction in creating capacities in rolled products etc., favoured the units in Punjab. These could go for new lines of production such as ingots, foundries, steel rolling machiner#, machine tools and c#cle parts, besides a variet# of re$rolled products li+e bars flats, rounds, angles, squares, channels and sections without going through bureaucratic hassles. The# could, thus, meet the diversified needs of the machine ma+ers in different cities all over the countr#. The %&12s, however, mar+ a significant change. The decade has been described as ?the lost decade? or ?a period of missed opportunities? for Punjab. This is true, to a large extent, since it suffered significantl# in terms of economic growth due to the disturbed socio$political milieu, as a result of terrorism and the consequent non$governance in the state. The growth in agriculture as well as the overall rural econom# was low and there was a net outflow of 9indu population from rural areas in the affected regions. ,urprisingl#, that did not result in urban explosion in the state. This is primaril# because man# 9indus chose to move out of the state, at least temporaril#. This adversel# affected the 9indu ,i+h population ratio in several urban centres. The ,i+h population, for

example, grew b# 66.* percent in the Patiala district while the 9indu population grew b# onl# 6.' percent over the period %&1%$&%. "an# of the small towns experienced deceleration in population growth during %&12s compared to the previous decade, as these were considered less safe than the larger cities. 8s a consequence, the demographic growth in large cities wor+s out as higher than those in other categories of towns during the %&12s. @nderstandabl#, the share of population in class I cities has gone up sharpl# 4 from '* percent to 3' percent during %&1%$&%. The dominance of large cities in Punjab is a recent phenomenon, which can also be attributed to the shift of the thrust of growth from agriculture to industr#. There is no denial that there was a process of spatial concentration of urban industrial activities during the %&12s. The declassification of as man# as %& towns, resulting in a decline in the total number of urban centres in the state during the %&12s, is also a manifestation of the process of shift from dispersed to agglomerated pattern of urban growth. The change in the urban growth pattern in recent #ears can be better understood in the context of changes in sectoral composition in the state econom#. The contribution of manufacturing in gross domestic product during the %&12s was less than the national average. This can, however, be attributed partl# to the rapid growth of agriculture during the %&*2s and %&(2s. Industrial growth in Punjab during %&12s and %&&2s has, however, been much faster than the national average, despite the socio$political uncertaint#. /oing b# indicators li+e the percentage of registered factories, wor+ers therein, share of total manufacturing wor+ers, share in the total value of industrial output etc. one would argue that Punjab was one among the highl# industrialised states in the countr# in the %&&2s. This rapid industrialisation is impressive, especiall# bearing in mind its distant position vis$A$vis IndiaBs oil, coal, iron ore deposits. @nderstandabl#, urban growth and its structure in recent decades have been determined b# the requirements of industrial econom#. The impact of this industrial growth on urban hierarch# and spatial pattern of growth is significant and clearl# discernible. This is more so since the second phase of the /reen 7evolution seems to be petering out. =espite the higher demographic growth in class I cities, their share of the total urban population in %&&% was still much below the national average of *3 percent. The other developed states li+e "aharashtra and >est .engal had about 12 percent of their urban population in these cities. The share of the towns having population between 32,222 and %22,222 has gone up from %' per cent to 52 percent during %&1%$&%. It is onl# in the case of towns with less than 32,222 people that the share has declined from about 6& percent to 5* percent. 8nd #et this is above the national figure of 5' percent. The concentration of industries in the western region has gone down slightl# over the past two decades partl# due to internal socio$political factors, noted above. The share of industries even in eastern districts li+e Patiala which ran+s fifth among the districts in terms of industrialisation, 4 where /obindgarh, the town selected for micro level anal#sis, is located 4 has gone down over the last decade. /obindgarh, too, has experienced a deceleration in its population growth, the rate decreasing from its all time record of %2 percent in the %&(2s to ' percent in %&12s. This, however, is still better than that in the state wherein the average growth rate for small and medium towns has dwindled from 6 percent to 5.* percent.

Industry

This sector contributed %'.'&C D! of the /ross ,tate =omestic Product for Punjab during 522*$2(. 8lthough Punjab is primaril# an agrarian state, #et its future lies in the development of industr# mainl# through development of agro$ based, service and +nowledge based industries. Large & Medium Scale Units There were 31* large and medium scale units during the #ear 522*$2(, with a fixed investment of 7s. 53222 crore which provided emplo#ment to 5.6% la+h persons with a turnover of 7s. 6(322 crore. Small Scale units Industrial ,cenario in Punjab is dominated b# ,mall ,cale Industrial units. Promotion of small scale industries has been regarded as an important element of the development strateg#. =uring the #ear 522*$2(, there were 523555 ,mall ,cale @nits with a fixed investment of 7s.3322 crore which generated emplo#ment to &.*' la+h persons with a production value of 7s.63222 crore.