TimesView Losing villages to urbanisation in itself should not be a concern, but when it leads to unplanned, congested and poorly maintained towns and cities, it does pose massive problems. For example, it could be a nightmare containing the spread of the coronavirus in an overpopulated city that lacks infrastructure. The key is to ensure decent jobs — and plenty of them — in rural areas. Farming has become too much of a gamble to interest rural youth, thanks to drought, floods and climate change. If the government is keen on reversing the trend, it must take blue and white-collar jobs to its villages.

Loss of agri land due to uncertainty

BENGALURU: As many as 84 villages in Karnataka have disappeared or reported zero population between 2001 and 2011 due to rapid urbanisation and a tepid rural economy, according to state government data. The number of villages set to go off the map between 2011 and 2021 — whose data is expected next year — could well be double of the previous decade, experts said.The data released by the directorate of economics and statistics for 2018-19 said that 84 villages have been erased from the map and 18 had no population. The number of villages in Karnataka dropped from 27,481 in 2001 to 27,397 in 2011. The number of uninhabited villages — which are in records with no living being — has increased from 1,925 in 2001to 1,943 in 2011.A senior department officer said the primary reason for the change is urbanisation and merger of more villages into adjoining towns or cities.Also, the loss of agriculture land due to uncertainty in the sector and conversion of the same into housing or industrial purposes with lucrative returns have also added to the pressure of a depleting rural economy.Sources in the chief minister’s officer said they receive many requests to convert gram panchayats into taluk panchayats or bring them under city municipal corporations to enjoy the benefits of higher land valuations. Similar pleas have been to the urban development department too by local lawmakers to attach villages to nearby towns or cities to increase the land value and bring them under urbanisation.A CMO officer said that once the land is merged into a bigger civic entity, then its land-use pattern could be convert easily, facilitating sale of land at a premium. “On the flip side, such strategies increase pressure on the existing basic infrastructure,” he added.Taking cognizance of urbanisation’s effects on infrastructure, State Planning Board vice-chairman BJ Puttaswamy suggested a cap on the population of a city like Bengaluru. “Instead, ensure good connectivity with, say, high-speed rail network and allow people to travel to cities only for their livelihood,” he added.