Growing pains

An apt average eye’s measure of Kathmandu’s increasing urbanisation is the changing landscape of the valley. Tall, shiny and seemingly expensive buildings are rising up everywhere. Numerous shopping mallshave sprung up in the past couple of years, and many more are slowly claiming their space on the skyline of the city. New shops and restaurants are opening around every corner. New high-rise apartment complexes are also making their presence felt in the urbanscape. To match, there are people eagerly waiting to showcase their new-found growth in spending power. In short, urban Nepal is fast-growing. According to a new report released by the World Bank—”Nepal: Urban Growth and Spatial Transition”—the urban sector’s contribution now accounts for 65 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product. Compare that to 1975, when it was only 29 percent. The urban economy, and particularly Kathmandu, is growing much faster than the rural economy,and along with it, poverty in urban Nepal has also declined. This is certainly good news—at least for those who live in the urban areas. But unfortunately, they only make up 20 percent of the Nepali population. And although Nepal is one of the fastest urbanising states in Asia, with the urban population growing at more than 5 percent annually since the1970s, it remains the least urbanised country in the region.
Even for those who live in the cities, it doesn’t take much to realise how haphazard the urbanisation has been. A quick stroll around the capital suffices. At a glance, it’s apparent that any sense of urban planning seems to be completely lacking. This, in turn, has fuelled a threat in the preservation of the Kathmandu valley’s historic heritage, and also renders the city more vulnerable to natural disasters. But in terms of returns, as highlighted in the World Bank report, Kathmandu has an enormous comparative advantage as far as tourism, hotel and restaurant services and handicrafts go, just to name a few. But the lack of proper management of such sectors has meant that Nepal hasn’t been able to reap the benefits of competitive advantage. Industry in thecountry fuels the demand of most of the urban sector, even though they are often situated outside the cities. The goods manufactured outside of Kathmandu in the eastern Tarai, for example, are made only for the Kathmandu-urban market.
At the root of the boons and banes of urbanisation is lack of governmentregulation and investment in infrastructure development. The private sector is investing in the urban service sector haphazardly, which has made rapid urbanisation of the centre possible; but because most of theinfrastructural investment necessary for good urban development is lacking, rural areas have little private sector interest, and the urban infrastructure too, remains inadequate. It can be hoped that as Nepal moves towards a federal structure, the fruits of urbanisation will slowly become less concentrated in Kathmandu. In turn, perhaps Kathmandu too will get some respite from its current haphazard and often dangerous urbanisation.http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/05/11/editorial/growing-pains/353758.html

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