Stealing a march on both Gujarat and Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu has emerged as the most urbanised State and as per the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011, of the total households in the State 42.47 per cent in are urban areas.
Even spread of small, medium and major towns, migration of people from rural areas in search of employment and the presence of industrial estates in all districts contributed to speedy urbanisation of Tamil Nadu.
“Tamil Nadu has a spatially dispersed pattern of urbanisation with a large number of small and medium towns spread throughout the State. When it is accompanied by developments in transport infrastructure, it enabled a de-agrarianisation of employment in the hinterlands,” said M. Vijayabaskar, Assistant Professor of the Madras Institute of Development Studies.
Since historically most part of the Tamil Nadu depended on rain-fed agriculture, textile industry, particularly handloom industry, was very much part of economic activities in rural areas to augment income.
Former IAS officer and urban planner M.G. Devasahayam said even a small district like Kanyakumari with strong rural background and agricultural lands has seen emergence of small towns due to infrastructure facilities.
“In Tamil Nadu the Industrial Estates conceived during the Congress government headed by Kamaraj spurred economic activities in all districts that gradually paved way for creation of small towns,” he said.
Another reason that has contributed to fast urbanisation, Mr Devasahyam said, was migration of people from rural to urban areas in search of employment opportunities.
He said towns in Tamil Nadu had better facilities when it came to education and healthcare.
Mr Vijayabaskar explained that availability of transport facilitated easy transition from agricultural into non-agricultural employment
“Of course, this is also possible only through spread of education as the State has one of the better literacy rates in the country than other states where literacy levels are low,” he further said.
However, at present, industrial growth and hence urban growth is increasingly concentrated in the Chennai region and in western Tamil Nadu.
