The revised draft DP of the city has contradicted the popular notion that megacities will continue to see burgeoning populations.
The revised draft DP of the city has contradicted the popular notion that megacities will continue to see burgeoning populations. It has claimed that Mumbai’s population is on a decline and would further go down in the next 20 years.
According to the revised draft DP of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city’s population was 12.44 million as per the 2011 census.
However, there has been a consistent fall in its population growth rate since 1991. The decade-wise growth rate, which was 38.07 per cent in 1981, came down to 20.41 per cent in 1991. In the following decade, it further reduced to 3.87 per cent by 2011.
A comparison of the city and suburbs’ population shows the former’s population has been steady since 1981, with a slight drop.
The city’s 3.28 million population in 1981 had come down to 3.08 million by 2011. Though the population in the suburbs has been rising consistently, its percentage is also dropping. In 1981, population in the suburbs was 4.95 million, which rose to 9.35 million in the next two decades.
However, the decade-wise population growth rate in suburbs has dropped significantly. In 1981, it was 70.97 per cent, which has dropped to just 8.29 per cent by 2011.
“Among the 24 wards in the city, Malad (P-North ward) has registered the highest population in the city with 9.41 lakh populace, which is about 7.5 per cent of the total population. B ward (Dongri, Pydhonie) in the island city has the lowest population (1.27 lakh),” said a senior civic official.
The slum population in the city is also on the wane, says the revised draft DP. In 2001, it was 52.52 per cent of the total city population (excluding special planning authority areas), while in 2011 it came down to 41.85 per cent (including SPA areas). However, satellite images show rise in slums near water sources, on hill slopes, low-lying areas, forests and along the railway routes. The maximum slums are in Kurla (L ward) and Mankhurd, Govandi(M-East ward).
