Study of Chintamani in Karnataka reveals impact of urbanisation on small towns — overexploited groundwater to polluted lakes

The study — Mapping water in a small town: Data and insights on water management in Chintamani, Karnataka — was conducted by the Bengaluru-based WELL Labs, in partnership with Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE) and the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA)-South Asia.

As the water crisis that hit Bengaluru this summer hogged the headlines, turning the spotlight on water security in urban India, little attention has been paid to the rise in significance of smaller towns and cities in the country, which are charting the new phase of the urbanisation narrative.

A recently published study has highlighted this trend using the example of Chintamani, a town around 75 kilometres from Bengaluru. The study shows how these towns are feeling the pangs of urbanisation — from over-exploited groundwater and depleting aquifers to polluted lakes and fragmented planning.

The study — Mapping water in a small town: Data and insights on water management in Chintamani, Karnataka — was conducted by the Bengaluru-based WELL Labs, in partnership with Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE) and the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA)-South Asia.

The researchers chose Chintamani because the town is prone to water scarcity and is governed by a cash-strapped municipality while its proximity to a metropolis like Bengaluru makes it likely that the town will continue to expand.

The study pointed out that built-up spaces concentrated in the centre of the town have tripled in size in the past 25 years. Their spatial analysis showed that only 7% of the land was built up in 1994, but the figure increased to 21% in 2021.

According to the researchers, “Currently, small and medium towns, characterised by populations below 100,000, account for 44.2% of the overall urban area in India, and constitute 26% of the nation’s total urban population (Census 2011). Despite this transition, significant attention and resources continue to be directed towards large metropolises, neglecting towns and peri-urban areas. As a result, many towns grapple with meeting the requirements and ambitions of their growing populations, lacking essential infrastructure for even fundamental services, particularly in water and sanitation.”

The researchers believe that small towns could play a crucial role in advancing India’s economic growth, but addressing their water and sanitation challenges is key for sustained development.