ARI Working Paper Series

This is an updated and revised paper as of May 2016. It was first published as “Population Change and Migration in Mumbai Metropolitan Region: Implications for Planning and Governance” in the ARI Working Paper Series No. 201 in May 2013.

This paper compares some features of the mega-urban region focusing on Mumbai with comparable regions surrounding some other major cities of Asia, notably population density in the core and the inner zone. It proceeds to examine the recent demographic dynamics of Mumbai Metropolitan Region, focusing on changes in its various geographical zones, namely the core (the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation), inner zone and outer zone.  The paper shows that there has been a significant change since the early 1980s, leading to population stagnation in the core or even decline in some of its older parts. However, the inner and outer zones continue to grow at significantly higher rates due to economic restructuring in the core areas. Between 1991 and 2011, population outside the core increased its share from 33 per cent to 46 per cent. The study also highlights a number of planning and administrative issues facing the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and argues that local democracy need to be strengthened vis-à-vis the role of the multiple parastatal bodies in planning and governing the region.