4.1 The City Profile

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VISAKHAPATNAM - UNCHS SLUM LOCATIONS

Visakhapatnam City is situated on the east coast of India facing the Bay of Bengal. The City Municipality was constituted in the year 1858 and upgraded to a Municipal Corporation in the year 1979. It is India's fourth largest port and is the most rapidly growing industrial city of Andhra Pradesh. In addition to its role as Eastern headquarters of the Indian Navy, it has developed ship building, oil refining, fertilizer, petrochemical, sugar and oil refinery in addition to India's newest and largest steel plant. It is linked with air, rail, and bus services apart from occasional sea service.

The growth of the city had started from the establishment of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and a number of ancillary industries. The consequent increase in the requirement of developed land for housing and other uses led to the expansion of the Municipal Corporation limits from time to time. From the earlier area of 15.20 sq.km., these limits were extended in 1964 to include an area of 78.33 sq.km. and again in 1994 to an area of 111.60 sq.km. In this process six surrounding villages also got included in the metropolitan area and contributed an additional area of 33.28 sq.km.

The city of Visakhapatnam has also seen a steady growth of population, which grew from 1,08,000 in 1951 to 8,82,000 in 1991 (Table 4.1). There was a tremendous spurt in population growth in the decade 1961 -1971 mainly due to the establishment of the steel plant and subsequent in-migration from around the state of Andhra Pradesh. The current population is estimated to be well above 1 million.

Table 4.1 Population growth of Visakhapatnam