A Study of Population Growth in Pandharpur City and Solapur District

Abstract Urban sprawl has now become a universal phenomenon. In 1900, only 9.2% of the world's population lived in settlements with more than 20,000 inhabitants (Davis Hartz, 1957), while by 1990 this had increased to 45.7%. It is estimated that by 2025, about 65.2% (approximately 5.3 billion) of the world's population will live in urban areas (Diwakar, 1991). Rapid urban growth generally occurs on prime agricultural lands around cities and towns, leading to continued encroachment on productive rural land. Thus, suburban lands form the foundation of urban sprawl. Land, being an important natural resource, supports major developmental initiatives (Kumar, 2011). Population growth, which refers to the increase in the number of inhabitants, is currently increasing by about 83 million people annually globally, at a rate of 1.1% per annum. India alone is home to one-sixth of the world's population. According to the 2001 census, Maharashtra's population reached 96.7 crore, the second largest among all states and union territories in India. The present study reviews the decade-wise population growth of Solapur district and Pandharpur city from 1901 to 2011. The analysis shows that the decade-wise growth trend of urban population of Pandharpur city and Solapur district is highly volatile.