Bangalore has been conferred with A-1 city status. The Census of India classifies an urban area with over 50 lakh population as an A-1 city. With Bangalore’s population crossing that mark, the A-1 tag followed.

Bangalore has become the sixth city in the country – after New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad – to be conferred the A-1 tag. This will benefit Bangalore’s Central and State government employees. Their House Rent Allowance will now double to 30 per cent of their salary.

City officials have said that the A-1 tag is unlikely to bring the City more funds from the Centre for development of its infrastructure. Since Bangalore was declared a mega city four years ago, it has been receiving funds from the Centre’s Mega City Project but the A-1 tag will not enable the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to get any additional funds from the Centre.

The A-1 tag is recognition of Bangalore’s rapid growth in recent years. But it is a worrying reminder of the unbalanced growth that is taking place in this City. Bangalore is now bursting at its seams. The rapid rise in its population indicates that the government has failed to make other cities attractive destinations for migrants.

Economic development remains focused in Bangalore; hence the flow of people into this city in search of opportunities.

Bangalore’s population is growing but not the capacity of its infrastructure to support this population. Today, Bangalore is renowned for its technology boom and its contribution to the country’s economic growth. But it has also become synonymous with urban infrastructural collapse.

Shortage of water, frequent power cuts, abysmal condition of roads and sanitation, traffic jams, and rising crime are some of the problems that plague the lives of its residents. The City’s haphazard development and the mushrooming of residential colonies without water or sewage facilities are the result of unplanned urban development.

With an A-1 tag, Bangalore might have entered an “elite club” of metros in India. But this is not cause for celebration. The tag is really a wake up call, a reminder that the City’s population is growing too fast for its own good and that urgent steps are required to improve its infrastructure. Bangalore will have reason to celebrate when it emerges as a city with A-1 status with regard to its infrastructure and the quality of life it provides for its residents.