RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION (A CASE STUDY OF LAHORE DISTRICT)

Pakistan like other developing countries in the region has witnessed accelerated process of urbanization. The country experienced massive urban population explosion the due to immigrants coming from India, right at its inception. A majority of them settled in the urban areas particularly, Karachi and Lahore. It was estimated that a significant number of people arrived in Lahore and other centers of Punjab. This phenomenon alone shot up the population of these cities two to three folds in a short span of time. This resulted in server pressure on the urban land and infrastructure of these cities. The total population of Lahore district was 6.32 million, while the migrants among them were 1.03 million, which constituted about 16.4 percent of the whole population. Thus the area is faced with growing educational, water, sanitation and other social problems because of squatter settlements that are rapidly emerging to house these migrants. Consequently, urban social sector has been over-taxed. The percentage of population may well be over 50 percent in the slums of Lad’s. Thus rural-urban migration is fuelling the problems like pollution, congestion and crime. This study was conducted to see the status of migrants and factors contributing to rural migration in Lahore district. In the process of economic development, economic factors play a more dominant role than the non-economic noes. Generally, the immigrants from the nearby rural area jonined the ranks of those who were already settled there.\ud \ud Rural urban migration is seen as two stage process. During the first stage, the unskilled workers spend some time in informal urban sector from which they move on to the second stage, where they find a more permanent modern sector job in the formal sector, thus further intensifying double-dualism. Although E.G. raven stein conducted the first on the rural urban migration in 1885. it was sjaastad’s seminal work in migration that has evoked thinking among economists regarding this growing problem. The studies conducted on migration concluded one of the major factor factors for migration is a rural-urban income differential that fuelled the problem of urbanization. The principal objective of the present study is to asses the extent of migration from rural to urban localities of Lahore city which is the hub of economic activity and also, the metropolitan city of Punjab, moreover, the study also considers the distance range of migration in Lahore city, profile of rural migrants, employment pattern of migrants and the causes of migration from rural to urban areas i.e,. PUSH and PULL factors.\ud \ud Considering the scope and objectives of the study, both the primary data approach and the secondary data approach are adopted. Primary data was colleted from sample size selected from the universe of the study. This universe was classified as the Lahore city in addition to three small towns, i.e., Kahna, Chung and Raiwind in the district of Lahore and also all the villages in the Lahore district. The secondary data was obtained from published sources. The study reveals that 64.8 percent of the population contributing to urbanization of Lahore district migrated from various parts of the Punjab province. The rest of the migrants have not reported their previous place of residence. The migrants from NWFP 5.7 percent while from sindh and Aj and k they were 2.7 percent and 1.4 percent respectively.\ud \ud The study results reflect positive correlation between education and migration. The migrants who were literate were higher in proportion (70.3%) in contrast to the illiterate (29.3%). The portion of migrants engaged in private jobs was the highest (39.5%) followed by self employed (27.3%), government services (24.7%), daily wage earners (7%) and others (1.5%). The study results also reveal that the highest proportion (42.1%) of migrants was in the income bracket of Rs.30000 to Rs. 50000. The households that migrated within the district were from the distance up to 50 km. this indicated that people come from every corner of the district. The proportion of migrants and the distance range of migrants up to 40km was positively correlated. The overall scenario of migrants indicates that the highest proportion of migrants (94.7%) who were daily wage earners belonged to the places that are at a distance of 11 to 20 km from Lahore. No migrant workers from daily wage earners group are seen below 10km and 31. Again as far as farm households are concerned, about 81.3 percent of farmers with operational holdings up to 6.25 acres were performing off-farm jobs because of insufficient farm income it is also observed that both the pull push factors in migration were due to economic environment i.e. better wage rate, better wage rate, better standard of living, bright, future for children, non-availability of basic needs. Population growth and uneconomic holdings. All these factors are instrumental in migration so the government should adopt measures to provide economic as well as social environment, self-employment oriented skill training development of social infrastructure at village level and micro credit for self employment from acquired skills, to impose check on migration from rural to urban locatlities.\ud \ud The study also focuses on the characteristics to migrant workers and causes of their migration. Migrant workers were classified as settlers and commuters. The setter migrants were households who shifted from rural and settled in urban areas whereas the the commuters traveled daily to earn living. Better job opportunities are the greatest magnetic power for migrants (94%), followed by bright future far children, (66%), alternative job opportunities, (32%) and road transportation and social environment, (12%). The family size the strongest push factor forwards urban areas as was reported by 68 percent migrants i.e. 76.5 percent of commuters and 50 percent of settlers. The second and third in order are differences in availability of social infrastructure and uneconomic holdings reported by 26 percent of respectively. The migrant workers who migrated for economic opportunities were 18.8 percent of settlers. The process of migration, thus, can be slowed down if the government provides job opportunities at village level. Two methodological approaches i.e. linear regression and log linear approach are adopted to isolate contribution of various factors resulting in migration from rural to urban areas.\ud \ud The estimated production functions are judged on prior statistical and economic criteria. Keeping in view the results of the study, it is recommended for future for future policy making to impose check on rural-urban migration and to provide: >Job opportunities at village level. >Incentive oriented monetary policy >Enhancement of skills and establishment of training institutions. >Social and economic infrastructur