International Institute for Population Sciences
Deemed to be University (An Autonomous Organization of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India)

Abstract The paper addresses the issue of the growing urban population and the load on the area's limited resources by examining the trends and patterns of migratory movement between counter-magnet areas and NCR, Delhi. The research that is now accessible on the subject primarily concentrates on the mobility of people rather than relating it to the planned and deliberate distribution of the population of the major urban areas. The idea of decentralizing the urban population mostly focuses on peri-urban areas or the suburbanization process. Still, it must look beyond these areas and put more of an emphasis on distant, alternate-developing urban centers like counter-magnet areas (CMA). The NCRPB (National Capital Region Planning Board), under section 8(f) of NCRPB, 1985, empowers the board with mutual discussion with the state government, any urban area outside NCR having population potential for growth that may be developed CMA to achieve objectives of regional planning. The regional plan of 2001 selected Hisar, Gwalior, Bareilly, Kota, and Patiala as counter-magnet areas, and the regional plan of 2011 added Kanpur, Ambala, and Dehradun. The study used the tables from the 2001 and 2011 decennial censuses. To comprehend the complete picture of the data, the in-migration rate and migration intensity of the counter-magnets were also determined. Work, employment, and marriage are the main drivers of migration to counter-magnets, with males relocating mostly for work-related reasons and females migrating primarily due to marriage and household moves. People travel from every part of the nation to the urban areas because of the opportunities there. Kanpur, Gwalior, and Kota attracted the most in-migrants between 2001 and 2011 out of the eight counter-magnet regions of Delhi, NCR. Keywords Migration, Decentralization, Counter-Magnet Areas, Urban population