Delhi population surpasses Mumbai

The population of New Delhi's endless urban sprawl has for the first time surpassed Mumbai's, the Times of India reports, based on newly released census data.

Nearly 22 million people live in the capital and its concrete shadow, compared with a bit fewer than 21 million in Mumbai, the paper said.

The paper adjusted those figures to reflect the real sprawl of the National Capital Region — which includes satellite towns like Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — rather than use the census definition of "urban agglomeration" that artificially stops at state lines.  Delhi is itself classified as a state, and some of its satellites more than doubled in population in the past decade, the paper pointed out.

Mumbai UA's population in 2011 stands at 18.4 million, according to the latest census data, and even if satellite areas that are not included-like Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Bhiwandi and Navi Mumbai-Panvel-Raigad-are counted, the financial capital's UA still adds up to 20.7 million people, the paper said.

Applying the same definitions to the 2001 census data, TOI found that Delhi was still smaller than Mumbai a decade ago-15.5 million to Mumbai's 16.6 million-showing that the change has taken place in the last 10 years. 

Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, known as "megacities" due to their 10 million-plus populations, have grown much faster than the rest of India's big cities. About 15% of India's total urban population lives in these three cities alone, the paper said.