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For India to accomplish SDG- 2030s and the New Urban Agenda, India needs to re-visit, re-think and reshape the way we plan and manage our settlements.

Progress of Urbanisation in India

• In 2019, the National Commission on Population estimated that India’s population is expected to increase from 1,211 million to 1,518 million during 2011-2036. Urban growth is expected to contribute to over 73% of the rise in the population.
• The United Nations has projected that, by 2050, India will be 50% urbanised.

Initiatives by the Government

• The government has begun various initiatives to provide basic amenities to every household and also enable technology to solve urban issues.
• Smart Cities
• AMRUT Mission
• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban
• HRIDAY
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana
• Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India)

Challenges for the Cities development

• Several city-centric issues such as air pollution, urban flooding, and droughts exist as obstacles in holistic development of urban India all of which point to infrastructural shortcomings and inadequate planning.
• Even those urban settlements that have the status of “statutory towns” do not necessarily grow in a planned manner. About 52% of statutory towns in India lack any kind of master plan.
• Most of the focus of planned development leans towards metropolitan cities (Class 1 towns). The small and medium sized towns (Class 2, 3 and 4 towns), which together house 26% of the total population and need at least equal, if not more, attention remain untapped.

Way Forward

• Enhanced ambition requires the Central government to work with State governments to integrate key areas with its transport vision, such as affordable inner-city housing, including rental projects, access to civic services and health care, and enhanced sustainability, greenery and walkability.
• All these are covered by Central budgetary schemes for cities. Only integration can bring about inclusive Urbanisation.
• For India to accomplish its Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations’ New Urban Agenda, the government has to revisit, rethink, and reshape the way it plans and manages the country’s settlements and the connecting networks among them.
• Cities experience constant evolution, they are not just drivers of economic growth, but are magnets of global knowledge exchanges and playgrounds for innovation. However, to enable them to fulfill their purpose, it is important to reshape the planning of the cities which is also inclusive of the components such land-use, housing, transportation etc.