Now Reading: Parliament panel flags lack of long-term urban strategy for 2047
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Parliament panel flags lack of long-term urban strategy for 2047
A parliamentary standing committee has criticised the Union housing and urban affairs ministry for not preparing a unified long-term urban strategy for India's cities through 2047, especially given the government's Viksit Bharat…
The Story in Brief
A parliamentary standing committee has criticised the Union housing and urban affairs ministry for not preparing a unified long-term urban strategy for India's cities through 2047, especially given the government's Viksit Bharat 2047 goals. The ministry instead cited existing schemes like AMRUT 2.0 and PMAY-U 2.0, and said urban development is a state subject with the Centre playing a catalytic role. The committee said the ministry's interventions are 'largely scheme-driven and sector-specific' and recommended a new High-Level Expert Committee to assess urban infrastructure needs up to 2047.
Separately, a World Resources Institute India report, prepared for the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, proposes creating a national urbanisation council chaired by the Prime Minister to coordinate urban growth. It highlights that India lacks a single policy for urbanisation, with growth increasingly happening in areas that remain formally rural. The report notes that census towns in Kerala rose 366% from 2001 to 2011, and peri-urban growth is pervasive but poorly measured.
The Indian Opinion
Two reports on the same day lay bare India's urban planning vacuum. The ministry's reluctance to commit to a long-term strategy beyond 2047 suggests it is happy to let schemes like AMRUT 2.0 substitute for vision. Meanwhile, the WRI India report's call for a national urbanisation council chaired by the Prime Minister sounds sensible but ambitious, will the Centre cede control to states on a subject that is constitutionally theirs? The real test is whether the government follows the parliamentary committee's recommendation to set up a new expert committee, or buries the report.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, hindustantimes.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
