The 2001 decision to move the IRDAI headquarters to Hyderabad aimed to decongest Delhi and Mumbai and promote balanced urban development. 

• However, after 23 years, the initiative has largely remained unfulfilled, with little progress in achieving even development across other cities.

Urban Challenges

1. Rising Cost of living and Pollution: India’s major cities are grappling with a dual crisis: skyrocketing real estate prices and deteriorating air quality.

• Delhi-NCR: Residential property prices have risen by an alarming 57% since 2019. At the same time, the city’s air quality remains abysmal, ranging between poor and severe. 
  • Every year, the Supreme Court steps into direct measures aimed at preventing the situation from worsening.
• Other Cities: Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and other metros are not far behind. 
  • In fact, the top 10 cities experiencing steep rises in residential prices also struggle with poor air quality, illustrating the correlation between urban growth and environmental degradation.

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2. Neglect of Urban Livability: Despite their economic importance, India’s cities have received little attention when it comes to making them more livable.

• Slum Population: As per the 2011 Census, over 65 million people live in slums, with Mumbai alone housing 5 million slum dwellers.
  • Incredibly, 52.5% of Mumbai’s population is packed into just 9% of its geographical area.
• Strain on Infrastructure: The unchecked migration to urban hubs, driven by employment opportunities, has overburdened public services and infrastructure.

3. Unsustainable Development Goals: One of the major goals of urban planning was to alleviate congestion in India’s metropolitan areas by creating satellite cities around the major urban centers. However, this objective remains largely unfulfilled due to several factors.

Way forward

India’s cities require a fundamental shift in how they are planned and managed. Key measures include:

• Comprehensive Urban Plans:
  • Focus on sustainable development, with mixed-use zoning that blends residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
  • Pedestrian-friendly designs, heat-friendly construction, and effective waste management in the industrial sector 
  • Affordable housing initiatives to be prioritized to make cities accessible to all income groups.
• Strengthening Municipal Corporations:
  • Improve the capacity of local bodies to manage urban services and infrastructure.
  • Ensure strict enforcement of environmental regulations.
• Efficient Public Transport:
  • Expand metro rail networks and bus rapid transit systems.
  • Reduce dependence on private vehicles to cut emissions.
• Sustainable Growth in Smaller Cities:
  • Encourage the development of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to ease the population burden on metros.
• Innovative Solutions: 
  • While innovative ideas like linking property prices to air and water quality (as proposed by Nithin Kamath) may be intriguing, their practical implementation remains a challenge.
  • However, cities will continue to attract people due to economic opportunities, driving up property demand and prices, necessitating deeper systemic reforms.
• Stakeholder’s Engagement and Government Vigilance: 
  • All stakeholders must be actively engaged in urban planning, holding local authorities accountable for decisions that impact their daily lives. 
  • Additionally, the government should remain vigilant in implementing and monitoring these reforms, ensuring that the urbanization process is inclusive, transparent, and aligned with long-term sustainability goals.

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Conclusion

Without immediate and sustained intervention, the dream of well-planned, environmentally sound cities will remain elusive. The focus must be on building cities that are not only economic engines but also livable spaces for their inhabitants.

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