Urbanisation Understanding · hereafter 74th CAA). Two principles at the core of this Act were (Leena, Sharma and Roy 2007): administering schemes and programs designed to address

Understanding UrbanisationA Consultation at RGICS

Consultation Report

Understanding Urbanisation A Consultation at RGICS

Author: Yuvraj Kalia Associate Fellow, Governance and Development at RajivGandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi. Edited By: Prasanth Regy © Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies 2018 All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording or otherwise provided it is usedonly for educational purposes and is not for resale, andprovided full acknowledgement is given to the RajivGandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies as the originalpublisher. Published by Rajiv Gandhi Institute for ContemporaryStudies, New Delhi

Contents / iii

Contents

01 Background

02 Inadequate Devolution, Representation andCivic Engagement

04 Inadequate Capacity for Planning andManagement

05 Inadequate Attention to Employment andSocial Aspects

06 GIST of Consultation of UnderstandingUrbanisation

03 Inadequate Financing

Consultation Participants

Executive Summary

References

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vi

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iv / Consultation Participants

ConsultationParticipants

Kumari Selja

Suneeta Dhar

Abhishek Dutt

Ghazala Jamil

Ashok KumarJain

Vijay Mahajan

AshutoshDikshit

She was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 representingthe Ambala constituency of Haryana. She was Union Minister of State(Independent Charge) Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviationin the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)government. In 2009, she became Cabinet Minister of Housing and UrbanPoverty Alleviation and Culture and later Minister of Tourism. She wasMinister of Social Justice and Empowerment in the UPA Governmentduring the 15th Lok Sabha.

She is the Director of JAGORI, a Women’s Resource Centre based in NewDelhi. Jagori works with a diverse group of women living on the marginsof society, in both the urban and rural areas of the country.

The RGICS organised a consultation on ‘Understanding Urbanisation’ in October 2018 withparticipation of people engaged with urban research, practice, leadership and execution fromboth governmental and non-governmental domains. The consultation saw participation from

Dr. Jamil teaches at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance,Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her core research interests are urbanisation,social movements, materiality and spatiality of culture, and minorityrights.

Mr. Jain is former Commissioner (Planning) with Delhi DevelopmentAuthority. He has worked on Master Plan for Delhi -2021, National UrbanTransport Policy (2006) and National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy(2007). He is also a visiting faculty of School of Planning and Architecture,New Delhi.

He is the Director of the RGICS and formerly the CEO of the Basix SocialEnterprise Group which worked on rural and urban livelihood promotionand Basix Municipal Waste Ventures Ltd, which has worked to makeIndore, the cleanest city of India since 2012. He was member of theTechnical Advisory Group, Ministry of Housing and Urban PovertyAlleviation 2009-12.

Abhishek is municipal councillor representing Andrews Ganj in NewDelhi.

Ashutosh Dikshit heads United Residents Joint Action (U.R.J.A). URJA isthe Apex body of Resident Welfare Associations of Delhi and representsa collective strength of almost 2500 elected RWAs that together lookafter the interests of almost 5 million households and approximately 2crore residents of Delhi.

Consultation Participants / v

ParthaMukhopadhyay

Kajri Misra

Madhav Pai

Nirmala SamantPrabhavalkar

Sanjay Prakash

Prasanth Regy

Dinesh Mohan

Professor Misra is currently the dean of Xavier School of RuralManagement. She has a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning fromCEPT, Ahmedabad and a PhD in Planning from Cornell University, USA.

He is a Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research (CPR). He joined CPRin 2006. He was previously part of the founding team at the InfrastructureDevelopment Finance Company (IDFC), focusing on private participationin infrastructure.

She is former mayor of Mumbai. She is a High Court Advocate and formerChairperson of Maharashtra State Women’s Commission. She was also amember of the National Commission for Women from March 2012 toDecember 2014.

He is an architect with a commitment to energy-conscious architecture,eco-friendly design, people’s participation in planning, music andproduction design. He runs his own design studio called SHiFt architects.

He is a Senior Fellow with the RGICS. He is an engineer from IIT Mumbaiand a public policy specialist trained at the Harvard Kennedy School. Hehas worked with the Basix social enterprise group, the World Bank,National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and the Insolvency andBankruptcy Board of India.

Ami Rawat Ms. Rawat is municipal councillor in Vadodara Municipal Corporation.She was selected for the Young Environment Managers as the BritishChevening Scholar Programme. She is an UNICEF consultant for watersanitation in Gujarat and World Bank Consultant with in Peri Urban AreaCase Study for Sustainable development in rural area.

Lalitesh PatiTripathi

He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly fromMirzapur constituency.

Mr. Pai is India Director for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.Madhav is a Civil Engineer from Mumbai and holds a Master’s Degree inTransport Planning from University of California Berkeley.

He is honorary professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Heretired as the Volvo Chair Professor Emeritus for Biomechanics andTransportation Safety at the Transportation Research and InjuryPrevention Programme, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

The workshop was organised by Piyush Kumar, Junior Policy Associate, RGICS under theguidance of Mr Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS

vi / Executive Summary

Executive SummaryUrban areas in India are slated to growrapidly. They currently bear around 30% ofpopulation while generating more than50% of national output. However, urbanIndia faces immense challenges, andsolutions to these challenges remainelusive. With cash starved Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) trying to service the requirements ofan ever increasing population, cities andtowns across India struggle with a set ofobstacles that call for a systemic change inthe way urban India is governed. In October2018, the RGICS held a consultation withsector experts to understandcontemporary issues relating tourbanisation. It included urbanpractitioners, citizen groupsrepresentatives, urban researchers, andelected urban representatives. This consultation yielded a host of issueswhich challenge sustainability of an Indiancity today. Among them, lack of citizenparticipation, whether due to citizen apathyor lack of mechanisms for implementationthereof; inadequate financing due to lowtax and non-tax revenue generation; risingunemployment and low employmentgeneration and; and rapidly depletingnatural resources. These emerged ascharacteristics of a vitiated urbanecosystem in the country.

Based on the consultation, thesechallenges facing ULBs are categorised intofour themes viz.

The gist of the consultation along withrecommendations has been given in thefinal section. This brief will help the readerto understand broad urban issues from apractice oriented perspective. Theconsultation calls for strengthening urbangovernance institutions to make themfinancially and technically capable andindependent to drive sustainable growth oftheir respective urban areas.

Barriers to Civic Engagement,Representation and Devolution; Inadequate Financing; Insufficient Capacity for Planning andManagement; and Employment and Social Issues

Background / 1

BackgroundCities have existed in India from as early asurban civilisation of Indus valley and citieshave been an important part of every phaseof Indian history since then. Modern urbangovernance started with advent of theBritish to the subcontinent. Severalmunicipalities took form in British Indiabased on Municipal Charter of 1842. Thesystems of urban governance in India haveevolved steadily since then. In the last three decades, population andeconomic growth has pushed urban areasto the limit. Cities have been seen catchingup with galloping population, largely dueto migration from rural areas, demandingmore than what cities can provide. Over theyears, the Indian city has becomesynonymous with poor sanitation; sub-standard and under capacitated physicalinfrastructure; dilapidated institutional

structures and poor service delivery. Table 1 shows rise of urban population andnumber of urban areas in India. As perCensus of India 2011, there are 3944municipal bodies entrusted with managingrespective urban areas and almost an equalnumber of census towns (Fig. 1). Thesenumbers are expected to grow further.More than 70 percent urban populationlives in cities and towns other thanmetropolitan cities. Various programmes and schemes havebeen launched by the Central and stategovernments for improving quality of life inurban areas, the most notable among thembeing Jawaharlal Nehru National UrbanRenewal Mission (JNNURM) and the recentSmart Cities Mission. Schemes andprogrammes do have a role in meeting

Table 1: Decadal growth in urban population

Source: Habitat III National Report, 2017.

Table 1: Decadal growth in urban population

2 / Background

specific goals. However, in the absence ofgovernance structure and processes whichprovided for a more comprehensiveparticipation by citizens and their electedrepresentatives, programmes did notaddress the systemic challenges thatpersist in urban areas all over India. Thishas been the experience of the 65 citiesunder JNNURM and the 100 odd citiesselected under Smart Cities Mission. The current system of urban governance inIndia took shape with passage of 74thConstitutional Amendment Act of 1992(popularly known as Nagarpalika Act andhereafter 74th CAA). Two principles at thecore of this Act were (Leena, Sharma andRoy 2007):

administering schemes and programsdesigned to address needs of the people,and to optimize the delivery of services andbenefits to the people. The 74th CAA provides for governance byelected representative ensuringaccountability to the people governed; aplatform for citizens to engage with theadministration and contribute in WardsCommittee; State Finance Commission tosuitably augment municipal finances;reservation for marginal groups to ensuretheir empowerment; and a platform fordistrict and metropolitan planning whiledevolving a number of powers andfunctions as given in twelfth schedule;among other provisions. However, thedesign as well as the implementation ofthis Act has left much to be desired. The RGICS held a consultation with sectorexperts to understand contemporaryissues relating to urbanisation. It includedurban practitioners, citizen groupsrepresentatives, urban researchers, andelected urban representatives. This consultation yielded a host of issueswhich challenge sustainability of an

Making decentralized institutionscapable to sense the needs of the peopleof their areas, and respond with needbased local plans, and to implementthose plans with coordinated efforts andguidance of the State Government. Institutionalise local authorities andmake them accountable to the localcommunity, recognizing that theseauthorities are better placed in

Figure 1: Urban entities in India. Source: Census 2011

The consultation called for democratisedurban governance institutions, and to makethem financially and technically capable, todrive sustainable growth of their respectiveurban areas. In the next four chapters, we summarisethe discussions and recommendations ofthe group about each of these issues,supplementing them with data, referencesand caselets. The gist of the consultationalong with recommendations has beengiven in the final chapter. This brief willhelp the reader to understand broad urbanissues from a practice oriented perspective.

Background / 3

Barriers to Civic Engagement,Representation and Devolution; Inadequate Financing; Insufficient Capacity for Planning andManagement; and Employment and Social Issues

Indian city today. Among them, lack ofcitizen participation, whether due to citizenapathy or lack of mechanism orimplementation thereof; unsustainablefinancing models and low tax and non-taxrevenue generation; rising unemploymentand low employment generation and;rapidly depleting natural resources;emerged as characteristics of vitiated urbanecosystem in the country. Based on theconsultation, these challenges facing ULBsare categorised into four themes viz.

4 / Inadequate Devolution, Representation and Civic Engagement

InadequateDevolution,Representation andCivic EngagementLocal Bodies vis-à-vis StateGovernment

There was widespread agreement in theconsultation that most state governmentshave been reluctant to empower localbodies. The executive power lies largelywith municipal commissioners appointedby the state governments, effectivelyleaving mayors, who have limited tenures,with not much scope to function(Ahluwalia 2017). Ghazala Jamil stated thatoutsourcing of municipal functions toprivate entities throughvarious mechanisms have furtherdisempowered Mayors and electedrepresentatives. Moreover, election

process and tenures of Mayors vary greatlyacross states (see Table 2). AshutoshDikshit and Sanjay Prakash said thatmayors need to be empowered to keepalive the democratic space within cities. The 74th CAA specified a list of functions tobe devolved by the state governments inthe twelfth schedule, such as provision ofurban amenities, water supply, publichealth, regulation of land use,urban planning, including town planning,etc. Mukhopadhyay asserted that theextent of financial control required toexecute these functions has not beentransferred to ULBs. Most of the states

Table 2: Mayoral election and tenures in select states


Inadequate Devolution, Representation and Civic Engagement / 5

have devolved a number of these functionsto local bodies, often reserving mostsignificant functions such as town planning(Panagariya 2014). The incompletedevolution of funds, functions andfunctionaries (3F), as described above, haskept ULBs disempowered. The participants unanimously called forempowerment of local governments witheffective implementation of 74th CAA. KajriMisra called for shifting focus from 3F to 6Kto empower local governments, i.e. -Karyakram (Function), Kosh (Funds),Karyakarta (Functionaries), Karyapadditi(clear norms, structure and procedures laiddown of local government functioning),Karya Sanskriti (work culture) and Karyala(office).

As an idea, citizen participation is adynamic process wherein people areempowered and take initiative to influencekey decisions affecting them. Theconsultation defined the challenge ofinadequate citizen participation as onewhere an engagement mechanism ismissing and the reliance on top-downstructures, backed by higher levels ofgovernments, is common. Occasional andshort lived ‘consultations’, informationasymmetry and lack of assistance to thepeople characterise this challenge. Academic research also suggests that thereis a huge gap in theory and practice ofcitizen participation in India. Kumar andPrakash (2016) argue that participationprocesses are designed in a way as to onlywin legitimacy of the public. Coelho et al.(2011) highlight how practices ofparticipation are deployed instrumentallyto advance neoliberal governance needs ofreform, disregarding the idea ofempowerment of people. An appraisal of

The urban population is underrepresentedin national and state legislatures (Burdett,et al. 2014) (Mohanty 2016). This hasoccurred because, first, the 42ndConstitutional Amendment Act of 1976froze seats allocated to each state based on1971 Census. Second, the latestdelimitation done in 2008 based on 2001Census does not fairly represent actualproportion of urban population in the seatshare. A similar trend can be observed instate legislatures too. For instance, inMaharashtra, the most urbanised state inIndia with 47% of the population living inurban areas, only 31% seats in the statelegislature are urban (Pai 2018). As such, urban issues get way lessattention of the governments than theydeserve. Under representation of urbanareas could be addressed by laying downan explicit requirement to set boundaries

of the seats within a state based onelectorate size. This would requireamendment of additional criteria laid downby Delimitation Act of 1972 of ‘physicalfeatures, existing boundaries ofadministrative units, facilities ofcommunication and public convenience’.

Ashutosh Dikshit, United Residents Joint Action, New Delhi

"Mayors need to beempowered"

Political Underrepresentation

Civic Engagement

6 / Inadequate Devolution, Representation and Civic Engagement

JNNURM mandated stakeholderconsultations conducted by GrantThornton in 2011 indicated thateconomically weaker sections, despitebeing the major intended beneficiaries ofthe program constituted only 9% of thetotal interactions. Similar issues impaircontemporary urban interventions too(Kumar and Prakash 2016). To address the challenge, a mechanism forthe public to continuously engage withadministration is required as against onlyproject based consultations. The 74th CAAaims at creating such a platform underArticle 243S that provides for constitutingWards Committee for one or more wards inan urban area. Kerala and West Bengal leadas examples where Wards Committeeshave been functioning effectively for morethan a decade (Ministry of Housing andUrban Affairs, GoI 2017). These structureshave the potential of operationalisingdirect democracy in decision making.Kerala government has

implemented a formal public engagementframework in policy making andimplementation, building on WardsCommittees and Gram Sabhas (World Bank2010). Other states must make use of thisprovision by passing enabling legislations. Prof. Dinesh Mohan highlighted thesignificance of public leaders as part of thesolution, as they can encourage vitalcommunity level discussions on localissues and coordinate representations tothe administration. Apart from creatingWards Committees, experts called for awider and more inclusive urbandevelopment ecosystem involving range ofactors such as ULB functionaries, civilsocietyresearch institutions in the area andbusiness groups, which is capableof sustaining a continuous process ofworking on challenges faced by theirrespective areas.

Inadequate Financing / 7

Inadequate FinancingSources of Funds for UrbanDevelopment

Over the years, total municipal revenues inIndia as per cent of GDP has fallen (SeeTable 3). In 2007-08, this figure was 1.08%as against 1.03% in 2012-13 (Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs, GoI 2017). Thesame figure was 7.4% for Brazil, 6% forSouth Africa and 4.5% for Poland; andmuch higher for developed nations(Mohanty 2016). This can be attributed tonarrow tax base of municipal bodies inIndia. In most cases, ULBs can tax property(land and buildings); entertainment;

advertisements; etc. which are not verysignificant sources of revenue. Othersources include duties, fees for variousservices and utilities. In comparison,municipalities in large number of countries,both federal and unitary, have power to taxincome and/or goods and services, whichexplains municipal revenues being high. The table below indicates the varioussources of financing for municipal bodies in2007-08 and 2012-13. Later data is not yetavailable.

Table 3: State of Municipal Finances (all states) in India


8 / Inadequate Financing

Improvement in local government’staxation system and reforms in state andcentral government’s taxation reformsneed to go in tandem. Goods and ServicesTax (GST) reform was an opportunity toincentivise state governments to devolvemore power to ULBs. Gradually, localgovernments can become part of GSTregime. Since GST is a consumption basedtax and urban areas account for most offormal consumption and are projected todrive 91 per cent of global consumptiongrowth between 2015-2030 (McKinseyGlobal Institute 2016), making localgovernments part of the tax structurewould lead to a robust revenue stream forULBs to undertake planned development.In short term, given the limited tax basketwith local governments, a majoropportunity lies in using technology toimprove tax base and monitor and enhancecompliance.

In South Africa, local governmentsreceive direct transfer from centralgovernment that form a part of theannual national budget. Between 2008and 2011, these transfers amounted toaround 8% of the central government’stotal revenue. In addition, there aregrants and loans facilitated by thecentral government to aid infrastructuredevelopment. In Brazil, Municipalities received 22.5%of federal income tax and value-addedtax on manufactured goods; 50% offederal rural land and property tax andstate tax on motor vehicles; 70% offederal financial operations tax on gold;and 25% of state value-added tax ongoods and interstate and intercitytransportation and communicationservices, in 2005. In China, localgovernments keep 25% of value-addedtax, respectively. For a city likeShanghai, this roughly amounts to USD4.5 Billion. Municipalities also getaround 30% of Business tax, the mostimportant tax in China. In thePhilippines municipalities receive 34%of national internal revenues.

Source: Financing cities in India: municipalreforms, fiscal accountability and urbaninfrastructure. 2016, by P. K. Mohanty

Box 1: Fiscal relations ininternational practice

The 74th CAA provides for a State FinanceCommission (SFC) within a state with amandate to improve finances ofmunicipalities within the state under Article243Y. Unfortunately, state governmentshave not empowered SFCs enough havingno incentive to share revenues with localgovernments. To make SFCs effective,stringent criteria for their composition maybe laid out and their constitution may besynchronised with Central FinanceCommission. Prasanth Regy and Prof. KajriMishra pointed out that the FourteenthFinance Commission made grants availableto panchayats and municipal bodies. Thiscan be supplemented with SFC grantsmaking predictable cash in-flow for localbodies for a five-year period. It will lead tobetter planning and execution ofdevelopmental works in urban areas.

In countries where municipal tax basket issimilar to that in India, there are sizeableformula based transfers form centralgovernment, often up to 70% of municipalrevenue (Mohanty 2016). In internationalpractice, there are different ways in whichnational governments ensure predictablefinances to local governments (see Box 1).

Taxation Reforms

Institutional Transfers

Inadequate Financing / 9

Lack of Devolution and Autonomy Other Possible Sources of Funds

As the current sources of finance for ULBsdescribed in previous section reveal, thefiscal powers devolved to ULBs are verylimited. In mobilising their revenues, whilethere is lack of devolution, municipalbodies are not endowed with sufficientfinancial autonomy either (Panagariya2014). The user charges for public utilitiesprovided by ULBs are fixed by stategovernments. For Property tax, which is amajor revenue stream for ULBs, tax ratesand exemptions are set by stategovernments. In some states, municipaltaxes are often used to gain politicalmileage. For example, there have beeninstances in states of Punjab, Rajasthan andHaryana, where state governments raisedexemption limits and/or lowered tax ratesconveniently before assembly elections(Ahluwalia 2017). The issue trickles down to ward level,wherein limited resources available withthe ULB are spent in favour ofcommercially important wards. Wardsseem to have limited say in the wayexpenditure plans are drawn for the city.

State owned parastatal agencies, e.g. DelhiDevelopment Authority, which areinvolved in urban infrastructuredevelopment, often dent potential revenuesource for the ULBs. While these structuresundertake capital works and create landmarkets, ULBs are left with maintaining andoperating the infrastructure generated(Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, GoI2017). Partha Mukhopadhyay asserted thatif the town planning function is assigned tolocal governments, they could unlock landvalue to undertake infrastructuredevelopment, especially smaller urbanareas where land values are still low. The Public Private Partnership or PPPmodel, which has not been very successfulin creation of capital intensive urbaninfrastructure in past experience (Pratap2014), can be revamped using newapproaches such as viability gap funding,better risk assessment and appropriaterevenue forecasting. Some cities such asAhmedabad and Pune have managed toraise funds from the capital market byissuing municipal bonds. See Box 2 below:

In June 2017, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) raised INR 200 Crore via bonds in openmarket as a first tranche of its planned 5-year 2300 crore bond program. The money wasraised for Pune’s ‘24X7 Water Project’ which aims to ensure availability of water to thecity for next 30 years. It became the first ULB to issue bonds since the publication of ‘Issueand Listing of Debt Securities by Municipalities Regulations, 2015’ by Securities andExchange Board of India (SEBI). PMC was rated AA+ for the issue based on its structuredpayment mechanism wherein the property tax, water tax will be included in the escrowaccount in addition to a debt service reserve account (DSRA), an interest paymentaccount (IPA) and a sinking fund account (SFA) to be managed by debenture trustees.

Source: Pune’s Pathbreaking Success in the Municipal Bond Market: A Case Study, March 2018 by: Kunal Kumar,Ulka Kalaskar, Kunal Mandwale, Prasad Thakur.

Box 2: Pune Municipal Corporation issues bonds

10 / Inadequate Capacity for Planning and Management

Inadequate Capacityfor Planning andManagementInstitutional Capacity

Urban governments are tasked with a rangeof functions. To deliver on these, ULBsneed appropriate financial, technical andadministrative capacity. Unfortunately, asexperience and literature suggests, localgovernments are grappling withinadequate capacity to address challengesof urbanisation. Prof. Kajri Misra explained how citieswithout requisite administrative andtechnical capacity could not take advantageof JNNURM. She pointed out that there isdearth of research on population living insmaller urban areas and metropolitan areasget disproportionate focus of researchersas well as the government. She highlightedthe role of a range of habitat professionalswho could catalyse urban planning andimplementation. The participants in the consultation felt thatcapacity for the provision of basicmunicipal services needed to beprioritised. Interventions such as JNNURMor Smart City Mission have also not addedcapacity to ULBs. Instead, planning underthese missions is outsourced toProject Management Units (PMUs). BothMisra and A. K. Jain cautioned that PMUsare not directly accountable to the

citizens. Overuse of such PMUs, and thelack of institutional capacity within theULBs, prevents the ULBs from being able todeliver basic urban services. Instead ofcontrolling municipal bodies, stategovernments could aid building capacitywithin ULBs in the areas of planning,financial management and new governancetechniques. Additionally, similar efforts arerequired in other departments, such aseducation and health, as well. In thisregard, Prof. Dinesh

Inadequate Capacity for Planning and Management / 11

Mohan suggests that efforts must beplaced in developing institutions in eachcity, within an educational/researchinstitution or otherwise, in order todevelop a large number of experts with amandate to provide solutions to respectiveurban area’s issues. He also points out that,for this solution to work, creating jobs inthis domain would be crucial.

Slow land acquisition has become anotherchallenge to urban growth. Often pace ofeconomic growth outstrips that ofinfrastructural development, such as inBengaluru. Different strategies have beenused to facilitate availability of land forurban development such as land pooling inDelhi, and Andhra Pradesh for new capitalof Amravati; negotiated land purchase inChhattisgarh for new capital of NayaRaipur; land sharing model used inVijayawada; and Town Planning Scheme inGujarat. These are few successful modelsimplemented across the country. AmiRawat said that land titles must to madeconclusive so as to address claims andcounter claims that impede the pace ofacquisition and challenge the developmentof land. Land record digitisation holdspotential in doing so. Karnataka and Odishain addition to four union territories havecompleted land record digitisation underDigital India Land Records ModernisationProgramme of Government of India.

Land Use Planning

Urban sprawl

Land Acquisition

Land Development

Land being a scarce resource, ensuringland supply for organized urban growthhas been a major challenge. Informal landmarkets and land divisions have spread inmost cities paying high dividends tosquatters (Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs, GoI 2017), as unlawfuldevelopments are often regularized(Zimmer 2012). While rendering low levelsof quality of life and inefficient use ofresources, these processes also fuel urbansprawl. Urban sprawl can be understood asdevelopment with low density housing,both commercial and residential,segregated land use with high personalvehicle use and low public transportation.Large metropolitan areas in India haveexperienced considerable urban sprawl asthey account for huge proportion of newurban population, putting immensepressure on land.

Dinesh Mohan, Honorary Professor, Indian Institute ofTechnology, Delhi

"Develop institutions inevery city to create

expertise"

A. K. Jain advocated for a certainpercentage of new land development to bereserved, especially in housing, for lowincome groups. A. K. Jain pointed out, andAshutosh Dikshit agreed, that in theprocess of urban development, mixed landuse could be an important driver ofemployment growth in urban areas. Mixeduse development of urban has thepotential to generate social capital andactivate deteriorated zones of a city andunlock greater land value (Nabil andEldayem 2015).


Transportation Planning

One of the key component of urban life isdaily commute. In absence of a capable androbust public transportation systems,under capacitated urban roads are chokedwith personal vehicles, wasting time andfuel, and adversely impacting air quality.Public transport systems also have animportant role to play in promoting genderequity in urban areas. New approaches to urban mobility such asmass rapid transit systems (MRTS) or‘metro’ must be appraised in this context.Last mile connectivity remains a criticalissue wherever such initiatives have beenundertaken (The Hindu 2018). There isgrowing consensus among experts thatbus transport is the future of urban mobility(Mukherjee 2018), as metro struggles withhigh capital investments, delays inconstruction due land acquisition issues,absence of viable last mile connectivity,etc. In doing so, additional buses need tobe added while reducing cost of travel andincentivising public travel (see Box 3).

After successful implementation of freepublic transportation in capital city ofTallinn that started in 2013, EstonianGovernment has offered free publictransport all over the country from July2018. The program is intended to reducecarbon emissions by promoting publictransport. Under the program, countiesin Estonia are free to opt in and offer freepublic transport in lieu of additionalfunding from national budget. Major European cities in France andGermany are drawing similar plans toreduce congestion and carbonemissions, while the United Kingdomhas started testing free weekend bustravels in Wales.

Source: World Economic Forum 2018

Box 3: Estonia makes publictransport free

Regional and Ecological Planning


Planning Institutions

Samarth Zillas

Kajri Misra advocates for a spatial land useplan at the district level. Many experts inthe consultation highlighted the need ofregional and/or district planning, statingthat an opportunity lies in activatingDistrict Planning Committees (DPC) andMetropolitan Planning Committees (MPC)as provided under 74th CAA. Theseinstitutions carry the mandate to produceregional plans for their respective areas. Anarray of planning authorities at differentlevels could be replaced by a DPC withclear and absolute planning authority todirect the growth of concerned urbanareas, which is accountable to people.Some states have created DPCs and MPCs,however, they need more clarity on theprocess and financing to make themeffective institutions of long term regionalplanning.

A regional planning approach thatrecognises the rural-urban continuum ofdevelopment, holds the potential to drivesustainable growth. Vijay Mahajanproposed a program called ‘SamarthZillas’, wherein district headquarter andsmaller towns in a district become centreand regional hubs, respectively, to driveplanning and growth of urban areas alongwith their respective rural hinterlands.‘Samarth Zillas’ has been proposed to havearound 1000 units. Such an approach canhelp create employment where theworkforce is, reducing the need of workrelated migration; providing better servicesto rural and urban areas; and improveinfrastructure across the country.

Ecological Sustainability Issues related to land and spatial planninghave an inescapable effect on an area’secological sustainability. As urban areas arecharacterised by high concentration ofpopulation, they put immense stress on thecarrying capacity of the area and impactbiodiversity, while limiting the quality oflife to a suboptimal level and creatinginequity in distribution of resources. Sanjay Prakash said that Indian cities do nothave the liberty of following the model ofgrowth and development used by westerncities, which is based on assumedunlimited supply of fossil fuels and ishighly unsustainable. Keeping India’senvironmental commitments in ParisAgreement and needs of growing urbanpopulation in perspective, the neo-liberaldevelopmental agenda being pushedthrough various channels to orient urbangrowth in India starts to fall apart. Indianeeds ingenious ways of creating habitableareas. Foremost areas of concern are depletion ofwater sources, both groundwater andsurface water such as lakes, ponds andwetlands; reduction in vegetation coverand air pollution. There are welldocumented cases of lakes in urban areasbeing encroached upon and ‘developed’(see Box 4) affecting local climate patterns.

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS, New Delhi

"We need to thinkbeyond Smart Cities, we

need Samarth Zillas"


Decreasing vegetation cover andincreasing built-up area is putting urbanareas at greater risk of disasters, forexample, severity of Chennai floods of 2015is attributed to improper watershed areamanagement, landfilling of lakes andpondsfor reclamation decreasing

In 1962, city of Bengaluru had 262 ponds, lakes and marshy wetlands. By 2007, while city’sbuilt-up area increased by 466%, this number has gone down to 127 of which 81 are live.This drastic change is attributed to anthropogenic activities under population pressureand unplanned urbanization in and around the city. Lake beds have been used to developpublic and private infrastructure instead of reviving the ecosystem that was crucial toBangalore’s climate. For example, Kempegowda Bus terminal is built on DharmambudiLake; Kateerava Stadium is built on Sampige Lake; and Hennur Lake is converted intoHBR Layout. The remaining lakes are not in a good condition either, with large amount ofuntreated industrial effluents making their way to the lakes. Some of them catch firespontaneously and make frequent headlines, most ominous being the Bellandur Lake.

Source: Namma Bengaluru Foundation

Box 4: Disappearing lakes in Bengaluru

A 2005 study conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to effects of airpollution in Delhi on its citizens found that lower respiratory symptoms such as drycough, breathlessness and chest discomfort was 80% more prevalent in Delhi; whileupper respiratory symptoms including sneezing and sore throat were 50% moreprevalent; both these variables positively associated with respirable suspendedparticulate matter (RSPM). 40% of Delhi’s residents had significantly reduced lungfunction which positively correlated with particulate air pollution. There were observedcell-level changes in sputum of citizens of Delhi highly correlated with PM10 level.Delhi’s non-smoking population had 230% more micronuclei than non-smokerselsewhere indicating high genotoxicity, which increases risk of developmental anddegenerative diseases. Since then, Delhi’s pollution levels have only increased, grabbinginternational headlines while putting its population at ever increasing risk of dangerousand chronic diseases.

Source: Epidemiological study on effect of air pollution on human health (adults) in Delhi, 2008. CentralPollution Control Board

Box 5: Delhi’s air pollution puts population at higher risk of diseases

permeability of the soil, and improperstorm water drainage systems. Rising airpollution levels due uncontrolled use offossil fuels for meeting energy needs,faulty construction practices, etc. arecausing serious health issues among urbanpopulation (see Box 5).


Capacity of Various Stakeholders

In meeting the requirements of fastchanging urban scenario, all stakeholders(other than governmental institutions asdetailed above) need to be capable ofunderstanding the breadth of issues thatconfront them. These stakeholders includecitizens, non-governmental organisations,political leaders, communities,professionals and businesses.

Madhav Pai highlighted the importance ofbuilding a standard minimum level ofcapacity of political leaders such as MLAsand Councillors in this regard, as they areresponsible for taking major decisions.Otherwise, over reliance on ‘experts’ fromconsultancies will be perpetuated. Capableleadership is also in a better position tobreak the information asymmetry andguide citizens.

16 / Inadequate Attention to Employment and Social Aspects

Inadequate Attentionto Employment andSocial AspectsEmployment – Formal and Informal

Skill Development

Cities Matter

Indian cities, traditionally, are known forspecific skill set that their workforcepossess, and a unique product whereinskill development took place throughinformal structures, e.g. Benarasi sarees,Kohlapuri chappals; Rampuri knives, etc.Due to various factors such as ban on cattleslaughter affecting leather industry; glassbangle industry in Firozabad being in TajTrapezium Zone; fierce challenge of cheapChina made goods; etc., these traditionalindustries are struggling to hold ground(Wilkes and Bhardwaj 2017) (Chaturvedi2017). Some policy support can revivemany traditional arts and crafts by creatinga market for these products. Alternatively,workforce needs to be reskilled to entersmall and medium scale industries, whichare positioned strategically to drive urbanemployment growth and reduce poverty.Unfortunately, this has not happenedeither, as formally skilled workforceconstitutes under 3 percent of total,according to Labour Bureau Report of2013-14. Madhav Pai calls for identifyingmajor job anchors specific to cities lookingbeyond IT sector. In context of spurringemployment growth through

small and medium scale industries,metropolitan areas could utilise economiesof agglomeration to manufacture labourintensive products.

Urban areas hold the key to employmentgeneration and steady economic growth.The state governments and politicalleadership have long neglected this factdue to various reasons (see section onpolitical underrepresentation). Forexample, the state of Punjab having reapedthe fruits of green revolution, did

Inadequate Attention to Employment and Social Aspects / 17

not outline its urbanisation andindustrialisation strategy post economicreforms of 1991. As a result, cities in Punjabcould neither drive state’s economicgrowth, nor transform its agricultural baseto take it up the value chain (Ahluwalia,Chaudhari and Sidhu 2008). Consequently,state’s economic growth has remainedstagnant and below national average inpast two decades, as per EconomicStatistical Organisation (Punjab) data. There is evidence and experts agree thatnon-farm activities have driven job growthand also fuelled urbanisation in India. From2004-05 to 2011-12, while share of industryand services combined in employmentincreased from 45.5 percent to 52.9 percent,employment in India grew by meagre 1.5percent. In urban India, employment grewby 17.5 percent in the same period, majorityof it (almost 90%) as informal employment.In 2001-11 decade, urban populationincreased by more than 90 million, anunprecedented climb (Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs, GoI 2017).

individuals and within communities, andthe resources that it generates (Nabil andEldayem 2015), is helpful in accessingminimum sources of livelihood (Mitra2010). Government’s response to urbanpoverty through improving livelihood musttake cognizance of such areas where socialcapital plays a significant role. This has thepotential of generating employment inmicro, small and medium enterprises,which have the highest share of informalemployment.

Employment in urban India is largelyinformal. From 2004-05 to 2011-12, share ofinformal employment in total remainedabove 90 percent. Even in organised sector,share of informal employment grew from48 percent to 54.6 percent over the sameperiod, as per the Economic Survey 2015-16. This informality has to be seen as anopportunity in strengthening livelihoodactivities while promoting micro and smallindustries. Key feature of informalstructures is the utilisation of social capital.Social capital which refers to connections,trust and reciprocity among

Informality

Women

Engendering Institutions Women have occupied considerable sharein urban workforce with participation rategrowing at 5.4 percent per annum, largelyin the unorganised sector (Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs, GoI 2017). Thisreality is yet to be accommodated in urbanpolicies of the country. Suneeta Dhar,Director of Jagori, contended that womenneed to be identified as autonomousbeings irrespective of their employmentstatus. Huge differences in wage rates,unavailability of support infrastructure forwomen working as domestic help hasmade it difficult for them to improve theirlivelihoods. Suggesting gender analysis ofannual budgets, policies and schemes ofthe government, Dhar called forapplication of a rigorously developedchecklist for this purpose. Genderresponsive budgeting has been in practicearound the world (See Box 6). Government of India also introducedgender budgeting in 2005, however, first, itis restricted to public expenditure and doesnot extend to non- governmental agenciesor organisations; and second, it is in theform of review of


existing budgets through a gender lens asagainst designing ex-ante programs forwomen. Ex-ante programs call for sensingthe needs of women in an iterative process,formulating appropriate strategies, makingplans and preparing budgets accordingly,implementing the plans and continuousmonitoring and evaluation of the wholeprocess (Rudra 2018). While Government of India has come upwith separate budget component calledNirbhaya Fund, aiming to enhance securityof women in cities, most of it remainsunutilised. Instead, Dhar suggested thatthe fund should be also used for installingother provisions for women in publicplaces. Apart from correcting disparity inprovision of basic public utilities in terms ofnumber available for men and women,

other provisions such as sanitary napkinsdispensers, etc. must be made available ingreater number.

Australia is a pioneer in gender responsive budgeting having initiated the same frombudget of 1984-85 by announcing a Women’s Budget Statement. It had its roots in 1970sand early 1980s when institutionalization of feminism was at its peak and Australiadeveloped national women’s policy machinery. During this time, a considerable numberof feminist activists engaged within state bureaucracy, as the movement viewedgovernment’s machinery as an avenue to promote social justice. This movement wassupported by the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 at the national level and anti-discriminationlaws at state level. Another legislation in support was the Affirmative Action (EqualEmployment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, aimed at preventing sexualdiscrimination in the workplace through education and standards setting. The Office ofthe Status of Women was established in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinetproviding policy direction to gender focal points in government departments. Financialsupport was made available to women’s advocacy groups and women’s services; andmonitoring was done by means of a parliamentary committee. On account of active leadership from within the government and outside, there were farreaching reforms in Australia leading to better terms for women in sectors with highproportion of women employees, tax benefits, better child care support, maternityallowances, etc.

Source: A Case Study of Gender Responsive Budgeting in Australia, 2017, The Commonwealth.

Box 6: Australia shows the way for Gender Responsive Budgeting

Access to Transport As per Institute for Transportation andDevelopment Policy (ITDP), higherpercentage (often twice as much) ofwomen walk to their workplace ascompared to men in all major cities in India.Based on various studies, ITDP points tocharacteristics of women’s transportationin urban India. Women’s use of bicyclesremains very low as compared to men.Women depend largely upon bus transportto commute, varying form 25 percent inMumbai to 37 percent in Bhopal. The shareincreases in economically weaker sectionsto as high as 67 per cent women using busservices.


Women take shorter trips than men andusually depend on off-peak peripheralroutes which are dominated by informalpublic transport systems as compared toradial routes connecting city’s centre. Transportation facilities or lack thereof,affects women more than men, as womenmake higher number of trips for variouspurposes, making travel costlier. On top ofall this, sexual harassment of women inpublic spaces and public transport remainsa serious concern. Crowded publictransport options in cities, with higherprobability of violence and insecurity, leadto forced immobility. These concerns haveyet to be fully incorporated in urbanmobility policies. Various solutions havebeen proposed to tackle this, such as,benchmarking in urban transport plans anddefining gender responsive indicators;increasing cycling share of women;creating safer environments for travel andwork considering measured mobility andwork patterns; engendering publictransport authorities, etc.

buildings, workplaces, commercialactivities, public utilities, religious, cultural,leisure or recreational activities, medical orhealth services, law enforcement agencies,transport infrastructure, among others. In 2015, the “Accessible India” (SugamyaBharat Abhiyan) campaign was launchedwith an objective to make it convenient forpersons with disabilities to accessbuildings and transport facilities. The SmartCity Mission also has objectives forassisting persons with disabilities to ensureaccess to pathways and publictransportation and to design accessiblebuildings, hospitals, recreational areas,public toilets, etc. The same can be validfor the elderly. Indian cities can learn fromthe city of Barcelona, Spain in which 20percent of the population is over the age of65. It launched an internet based solution,‘Vincles BCN’ to address isolation of theelderly (Refer Box 7). The project wasconceptualised and implemented byBarcelona City Government focusing oncity’s specific challenge.

The Disabled and the Elderly

Indian cities are exceptionally unfriendly tothe disabled and the elderly and severelyrestrict their mobility without assistancefrom others such as family members. Indiahas around 80 million people withdisability, which may be age related,accident related or due to some medicalconditions. According to the Word Bank,one in every 12 households in India has aperson living with disability. The Rights ofPersons with Disabilities Act, 2016, tried toaddress some of the concerns faced bydifferently-abled persons in India. The Actspecifically refers to ease of access topublic or private


Vincles means ‘social ties’ in Catalan – ties to family, caregivers, neighbours. Vincles BCNapp allows its users to engage in activities with their trusted networks, such as makingcalls, sending and receiving multimedia content, sharing a calendar and transferringmoney easily and safely, so that they no longer feel isolated or lonely, and can moreeasily find help when they need it, while at the same time continuing to liveindependently. The project was awarded winner of Bloomberg Philanthropies EuropeanMayors Challenge 2014.

Barcelona, Spain estimates that one in four of its citizens will be over 65 by 2040. The citybelieves that dependence on fragile informal networks results in an increasingly isolatedageing population. This not only reduces quality of life, but also creates a healthcareburden: lonely individuals are more likely to develop health complications. Vincles BCN:Collaborative Care Networks for Better Ageing aims to use a customised social mediaapplication on web-enabled tablet computers to more tightly connect the seniorpopulation.

Source: LSE Cities, 2014

Box 7: Vincles BCN: building a social media network to support seniorcitizens


Poverty

As per official estimates urban povertyreduced from 25.70 percent in 2004-05 to13.7 percent in 2011-12, with steepest fall ofaround 7 percent coming in last two years(Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, GoI2017). While issues with defining povertyline remain, counting poor in the cities hasalways been challenging given circular andseasonal migration of large casualworkforce working in industries likeconstruction, quarrying, etc. Also, auniform poverty line cannot be appliedcountrywide, as cost of living varies greatlyamong states and cities. A report onEstimating the Investment Requirementsfor Urban Infrastructure Services (2011) byHigh Powered Expert Committee suggeststhat incidence of poverty is greater insmaller urban areas than in metropolitanareas.

Under JNNURM, the Urban Infrastructureand Governance component was well-funded, while the Basic Services to UrbanPoor component was poorly funded(Coelho and Maringanti 2012). Suchsegregation carries on into various urbangovernance structures by targeting thepoor, which is enhanced by identificationtechnologies such as biometrics basedUID. Addressing urban poverty requiresfocus on generating employment andbetter opportunities for improvedlivelihoods. There exists spatial segregation ofpopulation based on caste, religion,ethnicity and regional background in Indiancities, as per Ghazala Jamil, author of thebook “Accumulation by Segregation:Muslim Localities in Delhi”.

Market forces often fail to rectify thissegregation, in fact sometimes evenreinforcing and monetising the prejudicesupon which these are based. For example,someone from Muslim community may notbe able to buy a house in upper class Hinducolonies even if they have the financialresources at their disposal, said Jamil. Thisprocess is operationalised through spatialreconfiguration based on class inequalities.The consequent exclusionary citizenship ischallenged by these marginalised groups. Spatial segregation based on variousdifferences seems to have made socialfabric of the cities vulnerable to communalinstability and created a room for identitypolitics. Cases of discrimination andviolence against people from northernstates in Mumbai and north-eastern statesin Bengaluru are well documented. As perJamil, segmentation of labour marketsmanifests

in the form of spatial segregation; whereincaste and communal prejudicesoperationalise labour immobility. Forexample, in urban areas, jobs in sanitationare still largely with Dalit community. Theabove-mentioned communal forms ofsegregation converge with class basedsegregation (Fernandes 2004). To conclude the consultation, it was widelyasserted by the participants, that whilecitizen participation and representation ingovernance processes – planning,budgeting, monitoring of services and soon, was weak in general, it was virtuallynon-existent as far as the informal sectorworkers, women, the disabled, the elderlyand the poor were concerned. This willhave to change if Indian cities have tobecome more inclusive habitations.


Gist of Consultation on Understanding Urbanisation / 23

Gist of Consultationon UnderstandingUrbanisation

Participation, Governance, ULB Capacity and Financing Issues Recommendations Issues / ProblemsThemes

CitizenParticipation inGovernance andEnsuringAccountability ofUrban LocalBodies (ULBs)

ULBs still largely controlledby appointed officials whoare not accountable to theelectorate. Stategovernments are reluctant togive powers to urban localbodies. There is too much top-downdecision-making. (e.g. trucktraffic diversion from Delhi ormoving industries out fromDelhi. Lack of consultativemechanism to consultcitizens. Lack of accountability due tono clear departmentalisationof work. Running programs andservices through PMUs isreducing administrativeaccountability.

Need better implementation of 74thAmendment which created and gavepowers to ULBs. (Voter aggregation) through delimitationissue requires amplification. Will provideadequate political representation. Delimitation being done with politicalmotives, impacting reservations. Need to maintain a balance between stategovt. and ULBs powers distribution. Givemore autonomy to ULBs. Need to develop processes forcontinuous engagement with the public.Taking public into confidence is publicleaders job. Community level discussions should beencouraged. Direct democracy indecision making can be tried throughdigital technology –Kerala govt.attempted. Instead of focus on devolution of 3Fs(funds, functions and functionaries).Focus on 6 Ks (Karyakaram, Kosh,Karyakrata, Karyapaditti, Karyasanskrati,Karyalya) Police and judicial reforms also requiredfor holistic change. Citizen engagement will enhanceaccountability of local leaders andbureaucrats. Establishing an urban developmentecosystem by involving a range of actors–ULBs, Civil Society, Universities andResearch Institutions, Business andIndustry, etc. as illustrated for the revivalof Pittsburgh in the book by Katz andNovak (2017) “New Localism”, Brookings.

24 / Gist of Consultation on Understanding Urbanisation

Themes Issues / Problems Recommendations Capacity Buildingof ULBs

Urban towns could not takeadvantage of JNNURM due tolack of technical andadministrative set-up Public sector constitutes only3% of the population. Thecapacity of ULBs is still quiteweak. Consultancy Raj’ should bediscouraged as it requires lowlevel knowledge and isdeprived of any institutionalaccountability

Capacity building of electedrepresentatives essential. Special focus is required on this account.Identifying a range of habitatprofessionals. Need to develop institutions in every cityto provide solutions to the city’sproblems. Need to develop large number of experts. Providing ‘respectable’ government jobswill lead to expertise. Focus on enhancing accountability andprofessionalism while buildinginstitutions. Local embedded expertise should bepreferred but one which has knowledgeof global best practices

Financing UrbanDevelopment

Urban development haslargely been financed by cityauthorities (like DDA)acquiring agricultural land,developing it into urban, andselling at a premium, orbuilding access infrastructurelike ring roads and metrosand financing those throughsale of large tracts to privatedevelopers (as in Hyd) hasbeen the model so far.Monetary returns to decision-makers is becoming theprimary motive behindapproval of projects is settingwrong precedent. Citizen’smandate is not reflected inthe decision making.

As 60% of the urban population resides inthe small towns. Land Value in thesetowns is comparatively low whichbroadens the scope for more democraticapproach. Can be done through providingmore financial control to the urban localbodies. Need to ensure the funds from the centrereaches to district level. Finance Commission can give directfunds to the cities or centre should use itsfunds to persuade state govt. to givemore powers to local bodies. Intra-city distributions of funds needs tobe more equitable – at present only a fewrich wards get most of the funds

Gist of Consultation on Understanding Urbanisation / 25

Social, Economic and Technical Issues Themes Issues / Problems Recommendations Social andGenderConcerns

How to improve women’saccess to public transportand public spaces? More than90% working women are inunorganised sector. How toensure their livelihoods areimproved. Urban spaces are ghettoizedinto different segments basedon class, caste, communities.Contrary to popular belief,communities are not solelyresponsible for segregation.Outsourcing of thegovernment services toNGO/civil society istransforming the relationsbetween different classes andthe state.

Need to recognise women asautonomous beings in urban sectorpolicy. Changing the mindset will requirelong term and more holistic policieswomen. Gender analysis of policies and programsmust be done. CCTV cameras will not beeffective. Focus on adequate toilets forwomen. Markets tend to monetise the prejudicesleading to further segregation of themarginalised communities. Need to focuson process of segregation and countermarket forces through state andcommunity action.

Employment andLivelihoods

Non-farm activities biggercause of urbanisation Caste and communalprejudices are mechanismsthrough which immobility oflabour are operationalised,e.g. SCs in sanitation.Premature deindustrialisationthrough SC/NGT judgmentscause of unemployment inDelhi.

Mixed land use can help in generatingemployment opportunities. Identify 3-4 major job anchors in eachmetropolitan city, look beyond IT sector.So-called “illegal” informal sectoractivities, often allowed throughcorruption, generate a lot of jobs andprovide much needed services affordably,so should be re-evaluated.

Urban orRegional(Rurban)Planning

Need to promoteArea/District specificplanning. Planning needs to improvebut there is a need to focuson implementation andensuring basic routines arewell-managed. Disproportionate attentiongiven to metropolitan cities.Lack of research on urbantowns with smallerpopulation. Over-emphasis on findingcausal relationship majorlimitation of urban sectorresearch.

Local bodies should prepare plans forsocial justice and economic development(as specified in the Constitution).Governance system of each city shouldtake into cognizance multiple factors likesize, legal framework, administrativesetup etc. Cities should focus on both lovability andlivability – which means not only goodinfrastructure and services for the better-off segments, but also for all and theopportunity to make a living throughjobs. Focus on the basic necessities first. Solidwaste management, water and sanitationprogrammes should be prioritised. Need to make cities affordable, especiallyhousing. This is directly dependent onland pricing.

26 / Gist of Consultation on Understanding Urbanisation

Themes Issues / Problems Recommendations Urban orRegional(Rurban)Planning (Continued)

Strong land policy required –a spatial land use model fordistricts. Long term planning is absentas the elected representativeshave no background ortraining in this and ULB staffhardly has any planners. Need to focus on the last mileconnectivity and not justmetro network expansion.Cannot replicate westernmodel. Do not have the fossilfuels or labour at our disposallike western cities. Excessive emphasis oninfrastructural growth isexclusionary for urban poor.The smart city idea has notworked because it is narrowlyconceived, both in terms ofinfrastructure and services aslivelihoods.

Promote streets as public spaces –Rahagiri. Focus on regularizing informal land titles.Rethink zoning and permit mixed landuse. Fixed percentage of LIG flats. Need to protect water bodies – data iseasily available. Focus on next 1000 cities or rather urban –rural regions after the first 100 smartcities. Move from Smart Cities to SamarthZillas, where district HQs and smallertowns along with their rural hinterland arethe units of planning for bothinfrastructure & services and livelihoods.

References / 27

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Panagariya, Arvind. "Space, services andthe state." In Governing urban futures, by P.Rode, P. Shankar, & S. Vahidy (Eds.) R.Burdett, 39-40. London: LSE Cities, 2014. Pratap, Kumar V. "Floundering Public-Private Partnerships." Economic & PoliticalWeekly, April 2014: 21-23. Press Information Bureau. Largest andSmallest Parliamentary Constituencies inTerms of Number of Electors TotalElectorate Size in Largest 5 Constituencies15.4 Times of that in Smallest 5Constituencies . March 28, 2014.http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=104714 (accessed November 21,2018). Rudra, Shalini. "Gender-ResponsiveBudgeting: th A Task Ahead for India's 15Finance Commission." Observer ResearchFoundation. August 10, 2018.https://www.orfonline.org/research/gender-responsive-budgeting-a-task-ahead-for-indias-15th-finance-commission/(accessed November 29, 2018).

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Urbanisation Understanding · hereafter 74th CAA). Two principles at the core of this Act were (Leena, Sharma and Roy 2007): administering schemes and programs designed to address