NITI Aayog on September 16, 2021 launched a report on measures to ramp up urban planning capacity in India.
- The report, titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’, was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Shri Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr K. Rajeswara Rao.
- India is home to 11% of the total global urban population. By 2027, India will surpass China as the most populous country in the world. Unplanned urbanization, however, exerts great strain on our cities. In fact, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the dire need for the planning and management of our cities.
- Urban planning is the foundation for an integrated development of cities, citizens, and the environment. Unfortunately, it has received due attention so far. The existing urban planning and governance framework is complex, which often leads to ambiguity and lack of accountability.
- The report makes several recommendations that can unblock bottlenecks in the value chain of urban planning capacity in India
