Indian cities set for expansion, improved infra in the next 30 years: Durga Shanker Mishra

NEW DELHI: In the next 30 years, Indian cities will be revamped to accommodate migrating population from the rural pockets to the stretched-out urban landscape, said Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, on Thursday, September 16. Mishra, while speaking at the World Resources Institute’s annual flagship event ‘Connect Karo’, discussed the constraints and challenges faced by both India and Latin America during their urban development. 

The COVID-19 induced pandemic has slowed down the global economic pace of urban development. Mishra informed that India is channeling all its resources towards meeting its targets for infrastructure development projects. Various ongoing sanitation, infrastructure development, and management projects have been running across the country to further handle the needs of the nation for better infrastructure. Mishra reported that the aforementioned programs have started yielding results. 

A report published by WRI concluded that over 66 per cent of urban growth in India is beyond municipal limits. Expert analysis shows that there is a need for better urban and metropolitan planning. Mishra said that India’s urbanisation is about 35 per cent.