E-Paper
Budget 2022: Focus on urban planning to push growth in cities
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the “business as usual” approach cannot continue in urban planning as nearly half of the country’s population will be living in cities by 2047
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced several measures, including setting up of a high-level committee of experts, to steer a paradigm change in the approach towards urban planning and making cities centres of economic growth.
While presenting the budget for 2022-23 on Tuesday, Sitharaman said the “business as usual” approach cannot continue in urban planning as nearly half of the country’s population will be living in cities by 2047, when India will celebrate 100 years of independence.
Sitharaman said orderly urban development is critical for mega cities to become centres of economic growth and Tier-2 and 3 cities to gear up for the future. “This would require us to re-imagine our cities into centres of sustainable living with opportunities for all, including women and youth.”
She added: “A high-level committee of reputed urban planners, urban economists and institutions will be formed to make recommendations on urban sector policies, capacity building, planning, implementation and governance.”
The allocation for the housing and urban affairs ministry saw an increase from budget 2021-22 estimates of ₹54,581 crore to ₹76,549.46 crore for 2022-23. The revised estimate for 2021-22 was ₹73,850.26 crore.
The allocation for housing for government employees and office spaces has been increased from the Budget 2021-22 estimate of ₹2352.01 crore to ₹3,474.01 crore for 2022-23; the revised estimate was ₹2589.5 crore for 2021-22. Of the ₹3474.01 crore, ₹2600.99 crore has been allocated for construction of the non-residential component, including development of Central Vista, Parliament House and Supreme Court of India. The revised budget estimate for this component in 2021-22 is ₹1833.43 crore.
The finance minister also said that five institutes will be designated as “Centres of Excellence” for capacity building in urban planning, and be given ₹250 crore each.
Experts acknowledged that while largescale investments are being done by both the Centre and state governments in cities, lack of urban planning remains a major concern and that some of the problem is due to a shortage of urban planners in the country.
Last year, government think tank NITI Aayog’s report titled “Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India” highlighted the shortage of urban planners in the country and recommended the need for capacity building. According to the report, 63% of the 7,933 towns and cities (urban settlements) in India do not have master plans, which are considered critical for managing urbanisation challenges.
The FM also said that world-class foreign universities will be allowed in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) to offer programmes in financial management, science, and technology free from domestic regulations.
She added that the government will promote the use of public transport in urban areas. Urban planning concepts such as Transit Oriented Development (TOD), Sitharaman said, will facilitate reforms so that people can live and work closer to mass transit systems.
The allocation to development of mass transit systems (National Capital Region Transport Corporations) and metro projects across the country, including capacity building in urban transport sector, saw a marginal increase in allocation from Budget 2021-22 estimate of ₹23, 500 crore to ₹23,875 crore for 2022-23.
Another big challenge in cities is providing housing, especially to urban poor. The FM announced that 80 lakh houses will be completed under centre’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), both in rural and urban areas, in 2022-23; ₹ 48,000 crore has been allocated to this. She also said the Centre will work with the state government to reduce the time required for all land and construction related approvals and for promoting affordable housing for middle class and Economically Weaker Sections in urban areas.
Welcoming the announcements, Jignesh Mehta, master of urban planning, program chair, at CEPT University, said, “There is a dearth of urban planners at the city level due to which state level town planners are burdened with the additional responsibilities. It is important to have urban planners at the city level for a more comprehensive area specific planning. With Metro facilities coming up in several cities, the areas it will be passing through and areas that need to be incentivised should be carefully calibrated.”
Mehta added that schemes such as Transit Oriented Development are important: “One size fits all approach will not work in cities. Planning Transit Oriented Developments are important but have to be planned based on the requirements of each city.”
