Urban Development : Not-So-Smart Story : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.

Key phrases: PMAY-U, Housing for All, Smart Cities Mission, Urban Centers, lack a modern planning, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development, Inadequate funds for Infrastructure, financial capacity, Urban Transport, UN SDG 11.

Why in News?

  • Over the past few years, the allocation for the Ministry has increased but urban areas continue to suffer due to poor implementation of schemes, and inadequate financial and technical capacity of cities to meet the challenges of urbanisation. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, metro rail projects, and Smart Cities mission are worth viewing in this regard.

Context:

  • India has the second largest urban population in the world and by 2050, around 50% of India’s population i.e. 814 million is expected to live in urban areas.
  • Given this scenario, the present infrastructure and amenities in cities and towns are not adequate to address the expanding urbanization process.
  • The expenditure of the Ministry for 2022-23 is estimated at ₹76,549 crore (1.94 per cent of the Union Budget). This is an increase of 4 per cent over the revised estimates for 2021-22. Major allocations of the Ministry include PM Awas Yojana -Urban (PMAY-U) (37 per cent of the Ministry’s allocation), metro rail projects (31 per cent), and Smart Cities Mission (9 per cent).
  • Targets under PMAY-U may not be completed; the scheme may not be catering to its core target group. PMAY-U seeks to achieve the ‘Housing for All’ target in urban areas by 2022.
  • Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015, seeks to promote 100 smart cities having core infrastructure (such as water, electricity supply, sanitation, and public transport) through financial support (average ₹100 crore per city per annum) for five years. In 2022-23. The Mission has been allocated only ₹6,800 crore (a 3 per cent increase over the revised estimates of 2021-22).

Issues with the Urban Development in India:

Planning:

  • Many urban governments lack a modern planning framework. The multiplicity of local bodies obstructs efficient planning and land use. Rigid master plans and restrictive zoning regulations limit the land available for building, constricting cities’ abilities to grow in accordance with changing needs.

Inadequate Housing:

  • The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development (2021), while acknowledging the impact of Covid-19, observed the slow progress of PMAY-U. As of February 2022, 1.14 crore houses have been sanctioned under the scheme, of which, 48 per cent have been completed. The Committee recommended the Ministry to ensure that all targets are met by March 2022.
  • In 2012, it was estimated that economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income groups (LIGs) accounted for 96 per cent of the total housing shortage in India. Under PMAY-U, interest subsidy up to ₹2.6 lakh is given to beneficiaries from EWS, LIGs, and middle-income groups for constructing houses. The Standing Committee observed that in several States including Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, most of the beneficiaries receiving subsidies belong to middle-income groups. This suggests that the scheme implementation may not be catering to its core target group.

Lack of Service delivery:

  • Most services are delivered by city governments with unclear lines of accountability. There is a strong bias towards adding physical infrastructure rather than providing financially and environmentally sustainable services. Service providers are unable to recover operations and maintenance costs and depend on the government for finance

Inadequate funds for Infrastructure:

  • Urban transport projects other than the metro may be more viable for Indian cities: Over the past few years, the Ministry has allocated a substantial amount to metro projects. In 2022-23, expenditure on metro projects is estimated to be ₹23,875 crore (2nd highest allocation of the Ministry’s budget). In 2019, the Standing Committee on Urban Development observed that high allocation towards metro projects leads to inadequate funds for other schemes of the Ministry.

Irregularities in implementing of Program:

  • The Standing Committee Urban Development in 2021 had highlighted irregularities in the implementation of the Mission including the frequent dropping of projects after finalising proposals, redoing of the same work, and project costs being higher than the market rate.
  • As of February 2022, out of the total 5,151 sanctioned projects, only 3,480 projects (67 per cent) have been completed.

ULBs lack technical and financial capacity:

  • The schemes being implemented by the Ministry seek to decentralise the planning process to the city and state level, by giving urban local bodies (ULBs) a greater role in the implementation of programmes. For instance, under the Smart Cities Mission, cities have to generate revenue through various sources including market borrowings.
  • However, experts have noted that ULBs in India are among the weakest in the world both in terms of capacity to raise resources and financial autonomy. Municipal revenue in India accounts for only 1 per cent of the GDP (2017-18). ULB’s own revenue rose from 0.49 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 to 0.53 per cent in 2012-13 but has declined thereafter.

  • Several initiatives were launched by the government to promote urban infrastructure in the country.

  • The Smart Cities Mission: The Smart Cities Mission is a major urban renewal program launched by the Government to develop and upgrade living conditions and infrastructure in selected 100 cities all over the country.
    Objective of the programme is to modernize cities by providing core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions. The programme was officially launched on 25th of June 2016 and in the first phase, 20 cities will get funding for converting them into smart cities. In the next two years, the remaining cities will also participate in the project. Ministry of Urban Development is the anchoring agency for the implementation of the project.

  • Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Project: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) along with smart cities were jointly planned and launched by the government to transform urban living conditions through infrastructure up gradation. AMRUT is aimed at transforming 500 cities and towns into efficient urban living spaces over a period of five years. Ministry of Urban Development has selected the five hundred cities with the help of state governments.

  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban): The ‘Housing for All by 2022’ under the scheme of “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All (Urban)” launched by the central government aims to provide housing to all urban people by 2022. It provides central assistance to States and UTs for constructing houses to all eligible sections by concentrating on urban slums and economically weaker sections. Hence, slum rehabilitation and affordable housing to Economically Weaker Sections are the major features of the project.

  • Urban transportation: Several initiatives were taken to enhance public transport system including the Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS) approved for 11 cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The transportation system will be equipped with Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and Metro Rail Projects.

Way Forward:.

  • The Finance Ministry (2017) observed that an inability to service funding requirements impacts project implementation. Further, in 2011 a High Powered Expert Committee observed that ULBs have suffered due to the presence of untrained and unskilled manpower, and shortage of qualified technical staff.
  • It had recommended improving the capacity of ULBs by providing technical assistance to States and ULBs in planning, financing, monitoring, and operation of programmes.
  • NITI Aayog makes several recommendations that can unblock bottlenecks in the value chain of urban planning capacity in India. Some of them are:
    • Programmatic Intervention for Planning of Healthy Cities.
    • Programmatic Intervention for Optimum Utilization of Urban Land.
    • Ramping Up of Human Resources.
    • Ensuring Qualified Professionals for Undertaking Urban Planning.
    • Re-engineering of Urban Governance.
    • Revision of Town and Country Planning Acts.
    • Demystifying Planning and Involving Citizens.
    • Enhancing the Role of Private Sector.
    • Enhancing the financial capacity of ULBs.
    • Strengthening Urban Planning Education System.
    • Measures for Strengthening Human Resource and Match Demand–Supply
  • Note that in her 2022-23 Budget speech, the Finance Minister acknowledged the need for a paradigm change in urban planning. She announced that a high-level committee of urban planners, urban economists, and institutions will be formed to make recommendations on urban sector policies, capacity building, planning, implementation, and governance.

UN SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question:

Q. India has the second largest urban population in the world and by 2050, in this context discuss the issues with the Urban Development in India. What should be the measures to tackle these issues? Critically analyse.