NITI Aayog has launched a report titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’ which presents measures to ramp up urban planning capacity in India. The report was released on September 16, 2021, jointly by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Shri Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr K. Rajeswara Rao.
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About the report:
- The report has made several recommendations that can unblock bottlenecks in the value chain of urban planning capacity in India. Some of them include programmatic Intervention for the Planning of Health, Re-engineering of Urban Governance, Revision of Town and Country Planning Acts.
- The report suggests that every city must aspire to become a ‘Healthy City for All’ by 2030.
- The report has also recommended a Central Sector Scheme named ‘500 Healthy Cities Programme’, for a period of 5 years. Under this priority cities and towns would be selected jointly by the states and local bodies.
What is Urban Planning:
Urban planning is the foundation for the 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.