According to Census 2011, 377.1 million Indian comprising 31.16 per cent of the country population live in urban areas. India’s urban populations is projected to grow to about 600 millions by 2031. Hence this urban surge has to be addressed through careful planning and policies.
Indian govt. has launched various policies and scheme to deal with the issues which include the Smart Cities Mission, National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy(2007), Swacch Bharat Mission and Management of Municipal Solid Waste. Yet , many challenges remain.
According to the high powered expert committee appointed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs, about 39 lakh crore was required for creation of urban infrastructure over the next 20 years. Raising resources of this magnitude is going to be a daunting challenge. The problem get further exacerbated by the current position of Urban local bodies to generate the revenue. Their efficiency stands at way below 50%. The way forward is to encourage the ULBs to raise resources through various innovative financial instruments such as municipal bonds, PPPs, Credit risk guarantees etc.