- In an ideal world, Indians would welcome the monsoon rains that would follow the excruciatingly hot summer months. When the first drops of rain appear on the horizon, this sentiment will reverberate across the country. People living in northern India would welcome monsoon rains because the preceding hot summer months would have sapped everyone’s energy. People in the South consider themselves fortunate to have avoided the harsh summer months in comparison to North India, but they still look forward to the rain-bearing clouds. As you are aware, erratic weather patterns caused by environmental degradation continue to wreak havoc all over the world.
PC: TNN
- In an ideal world, an aspirational India aiming to break into the big three economies would have all of its infrastructure bases covered admirably in line with the anticipated growth prospects. In this regard, urban areas play a critical role in providing the desired infrastructure support to potential investors. Aside from government assistance in the form of incentives and other tax breaks, providing adequate amenities in terms of power, roads, water, skilled and unskilled labor, and safety/security is critical for any industry to deliver goods on time. When the monsoon arrives, however, our cities are mostly inundated with flood waters, rendering the entire infrastructure adrift.
- The increase in India’s daily mean rainfall since the last week of June has highlighted the poor state of urban India’s infrastructure once again. Expectedly, marooned vehicles and urban chaos made headlines. However, the disruption in smaller urban areas has most likely been greater. If big cities’ infrastructure is inadequate to deal with the monsoon, emerging cities face a different issue. There is simply no infrastructure there. The increase in urban settlements over the previous decade was a highlight of the 2011 Census. The total number of urban settlements was 7,933. According to a Niti Aayog report from 2021, approximately 65% of these settlements lacked a master plan. Furthermore, nearly half of them are still governed as rural entities.
PC: TNN
- However, it is problematic because urban India is not only the primary engine of economic growth but also the location of the majority of future population growth. According to the GOI, urbanization contributed nearly 60% of GDP and will account for nearly 75% of population growth by 2036. Unfortunately, urban planners have fallen out of step with the evolution of urban settlements. One common criticism is that they are rigid and overly focused. One issue is that master plans fail to take into account the informal nature of urban India’s labor market. Without a doubt, political power must be devolved to urban local governments for those plans to be effectively monitored and implemented. Hopefully, the authorities understand this.
