Lok Sabha Question No. 4056 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-19
Subject: Assessment of Challenges in Urban Areas
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4056 TO BE ANSWERED ON DECEMBER 19, 2024

## ASSESSMENT OF CHALLENGES IN URBAN AREAS NO. 4056.   SHRI MUHAMMED HAMDULLAH SAYEED:

Will the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  made  any  assessments  on  the  current challenges  such  as  rapid  urbanisation,  climate-related  vulnerabilities, infrastructure  inadequacies  and  inequalities  being  faced  by  the  urban areas of the country;
- (b) if so, the details and the primary findings thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to address urban governance  issues  including  the  lack  of  local  ownership  and  decisionmaking in urban planning as seen in the limited transfer of functions under 74th Constitutional Amendment to urban local Governments?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN

THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU)

(a) to (c) As per 12 th  Schedule of the Constitution of India, urban planning including  town  planning  is  the  function  of  Urban  Local  Bodies  (ULBs)/ Urban Development Authorities. The challenges of urbanization vary from State to State and city to city, based on the geographical and physiographical conditions. Government of India supplements the efforts of the States through schematic interventions/ advisories.

The  Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban  Affairs  (MoHUA),  Government  of India has issued Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 (https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/URDPFI%20Guidelines%20Vo l%20I(2).pdf) for adoption by the States/Union Territories for regulated and planned development. The issue of governance including urban governance has been covered in the URDPFI guidelines (chapters on Plan Formulation and Urban Planning Approach). The Chapter - 6 'Sustainability Guidelines' of URDPFI guidelines 2014 deals with sustainability and aspects of urban development  including  impact  of  climate  change,  environment  policies, planning for disaster management, etc.

MoHUA supports the States in strengthening/ augmenting the urban infrastructure through various schemes such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and AMRUT 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission ( Urban ) , Smart Cities Mission ( SCM ) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Urban ( PMAY -U ) for housing.

In order to incentivize States to undertake urban planning reforms, Department  of  Expenditure  (DoE),  Ministry  of  Finance  implemented following Schemes:

- i. Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 202223 - Part VI (Urban Planning Reforms) - The reform components included Modernization of Building Bylaws by removing contradictions and optimizing  land  use,  adoption  of  modern  urban  planning  tools  like Transferrable  Development  Rights  (TDR),  implementation  of  Local  Area Plans (LAP) and Town Planning Schemes (TPS), implementation of Transitoriented Development (ToD). Further States were incentivized for Creation of  Sponge  Cities,  Removing  Taxation  for  running  the  Buses  for  Public Transport.
- ii. Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 202324 - Part III (Urban Planning Reforms) - The reform components included augmentation of human resources by hiring of qualified urban planners, implementation  of  Town  Planning  Scheme  (TPS)/  Land  Pooling  Scheme, Modernization of Building Bylaws, promoting Affordable Housing and in-situ slum  rehabilitation,  Transit-Oriented  Development  (TOD),  Transferable Development Rights as planning tool, strengthening natural ecosystems of urban areas through urban planning, development of waterfronts etc.

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