New Delhi, June 20
India Inc. must take up infrastructure building in cities in partnership with municipal corporations as the country is expected to add 70 million new urban residents in the next two decades by 2045, a senior official said on Friday.
Addressing a CII conference here, D Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said that there is a disconnect between India’s economic ambitions and the capacities of its urban local bodies, so the private sector needs to be proactively engaged in the urban development of the country.
“India is a rich nation with poor municipalities,” she remarked.
She was delivering the keynote address at a CII conference on ‘Exploring Urban Dynamics: Outlook 2030’.
She said the growing urban population poses challenges and opportunities as the country will see the creation of many more cities, calling for a pragmatic, revitalisation-first approach to urban development.
She underlined the need for targeted interventions to upgrade existing cities, backed by significant investment. The proposed Urban Challenge Fund, she explained, is intended to catalyse this transformation with a mix of 25 per cent public sector seed funding, 50 per cent market capital, and 25 per cent state contribution.
“It’s not about building afresh,” she said, “It’s about fixing what already exists - legacy infrastructure, greenfield areas, and urban governance systems.”