India needs thriving cities to reap benefits of potential demographic dividend i.e. a young and rapidly growing population. It is estimated that an additional 26 cities of one million or more will be added in India by 2030 to its 42 one million plus cities today. Also, by 2030, the population in cities will soar to 590 million (340 million in 2008). According to a new MGI research, cities could generate 70 percent of net new jobs created to 2030, produce around 70 percent of Indian GDP, and drive a near fourfold increase in per capita incomes across the nation.
To achieve this. Indian cities needs to be more sustainable. However, Indian cities are deeply dissatisfying, with a glaring incompatibility between aesthetic engagement and utility. Our cities are today marked with traffic congestion, the absence of reliable public transportation, the unsympathetic view towards pedestrian rights, the lack of adequate road signs and the creation of new bottlenecks by new flyovers. Building livable cities should be the goal of the development.
According to the McKinsey report, however, India has sufficient time and the means to address many of these issues. The report has outlined 5 strategies to meet its urban financial obligations. These are:
1. Monetize land assets.
2. Maximize property taxes and usage charges.
3. Establish a formula-based grants systems from state and central government.
4. Use appropriate debt and private-sector participation (public-private partnerships).
5. Create enabling systems and city development funds to facilitate use of revenue sources.
In the light of the above, urban sustainability has become a very important issue today.
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