India Must Build Better Cities Not Just Bigger Ones

Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi, provost of Anant National University, said preparedness must widen beyond scale to include health, safety and quality of life.

The Smart Cities Mission produced a mixed record by shifting focus from conventional infrastructure to integrated area planning, technology enabled governance and citizen oriented service delivery while accelerating investments.

Much work remained project specific rather than enabling citywide transformation, and Vidyarthi argued housing, mobility, public spaces, environmental resilience and governance must be planned together.

Climate risks add urgency, with floods, heatwaves and water shortages increasingly affecting urban populations and infrastructure.

Vidyarthi noted that more than half of the housing required by 2070 is yet to be built, creating an opportunity to embed climate responsive design from the outset rather than rely on retrofitting.

He cited Kolkata’s flood forecasting and warning system, Chennai’s stormwater initiatives and Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan as instructive, and said Jaipur illustrates how heritage and planning can align.

Governance remains a central constraint despite foundation from the 74th Constitutional Amendment, with many urban local bodies lacking financial autonomy and decision making powers.

Vidyarthi recommended three priorities for Viksit Bharat 2047: strengthen urban local bodies with resources and citizen participation; focus on class III and IV towns to improve infrastructure and economic opportunities; and broaden planning to include air and water quality, public spaces and the ecological systems that sustain cities.

He added that technology such as artificial intelligence and digital twins can assist planners but cannot replace governance, which requires policies on equity, privacy and the digital divide.