Open Forum

New Delhi, 30 July 2025

Indian Cities’ Potential

‘CHANGE GROWTH TRAJECTORY’

By Dhurjati Mukherjee 

A recent report titled ‘Towards Resilient & Prosperous Cities’, prepared jointly by the World Bank with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), covering 24 cities, has estimated that by 2050, India’s urban population would nearly double and reach 951 million and 70 percent of all employment would be generated in metros. While extreme heat has been projected in 25 large cities,the heat-treated fatalities are expected to double. 

In addition, surface floods are expected to rise between 75 and 100 percent in the above period.Without intervention, annual losses from stormwater or pluvial flooding are projected to rise from the current $4 billion to $5 billion by 2030 and could reach $14–30 billion by 2070 due to ongoing urbanisation and climate impacts. 

Not just this report, but Indian cities have been in the news for various reasons as high population density over the past few decades has posed an array of critical challenges. But India is not alone as most countries have been witnessing this dilemma. The growth of cities in India has been largely unplanned, leading to a myriad of problems and an urban mess that demands immediate attention. Though the cities face diverse problems, very little attempt has been made to tackle these challenges, mainly due to resource constraints faced by most state governments. 

The lack of rural development has witnessed influx of people from the villages and semi-urban areas over decades in search of employment but most, if not all cities, do not have the infrastructure to cope with the increasing population growth. One of the most glaring consequences of unplanned urban growth is the strain it places on existing infrastructure. Basic amenities like potable water supply, sanitation and transportation struggle to keep up with the escalating demands of an ever-expanding population. The result is an overburdened infrastructure that fails to meet the needs of its residents, leading to increased congestion, inadequate services, and a diminished quality of life. 

Unplanned urban growth has given rise to a significant increase in traffic congestion. With limited road networks and an unchecked surge in the number of vehicles, commuting has become a daily struggle in many cities. Traffic snarls not only waste valuable time but also contribute to increased fuel consumption, environmental pollution, and health hazards. The absence of comprehensive public transportation systems and proper planning further exacerbates the problem. But the most crucial aspect of the traffic problem is the rapid increase in accidents, specially in the metros and big cities, which occur almost daily.    

It’s worth noting that among metros, Kolkata has the highest vehicular density with over 2446 vehicles per kilometre of road. The city has around 46 lakh vehicles plying on 1850 km of road space while Delhi has substantially more vehicles (1.52 crore) and has around 34,000 km of toads, giving it a vehicular density of less than 400 per kilometre. As regards Kolkata, it can easily be said that over 40 percent of vehicles, most trucks do not follow environmental norms and, as such, emit black fumes.   

Thus, air pollution in all the metros and big cities has emerged as a severe problem in recent years, primarily due to large number of transport vehicles and even private buses emittingobnoxious fumes and polluting the environment. One can easily notice emissions from these vehicles which contribute to increased air pollution and environment and greatly affect those living in slums, squatter settlements and pavements. Greenhouse gas emissions are found to contribute up to 70 percent from the urban sector, though this occupies a negligible per cent of the earth’s surface. 

The other aspect of city life, at least in India, is frequent flooding, which even the World Bank report has pointed out. According to environmentalists, governments must conserve water bodies that are buffer zones. The loss of hundreds of lakes and ponds has contributed to the increase in urban flooding. Some of them have stated the urgent need of cleaning up water bodies, preserving open areas, creating sponge parks and reviving stepwells to lower flooding. Cities are aware of the problem but due to financial constraints can do much in this regard. 

Whether it is Delhi, Kolkata or Mumbai, quantum jump in residential cover, eating up farmland or vacant areas has hampered percolation of flood water. Down south Chennai is focusing on desilting and cleaning water bodies, stormwater drains and catch pits, while Delhi will soon have a drainage master plan, as per municipal officials. Urban flooding is a serious threat to public health in India. Large cities often experience spikes in dengue, typhoid, chikungunya, and leptospirosis, whenever water collects or is contaminated. Reports from CMC Vellore and other institutes indicate that India had 1 crore cases of typhoid fever in 2021, half of the world-wide total that year. 

All the problems witnessed in cities are obviously due to the rapid influx of people into cities that has resulted in a severe shortage of housing facilities with large sections of the population residing in slums. While recognised slums are a little better, squatter settlements are in a pitiable condition as they do not have the necessities of life and majority of metros and big cities are plagued with this problem.   

In such a situation, urban living has become a nightmare for most people.  With the density of population increasing every year added to the high levels of pollution, the lack of potable drinking water for a significant section of the population, the increase in slums and squatter settlements, uncontrolled diseases with overcrowding of hospitals have all contributed to make city life not all that comfortable. There is little greenery in the metros and big cities, making life even more miserable for old people. 

But thinking about the future and the huge population that would invade cities urban survival is imperative and this would depend on a massive infrastructural overhaul in terms of infrastructure and transportation. Huge investments are obviously called for but small steps like solar roof-top, systematic waste collection and management and low-carbon services are the need of the hour in the coming years to make cities liveable.  

The report warns: Indian cities will be unable to reach their full potential if they stayed on their current development trajectory. They are highly vulnerable to climate impacts because of the heavy concentration of people and assets and limited capacity to manage the impacts. The government must heed and read the writing on the wall. ---INFA 

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)