Urban development initiatives in India, whether epitomised by the Smart Cities Mission, Urban Rejuvenation Mission (AMRUT), Swachh Bharat Mission, or livelihood missions envisioned by the Honourable Prime Minister, revolve around empowering citizens. These missions emphasise all social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, striving to enhance infrastructure, quality of life, and environmental cleanliness. Critical services like urban mobility, affordable housing, water and waste-water management, sanitation, solid waste management, and safety are being designed with universal access and inclusivity, and bolstered through enhancing the investment climate, job creation, and innovation. This is underpinned by ensuring that infrastructure and investment decisions consider immediate and future societal concerns.
One common thread that runs through all these national programs is their reliance on citizens as the bedrock of change. While these diverse programs have undoubtedly brought improvements in cities, comprehensively addressing their weaknesses and necessitating a call for an aspirational governance model at the local level, which not only fosters the spirit of democratic decentralisation but also empowers city governments to address their specific challenges actively.
The missions have become advocates for local actions, highlighting that transformation demands renewed efforts and re-evaluating engagement models with cities and citizens. The initiatives have underscored the need to create enabling conditions and provide the necessary tools to encourage and incentivise cities, ultimately manifesting visible impacts at the ground level. For this paradigm shift, cities must be recognised as the primary tier of governance, necessitating radical decisions regarding structural changes in urban governance systems, finances, and the power balance among the centre, states, and cities.
Drawing inspiration from the aspirational district and block program, there is a need to move towards aspirational city programs at the city level. The program should adopt similar fundamental principles of the Aspirational District Program, i.e. Convergence (of central and state schemes), Collaboration (among different players of quadruple helix), and Competition (among wards based on key performance indicators) – to stimulate local development.
India has been advocating the philosophy of ‘Sarvoday’ to ‘Antoday’, i.e., the ‘Development of a community as a whole’ to the ‘rise of the last person’ to build accessible and inclusive cities. In alignment with the ‘Antyodaya’ philosophy embraced by the central government, states must realise that the ‘Anta’ (last stratum) represents the marginalised groups with compounded vulnerabilities , and the ‘udaya’ (rise/start/beginning) of development must stem from the local level i.e., wards/neighbourhood Such an approach enables efficient and effective leadership in driving development.
Policies are often crafted behind closed doors within the confines of ministries and meeting rooms, creating a disconnect with the people—an eminent challenge in urban development. Mere efficient governance is insufficient; it must be both pro-people and proactive. Genuine good governance places people at the core of the development journey. The capacity to address local issues forms a compelling rationale promptly and effectively for endorsing decentralisation. When a locally elected representative possesses genuine decision-making authority, they are inclined to prioritise the improvement of daily lives within their community. This approach lends itself effectively to administering city-wide services and infrastructure since numerous infrastructure decisions depend on local factors like environmental conditions, topography, population density, and the city’s spatial layout. Moreover, the end-users predominantly belong to the local community, and sustained service maintenance necessitates locally-driven efforts. Community participation, consultation and engagement with the local groups and marginalised communities, therefore, become an critical aspect of aspiration and progressive cities. Consequently, this often fosters a lasting enthusiasm for collective action and should shape the Aspirational Cities Programme, attracting diverse development partners with varying expertise to bolster city administration.
The concept of “Aspirational Cities’’ aligns seamlessly with the essence of Antyodaya. This transformation holds the potential to unlock the true capabilities of a more vibrant and accountable local governance system. It involves identifying wards with the most tremendous development gaps and focusing on their holistic advancement. Strategic allocation of funds, setting priorities right, establishing frameworks for continuous monitoring and evaluation of the progress and involvement of all stakeholders are important contours. The holistic development of East London, eventually leading to the success of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, is a demonstrated example of such an intervention. National and local authorities tapped into innovative tools i.e, Index of Multiple Deprivation for development in pockets/wards level, which eventually assisted in measuring the relative deprivation in a small area, thereby supporting focused, localised, and determined interventions.
Advancing beyond traditional development paradigms is of paramount importance in devising cities that are accessible, secure, and inclusive. In conjunction with design principles and planning norms, a robust methodology must discern physical, psychological, social, economic, and institutional impediments to accessibility, particularly for marginalised demographics. The collaboration between the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and IIT Kharagpur has yielded an encompassing framework for inclusive cities, spanning some critical dimensions: Housing, Social and Physical Infrastructure, Outdoor Environment, Urban Mobility and Public Transport, IT Connectivity, Digitalization, Governance, Public Participation, Livelihood, Recreation, and Tourism. This framework delineates a procedural trajectory, commencing with data aggregation and scenario construction, progressing to planning, project execution, and vigilance, to assess the efficacy of proposed strategies within the Inclusive Cities Program (ICP). Moreover, it advocates conducting Citizen Perception Surveys (CPS) to glean valuable insights into citizens’ pre- and post-initiative experiences, thus facilitating the refinement and optimisation of urban development endeavours.
Similarly, to extend the principles of the Smart Cities Mission across the nation, the Smart City Mission has meticulously curated a pivotal toolkit entitled “Making a City Smart: Learnings from the Smart Cities Mission.” This comprehensive resource furnishes a systematic approach to grappling with India’s burgeoning urban landscape. These toolkits are poised to serve as guiding beacons, inspiring cities to aspire and mould their frameworks to embody the spirit of wisdom.
Based on the insights garnered from these initiatives and collective endeavours, a five-pronged strategy has been crafted to catalyse sound governance and inclusive frameworks to convert intentions to actions:
(1) Developing institutional structures (guidelines and standards, legal instruments, monitoring frameworks) that incentivise managerial efficiency and investment
(2) Establishing operational frameworks (disaggregate granular data for evidence-based decision making) that advances decentralisation and empowers local governance sufficiently;
(3 Equipping local governments with indispensable tools for successful urban management in modern India (e.g., accounting reforms, e-governance)
(4) Developing alliance of partners possessing diverse expertise; and
(5) Harnessing new skills and capacities through sharing processes and learnings to ensure equity and inclusion in urban development and city planning.
Aligning seamlessly with the ‘Antyodaya’ philosophy, promises India a brighter, more inclusive urban future. It advocates for transformative change, empowering the least privileged sections and ensuring our cities grow holistically, leaving no one behind. This vision is vital for aspirational city initiatives and the broader objective of building sustainable, inclusive, and equitable cities nationwide. The Hon’ble Finance Minister stated in the budget speech that a ‘business as usual’ approach towards urban planning would not work. A paradigm shift is needed to ensure future cities and urban infrastructure are environmentally friendly, accessible, user-friendly, and inclusive of all people’s needs. With the technological advancements and evolving citizen aspirations, India’s diverse and increasingly complex urban areas require a transformed approach towards city development.
By Hitesh Vaidya (Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs, MoHUA)