I had heard a story about ‘Stone Soup’, where a mother made stone soup by adding stones to a pot of plain boiling water and continuously stirring stones to keep hope to satisfy her children’s hunger. The story stayed with me; however, this story has taken on a new meaning while reflecting on a worrying trend in our approach towards urban development. We seem stuck in a loop when planning and reforming, endlessly stirring the pot without serving the meal.
Despite having numerous reports, committees, and policies dedicated to urban issues, we find ourselves in a situation akin to the ‘stone soup’ story. For example, from the Group of Secretaries report, the draft National Urban Policy, the India Habitat III report, Urban Renaissance, the Urban Planning Capacity Reform report, and the recent High Powered Committee report on Pathways to Amritkaal, to the Prime Minister’s emphasis on climate and circularity, and the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s budget speech all highlight the need to transform cities as engines of economic growth, ingredients for impactful change are all there.
Instead of cooking up a feast, we keep adding more stones to the pot—forming new committees, rehashing old debates, and delaying crucial action. This ‘stone soup’ syndrome is evident in our glaring absence from UN-Habitat’s Global State of National Urban Policy (NUP) report. While 78 countries have articulated their urban visions, India, home to the world’s second-largest urban population, remains a blank page. The situation’s urgency is pressing, and we cannot afford to delay any longer.
The common themes highlighted in the NUP reports are urban systems and networks, inclusive growth, environment and climate, engagement capacity and M&E, financing infrastructure, economic development, skills, and innovations. We have also been evolving on these fronts and have highlighted the same issues in many of these reports. Why are we so hesitant to move beyond analysis and embrace action? Why are we content with symbolic gestures and checking boxes syndrome instead of tangible progress? Perhaps we’ve become too comfortable with the status quo, fear disrupting existing power structures, or lack the political will to translate grand visions into ground realities or a lack of coordination with different agencies pulling in various directions. It’s time to prioritise tangible progress over symbolic gestures. Furthermore, examining the driving forces behind these urban initiatives is crucial. While many must be undoubtedly well-intentioned, it’s essential to ask: whose vision is genuinely being driven? The disconnect between rhetoric and reality needs to be addressed if we want to see meaningful progress. Whatever the reason, the cost of inaction is far too high.
This inaction has real-world consequences, hindering our cities’ potential and eroding public trust. It’s time to break this cycle.
It’s time to move beyond the endless stirring of the ‘stone soup’ and start cooking up real solutions. We can avoid people losing faith in the system, leading to apathy and disengagement. We need a unified national vision for urban development that empowers local governments and prioritises citizen participation.
We need streamlined processes and a focus on implementation, not endless committees. India’s urban future hinges on our ability to transform our ‘stone soup’ into a nourishing meal. We have the ingredients, the knowledge, and the potential; all we need is to ignite the fire of action and create cities that are truly worthy of their people.
Author is an Urban Practitioner, Former Director of NIUA, and Country Representative UN-Habitat India.