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Picture Courtesy: THE HINDU

Context:

A World Bank report highlights Indian cities' potential for economic growth, with 70% of new jobs expected by 2030. However, extreme weather events could result in billions of dollars in future losses, requiring timely action.

WORLD BANK REPORT “TOWARDS RESILIENT AND PROSPEROUS CITIES IN INDIA”

Why Indian cities are facing a "crisis"?

The World Bank report titled “Towards Resilient and Prosperous Cities in India”, prepared in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Population Boom and Housing Shortage => India’s urban population is expected to almost double by 2050 to 951 million and more than 144 million new homes will be needed by 2070.

Unplanned Growth => Nearly all Indian Cities grow without a proper plan. This leads to problems like:

Slums: When there aren't enough affordable homes, lack basic facilities like clean water or proper sanitation.
Strained Services: Schools become overcrowded, roads get jammed, and clean water supplies run low because of population pressure.

How climate change are creating challenges for Indian cities?

Urban Heat Island Effect => Cities, with their concrete buildings and fewer trees, get much hotter than surrounding rural areas.

City centers can be 3-4°C hotter. This "urban heat island effect" makes life uncomfortable and even dangerous during heatwaves.

Urban Flooding => Cities have too much concrete and not enough open ground or green spaces, rainwater has nowhere to go and can't soak into the ground. As a result, even moderate rain causes severe flooding, disrupting daily life and damaging property.

Economic Losses => All these climate impacts damage infrastructure, stop businesses, and affect people's jobs. Experts predict billions of dollars in losses in the future if steps are not taken.

How to make cities better?

According to the World Bank report, about half of the buildings and infrastructure needed for Indian cities by 2050 haven't even been built yet. This means India have a unique chance to:

Build It Right => Build new infrastructure in a smart way, making it resilient against climate change and environmentally friendly (low-carbon).
Design for the Future => Plan cities that use less energy, produce less pollution, and are better prepared for extreme weather.

Making cities strong and sustainable requires financial support

Investment Needed => The report estimated $2.4 trillion by 2050 to build the kind of resilient and low-carbon infrastructure cities needed.
Private Sector's Role => Government alone cannot provide all this finance. The private sector must play a critical role.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) on sharing the costs and benefits.
Improving Urban Finance => Find better ways to raise funds, promote Municipal Bonds, where the local body borrows money directly from people or companies by issuing special certificates (bonds).

What are the key strategies for making cities resilient?

Smart Planning and Climate Action

Fighting Heat => Use "cool roofs" that reflect sunlight, plant more trees to create green spaces, and adjust work schedules during extreme heat.
Managing Floods => Better ways to manage stormwater, like building "sponge cities" that absorb water naturally.
Early Warning Systems => Having systems that warn people about impending disasters

Prelims Booster => What is a "Sponge City"?

A sponge city is designed to absorb and reuse rainwater, just like a sponge. It uses green spaces, permeable pavements (where water can seep through), and special ponds to collect water, reducing flooding and recharging groundwater.

Resilient Infrastructure and Services

Durable Design => Buildings, roads, and bridges must be built to withstand extreme weather events.
Modern Waste Management => Cities need efficient systems for collecting, processing, and recycling waste.
- This includes proper landfills and even converting waste into energy.
Flood-Resilient Transport => Roads and public transport systems should be designed to remain functional even during heavy rains or minor floods.

Better Policies and Governance

Integrated Urban Planning => Instead of planning different parts of a city separately, need one big plan that considers everything – housing, transport, environment, and social needs – all together.
Empowering Local Bodies => City governments (Urban Local Bodies or ULBs) need more power, funds, and skilled people to manage their cities effectively.

Steps taken by Government for Urban Development

Scheme Name	Main Aim/Focus
Smart Cities Mission (SCM)	To transform 100 cities across India into "smart cities" by upgrading infrastructure, improving urban mobility, and creating sustainable living conditions using technology.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U)	To provide affordable housing for all eligible urban households.
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)	To provide basic services (water supply, sewerage, stormwater drainage, green spaces, urban transport) to households in 500 cities.
Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U)	To improve sanitation and hygiene in urban areas and make India Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)	To reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities.
Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)	To provide affordable working capital loans to street vendors to help them resume their livelihoods, especially after the economic impact of COVID-19.
Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)	To preserve and revitalize the heritage character of selected cities to make them culturally vibrant, economically viable, and sustainable.

How do India's efforts compare to international approaches?

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) is an international agreement that guides countries on how to reduce disaster risks. It emphasizes:

Understanding disaster risks.
Strengthening disaster governance.
Investing in disaster reduction for resilience.
Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and "Build Back Better."

India focus on early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, and community involvement, similar to the strategies discussed in the Sendai Framework.

Initiatives taken by Indian cities

The Heat Action Plan => Ahmedabad was the first South Asian city to create a Heat Action Plan.

Smart Flood Warning System => Kolkata uses a city-level flood forecasting and warning system.

Waste Management => Indore has become famous for its modern and efficient solid waste management system. They collect waste properly, process it, and even generate green jobs in the process.

Indore has consistently been ranked as one of India's cleanest cities under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan due to its excellent waste management practices.

Comprehensive Climate Action Plan => Chennai developed a detailed Climate Action Plan based on a thorough risk assessment. It focuses on both adapting to climate change impacts (like floods and heat) and promoting low-carbon growth (reducing greenhouse gas emissions).

What is the "Way Forward" for India's cities?

Working Together => Collaborative governance, different levels of government (central, state, city) and citizens must work together. Citizen participation ensures that city plans meet the actual needs of the people living there.

Using Technology => AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) can help manage cities more smartly. For example, sensors can monitor traffic, air quality, or water levels in real-time, helping city managers make better decisions.

Policy & Governance => Strong policies, clear regulations, and empowered urban local bodies (ULBs) are necessary to support resilience efforts.

Continuous Learning => Cities must learn from each other's successes and failures, by sharing best practices and research helps everyone improve, both within India and internationally.

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Source: THE HINDU

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Indian cities are engines of growth but face severe climate risks. Discuss the challenges and solutions for building climate-resilient urban infrastructure. (250 words)