The India Infrastructure Report 2023 on Urban Planning and Development was released by Shri Venkaiah Naidu, former Vice President of India, who served as the Chief Guest (virtually) along with India’s G20 Sherpa and former Shri Amitabh Pant.IIR 2023 has been a collaborative effort of the IDFC Foundation, Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) Ltd. (iDeCK) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
Key Highlights of the India Infrastructure Report
Thematic Focus on Urban Challenges
- The IIR systematically addresses key themes that are central to India’s urban challenges.
- These include planning and governance, smart initiatives, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and financing, housing and migration, public service delivery, integrating infrastructure, and urban redevelopment.
Critique of Planning Mechanism
- Criticizes existing planning mechanisms, particularly restrictions on building construction, for rendering cities “unlivable” and contributing to the emergence of slums.
- Highlights the role of poor planning as a major factor in urban challenges.
Low Floor Space Indices (FSIs) and Urban Sprawl
- Underscores the impact of low floor space indices (FSIs) or floor area ratios (FARs) on high-density development and urban sprawl (rapid expansion of cities and towns into undeveloped land).
- A low Floor Space Index (FSI) means that a smaller area of a plot will be developed. It’s a parameter used in urban planning to determine the maximum allowable construction density on a plot of land.
- Links low FSI to the creation of slums, with a focus on planning errors leading to forced high population density.
- The report advocates for cities to adopt a redevelopment policy, emphasizing the recovery of land from private owners in exchange for higher floor space indices (FSIs) and improved road connectivity.
- Advocates for dynamic city building, stressing that the carrying capacity needs to increase in tandem with the growth of cities.
Financial Management of Urban Local Bodies
- Highlights the report’s analysis of the financial management of urban local bodies, emphasizing the urgent need for financial sustainability.
- Report advocates for PPPs and municipal bonds as essential tools for financing urban development projects.
- The report noted that while India has led in PPPs, especially in roads, ports, airports and energy, few PPPs have happened in the urban sector.
India Infrastructure Report (IIR)
- The IIR 2023 contains 25 chapters by prominent names in the urban development and policy ecosystem on the current state of urban development in India.
- This annual publication has been instrumental in identifying and analyzing legal, fiscal, regulatory, technological, social, and conceptual aspects related to contemporary themes relevant to infrastructure development.
- This makes it an invaluable resource for those involved in formulating urban policy, as well as for those interested in the development of India’s infrastructure and urbanization, such as policymakers, investors, academics, financiers, and multilateral agencies.