Addressing the 6th of 12 post-Budget webinars, this one on the subject of urban development, on Wednesday; March 1, 2023, Prime Minister Modi shared his thoughts on the development planning measures involved in laying out of cities today and that used during the post-independence past, claiming them to be unfit and in some aspects redundant for the demands and needs of the current growing populous.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech emphasized the importance of adequate urban planning stating, “well-planned cities that will determine the fate of India”.

He addressed the unplanned development and expansion of most major Indian cities of today that were done in the recent past to the days post independence, has led to hindrances in numerous major expansion and development projects needed to house the ever-growing urban population.

The prime minister asked the stakeholders (i.e. mayors, municipal councilors, sanitation workers and more) watching to focus chiefly on three major questions and the best course of action to be taken in answering them—how to improve states’ urban planning ecosystem, how to use the expertise available in the private sector, and how to develop centres of excellence for urban planning. He also encouraged the endless oppurtunites and benefits associated with the participants’ possible joint ventures with rising start-ups in the sector.

“Urban planning will determine the fate of our cities in Amrit kaal and it is only well-planned cities that will determine the fate of India,” PM Modi said in his speech during the virtual gathering. Apart from PM Modi, other notable political figures and officials present for the event included, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Shekhawat.

He opined that the new cities in future must be garbage-free, water secure, and climate-resilient. The govt projects and policies should not only make life easier for the people of the cities but also help in their own development.

He went on to say that the country’s waste processing had witnessed an increase from the 14-15 per cent of daily waste in 2014 to the 75 per cent done now. He added that had such a development always been the norm, the city boundaries of India would not be covered with mountains of human garbage and waste, he said.