Urban development expenditure is up 13 times in the last 10 years; Now preparations to increase the responsibility of the states

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is planning to take forward the existing programs rather than bringing any new plan for urban development. The Smart City Mission started in 2016 to develop 100 cities and will end in March next year and no similar program will be started in its place. Furthermore, there is also no movement on the plan to establish eight new cities, on which eight thousand crore rupees were to be spent.

For now, the ministry said that it is implementing PM Awas Yojana, PM Swanidhi, Deendayal Upadhyaya Urban Livelihood Mission, and Amrit Mission-2 to improve the infrastructure of cities. The Commission has also waited for the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission to come out. Only after this, the direction of urban development will be decided.

The role and responsibility of the states in urban development may be increased, particularly their role in planning is likely to go up further. According to an official of the ministry, no new scheme is needed right now. The allocation and expenditure made for urban development in the last ten years is unprecedented. The expenditure made on urban development between 2014 and 2024 is 13 times as compared to 2004-2014. In future times, this trend is going to persist.