Make buildings taller in urban areas: Arvind Panagariya

Move could help address the issue of space constraints & land scarcity

India should go in for taller buildings in view of space constraints being faced in urban areas, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Thursday.

Indian cities have often not exploited the land vertically, he said.

"So, you see that most Indian cities are rather horizontal," he added.

"In today's time of land scarcity, it is very important that we begin to exploit the vertical side of the land, which means making building taller which regulation wise requires higher floor index," he said at an event here on Smart Cities.

Noting that for different reasons, parts of the urban land is not fully or optimally utilised, Panagariya said: "In some cases, pieces of land are owned by sick CPSEs, which can be brought into the market."

He pointed out that creating affordable housing, rental dormitory housing to accommodate migrant population is also important.

Stressing upon the need for various sections of society such as women and the differently-abled, Panagariya said that migration and modernisation are part of urbanisation.

"Even conservative estimates put India's urban population in 2030 at 600 million. It is almost twice the current population of USA," he observed.