Population to double by 2047, civic bodies will have to change: Official

The country's urban population is likely to double by 2047 and existing structures of administration, planning and financing of urban bodies will have to adapt to changing times, the Centre's Smart City Project Mission Director Kunal Kumar said here on Thursday.

Kumar, who is joint secretary in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs department, was in Indore to take part in the Urban20 (U20) programme based on the theme 'Reinventing Urban Governance for Indian Cities'.

"By 2047, the country's urban population will almost double. Some 70 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) comes from cities. To make India a developed country by 2047, the contribution of cities to GDP will have to increase," he said.

"To get this to increase, we will have to increase investment and employment rapidly," he said, adding that the large number of youth in the country's population was a strength and their migration from villages to cities was not a problem but an opportunity as it accelerates the economic growth of cities.

"But for settling talented youth in the cities, we have to ponder how much the system of administration, planning as well as accountability to the public of our urban bodies is suitable, especially in today's situation and whether urban bodies have adequate powers or not with them," he said.

Kumar, an Indian Administrative Service official, who has earlier been commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra, said the funding system of the country's urban bodies should also be in tune with the demands and challenges of changing times.

In the last nine years (under NDA rule), the financial assistance from the Central government to urban bodies has increased but these bodies should move towards becoming "self-reliant" by strengthening their local financial resources, Kumar added.

Urban 20 or U20 is a diplomacy initiative comprising cities from G20 countries and strives to establish a lasting practice of engagement to develop a collective message that emphasizes the role of cities in taking forward the sustainable development agenda.