The government today admitted the urban population in the country has outgrown the available basic infrastructure facilities and services in cities.
"The urban population in Indian cities is growing at a rapid pace and the increasing population imposes a tremendous pressure on urban basic services and infrastructure," Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy said in Lok Sabha today.
The Census of India has estimated that by 2026 the urban population would rise to around 535 million or 38.2% of the total population, up from the figure of 285.35 million (27.8% of the total population) in 2011, he said.
To address the problem, the government has launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) on December 3, 2005.
Under the Urban Infrastructure and Governance component of JNNURM, the government has taken up reform driven and fast track development of 65 select cities across the country.
The Mission seeks to ensure sustainable development of these cities by focussing on efficiency in urban infrastructure, service delivery mechanism, community participation and accountability of Urban Local Bodies and Parastatal agencies towards citizens.
Some of the cities under JNNURM include Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Patna, Bhopal, Nashik, Madurai, Jamshedpur, Guwahati, Panaji, Gangtok, Pondicherry and Porbander.
