Page 58 - Shelter, October 2024

POLICY REVIEW

UNION BUDGET 2024 AND INCLUSIVE CITIES:

AN APPRAISAL OF INDIA’S URBAN DEVELOPMENT

SCHEMES & POLICIES

SOUMYADIP In quest of building sustainable planning and governance
CHATTOPADHYAY and inclusive cities, the mechanisms so as to achieve
the mission of Viksit Bharat –
Budget 2024 has identified
AND ARJUN KUMAR urban development as one of Developed India by 2047.
the nine priority areas with
the budgetary allocations for The Backdrop
MoHUA increased by almost India is urbanising rapidly
19 percent. This paper analyses with an expectation of
their implications for inclusive adding more than 416 million
urban transformation. PMAY-U people to its cities by 2050,
accounts for 62 percent of the almost doubling its size.
total budgetary allocations but Urban policy makers are
the schemes have benefitted facing two uphill challenges
middle- and high-income group for managing this massive
people more than the urban urban transformation. First,
poor. Revised eligibility norms, to capitalise on the benefits
increased financial assistance of agglomeration economies
and better credit risk guarantee towards creation of greater
under the PMAY-U 2.0 could employment opportunities
ensure greater incidence of and sustainable economic
benefits reaching the ‘deserving’ growth. And second, to
beneficiaries and slum dwellers. make the cities inclusive and
The allocations for addressing livable. However, availability
urban service deficits indicate of urban infrastructure has
neglect of smaller towns. Even been inadequate and of poor
the big-ticket metro projects quality, jeopardising the
have continued to attract prospect of Indian cities to
sizable budgetary allocations, emerge as the ‘growth hubs’
albeit, they hardly benefit the as envisaged by the Union
majority of people both in terms Budget 2024-25. Importantly,
of accessibility and affordability. these deficiencies pervade
Given such exclusionary both large and small cities
Dr Soumyadip Chattopadhyay,
Associate Professor, Visva-Bharati, trend, this paper argues for in India but tend to be more
Santiniketan and Visiting Senior rethinking urban policies severe in smaller cities and
Fellow, IMPRI Impact and Policy through empowerment of the poorer regions and informal
Research Institute, New Delhi & Dr city government and integration
Arjun Kumar, Director, IMPRI arjun@ & slum settlements within the
impriindia.org of urban poor’s needs in urban cities.

56 HUDCO-HSMI Publication