NITI for building 500 ‘healthy cities’ to fight Covid-like crisis

A Central sector scheme to build 500 ‘healthy cities’ in the next five years, along with a thorough revamp of town-planning acts in states are the need of the hour to meet future challenges of urbanisation, a NITI Aayog panel on ‘Building Urban Planning Capacity in India’ said in its latest report. The report was released on Thursday. NITI Aayog said the Central sector scheme for building 500 healthy cities in the next five years will have to be worked out by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in consultation with states and Union Territories. Releasing the report, NITI Aayog Vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar emphasised the need to reduce carbon footprint in urbanisation and said that urban India will be powering the country's economic growth. He said there is a compelling need to plug the gaps in urbanplanning capacity in the country. Otherwise, he said a huge opportunity for rapid, sustainable and equitable growth would be at risk of being missed. Kumar also highlighted the shortage of town planners.