A two-day Conclave on urban planning was recently organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in Srinagar at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Center (SKICC). This was the second biggest event of its kind since 1974 when a national seminar cum conference of urban planner was held at Srinagar with focus on urban planning and tourism. Recent two days conclave was focused on advancing urban planning reforms across India. The event aimed to address the need for resilient and future-proof urban planning, especially in the face of extreme weather events and climate change impacts. Key stakeholders and urban practitioners from various states came together to discuss better development opportunities and solutions for emerging urban issues. Lieutenant Governor(LG)and Kashmir emphasized the importance of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient city development, highlighting the role of cities as engines of growth for the country. He called for collective efforts to unlock urban potential and bridge the gap in rural and urban facilities. The conclave aimed to gather input from experts to shape the future of urban planning in India, focusing on sustainable infrastructure and prosperity for urban residents. He also urged a balance between modern facilities and natural heritage in future urban planning, emphasizing the need for sustainable urbanism and comprehensive development. He stressed the inclusion of citizen feedback and unpredictable weather patterns in urban policies, as well as the strengthening of transportation and response systems. The importance of connectivity, technical infrastructure, green infrastructure, communication infrastructure, environmental protection, and public safety in the planning process was highlighted. Chairman of the High-Level Committee on Urban Planning, Keshav Verma, praised the transformation of the urban landscape in Jammu and Kashmir under the LG-led administration. Urban planning experts shared their views on the needed reforms in urban planning and development. The event brought together key officials, urban planners, and experts to discuss the future of urban planning in India. LG in his speech stressed need for building future-ready cities to meet the growing aspirations of urban residents, with a focus on sustainable infrastructure and prosperity. The outcomes of the conclave are expected to have far-reaching implications for urban development policies and practices across the nation. The two-day event aimed to formulate a final report on urban planning reforms that will shape the future of urban development in India. The two-day conclave on urban planning and renewal in Kashmir, organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), focused on building resilient and sustainable cities to address economic, social, and climate challenges. The urgent need for resilient urban planning was highlighted due to the impact of climate change and extreme weather events, especially in vulnerable regions like Kashmir valley. The conclave emphasized incorporating climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable building practices, and effective disaster management strategies in urban planning processes to accommodate the growing urban population in Jammu and Kashmir.

Building Future Ready Urban Centers

The conclave emphasized the importance of comprehensive urban planning to improve infrastructure, public amenities, and inclusive urban sustainable development for future-ready urban centers. Cities were highlighted as engines of growth, promoting sustainable urbanism and balanced regional development. The focus was on creating commercial hubs to generate employment while maintaining ecological balance. The aim was to gather input and formulate a final report on urban planning reforms in India, encouraging collaboration from all stakeholders for high-quality urban development. Urbanization was discussed as bringing economic, cultural, and educational opportunities, but also challenges like environmental degradation, social inequality, and infrastructure demands. Balanced urban planning involves creating economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable cities through sustainable infrastructure, inclusive development, and community engagement. Successful examples from cities like Copenhagen, Singapore, and Portland were showcased. The Srinagar Conclave stressed the importance of integrated urban planning that combines modern conveniences with natural heritage for residents' well-being. Discussions focused on the need for concerted actions while maintaining the main agenda. Future urbanization strategies were discussed with an emphasis on incorporating cultural heritage preservation and state-specific development models.
The outcomes are expected to shape sustainable urban development strategies in the future. The conclave emphasized the significance of comprehensive urban planning to upgrade infrastructure, enhance public amenities, and create inclusive urban spaces for sustainable development. Collaborative efforts from all stakeholders were deemed essential to achieve high-quality urban development. Urbanization offers economic, cultural, and educational opportunities but also brings challenges like environmental degradation and social inequality. Balanced urban planning aims to create vibrant and sustainable cities through sustainable infrastructure and inclusive development. The Srinagar Conclave highlighted the importance of integrated urban planning for residents' well-being, combining modern conveniences with natural heritage. The outcomes are expected to guide future sustainable urban development strategies.

Aspirations and Realities

The goals of the conclave as such are forward-looking, driven by motivations, and indicate a commitment to a particular path. It aspires to achieve goals or reach for ambitious transformations, influenced by factors such as urban, environmental and societal expectations. Associated targets, attached to it, are also important in understanding a process to be set in to realize the targets. Wannabe is deeply rooted in compulsions and gravity of the prevailing and anticipated problems that reflects our capabilities and constraints. Target achieving demonstrates our ability to frame goals, shaped by dynamics of diversity, economic and societal manifestations. Thus, goals are not just about setting targets but also about understanding the deeper motivations and constraints that influence our longings for the future. They are shaped by both conscious and unconscious influences, reflecting our capacity to dream and strive for a better tomorrow. In the case of developing cities and towns truly engines of growth and centers of economic momentum India as a country is well equipped to take it in mission mode and transform the dynamics of urban development for the forerunner of the future. However, the radiance of the transformation needs to be ignited at local level which makes regional, local and community level efforts in the process inevitable, and indispensable. Therefore, at State and local level integrated and collective efforts have to be launched not only to achieve goal of Vikasit Bharat but also sustainable urban development fulfilling the commitments of combating climate change and safeguarding environment and earth for posterity. Therefore, role of planners, policy making, master plans, development plans and their execution holds key in shape urban India. It would necessitate concerted collaborative effort using cutting technology to make cities and towns resilient and sustainable. Government, urban local agencies and stakeholders would require to work in tandem and promptly to safeguard future, transform urban landscape, urban economy and infuse vibrancy dynamism to urbanity. It would also require upscaling the skills of planners and urban administrators, empowerment of ULBs, use of technology to manage massive urbanization country set record till 2050

Take Away from Conclave

Since Indian urbanization is at a pedestal of massive growth along with transformation of urban settlement system, therefore, the conclave emphasized necessity for orienting the future urban trajectory and strategies to assimilate asset management systems, including cultural and heritage assets of smaller and medium cities. The conclave also emphasized for identification of strengths, adopting state-specific models and concentrating on natural conservation while conceiving and framing the zone wise development regulations. Overall the outcomes of Srinagar Conclave are anticipated to play a decisive role in determining and shaping future sustainable and resilient development strategies for urban India. Since urban future holds immense promise with the potential to lead the world in resilient, and equitable urban development. The urban population is expected to increase stupendously and is likely to pose challenges in terms of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, conclave suggested an urgent action for sustainable development which has in it the intrinsic international commitment of safety of the mother earth. Also time is ripe to respond to the demands of shaping the future of our cities, environment and transform the Indian urban landscape. It would require empowering urban local institutions and governance, mobilizing urban finance, frame and formulate realistic plans and projects, with planners for urban plan formulation and upscale their professional capacities, foster innovations, use cutting technology and efficient urban administrators. This also would require collective and focused endeavors by all stakeholders and urbanites to infuse growth momentum to shape thriving cities and lead the world by example. The national conclave on urban planning has thrown up critical insights and framework to address the missing infrastructure, promote planned urban development, sustainable policies, regulatory reforms and need for sustainable and resilient infra and environment. It has underlined that states need to take up effectively comprehensive sustainable development and establish robust mechanism and framework for urban planning and development. As a response to the thrust areas to leverage these takeaways, states need to enhance urban strategies to encourage coordinated and effective urban development across the regions. It signifies that the conclave can have strong regional and state level influence in urban planning and states need to refine urban planning policies based on recommendation of the conclave.

Urban Scenario in J&K

Jammu and Kashmir has about 100 urban centers of different sizes and nature. A handful of these have master plans while remaining are growing and developing without any urban planning. The major cities Srinagar and Jammu which have in place third generation master plans are spontaneously growing and suffering from all types of urban maladies. Master plans formulated are basically perspective plans have remain unimplemented due lack of zonal plans as execution plan. It has restrict urban planning activities only to the extent of framing of the MPs and virtually turned it into “ an exercise in futility”. In the process it is defeating the basic objectives of the urban planning and turned it more so as “a Christmas wish” for the people and the cities. J&K is also confronted with problems of acute dearth of lack of qualified urban planners .In a situation where there should have been about 175 urban planners it has only 3 to 4 qualified planners are manning planning activities of more than 100 urban centers including two capital cities. It has resulted into urban planning policy deficit and failure which is irretrievably impacting to transform the urban J&K truly as Viskisit. It is also a significant reason for appalling and abysmal urban chaos . Therefore ,there is an urgent need introduce cutting edge technology, augment qualified urban planning manpower, improve service delivery, resource optimization, empower urban local bodies, foster innovation, formulate realistic plans, and ensure evaluation of urban plans and projects before execution for infusing resilience and sustainability into urban development for long term benefits. Cities and towns in J&K are presently confronted with the problems of discordantly gross neglect and are paradoxically in a state of peril. The main reason for such a state of affairs is the continued failure of the urban development and planning departments and agencies. These have failed to deliver urban amenity and promote planned development as a consequence presages weak resolve to serve the people and cities. The failure has underway to clasp all the towns and cities demonstrating that urban crisis are deepening and may assume appalling consequences reflecting insolvency, lack of resolve and commitment to promote resilient and sustainable development which is also an international commitment under policy of combating climate change and has been also vehemently emphasized in the urban planning conclave held at Srinagar. As such there is an urgent inevitability to initiate step to rectify the maladies of past and promote resilient and sustainable urban development to fetch victory over imminent disasters otherwise it may culminate into critical obliteration of the cities and their urbanites. Considering the growing necessity, we have to be collectively all set to demonstrate the essence of the resolve. Therefore, sustained and resilient urban development need not to be only a euphoric slogan but has to be concerted effort resolve to survive what we have and to spare it for posterity even after we use it. This has to be aimed with the reason that more than 50 percent population is going to live in cities and towns which have to be transformed into delightful impressions and realities of human life. These have to be envisioned for fulfilling requirement of urban life and as significant facet of earth, to avoid humanity becoming a part of the confounded woes. The recent urbanization growth in India has emphasized the importance of orienting future urban strategies to incorporate asset management systems, cultural heritage, and natural conservation. The outcomes of the Srinagar Conclave are expected to play a crucial role in shaping sustainable development for urban India, which is poised for significant growth and faces challenges such as climate change. Urgent action for sustainable development is needed to fulfill international commitments for environmental safety and achieve resilient urban development. This will require empowering local urban institutions, mobilizing finance, and prioritizing innovation and technology in urban planning.

Bottom line

The national conclave on urban planning has highlighted the need for comprehensive sustainable development frameworks, regulatory reforms, and resilient infrastructure. The States and UTs including J&K must establish robust mechanisms for urban planning and development to effectively address infrastructure gaps and promote sustainable policies. To leverage these insights, states should enhance coordinated urban strategies and refine planning policies based on conclave recommendations. Collaboration among stakeholders and urbanites is essential to drive growth and transform cities into thriving examples for the world to follow. The conclave's influence can shape regional and state-level urban planning, emphasizing the importance of sustainable, resilient, and coordinated urban development strategies for the future

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