Step outside any major Indian city, and you're likely to find a familiar scene—narrow lanes, haphazard construction, snarling traffic, tangled electric wires, and overflowing drains. While India aspires to become a global economic powerhouse, its cities appear to lag centuries behind in basic urban organization. The contrast between this reality and the country’s aspirations is glaring. Why is it that, decades after independence, India's urban spaces still feel so unplanned? This article examines the historical, legal, demographic, and institutional factors that have contributed to the chaos in our cities—and what can still be done to alter the course.
The Myth of Planning: Chandigarh as the Exception, Not the Rule
Chandigarh is often hailed as India’s most successful planned city, designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s with zones for work, living, recreation, and transport. Its neat grids, green cover, and civic infrastructure are a rarity in India. But such success is not easily replicated. Cities like Gurugram, although built with planning in mind, are far from liveable. Poor drainage, crumbling roads, unregulated high-rises, and a failing transport system expose the hollow nature of modern urban planning in India.
This contrast raises a vital question: If we know what works, why do we keep getting it wrong?
Legacy Laws That Choke Development
Outdated and restrictive laws continue to hinder the growth and development of Indian cities. Some of these were meant to protect public interest, but ended up stifling growth and progress.
a) Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976
Originally enacted to prevent land monopolies and promote equity, this law limited the amount of land individuals or private players could own in urban areas. The result? Private developers were unable to build integrated townships, housing complexes, or tech parks. The land remained underutilized, hoarded by the state, driving up real estate prices. Although the act was repealed at the central level in 1999, many states continue to enforce its provisions in practice.
b) Floor Space Index (FSI) Restrictions
Indian cities are built horizontally. In global cities like Tokyo or New York, tall buildings house millions within a compact footprint. In India, low FSI regulations mean that even in land-scarce cities like Mumbai, vertical expansion is restricted, leading to urban sprawl, traffic bottlenecks, and slum proliferation.
c) 74th Constitutional Amendment and Limited Decentralisation
The 74th Amendment in 1992 aimed to empower municipal bodies. But in practice, most urban governance remains tightly controlled by state governments. Local urban bodies often lack autonomy, funds, and planning expertise. The result is bureaucratic delays, patchwork solutions, and poor implementation of infrastructure projects.
Colonial Planning Theories Still Dominate
Modern India inherited its urban planning framework from the British. Colonial-era land-use regulations viewed cities as static, fixed entities rather than dynamic, evolving ecosystems. The British prioritized control and sanitation over inclusive growth or connectivity. This outdated mindset still shapes how we draft our “master plans” today, characterized by rigid zoning laws and minimal integration of transport, energy, or water infrastructure. Instead of promoting mixed-use development, walkability, and sustainability, these plans often result in a lifeless concrete jungle, lacking both character and cohesion. Due to Explosive Urban Growth and Migrant Pressure.
India’s cities were never designed to absorb the kind of population growth they've seen in the last five decades. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore have all witnessed explosive expansion, n—much of it driven by rural-urban migration.
Thousands migrate daily in search of jobs, education, and better living conditions. But with housing costs sky-high and limited affordable rental options, migrants often end up in illegal slums and informal settlements. These colonies grow faster than the authorities can regulate them, creating severe stress on sanitation, roads, water, and electricity.
Absence of Long-Term Urban Vision
A report from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs revealed a worrying statistic: nearly 70% of Indian cities lack updated or functional master plans. Even those that exist are outdated or not implemented properly.
While some cities have sector-specific strategies, such as mobility plans or sanitation blueprints, ew adopt a truly holistic and integrated approach. Without a vision for the next 25–50 years, Indian cities are essentially moving blindly into the future, reacting to crises rather than preventing them.
Human Resource Crisis in Urban Management
Urban governance in India suffers from a severe talent vacuum. Qualified urban planners, architects, and municipal staff are in short supply. According to estimates, India needs over 300,000 urban planners by 2030. Currently, only about 1,800 graduates are produced annually. Most city bodies face significant staff shortages, and those employed frequently lack the skills or motivation needed to innovate and perform effectively.
Additionally, low salaries, poor working conditions, and limited career progression make municipal administration a less desirable field for talented professionals.
The Failure of “Planned” Modern Cities
Cities like Gurugram and Noida were designed to be modern business hubs, yet they continue to grapple with fundamental problems such as waterlogging, poor connectivity, and unreliable power supply. These examples prove that planning isn’t just about drawing fancy maps—it’s about enforcing codes, building resilience, and managing growth dynamically.
Gurugram, despite its wealth and skyscrapers, lacks a proper drainage system. During every monsoon, the city turns into a swamp. The reason is simple: planning was done in silos, and execution was handed to multiple disconnected agencies.
Smart Cities Mission: Missed Opportunities
Launched in 2015, the Smart Cities Mission promised to modernize 100 Indian cities through smart infrastructure and digital governance. While the idea generated hope, the implementation has been sluggish. Of the 7,960 projects proposed, less than half are fully completed as of 2025.
The mission focused too much on beautification and "retrofitting" existing cities, instead of rethinking fundamental issues like transport, housing, and green space. Moreover, the centralized nature of the scheme meant that local innovation was often ignored in favor of top-down directives.
Regional Disparity and Overloaded Metros
India’s economic growth has been uneven. While cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore have flourished, hundreds of small towns and Tier-2 cities remain underdeveloped. This imbalance pushes people toward the metros, placing even greater strain on already overburdened infrastructure.
Unless development is decentralized and spread across the country, through investment in smaller towns, local industries, and regional universities, immigration pressure on big cities will only increase, worsening their chaos.
Ironically, India once led the world in urban design. The grid-patterned streets and advanced drainage systems of the Indus Valley Civilization (2600 BCE) remain a marvel of city planning. Somewhere along the way, we lost that legacy.
India’s urban crisis is not unsolvable. It requires bold, systemic reform—starting with scrapping outdated laws, increasing investment, decentralizing governance, and empowering urban professionals. Equally, we need to instill a culture of respect for public spaces, pedestrian rights, and long-term thinking among citizens.
A city is more than just buildings and roads. It is an organism—a living, breathing space that must grow with its people. If India hopes to compete globally, it must urgently learn to build cities not just for survival, but for life.