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Real Estate Business Review | Thursday, April 15, 2021
A planned hierarchy of cities and their economic potential need to be computed soon to enable India to meet its SDG commitments made globally, says Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs.
FREMONT, CA: For the first time in its history, the Economic Survey 2021-22 discusses climate and sustainability. It also discusses the various missions that the Indian government has launched to address climate change. For the first time, substantial time and space were allocated to a structural issue - urban planning – in the Finance Minister's Budget 2022 speech.
The Finance Minister's address must deal with revenue sources, which must be linked to the 15th Finance Commission report. Planned capital expenditure in cities is required to build the envisaged National Infrastructure Pipeline. Infrastructure spending of USD 1.4 trillion is needed to achieve the goal of a USD 5-trillion Indian economy by 2025. Energy (24 percent), highways (19 percent), urban (16 percent), and railroads (13 percent) account for over 70 percent of India's expected infrastructure capital investment.
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These policy directions emphasize the importance of structural improvements in the financial empowerment of urban local governments (ULBs). All of this must be calculated clearly. Property taxes and a few small user fees are currently ULB's only sources of funding. In many situations, property surveys have not been completed, and collections are low due to a lack of a steady stream of revenue.
Only when cities' creditworthiness improves can alternative credit be increased. Nobody will invest in a municipality unless it can repay the monies borrowed. To become creditworthy, ULBs must be financially empowered. Before the commencement of the Smart Cities Mission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) conducted a credit evaluation of 500 Urban Local Bodies in 2016.
Integrating financing availability with city master plans ensures their success. After all, projects are contingent on the availability of funds on the ground. The city's ambitions can be as lofty as they want to be, but they won't be realized unless they're tied to funding. A ULB can plan how to finance projects and ideas once it has estimated its financial status. The planning and financing paradigms must communicate with one another. Plans must lead to projects, which in turn must lead to funding. The interconnection of planning, project, and financing, as well as on-the-ground execution, must be ensured.
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