UN report pegs number of Indian urban residents to rise by 300 million by 2050

A UN report has said that India will most likely add 300 million new urban residents by 2050, for which it will need to build climate-friendly cities so that the challenge of accommodating the growing needs can be addressed properly.

The report, titled, 'World Cities Report 2016- Urbanisation and Development: Emerging Futures' was prepared by UN Habitat, and added that in India, urban areas already contribute more than 60% of the GDP, and Indian government will have to build 100 new cities over the period.

"The attendant amount of additional greenhouse gases would have consequences on climate change. The alternative, if challenging, is to build denser, low-infrastructure, low-energy cities," the UN human settlement program report said.

Additionally, the report highlighted the problems of municipal and infrastructure finance for transport, electricity, communications, water supply and sanitation in support of production.

About India and its neighbouring countries, it said that Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have massive and expanding urban populations in their mega cities of Dhaka, Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi and Lahore, and the population is also growing rapidly in secondary cities as well.

"In face of the daunting magnitude of projected urban demographic growth over the next 20 years, accommodating the needs of these populations through planned city extensions is going to be a challenge," it concluded.

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