Amit Shah says poor town planning hurt growth of Indian cities

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said poor town planning hindered Indian cities’ growth and stressed the need for structured urban development. In Ahmedabad, he inaugurated GREMI and highlighted the importance of modern planning, skilled leadership, and infrastructure-focused expansion before urban settlement

Ahmedabad: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said inadequate town planning had prevented Indian cities from developing properly, as he called for more structured and forward-looking urban development policies while inaugurating the Ganesh Real Estate Management Institute (GREMI) in Ahmedabad.

Speaking at the launch event alongside the inauguration of Million Minds Tech City in Tragad neighbourhood, HM Shah said most Indian cities had expanded without long-term planning and infrastructure preparation. When town planning is not proper, good cities are not built. Unfortunately, in our country, most cities kept growing first, and later we tried to provide facilities,” he said.

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He said the real estate sector in India had historically developed only to meet immediate needs and had rarely been approached comprehensively.

“Issues linked to the environment, planning frameworks and town planning schemes had not been adequately integrated into urban development. No one has ever attempted to address it in a comprehensive manner, he said.

HM Shah referred to the introduction of town planning schemes during Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister, saying it marked “one of the first attempts in India to plan infrastructure and civic facilities” before large-scale settlement took place. I remember when town planning schemes were introduced, for the first time in India, planning for facilities before people started living there was initiated, he said.

He added that global urban planning and technological standards had advanced significantly, and many dimensions of modern city planning had still not received adequate attention in India.

The Home Minister said GREMI had been established to address those gaps through specialised education and research in real estate and urban planning.

The institute will begin operations in a 30,000-square-foot facility with an initial batch of 300 students. Its main campus is planned near Khodiyar Lake on a 100-acre site with an estimated investment of around Rs 500 crore.

It is possible that in the beginning it may not cover all dimensions, but if the beginning has happened, then it will definitely move ahead, HM Shah said.

He said the sector required skilled leadership, modern thinking and the ability to adapt to international changes in Indian conditions. The event was attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and officials of Ganesh Housing Limited.