PM Modi should set up panel on urban infra development in major cities: KP Singh

 Real estate doyen K P Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a high-powered cabinet rank committee to prepare a blueprint for the development of urban infrastructure in all major cities that can support USD 5 trillion economy.

The urban master planning should not be for a short-term but for 100 years, the 95-year-old Singh said in an interview with PTI on the occasion of the launch of his second book 'Why the Heck Not?'. His autobiography 'Whatever the Odds' was released by Jack Welch, the former Chairman and CEO of GE, in November 2011.

Singh, the Chairman Emeritus of realty major DLF, described the current state of urban infrastructure as "horribly wrong" and said there was a need for "drastic steps" as India is growing and soon going to become the third largest economy in the world.

Referring to traffic mess in cities including IT city Gurugram which he built and high pollution level, Singh said these are large issues and "it needs attention in my view of the highest person in the country".

"So, you plan in advance, well knowing India is a democracy and growth is going to take place. Therefore, what urban infrastructure is necessary in advance for the growth, here that is not happening," he rued.

"Unless drastic actions are taken" the problem cannot be solved," he said.

Singh said there is a need to change the thinking process which he said remains "myopic" since the 1950s.

Thinking small and managing shortages will not help, he asserted.

In his book, he said there is a need to focus on rapid development of urban infrastructure, including roads, sewage lines and water supply.

"To build a resilient nation and to ascend a USD 5 trillion, we must wield our collective might to fortify the foundation of our cities. We must focus on rapid urban infrastructure development. The declining state of our cities is akin to a ticking time bomb signalling their devastation," Singh said in his book, co-authored with Aparna Jain and published by Penguin.

He appealed to the prime minister to intervene to correct the situation.

"With a clarion call, I beseech our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently convene a high-powered cabinet ranking committee, composed of farsighted planners and developers from the private sector in every major city, along with environmentalists of repute, all of whom should possess the experience or capability of envisioning India 100 years from now," Singh said.

The members in the committee must work with the foresight of Edwin Lutyens, who planned what is known as New Delhi almost a century ago, he added.

"These futurists, planners and a collective of individuals with wisdom and experience should then craft an enduring blueprint of the urban infrastructure development of at least all the major metro cities of India that will last a century," Singh suggested.

The PMO should ideally monitor the committee monthly, with the PM personally overseeing it once a quarter, he added.

Singh said the committee findings should also be made public regularly so that people are informed of plans that will fortify their children's lives through the development of India's urban infrastructure.

"Our cities are crumbling, and why? Because urban infrastructure has neither planned nor kept up with the growth of cities. Because of illegal encroachments and settlements. Because no one is being held responsible. It all gnawed at me. When I envisioned a new city, it wasn't just about bricks and concrete. It was a dream for a sprawling metropolis, a blueprint for future generations," he pointed out in the book.

During the interview, Singh spoke about his decision to leave an army posting in 1961 to join DLF, a company started by his father-in-law, Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh, in 1946.

He not only revived DLF Ltd but made it the largest publicly listed real estate company in India.

Singh spoke about challenges in the acquisition of land and getting approvals from the government for development of real estate projects.

The DLF Chairman Emeritus, however, asserted he never paid any bribe and rather used industry chambers and media to convince political leadership and bureaucrats that what DLF intended to do was for the public interest.

Singh also emphasised the importance of planning for retirement and sharing wealth with children when they are young as well as extended family.

DLF has developed some of the most well-known residential colonies in Delhi such as Model Town, Rajouri Garden, South Extension, Greater Kailash, and Hauz Khas.

Singh stepped down as the chairman after more than five decades in that position, in June 2020. DLF is now run by his son Rajiv. His contributions to the wider community and nation-building have won him numerous international and national awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 2010.