View: The city-building never sleeps

For decades, Indian cities were subjected to criminal neglect. Past governments chose to either overlook problems, or looked at piecemeal solutions. As against investments amounting to Rs 1,57,000 crore in the urban sector during 2004-14, 2014-20 saw a six-fold increase to nearly Rs 11 lakh crore.Budget 2021 and the 15th Finance Commission Report have ushered a new era for India’s cities. The budget and grant outlay in a pandemic year of almost