| Abstract: | This paper addresses the following questions: 1) What have been the government policies, programs, and perceptions dominating the urban development scenario in India? 2) What has been the outcome of these policies and programs of urban development? 3) What should be the strategy of future urban development with reference to the Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh? The paper critically evaluates the Indian ethos pertaining to the urbanization process, urban development policies pursued in the Five Year Plans, the current thinking on urbanization, and the main issues in urban development. It has been observed that not only is the urbanization level in Himachal Pradesh quite low, but also that the urban development here suffers from a number of serious problems. Acute shortage of building space, limited capacity to mobilize resources from their own sources, overcrowding, and slum dwelling are some such problems. Unfortunately, urbanization has not been visualized as generative of economic growth and employment opportunities both at the state and national government levels. Therefore, the major thrust of Plan policies has been to arrest rural-urban migration. However, recently there has been a desire to manage urban affairs through a new policy seeking production efficiency and cost effectiveness. |
