NITI Aayog member calls for directly elected mayors and full devolution to city governments

26 October 2026

Shri Rajiv Gauba, Member, NITI Aayog, speaking at the valedictory session of the 2nd National Urban Conclave on 25 October 2026, called for comprehensive reforms in urban governance, planning and financing. He said India's population would stabilise at approximately 165 crore around 2060, and that the urban population would increase from approximately 50 crore at present to 85 crore, with nearly half of India's population expected to live in urban areas by 2050. He said the budgetary outlay for the urban sector has grown 10-fold and that investments of about Rs 3.7 lakh crore have been made in metro rail and bus systems. He pointed to the Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund announced in the 2025-26 budget and this year's budget allocation of Rs 5,000 crore each for 7 city economic regions over five years. Referring to the report Moving Towards Effective City Governance, developed jointly by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, he called for directly elected mayors with 5-year terms, a Mayor-in-Council system and timely municipal elections. He said states should devolve all 18 functions to urban local bodies in line with the 74th Amendment. He noted that the share of Central Finance Commission grants to urban local bodies has increased to 45 per cent from 36 per cent.