Bhubaneswar, Oct 25 — The National Urban Conclave 2026 concluded in Bhubaneswar on Sunday with actionable recommendations to strengthen urban governance, stronger institutional capacity, integrated planning, sustainable financing, and accountable service delivery.
Delivering the closing remarks, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal emphasised the importance of affordable housing near employment centres and public transport, circularity in construction practices, and the scientific remediation of legacy waste. Noting that over half of the country’s legacy waste has been remediated, he stressed the need to sustain these efforts and prevent the accumulation of new waste, ensuring that India's urban transformation remains inclusive, sustainable and future-ready.
He said that the intent of the Conclave was to deliberate on the future challenges of our cities. He highlighted the progress achieved through national missions, including AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban and PM SVANidhi, in expanding water and sanitation services, improving waste management, strengthening urban mobility and promoting financial inclusion.
Satendra Singh, Secretary, Urban Development, Satendra Singh, reflected on the key outcomes of the seven technical sessions and emphasised the need to translate policy deliberations into practical, implementable urban solutions.
Discussions were held across seven technical sessions at the conclave to outline key reforms for building inclusive, resilient and future-ready cities. The conclave brought together representatives from the Union and state governments, urban local bodies, industry, academia and knowledge institutions to identify practical solutions for India's evolving urban challenges.
The session on ‘Right to Walk’ addressed fragmented pedestrian spaces, poor accessibility, inadequate planning integration, unclear institutional responsibilities, and funding gaps. The session recommended institutionalising the ‘Right to Walk’ in statutory plans, securing pedestrian right-of-way, strengthening ULB capacity and accountability, prioritising infrastructure quality and maintenance, adopting inclusive, community-led design, integrating pedestrian facilities into all street projects, and establishing dedicated financing mechanisms.
The session on ‘Water, Waste and Resource Efficiency’ recommended integrating water, wastewater and solid waste planning, shifting towards outcome-based service delivery, strengthening performance monitoring and lifecycle maintenance, while the one on ‘Affordable Housing – Demand and Supply Dynamics’ recommended reserving land for affordable housing, integrating housing with transit and employment centres, developing viable rental and transit housing models and introducing single-window approvals.
The ‘Integrated Urban Development and Infrastructure Delivery’ session recommended integrating spatial and infrastructure planning through shared GIS-based databases, promoting corridor-based and transit-oriented development, as well as aligning investments across sectors.
The session on ‘New Paradigms for Urban Service Delivery’ recommended shifting from asset creation to outcome-based service delivery, integrating municipal agencies around clearly defined responsibilities, strengthening digital monitoring and citizen feedback systems, institutionalising performance-based contracts, developing specialised municipal cadres, improving own-source revenue mobilisation, and establishing a national framework for accountable, citizen-centric urban services.
The ‘Model Building Bye-Laws’ session recommended simplifying building regulations and approvals through integrated digital platforms, introducing risk-based scrutiny and self-certification, rationalising FAR, density, and parking norms.
The session on ‘Model Municipal Law’ recommended empowering Mayors with five-year tenures and clearly defined executive powers, strengthening devolution of municipal functions, improving coordination with parastatal agencies, enhancing fiscal autonomy and own-source revenues.
Several initiatives and publications were launched during the second day of the conclave, including the Used Water Marketplace under AMRUT 2.0, and the UCF Portal that enables transparent, efficient and streamlined implementation of the Urban Challenge Fund.