{"id":56706,"date":"2025-10-13T22:12:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T16:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=56706"},"modified":"2025-10-22T17:58:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T12:28:03","slug":"national-mission-urban-roads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/13-10-2025\/national-mission-urban-roads","title":{"rendered":"India Needs a National Mission For Urban Roads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s urban roads have deteriorated significantly, marked by potholes, broken footpaths, unplanned utilities, and flooding.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unlike the mission-driven transformation of national highways and rural roads, urban roads suffer from fragmented governance, lack of standards, and poor design expertise. This has impacted city mobility, safety, and public health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Urban Roads in Urban Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Urban roads are not just transport corridors, they are multifunctional urban assets that influence:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Public safety and women\u2019s mobility, by ensuring secure and well-lit pathways.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Public health, by encouraging walkability and reducing vehicular emissions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Climate resilience, by integrating stormwater management and flood prevention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Economic vitality, as better streets enhance land value and business activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A well-designed urban road is, therefore, a <strong>social equalizer<\/strong> <strong>and an environmental asset<\/strong> <strong>not merely a mobility channel.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Systemic Issues in Urban Road Governance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Absence of Mandatory Road Design Standards:<\/strong> There are no legally binding norms on footpath width, drainage, signage, or materials.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Roads constructed based on municipal engineers\u2019 discretion leading to quality variance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Design Drawings and Expertise: <\/strong>Urban roads are often built without Good for Construction drawings.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Certified urban designers are rarely employed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flawed Procurement Model:<\/strong> Lowest cost (L1) tendering prioritizes cost over quality.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fragmented contracts attract unskilled contractors and cause repeated digging.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Missing Lifecycle Digital Management:<\/strong> No unified digital system to track road design, construction, maintenance, and utilities.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This undermines inter-agency coordination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Model Example: Tender S.U.R.E.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tender SURE (Specifications for Urban Roads Execution), pioneered in Bengaluru, provides a blueprint for urban street reform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Features:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Standardized travel lanes and footpaths with tactile pavers for accessibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Organised underground utilities and chamber-based stormwater drainage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Integrated tendering ensures inter-agency coordination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Impact:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bengaluru\u2019s study showed:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>228% rise in pedestrians, 117% increase in women commuters,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>55% rise in land value, and better safety and maintenance outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Six Structural Reforms for Urban Roads<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Institutionalise Urban Design Cadres:<\/strong> Municipalities must employ certified urban designers and planners to oversee road layout, safety, and aesthetics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legally Mandate Road Design Standards: <\/strong>Adopt frameworks such as Tender SURE, IRC 86, and Complete Streets Guidelines as legal benchmarks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Model Tender Documents:<\/strong> Include design specifications, material standards, and digital GFC drawings.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tailor for different city typologies like metros, mid-sized towns, and heritage cities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reform Tendering System:<\/strong> Shift from L1 (cost-based) to Quality-and-Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) for road contracts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital Coordination Framework: <\/strong>Emulate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-03-2022\/pm-gati-shakti-national-master-plan\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-03-2022\/pm-gati-shakti-national-master-plan\">PM Gati Shakti\u2019s National Master<\/a> Plan for mapping utilities, planning maintenance, and ensuring inter-agency accountability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capacity Building:<\/strong> Launch certification-based training for municipal engineers and contractors in modern road design, materials, and safety audits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Proposal: Pradhan Mantri Shahari Sadak Yojana (PMSSY)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A national mission for urban roads, akin to PMGSY for rural areas, can transform city mobility:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Create dedicated funding and institutional framework for urban street development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enforce national design and safety standards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build citizen-centric, climate-resilient, and inclusive roads across 6 lakh km of urban networks within a decade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward for Urban Mobility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Transition from car-centric to citizen-centric street design philosophy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Integrate roads with urban flood management and public health initiatives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leverage technologies like digital twins and urban observatories for real-time monitoring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Institutionalize urban road safety audits as part of Smart Cities 2.0.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s urban roads epitomize the governance challenge but also hold immense potential. The same mission-based approach that transformed highways and rural roads can revitalize city streets into safe, inclusive, and sustainable public spaces.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Pradhan Mantri Shahari Sadak Yojana could be a landmark initiative turning every urban road into a janpath, enhancing both quality of life and urban resilience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q] <\/strong>Discuss the need for a national urban roads mission in India. How can models like Tender SURE and Gati Shakti address systemic deficiencies in urban road development?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/UPSC-Editorial-Analysis-13-October-2025.PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s urban roads have deteriorated significantly, marked by potholes, broken footpaths, unplanned utilities, and flooding.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":56687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/national-mission-urban-roads.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56836,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56706\/revisions\/56836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}