As sprawling megacities burst at the seams, attention in recent years has turned to high-potential tier-2 cities. Non-metro cities from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh to Surat and Vadodara in Gujarat have emerged as new development hubs. Investment is flowing into these emerging cities as business entities, from startups and MSMEs to manufacturing units, eye them to set up shop. Lower costs and access to qualified, experienced, but relatively cheaper talent are major draws.
Employment generation has been impressive in these new engines of growth. The second edition of Cities on the Rise, released by professional networking platform LinkedIn, identified the top 10 non-metro cities competing with metros in job creation. These cities were traditionally known for specific industries, but of late, they have added new sectors to their growing portfolio. Take Visakhapatnam, for instance. The port city was mostly known for public sector industries, petroleum refineries, and maritime yards. Thanks to aggressive marketing by the Chandrababu Naidu government, technology investments are pouring in. The proposed $15 billion Google AI Data Centre and the $11 billion Reliance-Brookfield-Digital Realty project have put the city on India’s high-tech map.
State governments have been proactive in developing tier-2 cities in their respective regions. Tamil Nadu has been striving to turn cities such as Coimbatore, Madurai, and Hosur into emerging tech hubs through targeted subsidies and infrastructure development. Nodal agency ELCOT has been promoting IT parks with state-of-the-art facilities. The state government provides necessary infrastructure beyond buildings and IT campuses, including internal concrete roads, cable ducts, water and sewerage systems, and street lights.
There has also been a clamour for metro rail networks from several bustling tier-2 cities. A sustainable metro rail network serves as a key indicator of urbanisation, as it requires sprawling spatial growth and a working population that can afford the fare — which in turn depends on robust, all-round economic development. Otherwise, they end up as vanity projects. Some metro rail projects in BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra have reported low passenger volumes, turning into white elephants in their early years and lending credence to criticisms of politically driven central decision-making. Conversely, the rejection of metro rail proposals for Coimbatore and Madurai is perceived to be smacking of mala fide political intentions.
Many urban problems faced by tier-1 cities stem from unplanned, haphazard growth in response to sudden population spurts, and are characterised by a lack of long-term vision reflected in weak master plans. It represents a mix of political and governance failure. Tier-2 cities must not repeat the mistakes committed by their metropolis counterparts. Governments must plan infrastructure for future growth. Since many of these cities have begun building infrastructure, they must ensure utilities, transit lines, and roads meet the requirements of future population influx. Ideally, time horizons should be 30 years or more for zoning allocations and infrastructure capacity design. Urban planning should also incorporate proven strategies like transit-oriented development and mixed-use neighbourhoods. To further decentralisation and balanced regional development, the Centre and state governments must act now to not only attract investment but also build futuristic cities.