Hello everyone,
Have you ever wondered why the cities we live in don’t always get the attention they deserve? At #Charcha2026, Janaagraha brought this question to the table through the only session dedicated to Urban India, sparking a conversation on what it will take to make our cities work better for everyone.
What will it take to make India’s cities a political priority?
India’s cities are growing rapidly. But are our systems of governance keeping pace?
On 15 September 2026, at #Charcha2026, Janaagraha hosted a session on “Sheheron pe Charcha” a cross-party dialogue with a stellar group of sitting elected legislators from the Union and State levels, alongside urban practitioners, to ask a simple but important question: What will it take to make cities a political priority?
The panel brought together:
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S. Niranjan Reddy – Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Andhra Pradesh
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K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) - Member of Legislative Assembly, Sircilla, Telangana Legislative Assembly
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Dr. Mahua Maji – Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Jharkhand
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Srikanth Viswanathan - Chief Executive Officer, Janaagraha
Four key takeaways from the conversation:
Cities need greater political attention: Urban issues often struggle to receive adequate attention when electoral incentives remain tilted towards rural constituencies.
Local power needs local resources: Strong urban local governments need not just responsibilities, but also the finances and decision-making powers to deliver.
Migration is about more than livelihoods: People move to cities for education, healthcare, jobs, opportunity and social mobility.
Infrastructure needs lasting accountability: Building infrastructure is only the beginning. Quality, maintenance and accountability matter over the long term.
From waterlogging and pollution to municipal finances, connectivity and urban planning, the discussion brought different perspectives to the same challenge: how do we make India’s cities work better for the people who call them home?
For Janaagraha, conversations like these are an important step towards bringing cities, citizens and political leadership together and ensuring that urban governance is central to India’s development journey towards 2047.
The question is not whether India will urbanise. It is whether we are ready to govern our cities well.
Here’s a glimpse of the conversation: Link
Read ThePrint’s coverage: Link