Namo Cities to be set up in Regional Plan 2041
Four semi-greenfield cities are proposed to be developed as mixed-use at selected existing and proposed stations on the Namo Bharat (RRTS) lines in the National Capital Region (NCR) during the 42 meeting of the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) which was held on 16 June 2026 in New Delhi.
The “Namo Cities”, as described during the meeting, will be identified through a competitive process among the NCR participating states. The scheme will include a performance-linked incentive of Rs.5,000 crore as a blend of grant, loan, and guarantee, including a Rs.1,000 crore grant. The NCRPB funding is intended to catalyse the growth nodes.
Also announced during the meeting was the central government scheme of replacement of old bus and truck fleets under a program called “Accelerated Renewal and Incentivization of Vehicle Assets for Reducing Transport Air-Pollution and Network Emission (PARIVARTAN)”.
The scheme is a time-bound fleet modernization scheme aimed at reducing vehicular pollution in NCR by incentivizing the replacement of BS-IV and older trucks and buses with BS-VI, CNG, or Electric Vehicles (EVs).
The meeting decided to formulate a scheme that would suitably incentivise state governments to increase green cover across the region, including through the participation of private citizens and companies. It was also decided to encourage the use of innovative instruments like green canopy credits and non-financial tools like transferable and saleable Special Development Rights.
These were discussed under the Regional Plan 2041.
The meeting was chaired by Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and attended by Chief Minister Haryana, Nayab Singh Saini; Chief Minister NCT of Delhi, Rekha Gupta; Minister Urban Development Rajasthan, Jhabar Singh Kharra; Minister Urban Development Uttar Pradesh, Arvind Kumar Sharma; Secretaries of MoHUA & MoRTH, and Chief Secretaries of NCR States, along with other senior officers of the Central Government and NCR participating States.
The NCR spans 55,083 sq km across the NCT of Delhi and 27 districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is home to 230 urban settlements and 11,784 villages, contributes ~8% of India’s GDP, and is the world’s largest urban agglomeration.
The region is on the cusp of near-doubling – from 7.86 crore today to 14.73 crore by 2041 — close to seven crore additional residents to absorb over the next fifteen years. Most of the population growth will be in the urban centres, and especially the larger cities within the NCR. The RP-2041 is an important step in meeting the challenge and planning for this growth.
The Draft RP-2041 has been comprehensively consulted. Public notice in December 2021 drew over 4,500 comments. It has undergone elaborate state and central government-level discussions and reviews through 2025. The updated draft was shared with all four constituent States in January 2026, and the responses have been incorporated, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs said. fiinews.com
