THE NUMBER of people living in India’s urban areas is rising rapidly. The country’s urban population, which was 109 million in 1971, has grown to over 300 million at present (2009). Growth of urban population without concomitant investment in infrastructure exerts tremendous pressure on systems such as water supply, sewerage and drainage. Increasing quantities of uncollected solid waste poses serious threat to the health of citizens. Vanishing urban spaces such as parks and open areas lead to urban congestion and the ever-growing traffic on city roads creates daily traffic snarls. Lack of maintenance of existing infrastructure further adds to the pressure on civic services. According to the Eleventh Plan document, in 2001, 50.3% of the urban households had no piped water within their premises and 44% of them were devoid of sanitation facilities. The challenge is to address the infrastructure deficit by mobilising public as well as private sources of funds.