One of the outstanding phenomena of the 20th century was the huge migrations of population it witnessed. It is natural to think first of the effects of war, exacerbated by nationalism and beliefs about ethnicity. A major example is the forced displacement of millions of people in Europe and the Middle East in 1945 and afterwards. But these movements are dwarfed by the migration of rural dwellers to urban areas, a process with origins in the industrial revolution but which in the past 60 years has turned from a stream to a tsunami. (Commentary)

This paper discusses various urban threats in the mega-cities of the developing countries and provides new insights into NCR planning and management. The mega cities in developing countries have been facing various economic, environmental and social threats. Further, the urban economy is not able to attract desired level of basic industries owing to weak infrastructural support.

Level of urbanization has been increasing in India since the last five decades. This trend is likely to continue in the near future. More people will become city residents, increased number of people will have to necessarily live on a limited amount of developed land. In this context, people will demand more housing and everything else associated with urban living including modern physical and social infrastructure. These facilities will be provided with intense use of technology. This urban condition could have devastating climatic and sustainability consequences.

Metropolitan growth is emerging fast across urban India while the country's municipal institutions have neither the mandate nor the vision or the capacities for metropolitan governance. Reforms were initiated with the landmark 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) in 1992 to provide political, functional and financial empowerment to urban local bodies. Simultaneously, this Act provided for formation of "metropolitan planning committees" (MPCs) for individual metropolitan areas.