By 2030, according to the projections of the United Nations (UN) Population Division, each of the major regions of the developing world will hold more urban than rural dwellers; by 2050 fully two-thirds of their inhabitants are likely to live in urban areas. By 2050, India is likely to be the most populous country with a projected population of 1.69 billion. It is estimated that over 70 million new urban housing units will be needed over the next 20 years in India. This unprecedented urbanization has implication for ecological, economic and social sustainability. The analysis provided in this review offers a workable and practical philosophy that can be translated in the field from the perspective of balancing urban growth and environment in India. All these actions need to be incorporated for implementation in the master plan of the individual cities or regional master plan of the area to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability.