The Kerala government on Wednesday announced the formation of an Urban Policy Commission to support the rapid urbanisation in the state.

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A cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to establish a comprehensive panel consisting of urban development experts of national and international acclaim. The creation of such a commission had been outlined in the previous state budget and was aimed at supporting the state's urbanisation, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

M Satheesh Kumar, Associate Professor at Queen's University Belfast, the UK, has been appointed as the Chairman of the proposed Commission with a tenure of one year.

Kochi Mayor M Anil Kumar and urban planning expert E Narayanan have been chosen as the co-chairpersons, with nine other individuals possessing international expertise appointed as members. The secretary of the local self-government department will serve as the member secretary.

The Urban Administration Study Centre of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) is designated as the commission's secretariat with an urban policy cell established for the purpose.

The interventions of the commission would be helpful in developing an international perspective on urbanisation for Kerala, whose diaspora is globally connected across different cities of the world.

As a state that has been adversely impacted by climate change, and as a region undergoing a highly complex urbanisation process, the commission would help understand various aspects of urbanisation in Kerala, it said.

It is expected that the findings and recommendations of the commission will be utilised to guide Kerala's development activities for the next 25 years, the statement added.

Provisions to provide financial support for formulating an urban policy have been there in various schemes, including the Rebuild Kerala programme, the AMRUT scheme, and others, it said. 

Grants earmarked by such agencies are intended to be used for the functioning of the commission in a manner that does not create any new financial burden, the statement explained.

Quoting the National Population Commission, it said that Kerala's urbanisation would be above 92.8 per cent by 2035.

The Centre published a draft framework for urban policy in 2018. Since urban development is a state subject, this report has recommended that the states publish separate urban policies. 

With the formation of the urban commission, Kerala would become the first state in the country to formulate its own urban policy, the CMO statement added.