From Gurugram in the north to Hinjewadi in the west to Devanahalli and Whitefield in the south, the story plays out year after year. Hinjewadi, which lies northwest of Pune towards Mumbai, saw such massive floods and waterlogging this week that the gleaming IT-led city was forced to a standstill. Last year, it was in the news for, besides the annual waterlogging, excessive traffic congestion, which eventually led to a clutch of IT companies shifting out. It is not difficult to see why core infrastructure shortages and basic civic services fall woefully short in Hinjewadi and other relatively new cities developed on the outskirts of large cities like Delhi, Pune, and Bengaluru.

It is the appalling lack of planning and primary development that serves as the........

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