New Delhi, June 17 -- Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal on Tuesday announced the creation of four new cities to reduce pressure on the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising New Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

With the NCR contributing about 7-8% of India's gross domestic product and projected to be home to around 110 million people by 2041, Mint examines the Regional Plan 2041, which focuses on regional mobility-the metropolitan railway and the Regional Rapid Transit System-economic corridors, affordable housing, and environmental sustainability, including conservation of the Aravalli range.

The Regional Plan 2041, on which work began in 2021, is an urban development plan for the NCR that ...