Unplanned growth behind flooding woes: Javadekar

New Delhi: Flooding woes in various parts of the country stem from unplanned urbanisation rather than climate change and are a "legacy issue" that the government is correcting through its smart city programme, says Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Cities should have been planned better but that did not happen, Javadekar said during a recent interaction with PTI journalists at the news agency's headquarters here.

"It is not science to say it (floods) happened because of climate change. But it is true that unplanned urbanisation took place in the country. We planned Chandigarh, then Gandhinagar, while protecting and ensuring proper

drainage outlets. It did not happen in other cities," the minister said.

"Unplanned growth is also adding to the woes, therefore urban planning is absolutely important," he said.