New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): Stressing that urbanisation is a necessary condition for economic growth, Finance minister P. Chidambaram Monday called for a new model of governance to arrest urban decay.

"Cities have wealth, cities also create wealth. That wealth should be tapped for resources to rebuild the cities with a new model of governance," Chidambaram said outlining his vision for the future.

India is urbanising fast and the Planning Commission has observed that the pace of urbanization poses an unprecedented managerial and policy challenge.

It has noted that demand for key services such as water, transport, sewage treatment, and low income housing will increase five to seven fold in cities of every size and shape.

Speaking in the same vein, Chidambaram said cities in India will become "ungovernable, and perhaps unliveable, if one does not address the decay in them".

Earlier this month, the finance minister said India needs to build more cities and update laws, which regulate municipalities.

"The laws that govern our municipalities and corporations deserve to be thrown out and replaced by a modern law that understands what the central government does," he said while releasing a book, 'Transforming Our Cities' by economist Isher Judge Ahluwalia.