DELHI has run into the problem of severe air pollution once again, with a smoky haze hanging low over the area, forcing official agencies to declare that the air quality over the national capital is “very poor”. Now the authorities are contemplating once again newer and stricter measures to control the decline in air quality, and may compel the people to follow better norms. Actually, the problem with mega-cities like Delhi is their unplanned growth. This is true for most mega-cities in India and the Government, some day, will have to come to terms with the reality of its own failure to regulate urban growth. Most unfortunately, much of urban growth in India is driven mostly by economic considerations and has little to do with actual happiness levels. That is also the reason that most mega-cities of the country are invariably slipping into the category of difficult living conditions despite good economic opportunities. Most unfortunately, similar models of growth are being followed by Tier II and Tier III cities as well. But the Delhi example should act as a wake up signal to all so that India follows the principle of planned growth.