Bridging the Inclusion Gap: Informality and the Promise of Climate Action Plans in Indian Cities

City climate action plans (CAPs) in India remain constrained by institutional, financial and governance challenges. A concern is the marginalisation of vulnerable groups, particularly informal settlements and workers, raising questions about equity and the transformative potential of CAPs. This article examines the first generation of CAPs in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. It adopts a qualitative research design, combining structured textual analysis of CAPs with semi-structured key informant interviews. The analysis reveals how informal settlements and informal workers are identified and prioritised across plan structures, participatory processes and proposed sectoral actions. To foreground alternative pathways, the article also examines select Community-CAPs emerging as forms of practice-based counter-planning. The findings reveal that CAPs acknowledge the vulnerability of informal settlements—and, to a lesser extent, informal workers—but rarely translate into rights-based adaptation strategies. Yet, CAPs have opened a limited but significant potential for longer-term institutional change. The article argues that CAPs may enable localised and tactical forms of inclusion that statutory planning frameworks struggle to accommodate, including pilots, ward-level engagement and co-production through Community-CAPs. The article calls for an India-specific climate action framework that centres informality, equity and justice; strengthens decentralisation; and positions urban local bodies as leaders of inclusive climate governance.