Urban Update March 2017

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

UrbanUpdate Volume III, Issue XI

March 2017

Rs 100

“ULBs are important pillars of democracy” In a free-wheeling interview with Urban Update, Chhattisgarh CM Dr Raman Singh talks about his development agenda and the initiatives of his government to improve lives of the people living in urban and rural areas of the state

Chinks in the Armour

India would require, over the next 10 years, between USD 800 billion and USD 2.2 trillion of investment in infrastructure to sustain economic growth and address the needs of its growing population

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

Union Ministry of Urban Development has empanelled AIILSG on the list of consultants qualified to work for Smart City Mission.

AIILSG has been selected to work for Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Community Based Interventions

Professional Empowerment Project Management

Advisory Services Customised Training

Knowledge Management Capacity Building Information, Education and Communication (IEC)

Policy Research

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Ranjit Chavan President-AIILSG Ashish Deosthali Editor-In-Chief Director General-AIILSG Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor Abhishek Pandey Editor Ravi Ranjan Guru Executive Editor

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The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

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March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

EDITORIAL

Urban Infrastructure

More than just roads & buildings

F

or a few decades now, cities are increasingly and rapidly becoming the centres of economic activity all over the world. Their compact structure enables efficiency and productivity. The city is where all the opportunities lie. No wonder then that all over the world there is a deluge of populations into cities from rural centres. This has undoubtedly put enormous pressure on local bodies in cities to augment physical infrastructure and upgrade services to meet the needs of this large and growing population. The success so far has been mixed. It is but natural given that the challenge is of gargantuan proportions and the fact that cities’ responses have been more modest than robust. Thus in India, we see a number of national programmes, AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat and so on attempting to handhold states and ULBs with necessary focus, ideas and budgetary support. These will in due course help meet the challenges better by addressing infra needs and service delivery deficits.

In their quest to meet these challenges urban local bodies will need to keep in mind various considerations. Among the foremost is the environment. Rapid growth of cities, both vertical and horizontal, is resulting in loss of tree cover in most cities.

The resultant heat islands, loss of wetlands, increasing vehicular emissions, dumping in our rivers and lakes, waste generation are all contributing to the ‘ticking time bomb’ to which we seem to have no answers. Court interventions and civil society efforts have not provided great comfort. It is time for the individual citizen to reform, and to do so quickly.

Public health is an equally important concern in our cities. The environmental degradation coupled with poor sanitation and hygiene poses great risks of communicable disease as well as noncontagious, life threatening ones. Fragile

public health infrastructure and feeble response by the public bodies denies citizens appropriate redressal. Private healthcare is all but inaccessible for the large majority due to steep costs. Therefore public health infrastructure needs to be beefed up in great measure in our cities. This calls for not just budgetary allocations but creating a cadre of dedicated, motivated, caring and competent healthcare professionals.

Our cities also need to become more inclusive and respond adequately to all sections, the urban poor, women, children, the specially abled, among others. For too long our cities and their systems (public transport, buildings and public spaces) have been designed with the general or ‘average’ citizen in mind. This needs to change if we are to ensure that we ‘leave no one behind’. We look at some of these issues, the challenges, the possible responses and experiences of cities.

In the cover story, we delve into the challenges of urban infrastructure and service delivery facing our cities. Cities have been unable to add necessary new infrastructure to keep pace with growing urban population and the needs and aspirations of people. At the same time, the existing infrastructure is ageing. Estimates of investments required to replace, replenish and create new infrastructure in our cities are mind-boggling. ULBs tasked with the management of cities are struggling with their finances. Clearly much needs to be done.

Governments at all levels, policymakers and others working on several interventions must succeed in their efforts if we are to move towards more efficient, equitable and sustainable cities.

Ashish Deosthali Editor-In-Chief dg@aiilsg.org

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Quotes

PIN POINT BUZZ

We have to work to make cleanliness a day-to-day habit for all, in cities and in villages. And if we maintain cleanliness, we will eliminate diseases that affect poor people the most Narendra Modi Prime Minister

Leadership is really important when you want to make things happen, you can always have politicians making nice speeches but when it comes to action you need to have leadership

Ram Vilas Paswan @irvpaswan Union Minister of Food & Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs

Mineral water bottle will be available at the same rate at airports, hotels and malls. We received several complaints that companies print different MRPs. The ministry has asked them for a response

Karin WanngĂĽrd Mayor of Stockholm

Dev Fadnavis @CMOMaharashtra Chief Minister of Maharashtra

We need special focus on women self help groups and on providing market opportunities to empower women at large

The world is changing—we will have to spend money addressing and dealing with those changes whether we like it or not, whether we are committed to climate action or not Eric Olson Senior Vice President Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)

Decentralisation and empowerment of people in India is much needed... It is about interaction and dynamics of people that is what excites me about planning. The process of better urbanisation has just began and it could be done with better planning and legislation on the back of good technology and public transportation Anand Mahindra Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra

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Joan Clos @Joanclos Executive Director of UN-Habitat and Secretary-General

Urbanization and development are two sides of the same coin! Good urbanization is a driver of wealth and prosperity

M Venkaiah Naidu @MVenkaiahNaidu Union Minister for Urban Development and I & B

#SmartCity mission is a capacity building exercise that enables a paradigm shift in planning, execution & resource mobilization

Volume 3, Issue 11

Inside March 2017

ONE ON ONE

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ULBs are important pillars of democracy: Singh In a free-wheeling interview with Urban Update, Dr Raman Singh talks about his development agenda and the initiatives of his government to improve lives of the people living in urban and rural areas of the state

article

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Urban Infrastructure; going beyond the average citizen

In the face of relentless urbanization, urban service delivery has come under severe pressure in every Indian city.

Urban planners, policy makers and local administrators are grappling with the urgent need to beef up urban infrastructure, address deficits and meet the needs of the average citizen. The mythical average

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Transport infra crucial for India to sustain high growth rate

Urban transport is crucial for India to sustain high growth rate. Urban transport and mobility has direct bearing on the quality of life of citizens. As cities have grown over the years, especially after the liberalization in 1990’s, economic and urban growth has also brought its own share of problems

40 cover story

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Chinks in the armour Urbanisation is no longer an option for India. Urban population is expected to touch 590 million by 2030. India needs to build 15 cities of Mumbai’s size in next 10 years to accommodate the population.

Cities would need to invest hugely on infrastructure to bridge the infrastructure gap for ensuring high quality living standards. It is estimated that India would require, over the next 10 years, between USD 800 billion and USD 2.2 trillion of investment in infrastructure to sustain economic growth

LEADerspeak

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RegularS

6 10 15 44

Pin Point Event City Images Book Review

8 11 30 46

Equi-City Newscan Numerographs Urban Agenda

Green infrastructure must to sustain urban livability

Focus on bridges, roads, buildings and other infrastructure to improve public amenities and municipal service delivery system at the cost of urban environment is fundamentally erroneous and a step in the wrong direction. The government at all levels must take appropriate actions to maintain a balance between the green and grey infrastructure to guarantee healthier and livable cities for urban habitants

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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feature | Equi-City

City Development Forum to improve dialogue between people, government Equi-City team and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) constituted City Development Forum to improve dialogue between the citizens of Nagpur and city government, and enhance the quality and outreach of the municipal services rendered. Renowned environmentalist Girish Gandhi appointed as the convener Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar and CDF convener Dr Girish Gandhi during the first CDF meet

Nagpur: The 12-member strong CDF forum will work as a link between people and the municipal corporation and include people’s suggestions in the works being executed in different sectors and geographical areas. The forum is expected to identify issues plaguing the city, improve the delivery mechanism and address them through a collaborative approach.

Girish Gandhi, who is a celebrated environmentalist and social worker of Nagpur, has agreed to convene the forum. In the first meeting of the CDF, Gandhi said that cities are facing multiple challenges in housing, sanitation, women safety, mobility, and climate change. He said that the CDF must select a particular area of the city for implementing their ideas

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or solutions. This will work as a pilot project and help us in convincing people that the groups like CDF can deliver fruitful results by collaborating with local governments. It will also help us in scaling up the project easily in other areas. He stressed on preparing communication materials in local language for building better rapport and connection with people.

Another group member Leena Buddhe said that NMC must give equal attention to the areas on the outskirts of the city to ensure equal delivery of services to one and all. She emphasized on giving adequate attention to women issues specially related to sanitation and safety.

The core group of CDF has representation from different sectors

concerning urban management. The members include Dr Girish Gandhi, Rajiv Thorat, Prof Neelima Deshmukh, Dr P Sivasawaroop, Sandeep Shirkhedkar, Aprup A Adwadkar, Kaustav Chatterjee, Leena Buddhe, Sudhir Fulzele, GS Saini, Sunil Sahastrabuddhe and Atul Zoting. A dedicated team from Nagpur Municipal Corporation has also been selected to regularly interact with the CDF for implementing the group’s suggestions for the benefit of locals.

Members were of the view that such regular dialogues between the governments and public would help in restoring citizens’ trust in the government and pro-active public participation in decision making process to improve service delivery.

City Development Forum, an integral part of Equi-City project being implemented in Nagpur, strives to build a platform for regular interaction between the local government and citizens. The Forum will earmark the areas which need immediate attention and generate innovative ideas to resolve Equi-City team briefing the core group members of CDF about Equi-City project

The core group members of CDF include Dr Girish Gandhi (Convener), Rajiv Thorat, Prof Neelima Deshmukh, Dr P Sivasawaroop, Sandeep Shirkhedkar, Aprup A Adwadkar, Kaustav Chatterjee, Leena Buddhe, Sudhir Fulzele, GS Saini, Sunil Sahastrabuddhe and Atul Zoting. A dedicated team under the aegis of Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar has also been selected to regularly interact with the CDF them speedily. The core members of the CDF and the select municipal officials would meet regularly. Apart from the core group members, CDF would invite other citizens to be part of the forum to expand its outreach and address the issues of different sections of society.

Pashim Tewari, Technical Director, AIILSG, said that he was sure that such forums would help in improving dialogue between the government and people and in turn help in achieving equality in delivery of municipal services. Equi-City team distributed saplings to Municipal Commissioner, CDF convener and members to reinforce its commitment towards green and sustainable urban ecosystem.

Citizen engagement for community development

P

ublic administration in the context of citizen participation is defined as “interaction of citizens and administration, concerned with public policy decisions and public services�. In this sense, citizen participation is understood as having a direct impact on public policy creation and implementation, and citizens are regarded as an integral part of governance process, significantly influencing decisions affecting the community.

Citizen participation in the governance structure has its own set of challenges. Most of the time, the marginalised and vulnerable sections are rarely included in decision making process and are the most affected ones due to urbanisation.

The absence of citizen participation in urban governance can be credited to weak implementation of policies and scepticism of citizens towards the whole governance structure.

The urban local bodies (ULBs) in themselves, which have been assigned the task of managing towns and cities, are not adequately equipped to ensure citizen participation, as decentralisation and devolution reforms have not been found productive.

Public participation is necessary as it helps municipal authorities to understand the needs and requirements of communities thus helping them in developing inclusive governance systems. It also enhances transparency and accountability in the governance structure. Relationship between citizen and state (ULB) can also be improved by improving citizen engagement in the governance structure. It creates a collective understanding and ownership among

citizens on the governance issues that affect their cities/towns by ensuring participation of marginalised sections of the society.

Public participation expands public spaces, enhances the relationship between society and government, gives greater legitimacy to democratically elected authorities, promotes respect for citizenship rights, enhances the quality of politics, and strengthens solidarity and cooperation.

In this background, Equi-City Project at Nagpur focuses on achieving greater demand for efficient municipal services through multi stakeholder collaborative solutions and coordinated actions by participatory mechanisms.

The project through its identified objectives aims to reduce the communication gap between the Local Authorities and Stakeholder through increasing public participation and community engagements. It was during the various research activities and field work in the Equi-City Project that several examples of Citizen Engagement for Community participation and Community development came into prominence across Nagpur. These examples are not only inspiring but worth spreading as excellent examples of individual contribution.

Two such case studies where citizens displayed individual efforts for the development of their locality are mentioned here. In Mominpura slum of Nagpur, two individuals take on spreading awareness on sanitation and promote collective efforts to improve living conditions in their localities. Urban Local bodies can encourage such individuals by supporting their initiatives by providing technical support.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Locals comes together to clean Nallah Age: 33 years Location: Mominpura, Nagpur Occupation: Fruit Seller Mohd Wazib Qureshi lives in Mominpura slum of Nagpur. Along the street he might be identified as a fruit seller but he is an inspiring icon for his locality. He takes social problems head on and make efforts to resove them.

Wazib lives along the Mominpura Nallah which often overflows. The dumped solid waste gets collected on certain points and obstructs the flow of Nallah causing overflow almost every alternate day. The waste water from Nallah enters into the houses of people and creates unhygienic condition.

Stinking of house, contamination of food-vegetables and degradation of furniture are some of the problems faced by local residents.

Wazib along with his friends and family has taken the initiative to regularly inspect the level of Nallah and accordingly clean the pockets, where the solid waste accumulates.

Though this collective effort stands out as a small participation towards the temporary redressal of the problem, the act of kindness for the society has become a great example for the other people of the society. Inspired

by Mohd Wazib, other people started

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undertaking similar practice of cleaning and inspecting the flow of Nallah for the locality. Today, on every alternate day, the people of Mominpura residing along the Nallah collectively stand, inspect and control the situation of Mominpura Nallah. This has become an exemplary piece of work for the people of the community as well as an inspiration for his fellow dwellers.

Irshad motivates people to use toilets Name: Mohd Irshad Khan Age: 28 years Location: Mominpura, Nagpur Occupation: Butcher

As a responsible citizen, Mohd Irshad Khan realised his responsibilities towards his community from the age of 21. For him, the feeling of neighbourhood is the actual habitable place for a safe, secure and healthy community. “We are poor and we have nothing but this small piece of land which we call our home. It must be cherished and nurtured by your good deeds,� says Mohd Irshad Khan. A native of Mominpura, Irshad Khan along with his friends has always tried to be a strong support for the people of their locality. At the time of any individual family crisis, the group has always provided emotional and financial support to these families.

Helping locals in availing health care facility, resolving problems regarding water supply and solid waste are some of the assistance provided by the group.

The most important initiative taken

by Mohd Irshad Khan was to sensitize the people of Mominpura about the development of the individual toilet through Swachh Bharat Mission. Irshad decided to take up the challenge of motivating people for improving their sanitation conditions in the locality. He strongly believes that SBM can help in improving health conditions of people living in his community.

As a responsible citizen, he went from house to house for filling up their Swachh Bharat Forms (for allocation of funds for constructing individual toilets) and making sure that these forms were correctly submitted to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. Due to his efforts, people came forward and a total of 70-90 SBM forms were submitted. Such efforts can bring about change in the mindset of people easily if someone from the community talks to them and tell them about the benefits of using toilets or any such issues of importance. As a result, the eligible applicants will be receiving funds from the government to construct individual toilets. This selfless act of Mohd Irshad and his group not only proved to be beneficial for the people of Mominpura but also served as an inspiration for others.

NEWSCAN

Credit Rating of cities gains momentum; 44 get ratings NEW DELHI: Ministry of Urban Development rated 44 cities in which Pune and Navi Mumbai got AA+ rating.

According to a PIB report, a total of 85 cities will get ratings soon.

Union Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu said that moving away from archaic ways of urban governance, cities are now vying for credit ratings for mobilization of resources through municipal bonds, reflecting on their keenness to think and act differently. He informed that out of 97 smart cities, 89 have initiated this process of which 70 have completed it and 26 of them have been given credit ratings.

Naidu said that since the announcement of first batch of 20 cities for smart city development on January 28, 2015, these mission cities have moved quickly towards appointing Project Management Consultants, Special Purpose Vehicles and converting city-wise smart city plans for awarding project works for implementation.

He informed that 114 projects worth Rs 1582 cr would be completed

by June this year and another 186 projects costing Rs 11,749 cr have been awarded for execution and another 210 projects worth Rs 7336 cr would be awarded soon. By June this year i.e with in two years of the launch of the mission, a total of 510 projects with a total investment of Rs 20,669 cr would take off the ground amounting to about 50% of the total investment proposed, he explained.

He further said, “Under the new approaches introduced by the Government over the last two years, the cities are moving away from the earlier state of neglect and are now inspired by a new found sense of confidence,

Credit ratings & Cities Smart cities

Credit rating Amrut cities

Credit rating

Ahmedabad AA minus Bharatpur BBB minus Bhopal A minus Bikaner BBB minus Bhubaneswar BBB Sriganganagar BBB minus Indore A Plus Hanumangarh (Raj) BBB minus Jaipur A minus Dholpur BB plus Kakinada BBB Gangapur city BB plus NDMC AA minus SwaiMadhopur BB plus Pune AA plus Churu BB Udaipur BBB plus Sujangarh BB Visakhapatnam A Hindan BB Ajmer BBB plus Kishangarh A plus Kota BBB plus Jhunjhunu A Nagpur AB plus Bhiwadi A minus Nashik AA minus Alwar BBB plus Navi Mumbai AA plus Tonk BBB Rourkela BB plus Pali BB plus Thane AA minus Jodhpur BB

Bhilwara BBB plus

Bundi BB

Chittorgarh BB

Jhalawar BB minus

Baran BB minus

Sikar BB plus

Beawar BBB plus completion and character to rise to the challenges of urbanisation”. He asserted that smart city development is not elitist; on the other hand it has triggered inclusive and comprehensive urban planning and development addressing the inherited deficit in urban governance.

Naidu recently addressed a Business Conclave at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University.

The Minister said that Smart City Mission has brought about a paradigm shift by enabling the mission cities to approach the challenges differently rather than doing different things.

He explained that the Smart Cities

Mission (SCM) has been designed to promote inclusive development benefitting all sections of people besides promoting sustainable urban development practices and actions in the context of urban citizens being starved of breathing and living spaces. He said that this mission is a ‘behavioral change’ initiative requiring all stakeholders including elected and executive leadership and citizens to change their attitudes and approaches towards urban planning and execution.

Smart leaders and smart citizens are crucial for the success of the mission, he added.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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NEWSCAN

PMC plans India’s biggest municipal bond issue of Rs 2300 Crore PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to issue municipal bonds worth Rs 2,300 Crore, India’s biggest municipal bond issue till date. Pune, the second-largest corporation in Maharashtra, earns the bulk of its revenues from property taxes and local body taxes which have risen sharply in recent years.

PMC’s issue will be privately placed with both overseas and domestic investors. PMC has a long-term credit rating of ‘AA+’. PMC plans to use the funds for a 24x7 water supply project for the city, improving road network, sanitation and public infrastructure.

Jayanta Roy, senior V-P, Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) says, “Due to the push from the Smart Cities and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) programme, there is an increasing trend of urban local bodies (ULBs) getting themselves rated.”

Pune stands out in this regard since its revenue surplus rose by over 18% in FY16 to touch Rs 2,000 crore—the operating surplus in that year was 50% of operating income while its debt stood at Rs 122 crore. PMC’s ownrevenue-to-total-revenue-income ratio stood at 88% on average in FY15 and FY16 while property tax collections and local body tax grew at a Compound

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Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10% and 7.7% respectively over FY12-FY16.

In India, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) was the first ULB to issue tax-free municipal bonds for water and sewerage projects. As per data.gov.in, AMC issued tax-free 10year bonds worth Rs. 100 Crore in 2001. It was followed by Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF) in 2003 which issued a bond by pooling 14 municipalities for commercially viable water and sewerage infrastructure projects. Subsequently, the Government of Karnataka used the concept of pooled financing to raise debt from investors for the Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Project (GBWASP).

To boost the market for municipal bonds, regulator SEBI has allowed municipalities having a surplus in their books in any of the three preceding financial years to issue such securities.

The decision comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitching for boosting the market of municipal bonds also known as ‘Muni bonds’.

A municipal bond is a bond issued by a local government, or their agencies.

These have been used successfully by local governments in the US and China. The money raised from municipal bonds can boost quality

of life in cities. Job prospects in the locality also look up. These bonds are also a good investment option for investors looking beyond fixed deposits and small savings schemes.

According to the spokesperson from the National Institute of Securities Market (NISM), investor education arm, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), “Raising capital from a domestic municipal bond market can start as a supplement to funding from central and state governments, borrowings from financial institutions such as LIC, HUDCO and commercial banks.” By creating opportunities for citizens (as retail investors) to invest in tangible public causes in their cities, these bonds can also build strong bonds of trust between municipalities and citizens that can galvanise citizen participation in cities.

However, bonds are merely a way to collect money today based on revenue to be generated tomorrow. They are not a substitute for city revenue. To increase the appeal of municipal bonds, it’s important that an external auditing and rating agency be appointed to assess the viability of a ULB since investors are unlikely to put money into cities unless they are convinced about their fiscal strength. Innovation and political will are crucial catalysts in this endeavour.

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BRIEFS

Mysuru to launch bike renting service soon

TrinTrin, an initiative by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) would facilitate bike renting service to commuters in a cheap and eco-friendly manner. MCC has purchased about 430 bicycles that will be parked at 52 docking stations.

People would be able to rent these bikes on an hourly basis.

Users will have to register for a smart card online and preload it with money in order to utilise the service. With an estimated cost of Rs 20.5 cr, which is being funded by the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility Grant, the city wants to replicate the bike renting model that has been successful in many global cities.

80 vertical gardens to come up in New Delhi New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to develop 80 vertical gardens across its areas. The gardens will be developed at roundabouts which will consist of 200 ornamental or seasonal flower pots encased in 5-6 vertical frames. Once developed, only the flower pots will need to be replaced from time to time. Two of these gardens have been developed at Motilal Nehru Marg and near Vigyan Bhawan roundabouts.

NDMC Chairman Naresh Kumar says, “Vertical gardens will make NDMC areas greener, brighter and reduce pollution to an extent. This is one of the many innovations planned under the smart city project.”

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NEWSCAN

New railway corridors for faster services NEW Delhi: ‘Gati se Pragati’ is the tagline for the three new railway corridors; Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar and DelhiPanipat, the total length of which will be 380 km. The corridors are expected to considerably reduce the travel time.

The speed on the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) corridors will be higher than the current Delhi Metro service. The high-speed connectivity will facilitate seamless travel between the capital and suburbs. The Urban Development Minister, Venkaiah Naidu announces the logo and tagline for the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). NCRTC is a body responsible for development of rail-based suburban regional rapid transport system (RRTS) to reduce travel time between the towns of National Capital Region (NCR). Naidu also assures that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of DelhiGhaziabad-Meerut corridor has already been approved by NCRTC board.

The total length of the DelhiGhaziabad-Meerut RRTS is 92.05 km.

Out of which, 60.354 km is elevated via duct and 30.245 km is underground including crossing of Yamuna River.

RRTS shall be elevated via duct, running on the median of Delhi-Meerut highway, the Union Minister said, “That also is a specialty [of the project], it will be an engineering marvel”. The proposed RRTS is expected to carry about 7.91 lakh passengers in the year 2024, which is likely to increase to 9.20 lakh in 2031 and 11.4 lakh in 2041. The expected cost of the RRTS corridor at current price level works out to be Rs 21,902 crore. The revenue operation generation will come from 2023, Naidu said. Railway officer Vinay Kumar Singh is learnt to have been chosen for appointment as Managing Director of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the implementing agency for the three corridors of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in the NCR zone.About 30 senior officials in the government had shown interest for the post of MD of the newly-formed NCRTC; about 15 were interviewed by the search and selection committee for the job. Only Singh got the nod from the committee.

The committee comprised of Urban Development Secretary, Railway Board Member (Staff), an official from the DoPT and an expert from World Bank.

GPS & Bio-metric systems to monitor hawker’s movements BHOPAL: Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has passed a new hawker’s policy that marks out spots where hawking is allowed thereby preventing illegal encroachment on footpaths and city roads. Hawker shops will be monitored through biometric identification and GPS to ensure they make timely payments and move out every night.

One of the key aspects of the policy is that a registered hawker space can be passed down from owner to his/her family members. BMC deputy commissioner Vinod Singh says, “A street vendor would be asked to name a nominee to ensure continuity. The policy allows for only one hawker zone per ward and bars them from encroaching public places. This will end the practice of ‘subletting’ of space by hawkers, which costs BMC Rs 50 crore per year.” There are an estimated 20,000 street vendors across Bhopal, as per 2013 BMC survey. BMC has identified around 3,200 out of 5,219 registered hawkers. They would be given identity cards and will be allowed to do business on roads in designated zones.

BMC mayor Alok Sharma says, “There would be smart hawker’s corner in each of the 85 wards. Rs 15 lakh has been allocated as start up fund for the initiative.” A major challenge would be to make the hawker’s union see the necessity of the new laws given the fact that incorporation of GPS and bio-metric technologies in the monitoring process will be a new experience both for BMC and hawkers.

CITY IMAGES

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is turning transh into beautiful artefacts and installing them it its recently inaugurated Prakriti Park near Shastri Park metro station. The park is an example of eco parks with 12 sculptures made out of iron scraps, discarded sheets, broken pipes and tiles. The water required for horticulture is provided by a sewerage water treatment plant (STP) nearby.

The 42,000 Sqm Park, inaugurated on February 20, 2017,

mostly operates from solar energy. For art lovers, a gallery has also been created with paintings showing importance of environment protection.

The Junk-to-art park is made out of 20-25 tonnes of waste.

Also by using top soil from various underground station sites and medicinal and pollution absorbing plants, the park is attracting visitors in good numbers. Besides this it has a lake and fountain inside.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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BRIEFS

New buildings in Rajkot to have solar rooftop units Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA) has instructed that all new buildings in Rajkot district, including six municipalities and villages, will need to install rooftop solar power units. Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has taken the lead in ensuring that all buildings have rooftop solar panels. District Collector Dr Vikrant Pandey says, “We will promote rooftop solar power policy in urban and semiurban areas of Rajkot.” RMC has installed Solar PV system at its three zonal offices, three swimming pools and ten schools in the city already.

World Bank to help Bhubaneswar in handling e-waste Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has tied up with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank to devise a scientific methodology to collect, segregate and recycle electronic waste. The IFC team, led by e-waste expert Berno Kopacek, visited several spots Bhubaneswar to gain an insight on generation and dumping of e-waste and will come up with a working model.BMC and IFC estimated that scientific management of e-waste can help recover 90 per cent of metals from the waste, instead of the current 30 per cent. BMC’s Swachh Bhubaneswar Abhiyan (SBA) will also launch an awareness campaign among consumers and households regarding proper segregation of e-waste.

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March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

SC gives 3-month deadline for setting up waste plants New-Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) recently set a deadline of three months for industrial units across the country to set up functional primary effluent treatment plants (PETPs), failing which they will not be allowed to operate.

Nationwide severe measures are to be taken on water pollution by factories and industries. These units release untreated waste into rivers and other water bodies leading to water pollution.

On this,the bench led by Chief Justice of India, J S Khehar directs state pollution control boards to issue common notices to all industrial units, asking them to ensure the treatment plants are in working condition. After the completion of three months notice period, the court said, the boards shall carry out physical inspection of the units.

Electricity supply to defaulting units should be disconnected and only those which stick to norms and regulations of environmental laws should be allowed to continue, the bench said. The bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud

and Sanjay K Kaul, said “It is an important issue. If the country does not act now, it can never be retrieved.” The bench also pulled up the state governments and their municipal authorities for not putting in place Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP). “States don’t worry about human lives. You (governments) can see everything else but not how people are suffering,” it said. Directing the municipal bodies to set up common effluent plants in industrial areas within three years, the court said they could ask the factories to foot the bill in case of shortage of funds. It asked the states to submit reports with regard to setting up CETPs, to the concerned bench of the National Green Tribunal. The court further held that environment secretaries and state pollution boards must ensure implementation of its directives.

They must also upload the data about the quality of treated pollutants discharged into the river on their respective websites to make monitoring easier.

NEWSCAN

Chennai Corporation to give real time information about public utilities CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is planning to set up a Command and Control Centre (CCC), a system that will supply real-time information on the status of civic utilities in the city.

This information can be accessed by those browsing the dedicated website or smartphone app.

Once introduced, the system will rely on a network of sensors and cameras, fitted at public spaces and on civic utilities in the smart city area, to gather live feed.

For instance, a GPS-tagged conservancy compactor will relay information about its movement and a sensor-fitted garbage bin will notify the level of trash in it and how many times in a day it has been cleared. Likewise, a sensor on a streetlight can indicate its functional status and a traffic CCTV camera will provide information on traffic movement or violations to the officer manning the feed at the CCC headquarters.

Besides updates on utilities, the CCC will feature a disaster management

module. The GCC, post the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2015 South Indian floods and 2016 Cyclone Vardah was looking for a platform to integrate the government agencies involved in disaster management so that coordination was simpler and effective.

GCC believes such a system will help in rescue, relief and restoration operations to a large extent. C-DAC Chennai will assist the corporation in upgrading its infrastructure.

BRIEFS

Chandigarh to replace 48k streetlights

Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) and Energy Efficient Services Limited (EESL) have signed agreements to replace 48,000 existing conventional street lights with LED ones. Conversion of these lights into energy-efficient LED street lights will lead to saving in energy consumption by upto 5060%. The capital cost, including maintenance cost and warranty replacement of LED lights will be borne by EESL which shall also ensure there are no dark spots/ sine waves after implementation in selected areas by the MCC.

MoUD promotes TOD in cities

Telangana to become ODF state by June

NEW Delhi: To effectively address the emerging urbanisation challenges, the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has come out with a multi-pronged policy framework to promote living close to mass urban transit corridors. This new initiatives seeks to promote ‘Transit Oriented Development (TOD)’ which enables people to live within walking or cycling distance from transit corridors like the Metros, Monorail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, currently being taken up on a large scale.

The Ministry has formulated a ‘National Transit Oriented Development Policy’ which will be discussed with the States and Union Territories. This policy seeks to enhance the depth of understanding of States and UTs on TOD as a viable solution to many of the challenges like haphazard urban growth and sprawl, mobility, rapidly rising private vehicles on roads, pollution and housing choices. Under TOD, city densification will be promoted along mass transit corridors through vertical construction by substantially enhancing FARs (Floor Area Ratio) backed by promotion of Non-motorised Transport.

Infrastructure for walking and cycling to transport stations, development of street networks in the influence zone of transit corridors, multi-modal integration, effective first and last mile connectivity through feeder services to enable people’s access to public transit in 5 to 10 minutes from home and work places. Dense living along transit corridors besides resulting in enhanced living and travel experience, will also improve ridership of mass transit systems. TOD promotes integration of land use planning with transportation and infrastructure development to avoid long distance travel in cities.

About 35 out of 72 urban local bodies (ULBs) across Telangana will soon be Open Defecation Free (ODF). Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration TK Sreedevi said that rest of ULBs would be ODF before the Telangana Formation Day of June 2. Open defecation in Telangana urban is 8.38 per cent as compared to the national average of 12.6 per cent. Of the target of 1.64 lakh individual toilets and conversion of 52,567 insanitary ones; 69,613 and 6,178, respectively, have been completed. For public toilets, the target of 3602, 2484 were done while for community toilets 1032 of 1297 were done.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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NEWSCAN

AIILSG conducts training session to address MSW DELHI: All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG), an implementing agency, authorised to conduct Capacity Building Training (CBT) under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), conducted a training session at the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) HQ. 40 persons participated in the programme.

The objective was to understand the challenges to waste management particularly MSW, how legal acts formulated with stakeholders can become a pan India concept and how innovative solutions can lead to reduction of carbon footprint.

With human population in New Delhi estimated to touch 2.45 Crore by 2024, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is expected to increase from 8,500 tonnes per day (TPD) to approx. 19,100 TPD by 2024. Even per capita waste generation is estimated to go up from the present 500 grams per day (GPD) to 750 GPD. It’s crucial that suitable measures are taken to address this scenario.

Sunil Kumar, Solid Waste

AMRUT training session in progress at EDMC HQ

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March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

Management (SWM) expert from AIILSG, Delhi mentions, “In Delhi, landfills have reached saturation point and need to be either managed in terms of segregation and recycling or more space needs to be allocated to cater to the growing MSW and other waste products.” However, Kumar articulated that creating more landfills is not the way ahead. Scientific management of existing landfills via waste-to-power generation for instance, is a way ahead.

In this context, the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 offer a way out. Segregation of waste at the source followed by door-to-door collection is the first step. Waste bins displaying degradable and bio-degradable logos ought to be placed at all public places which should be cleaned from time to time.

Most importantly, segregated waste should be transported to material recovery facility (MRF) such as compost plant and bio-methanation plant to hasten recovery and recycling process. Kumar also mentioned using E-governance modules to aid in waste management. Addressing grievances

through online citizen complaint system, monitoring Safai Karamcharis by displaying beat-wise name & picture on ULB website and GPS tracking of garbage vans and trucks to assess performance were some of the major recommendations.

To give a further insight into waste management, Dr. Shyamala Mani, from National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), showcased some innovative solutions. Mani mentioned, “At the institutional level, Zero Waste Project (ZWP) at New MotiBagh, Delhi is an innovation. “ ZWP gets waste from over 1000 households. The average waste treated at the complex is 1.5 tons of household and 1 ton of green & horticultural waste every day. The waste is collected and brought to the segregation site from where the organic, green and plastic segregated waste is treated at the plant.

The dry waste is stored and sent for recycling to the respective recycling plants. The resultant product from organic waste treatment is organic fertilizer (organic khad). Plastic Waste is treated to produce Low Density Oil (LDO), Carbon and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Mani also emphasised on home composting as a measure to reduce per capita waste generated by each household. Since an average Indian home generates more organic waste than inorganic waste, home composting could tackle this waste easily. Mani mentions, “A resident welfare association (RWA) sensitive to waste management would be a bonus feature. Magnolias in Gurugram, Haryana is one such RWA that set up a waste management unit that can process anywhere from 450-900 kg of waste/day.”

Moreover, with startups such as Daily Dump, Protoprint and Karma recycling offering customised solutions to tackle waste at the consumer and institutional level, the vision of a waste free India doesn’t seem too distant a dream.

NEWSCAN

Gurugram converts 4 parking spaces to bicycle stands

GURUGRAM: Software firms along with a research organization launched a pocket parking project – ‘Seeds for Change’. The project initiated by Nagarro Software and WRI India, in partnership with the NGO Udaan and the Nasscom Foundation is aiming at reclaiming four car parking slots to create space for 40 bicycles.

Explaining the title of the project, Manas Fuloria, co-chair of NASSCOM

“A priority for public transport, walking and bicycling is more effective in managing the rising issues of congestion, air pollution and road safety. In that respect, I feel Gurugram’s effort to extensively promote cycling is an exciting venture.”

Dario Hidalgo Transport Expert, EMBARQ

Regional Council, Haryana and CEO of Nagarro Software says, “The project is called Seeds for Change, as it is a small seed that will definitely germinate and make better and safer cities.” Once four cars are replaced by 40 cycles in the parking space, congestion will reduce and movement will become easier.

Amit Khatri, additional commissioner, Municipal Corporation Gurugram(MCG) said “Apart from other drives that we regularly do, another main focus area would be taking action against illegal parking. Gurugram Police and MCG are working together towards it.” A city bus service consisting of 500 buses would also be deployed by December 2017. Other initiatives such as the Pod Taxi Project too are being looked into to reduce congestion as well as carbon footprint.

The pod taxi project (also known as personal rapid transport system), in its pilot project will have a 12.3-km track from New Delhi-Haryana border to Subash Chowk via Rajiv Chowk on Sohna Road. MCG is working closely with NITI Aayog to develop a technically and logistically reliant method through which the pod can be built and sustained.

Proposals given by firms such as Ultra Global PRT, skyTran and Metrino PRT are being looked into to arrive at a decision that will benefit both the consumers and operators respectively.

BRIEFS

NGT issues notice to Safdarjung Hospital Delhi National Green Tribunal (NGT) threatens to cut off Safdarjung hospital’s water and power supply if the hospital does not comply with biomedical waste disposal norms. The NGT notice has given the hospital a 15-day period to fix the problem. “It’s impossible to meet the deadline, such a project will take at least six months to a year,” said Dr AK Rai, medical superintendant of the hospital. Safdarjung, is the busiest hospital of Delhi with 7000 footfalls daily, does not have a proper sewage treatment plant.

London introduces ‘Toxicity Charges’ for polluting cars

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan introduces USD 12.43 ‘Toxicity charges’ for older and much polluting cars. Khan says, “It’s staggering that we live in a city where the air is so toxic that many of our children are growing up with lung problems.

If we don’t make drastic changes now we won’t be protecting the health of our families in the future.” The Mayor launched an online vehicle pollution checker on the Transport for London website. He further describes it as the toughest emission standard for any major city.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Swachh Shakti Saptah underlines women’s role in SBM Women’s Role in Clean India Movement is rewarded with the launch of Swachh Shakti Saptah in Gurugram, a weeklong celebration for recognising their role and leadership. Over 1000 women from the grassroots of Haryana attended the event.

Further, Prime Minister of India is to address 6000 women sarpanches in Gujarat and honor them for their contributions.

Milestone for Swachhta Abhiyan; over 100 districts in the country are Open Defecation Free (ODF) while over 1.7 lakhs villages have become ODF.

Say no to plastic bags in Thiruvananthapuram

NEWSCAN

Water taxis may reduce Delhi-Haryana travel time to 45 minutes!

DELHI: A proposed Water Taxi Service from Palla (Delhi-Haryana border) to Wazirabad would reduce the travel time between the two to 45 minutes. The distance between two points is nearly 20 kilomertres but due to poor public transport connectivity and heavy traffic movement on the stretch, it takes 3.5 hours to cover the distance.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has been appointed to implement the project and the process to procure vessels and develop infrastructure is already underway. IWAI has moved a plea seeking environmental clearance from the National Green Tribunal (NGT). As per a feasibility study conducted by the IWAI, Delhi Jal Board and the Irrigation and Flood control department of Delhi government, the Wazirabad to Palla stretch was considered for navigation and development of water transport facilities. Yamuna upstream, which is almost 22 kms from Wazirabad to Palla, is less polluted and has the required depth for navigation. Amitabh Verma, Chairman of IWAI says, “As no permanent structure will be constructed, we should get the green signal from the NGT. Tenders for dredging, three passenger vessels and jetties have been

The picture is used for representation purpose only

The City Corporation of Thiruvananthapuram has imposed a blanket ban on all types of plastic carry bags within its city limits from March 1, 2017 under the ‘Go Green Expo’.

The capital of Kerala is on its march to go green by increasing usage of recyclable items. It will soon be declared as a ‘plastic free-zone’. Besides bags, next target is to completely ban use of plastic sheets, multi-layer plastic covers, disposable plates and packaged commodities.

20 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

“The water taxi will not only help boost tourism but also facilitate to rejuvenate the river by sensitizing the youth about the importance of the river. ” Amitabh Verma Chairman, IWAI

floated. Hopefully, by the end of June, we will start the ferry service in the city.”

Nevertheless, environmentalists are concerned about the feasibility of the project. Environmentalist Vikram Soni, Professor, Centre for Theoretical Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia says, “The plan does not seem feasible because the river does not have enough water except for the three months during monsoon. The NGT must look more closely into government data so as to not to endanger the already stressed river.”

However, if the plan is implemented successfully, the authorities are optimistic that it will pave the way for water recreational activities.

NEWSCAN

Janaagraha indexes top cities of India Even the top Indian cities performed poorly in comparison to their global counterparts in the ranking New Delhi: Janaagraha, a Bengalurubased non-profit organization, ranked Thiruvananthapuram as the best city in its recently released report on multiple components of urban planning and management. Kerala’s capital scored 4.4 out of 10 in the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS). However, even the top city in the chart performed poorly in comparison to New York and London which scored 9.8 and 9.3 on the same scale; while India’s best cities scored less than five. Pune and Kolkata grabbed the second and third position with a score of 4.1 each.

Janaagraha ranked 21 cities in 18 states on 83 parameters divided into four main components—Urban Planning & Design, Empowered & Legitimate Political Representation, Urban Capacities & Resources, and Transparency, Accountability & Participation.

“Annual Survey of India’s City Systems is a study of “City-systems” of India’s cities. It aims to serve as an annual health check-up of the quality of laws, policies, institutions and institutional process underlying quality of life in our cities. ASICS aims to push the envelope on city governance reforms in India through data and insights. We believe ASICS can provide the common frame of reference for political and administrative leaders, business and academia, media and civil society, in different cities to coverage on their agendas for transformative reforms in their respective cities. In its 4th edition, ASICS brings insights and data on City-Systems to the foreground.” Srikanth Vishvanathan, CEO- Janaagraha

Thiruvananthapuram topped the list released by Janaagraha. A view of Indian Coffee House in the city. The building was designed by celebrated architect Laurie Baker

The city system survey was conducted

by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. Thiruvananthapuram scored highest on two components-Empowered and Legitimate Political Representation & Transparency, Accountability and Participation.

Of the 80 million residents in the ASICS cities, 46 million are governed by an indirectly elected Mayor who has a tenure of 2.5 years or less, an aspect that significantly weakens city leadership. Maharashtra also introduced directly elected heads for the municipal council but did not for the municipal corporation as a result Mumbai benefits from the move. In the 2016 report, Mumbai lost two ranks moving to fourth position.

Thiruvananthapuram, the highest ranking city, had scored an average of 3.7 on the component of Empowered Legitimate and Political representation, mainly because of two advantages: it has sufficient numbers of municipal councilors and the mayor has tenure of five years.

Delhi scored less marks in the category. But Delhi bagged the highest rank in one of the components of Urban Planning and Design, while Kerala’s capital is on the 11th position. A city must allow having spatial development planning and effective mechanism to

deter violations. Bhubaneswar ranked second in planning and design.

Adequate investment and skilled human resources is needed for city planning and public infrastructure.

This would be implemented through optimum use of technology. For instance, Government of Rajasthan initiated municipal accounting reforms in all 188 municipalities by empanelling Chartered Accountants (CA) to improve transparency in accounting processes, auditing and budgeting.

Despite implementing aforementioned financial reforms, Jaipur ranked 18th in this category. Mumbai grabbed the highest on the Capacity bench.

Does your city put out adequate information and facilitate citizen participation? It is a point of transparency, accountability and participation. According to the ASCIS report 2016, Indian cities lack both, formal platform of participation that gives its people a sense of ownership over the city, and democratising information informed platform of participation by enabling its people to get a true image of what ails their city.

Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ludhiana joined the list of cities that offer its citizens opportunities to volunteer with the city government to address local issues.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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BRIEFS

Karimnagar to have 24x7 water supply

Karimnagar Municipal Corporation is ready to become the first civic body to provide 24x7 water supply. The plan comes under Mission Bhagirath project. Navin Mittal, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Secretary, said after successful grounding of the Mission Bhagiratha program, the government has now decided to provide water to all urban households in the cities.

He added that Karimnagar city is also in the race of Smart City status, so the plan has been prepared for Rs 1684 crore.

NEWSCAN

Sunflower solar panel generates 22% more electricity than traditional solar panels AUSTRIA: To make solar power generating modules aesthetically and scientifically appealing, Austrian entrepreneur Alexander Swatek has designed a solar system that rises and sets as per the Sun’s schedule. Dubbed ‘Smartflower’, its foldable solar panels are designed in the form of an actual sunflower. Endorsed by Austrian actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Smartflower opens like a blossom at sunrise and shuts at sunset and moves with the sun during the day.

The system is a solar and storage system and not a rooftop installation.

The freestanding 18-foot-high petalshaped unit can be installed in one hour and moved anytime. “It is at a 90-degree angle to the sun all day which makes it 40 per cent more efficient than a rooftop system. The unit shuts down in high winds, cleans itself and stores enough power to supply an average-sized home in Europe and costs about USD 24,900”, says Swatek.

Smartflower uses highly efficient monocrystalline solar cells, which ensure a high yield and a long service life of at least 25 years. Monocrystalline solar panels have the highest efficiency rates since they are made out of high grade silicon. They can convert more than 22% of sunlight into electricity and require less installation space.

However, the height of the solar cells is a deterrent. Swatek hopes with further upgradation of the present technology and investment, the cost of the Smartflower would come down.

Interestingly, Smartflower has a space requirement of about 25 cubic meters. It cleans itself with built-in brushes between the module leaves, thus avoiding deposits which reduce the yield. Moreover, natural air ventilation prevents heat build-up which affects the yield. Tropical countries located close to the equator can adopt such a technology given the fact that they receive good amounts of sunshine.

HC suggests CAG audit of the trees felled in Delhi

Challenge Fund for healthy competition in states

The Delhi High Court recently suggested the government an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India into the number of trees felled in the national capital for various projects. The court took a note that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary authorities had cut a large number of trees in the national capital for various projects. HC also remarked that if trees were to be voters, they would have been spared on cutting. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ashutosh Kumar while hearing suo motu proceedings on air pollution in the national capital made these remarks.

NEW Delhi: The Central Government is set to introduce a new competition for states to push for urban reforms using ‘carrot and stick’ approach. The Centre would set up a Challenge Fund which the states would compete for. The Challenge Fund would be an incentive for states to introduce urban reforms which have been high on Narendra Modi government’s agenda. These include government certification for land titles, employing value capture financing methods for funding urban development projects, credit rating for municipal bodies, floating municipal bonds and a dedicated municipal cadre. Every year, targets will be set and a percentage weightage will be given for urban reforms. The states would be able to tap into the Challenge Fund if they achieve the targets set. How much each state gets would depend on how they perform not only in their corporations but as a comparative to other states. Speaking to Media, Urban Development Secretary, Rajiv Gauba said, “A matrix is being worked out for a Challenge Fund. This would give an additional push to urban reforms, which are needed in our municipal corporations. The states would compete against each other to tap into this dedicated fund.” The urban development ministry would recommend certain models for the states to follow. Rajasthan’s Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bill passed in the state is a model which is likely to be recommended to the states to follow. Under this, the residents living in urban areas, which are governed by the municipalities or state development authorities, can seek a certificate of ownership of their lands by paying a nominal fee to the state government. The state government sets up an authority, similar to transport authorities which issue driving license and fitness certificate.

22 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

New KMC bill allows civic body to repair old buildings Kolkata: The West Bengal Assembly recently passed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) bill, 2017.

The bill would give legal power to the corporation to ensure repair and maintenance of old and dilapidated buildings in the city.

State Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said that the city had several dilapidated buildings which needed urgent repair. “Through this bill, we

will urge the KMC to form a committee and examine the buildings so that repair work can be undertaken soon. The KMC will be given a time frame under which these building will have to be repaired,” Hakim said.

The bill stated, “It is felt that mere demolition of a dangerous building under relevant provision of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, will cause hardship to its occupants.”

“It may not be conducive to public interest in the urban areas, suffering from acute shortage of accommodation and therefore opportunities should be given to the owners to reconstruct the structures in order to protect the lives and property of the occupants within the jurisdiction of KMC,” it stated.

Ludhiana corp. to Dhol Bajao drive to seal bus stand for not recover property tax paying 5.5 cr tax Ludhaina: Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has served a sealing notice on Amar Shaheed Sukhdev Interstate Bus Terminal for its failure to pay property tax since 2009. The notice states that if the authorities fail to pay the tax of Rs 5.5 crore, including interest, (calculated till December 31, 2016), then the bus stand will be sealed on February 28. The civic body then served a tax recovery notice on the bus stand authorities in the last week of December, 2016. With they failing to reply, the MC has now issued the sealing notice.

NASHIK: Nashik Municipal Corporation has launched a ‘Dhol Bajao’ drive to recover property tax from stubborn defaulters. The drive involves using a brass band to announce their presence at the defaulter’s doorstep.

The curious onlookers also assemble at the place to see the spectacle. This embarrasses the defaulter. Deputy commissioner Rohidas Dorkulkar said that they collected Rs 70 lakhs property tax from various defaulters in one single day. “The drive is successful and we hope to recover all the pending tax soon,” he said.

BRIEFS

GMC launches new helpline Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has introduced free helpline numbers for citizens where public grievances or any kind of query related to the civic body can be filed. Earlier GMC helpline numbers provided services related to drainage, garbage collection, streetlights and flood. But now the service umbrella has widened by covering other grievances like water supply, trade licence, building permission, birth and death certificates, among others. Citizens can write to the civic body at write2gmc@ gmail.com.

People can also post their complaints, suggestions and feedback at facebook.com/guwahatimunicipal-corporation and also at WhatsApp number 8811007000.

Police, ULB join hands to improve parking in Surat Surat police and Municipal Corporation staff jointly began surveys at multiple locations to hunt for complaints of illegal parking that continue to trouble people. The first phase of the drive will see one major road in each of the seven municipal zones being covered.

This exercise will be replicated in other areas after the completion of the first phase.

Police are identifying locations where vehicles have been parked on roads and sharing the details with SMC for an analysis of the situation. SMC officials are visiting buildings with the approved plan and examining if there has been any encroachment of the parking area earmarked in the plan. The process to survey parking places at different buildings in the city has been initiated by the police and the SMC.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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NEWS FEATURE | Municipal Elections

Maharashtra elects city leaders in 10 ULBs Team Urban Update

Mumbai: Municipal elections in 10 municipal corporations of Maharashtra are over. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in the state, won 8 out of 10 corporations andemerged as the single largest party in Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur.

However, it lost Thane by a significant margin and Mumbai by a whisker.

Elections were also held in 25 Zilla Parishads and 283 Panchayat Samitis across the state.

BMC elections

BMC elections always hold significance.

The richest municipal body in Asia with a budget of over Rs 37,000 cr is of political importance to control the economic capital of the nation. Shiv Sena topped the chart with 84 seats and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) came a close second with 82 seats in the 227seat strong corporation. Congress and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were limited to just 31 and 7 seats respectively in the BMC elections held in February. Independents and others won in 23 seats.

However, both the leading parties, BJP and Shiv Sena, failed to touch the majority mark of 114. After the initial confusion over mayoral post, Vishwanath Mahadeshwar of Shiv Sena was appointed as BMC mayor after BJP withdrew from mayor and deputy mayor race. Shiv Sena’s Hemangi Worlikar was elected deputy mayor.

Both the parties fought the elections on the promise of making Mumbai better than ever. BJP’s main poll plank was making BMC corruption free and improving civic services and providing better roads, bridges and public transport to citizens of

24 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

Shiv Sena’s Vishwanath Mahadeshwar(forth from left) and Hemangi Worlikar (fifth from left) were elected as mayor and deputy mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) respectively

Election Results Cities BJP SENA CONG NCP MNS Others Akola 80 48 8 13 5 0 6 Amravati 87 42 9 16 0 0 20 Mumbai 227 82 84 31 9 7 14 Nagpur 151 108 2 29 1 0 11 Nasik 122 66 35 6 6 5 4 Pimpri-Chinchwad 128 78 9 0 35 1 5 Pune 162 98 10 9 38 2 5 Solapur 102 47 20 14 4 0 17 Thane 131 23 67 3 34 0 4 Ulhasnagar 78 32 25 1 4 0 16 Zila Parishad 1509/1514

397

259

293

336

1

147

(Source: Election Commission)

AT-A-GLANCE

♦♦ BMC is the richest civic body of Asia. It has a budget of over Rs 37,000 cr which is larger than annual budget of many Indian states. It also has a deposit of Rs 51,000 cr. ♦♦ BMC is the second oldest municipal corporation in India. Set up in 1872, it was established under the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1888. ♦♦ Over 9000 candidates were in the fray in 1,268 seats in local bodies polls ♦♦ BJP won 8 out of 10 corporation polls in Maharashtra ♦♦ Harshad Karkar, 23, an MBA student, becomes the youngest corporator of BMC. Karkar says he would use his academic skills to improve civic amenities in Mumbai ♦♦ Mumbai recorded 55% voting, highest in last 25 years ♦♦ Four couples won in Ulhasnagar civic polls

Mumbai. Prior to the civic polls, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray made several promises to Mumbaikars. Thckeray announced total property tax exemption for residential units measuring up to 500 square feet and concessions for houses up to 700 square feet, besides a free medical care scheme named after the late Bal Thackeray. He also promised generous property tax concessions to housing societies pursuing rainwater harvesting projects. Now that the elections are over, the citizens of Mumbai are looking forward to the promises made by Shiv Sena. However, it seems many citizens do not believe in lofty promises made by local leaders as a significant number of people, almost 90,000 citizens, opted for None of The Above (NOTA) in BMC polls this year.

Newly Elected Mayors

Civic polls in other Maharashtra cities

Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Nanda Jichkar Mumbai Nagpur

Mukta Tilak Pune

Sanjay Narwane Amravati

Meenakshi Shinde Thane

Ranjana Bhanasi Nashik

Nitin Appa Kalje Pimpri-Chinchwad

Vijay Agarwal Akola

Shobha Banshetty Solapur

Apeksha Vikas Patil Ulhasnagar

BJP has performed well in eight corporations across the state. It is for the first time the party will rule Pune Corporation. It won 98 out of the 162 seats. It also performed well in PimpriChinchwad where it won 78 out of the 128 seats. In Nagpur, the party retained its rule by winning 101 seats out of 155 seats. The BJP clinched 32 seats in the 78-member Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation. In Solapur, the saffron party won 47 out of 102 seats. In Akola Municipal Corporation, the party clinched 48 seats in 80-seat strong corporation. BJP won maximum 45 and 67 seats in Amravati and Nashik. However, Shiv Sena retained its reign in Thane by winning 67 seats out of 131 seats.

BJP could win only 23 seats here and came third after National Congress Party that won 34 seats.

After the results were announced, an elated Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted:“Extremely thankful to the sisters & brothers of Maharashtra for reposing their faith in BJP & in politics of development & good governance.” He also praised BJP workers, particularly Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state party president Raosaheb Danve Patil, for tirelessly working for the people. In a statement, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Our victory is the result of people’s acceptance of our agenda of transparency.”

In Zila Parishad elections, BJP performed well and won maximum 397 seats out of 1514 seats. NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena, and others won 336, 293, 259, 148 seats respectively.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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COVER STORY | Urban Infrastructure in India

COVER STORY | Urban Infrastructure in India

26 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

Chinks in the Armour

Urbanisation is no longer an option for India.

Urban population is expected to grow to 590 million by 2030. India needs to build 15 cities of Mumbai’s size in next 10 years to accommodate the population. Cities would also need to invest hugely on infrastructure to bridge the infrastructure gap for ensuring high-quality living standards. It is estimated that India would require, over the next 10 years, between USD 800 billion and USD 2.2 trillion of investment in infrastructure to sustain economic growth

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

27

COVER STORY | Urban Infrastructure in India

Abhishek Pandey | Editor ap.urbanupdate@gmail.com

U

rban infrastructure is almost everything that helps cities run everyday life. Urban infrastructure is about many things— buildings, roads, parks, boulevards, bridges, airports, railways stations, educational institutes, hospitals, sewage and drainage systems, etc. The quality of these components of urban infrastructure determines the quality of life. Indian cities have witnessed crumbling infrastructure in cities in adverse situations such as Chennai and Gurugram floods in previous years. Even the railway network of the country is over 100 years old and several accidents in the recent past have exposed chinks in the railway armour.

However, the government has charted out its plans of modernizing railways by bringing in new technology, engaging private players and improving services provided on the wheels. Similar is the situation of many other pillars of urban infrastructure in cities. The major areas which would require attention include energy, urban transport management, railways, sea ports and air ports.

The major population of the country, almost 69 per cent, may still be residing in villages but the current trends and studies suggest that the demography would change soon and problems will aggravate if not addressed in due course. In the Global Ranking of Competitiveness (2016-17) released

28 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

by the World Economic Forum, India performs poorly in infrastructure front and is ranked 68th among 138 countries. Hong Kong tops the chart.

Though, India has improved over the years,a wide gap remains. If India has to ride the wave of prosperity and economic growth, investing in new infrastructure and overhauling the existing ones become essential.

The economic prosperity of a city is intertwined with the strength of its infrastructure. If a city has to prosper, the government has to invest in improving infrastructure and bridging the gaps, if any. The celebrated Indian economist, Dr VKRV Rao had said: “The link between infrastructure and economic development is not a once and for all affair. It is a continuous process; and progress in development has to be preceded, accompanied, and followed by progress in infrastructure, if we are to fulfill our declared objectives of generating a self-accelerating process of economic development.” Urban infrastructure is paramount because it provides benefits not just tourban residents but also to those living near the cities’ boundaries.

Almost 200 million people could get benefits from investments in urban infrastructure by enabling rural-urban connectivity, access to markets and other services available in cities.

Urban India and infrastructure

India has a challenge on its hands.

The 31 per cent population in its urban centers would gravitate to at least 40 percent by 2030. India’s urban population is expected to touch 590-million mark in 2030. If the estimation is to be believed then India will witness urban expansion at a breakneck speed. According to ‘India’s Urban Awakening’ report released by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) in 2008, it took India nearly 40 years (between 1971 and 2008) for the urban population to rise by nearly 230 million. It will take only half the time to add the next 250 million. The report projects that, to meet urban demand, the economy will have to build between

700 and 900 square kilometers of residential and commercial space a year. It means that India would have to build 12-15 cities of Mumbai’s size in the next 10 years. This is a colossal challenge.

India has made considerable progress in building and improving urban infrastructure and services. The newly elected government in 2014 gave a push to development in cities by launching various schemes and putting in investment to rejuvenate the urban ecosystem in the country. However, most of these projects, especially those that were to be started under the Smart Cities Mission, remain on paper. According to a news article published in a national daily, of the 731 smart city projects worth Rs 46,366 cr approved so far, implementation has started in 49 (6.7%). And 24 projects (3.3%) have been completed as of January 2017. The main reason behind the delay mentioned by the Ministry in the report is the complex procedure involved in tendering of the projects as normally the lowest bidder is awarded the project but it is important to see if the company has adequate expertise for implementing the project.

Infrastructure sector in India is marred by several issues, both

structural and financial. Delay in approval of projects, clearance from relevant ministries and departments and problems in land acquisition all contribute to the delay. Since the government is making a fervent pitch for foreign investment in infrastructure projects under Public Private Partnership (PPP), the policy makers need to give due consideration to addressing risks that discourages the private sector from investing into infrastructure. Government of India must work on policies to minimize the risk for investors to ensure fast-paced infrastructure creation.

Improving the services rendered by municipal corporations at local level cannot happen if local bodies cannot manage their finances. If we compare the standard of services being provided by corporations in India with their counterparts in developed nations, there is a huge difference. All the major civic services such as per capita potable water supply, solid waste management, waste water treatment, the quality of public spaces is poor in comparison to global cities.

Most of the urban local bodies are in bad financial health as most of their tax and no-tax revenue goes in paying the salaries of their employees.

Almost every municipal corporation in India is dependent on state and central government funds to manage its expenses. Even the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has a colossal budget of Rs 37000 cr, is able to generate only 66 per cent of what it requires for managing its expenses. The state of financial affairs in other small local bodies is far worse.

Local bodies with experts in the domain have to work out a mechanism through which they can ensure financial accountability, transparency and make sure people pay for using the infrastructure and services.

Funding requirements

A report by the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) for estimating the investment requirements for urban infrastructure and services projects the total investment requirement for urban infrastructure, over the 20year period from 2012 to 2031, at Rs 39.2 lakh cr, at 2009-10 prices. This includes: Rs 34.1 lakh cr for asset creation, out of which the investment for the eight major sectors is Rs 31 lakh cr; Rs 4.1 lakh cr for renewal and redevelopment including slums; and Rs 1 lakh cr for capacity building.

The Committee’s terms of reference

A report by the MGI projects that, to meet urban demand, the economy will have to build between 700 and 900 square kilometers of residential and commercial space a year.

It means that India would have to build 12-15 cities of Mumbai’s size in the next 10 years.

Over the next decade, we require over USD 1.5 trillion in India alone to fill up the infrastructure gap. We also use the additional resource which is available with us as a result of falling prices because that regime helps us.

In investing large public finance into infrastructure, for instance, we have seven hundred thousand villages in India. We intend to connect each of them by 2019 Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister

specified that it should estimate investment requirements for eight major sectors of urban infrastructure, i.e. water supply, sewerage, solid waste management, storm water drains, urban roads, urban transport, traffic support infrastructure, and street lighting over the period 2008-20.

It has prepared detailed estimates of investment for the eight sectors and scaled them up to arrive at an overall estimate of investment in urban infrastructure. It is significant to mention that the report does not include the increase in the cost of projects due to delay in land acquisition or due to approval from different government agencies. The report though has underlined the fact that most of the projects, almost 70 per cent, since 2008 were delayed mainly because of these two factors.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has reiterated it during his speech in a seminar on Infrastructure and Global Economic Growth. He said: “Over the next decade, we require over USD 1.5 trillion in India alone to fill up the infrastructure gap. We also use the additional resource which is available with us as a result of falling prices because that regime helps us.In investing large public finance into infrastructure, for instance, we have seven hundred thousand villages in India. We intend to connect each of them by 2019.”

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Numerographs | Urban Infrastruture

Budget 2017-18 ♦♦ Total allocation for PMAY - Urban increased from Rs 5075 cr in 2016-17 (BE) to Rs 6043 cr in 2017-18 (BE). ♦♦ The expenditure by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA) in 2015-16 was only Rs 1761 cr against the budget allocation of Rs 5635 cr. ♦♦ Total allocation for MRTS and Metro projects is Rs 18,000 cr out of the total Ministry of Urban Development budget of Rs. 34,212 cr.

Cities & infrastructure

shortfall

India is facing fastpaced urbanisation that is a challenge and oportunity both; but how it will turn out will depend on how well we manage our cities. This will require massive investment in urban infrastrure to create better mobility and access to better services for businesses and industries to prosper. An overview of present state of affairs, initiatives and future requirements Team UrbanUpdate

30 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

Infrastructural Impediments

7933

164

million is the expected increase in India’s urban population between 2015 and 2030

cities and towns of different population sizes make up India’s urban system

$1

tr per annum is the current infrastructure investment gap against an annual global investment demand of $3.7tr as per World Economic Forum estimates

D+

rating given by the American Society of Civil Engineers to US infrastructure systems. USA would have to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to rank up its scorecard

1.2

trillion USD investment required for urban infrastructure in India over a period of 20 years as per McKinsey Global Institute Report

41

trillion USD is required to restore old infrastructural systems and build new ones in existing and upcoming cities between 2005 and 2030

Source: World Bank,Ministry of Urban Development, McKinsey Global Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers

India’s steps towards a developed nation Allotted (2017-18) Total Allocation Covers

454 cr 500 cr 12 Cities

Focuses on revitalising twelve heritage cities via development of sanitation facilities, public transportation and parking,citizen servces and information kiosks. The scheme will seek to strengthen the tourism and heritage industry.

HRIDAY

4091 cr 50,000 cr 500 Cities Strives to build infrastructure that will ensure adequate robust sewerage, transportation facilities, industrial facilities and water supply for urban transformation. AMRUT will work closely with ULBs to ensure the above criteria.

AMRUT

3205 cr 54,500 cr 109 Cities Seeks to build state of the art cities that will seek to improve quality of life by using urban informatics and technology to improve efficiency of services and meet resident’s needs.

Smart Cities Mission www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Leaderspeak | Green Infra

Ranjit S Chavan President, AIILSG

Green infrastructure must to sustain urban livability Focus on bridges, roads, buildings and other urban infrastructure to improve public amenities and municipal service delivery system at the cost of urban environment is fundamentally erroneous and a step in the wrong direction. The government at all levels must take appropriate actions to maintain a balance between the green and grey infrastructure to guarantee healthier and liveable cities for urban habitants

E

nsuring that our cities remain sustainable, buzzing and keep moving to a prosperous future, without negatively impacting their ecosystems, is a challenge.

The requirement of energy in cities is significantly higher in comparison to rural areas because of a range of urban activities required to run cities. These activities add burden on existing urban ecosystem and increase carbon footprint. Despite this, urban governments have not given appropriate importance to building adequate safeguards to mitigate the effects of rapid urbanisation and climate change.

Many developed countries in the West are already predominantly urban and

32 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace in developing countries. Most of these countries, in Asia and Africa, will see an exponential urban population growth in next couple of decades. This throws up a challenge of accommodating increasing population in existing and new cities.

According to a recent World Bank study, urban population growth is likely to result in a significant loss of non-urban land as built environments expand into their surroundings. Cities in developing countries are expected to triple their land area between 2005 and 2030, with each new city dweller converting an average of 160 square metres of nonurban land to urban land. It is evident that the cities will

have to expand their land area and invest hugely on infrastructure. It will result in loss of urban forestry and existing natural ecosystems.

Recently a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar of Delhi High Court commented: “If trees were included in electoral roll as voters, then they would remain�. They underlined that a huge number of trees have been felled by local authorities like Delhi Metro, for projects and by encroachers, like in the Asola sanctuary. All of us should mull over the serious effects of cutting trees and resolve to bring about improvement in natural safeguards in urban centers.

Building and maintaining green infrastructure in cities can balance development and sustainability.

Green infrastructure

There are many components of green infrastructure and urban forestry is just one of them.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the preservation and restoration of natural landscapes (such as forests, floodplains and wetlands) are other critical components of green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is a costeffective, resilient approach to managing wet weather impacts that provides many community benefits. While single-purpose gray storm water infrastructure— conventional piped drainage and water treatment systems—is designed to move urban storm water away from the built environment, green infrastructure reduces and treats storm water at its source while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits.

The planning and management of a city always affects how city systems encroach upon the natural system or use natural resources. If an industrial city has not taken into consideration the treating of waste water being generated from its industries, it will lead to spoiling its water bodies such as rivers and lakes. In the long run, the uncontrolled industrial activities would also affect its ground water and in turn water supply. This is quite evident in cities like Kanpur

and Agra where industrial activities have polluted its water bodies. Cities must be held responsible for maintaining the natural resources on which they rely on and prosper. Another example is uncontrolled urban sprawl in Chennai wetlands. It damaged the natural water drainage and led to terrible floods in the city in November 2015. Protecting and improving green infrastructure is as important as building bridges, dams and other public utilities.

Local interventions

Governments at the centre formulate policies for implementing projects but local leadership, public consciousness and the impact of the project on the lives of local populace will always be decisive in making it a success.

The requirement of people and urban environment in different cities would always vary for different reasons.

Local leadership need to channelize the resources and capacities to achieve the objectives as envisioned and make sure that the outcomes serve local needs. Officers and elected representatives of urban local bodies need to keep themselves updated with the successful projects in the domain to bring about affirmative changes in the minds of their staff and also citizens. Studies suggest that a single large healthy tree

can remove greater than 300 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. Why can’t urban local bodies play a pro-active role in encouraging people to plant more trees? They can come up with innovative ideas like incentives to Resident Welfare Associations to maintain public places with trees.

A case in point is the High Line Project of New York city.

High Line Project: New York

Following decades-long growth in the interstate trucking industry in the USA, the last train ran on the High Line in 1980. The elevated railway line became obsolete.

According to Friends of High Line, a community that manages and generates funds for maintaining High Line Project, a group of property owners lobbies for demolition while Peter Obletz, activist, and railroad enthusiast, challenges demolition efforts in court. To advocate for the High Line’s preservation and reuse as public open space, Friends of the High Line was founded by Joshua David and Robert Hammond in 1999.

The High Line project in New York captured the public’s imagination and helped redefine and globally influence what urban green space can be. At present, Friends of the High Line raises 98% of the High Line’s annual budget.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Article | Citizens & City Infrastructure

In the face of relentless urbanization, urban service delivery has come under severe pressure in every Indian city. Urban planners, policy makers and local administrators are grappling with the urgent need to beef up urban infrastructure, address deficits and meet the needs of the average citizen. The mythical average.

Urban Infrastructure going beyond the average citizen

Women dressed in their best peddled on the roads of Izmir to reclaim their space on roads.

Izmir’s Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu said, “We hope that this demonstration, from the most enlightened city of Turkey, extends a message on mobility, on violence against women and on terrorism.” The slogan of the drive was— “Perfume rather than smell of gas on the roads”

34 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

V Vijaykumar | Sr Advisor, AIILSG

I

n the race against time to create adequate physical infrastructure in a timely manner, often the needs of different categories of citizens get drowned. Yet the need for social equity and inclusiveness demands that urban infrastructure and systems are designed to meet the needs of as many, if not all categories of citizens so that all are able to participate in and avail of the benefits and opportunities of urbanization equitably.

The most obvious category of citizens is the specially abled citizens-one with special physical needs. Our cities are busy building roads and footpaths rapidly to meet the ever-growing needs of vehicular traffic and public transport systems. Yet, how many of the walkways have dropped curbs to accommodate the needs of wheelchair bound citizens? Our planners and implementing agencies seem to have simply missed out on this. While there are many mandates and regulations including some by the courts, their implementation has often been limited to the rule books, Development Control Regulations and other statutes with nothing to see on the ground. Design of public buildings, toilets and other facilities leave much to be desired as far as meeting needs of specially abled is concerned.

Unfortunately, city designs are made with the average person in mind. This ‘average’ person may turn out quite ‘mythical’. While well documented research says that older people are more likely to be happy and content if they are able to participate in all activities and to enjoy outdoor social interactions, the fact is that they perceive our cities as inhospitable, even hostile given the uncaring external environment marked by cluttered, encroached walkways, poorly lit streets and casually designed public infrastructure. While the public discourse dwells on inclusivity of urban design, the reality is that all aged citizens except the affluent are unable to participate with safety and security.

The affluent because they can be driven around and accompanied by care givers on such outdoor visits. The rest are confined indoors under ‘self-imposed house-arrest’, an oft quoted phrase coined by Chris Phillipson, Professor of Sociology and Social Gerontology at the University of Manchester. It is almost as good as saying that our public are suitable only for certain groups of people, by age and income levels.

WHO’s Age Friendly Cities Project aims to engage with cities around the world encouraging them to make their cities and communities more responsive to the needs of older persons and to enable them live fuller lives with dignity.

Age friendly cities

Women and the city

Another vulnerable category with special needs is the older citizen.

Cities will host about two thirds of the global population by 2030. A large fraction, especially in the high-income societies, about a third, will be over the age of 60. Cities can no more go about with a business-as-usual attitude.

Urban infrastructure planning needs large doses of gender-equality thrown in. The primary parameter is to make cities safer for women. By virtue of poor design, some areas remain out of bounds for women because the destination or the route to the destination is poorly

Urban mobility is driving change in cities around the world and the incredible rate of innovation in recent years has redefined our experience in cities. Electric cars, Hyperloop & Pod Taxis will soon be the preferred mode of transport.

Ingenuity and perseverance is crucial in this regard

lit at night or passes by an unfriendly neighbourhood, for example. It is necessary for planners to take a closer look at the way women use and interact with the city infrastructure.

For instance, the housewife makes multiple trips a day (as opposed to the simple ‘home to workplace to home’ structure of man’s movement) including to drop and pick up kids from school, errands for groceries and medicines, accompanying an elder to a neighbourhood relative and the daily exercise walk. Well-lit streets to ensure safety, wider walkways to enable carry goods, enroute seating for accompanying seniors will all go to make our public spaces more woman friendly. Public transport is an area where we have noteworthy examples; Mumbai has women-only suburban trains, not just women’s compartment in all trains, many cities have allwomen buses and so on. The vigorous efforts to increase women members’ in our urban local bodies is surely a useful step towards understanding women’s needs better and to bring in greater gender equality.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Article | Citizens & City Infrastructure

Cities for children

Children need special attention in the design of our public spaces and systems. In the absence of friendly public spaces, children are often confined within the boundaries of their residential complexes or gated communities after school hours. They are occupied with the same set of activities each evening and interact with the same set of neighbour kids. Facilities such as parks and gardens, swimming pools, badminton courts and museums are increasingly difficult to find in close vicinity. Outdoor cycling and skating spaces for example which are children friendly are next to nonexistent. However, the Happy Streets which happens in many Indian cities on Sunday mornings is a realization of this shortcoming and provides a refreshing change for all, particularly children who have the street all to themselves surrounded by many events including entertainment, song and dance, street plays, painting competitions, football and badminton games, cycling and skating. We need more of these events more often in many more locations.

As we can see a city is made up of different sets of citizens, with different set of needs.

While it may not be possible to meet the needs of every set of citizens at all times, cities cannot be designed for the ‘average’ citizen either.

Some call this the ‘mythical’ average. Our cities must strive to become more inclusive by creating the appropriate architecture which will meet the needs of as many as possible as often as possible by engaging all stakeholders.

36 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

City of Bursa In Bursa, the metropolitan city released a circular that obliges all municipal directories to integrate the principle of gender equality in all their planning and implementation processes. To ensure that this circular becomes more than a vague statement, the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which is also a signatory party to the European Charter on Equality of Women and Men in Local Life, commissioned the Equality Commission of the Municipal Assembly to oversee the integrity of the proposals submitted to the municipal assembly from a gender equality point of view. The city also revised the municipality’s Public Works Bylaws in order to establish solid legal grounds for gender sensitive urban space planning, including compulsory construction of nursery rooms and children’s playgrounds in all regenerative areas, social and cultural spaces and municipal buildings. Nilufer, a district of Bursa that has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and part of the Cities Programme since 2007, reports annually on how it advances universal principles including Human Rights and Women’s Empowerment. The district’s 2013 Communication on Engagement states that a total of 257 women have benefited from services offered through its Women’s Cooperation Centers, which offer a range of tools to women, from access to adult and children psychologists to advice on professional skills development. Furthermore, this data is tracked and disclosed at all levels through direct applications, face-to-face meetings and telephone calls.

City of Izmir In Izmir, the metropolitan municipality established a Branch Office for Women and issued bylaws for its operation with two subdivisions: the Women’s Counselling Center/ Shelter and the Gender Equality Unit. The office has a total of 30 employees and, in terms of its name and administrative structure, is the first of its kind in Turkey. The Gender Equality Unit collects gender discrimination data from municipality staff on a regular basis and organizes activities on important dates such as International Women’s Day. The unit also provides gender equality training regularly for groups ranging from neighbourhood governors to the general public, and invites women’s organizations to offer their opinions in relation to changes in municipal regulations on land development planning. The efforts in Izmir have been scaled down to the neighbourhood level as well.

The Municipality of Konak initiated neighbourhood mobilization activities within the framework of the Women Friendly Cities Programme. Following a series of systemized seminars and focus group discussions, the neighbourhood women assessed their most urgent local need as the reformation of the neighbourhood park that had been widely occupied by substance abusers. The municipality’s Equality Commission pursued the matter at the Municipal Assembly and the park was subsequently transformed and named ‘The Park of the Leader Women’ after the women who advocated to improve it. Though only a small scale example, it showcases how transformative local equality mechanisms can be when it comes to the lives of women living in cities. The City of Izmir was the first municipality to join the Women Friendly Cities Programme, and the Equality Mechanisms that have been formed in the city have now been dispersed to local administrations at the district level.

Source: Turkey striving for sustainability through ‘Women Friendly Cities’ EgeTekinbas, Women Friendly Cities Joint Programme Manager, United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Development Programme, Turkey

Heritage & Cities | Article

India’s tryst with heritage Indian heritage is experiencing an aesthetic and intellectual revolution. With financial and intellectual investment as well as political will, cities are likely to improve their heritage sites through retrofitting and conservation initiatives Pinaki Das | Editorial Assistant

I

ndia has been blessed with many heritage monuments.

Right from the Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro to Taj Mahal in Agra, India has many monuments built by rich and powerful patrons of art and culture. The fact that these have stood the test of time proves without doubt the remarkable craftsmanship and intellect behind their creation. At present, these monuments haven’t been maintained in a manner such that befits their status as works of art. Nevertheless, institutions such as Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and others have done their bit to ensure that these works of architecture stay pristine and beautiful.

The aspects of HRIDAY

The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) is working with ISRO to ensure that smart cities in India are not built at the cost of compromising cultural and natural heritage sites, a crucial component of HRIDAY. For this Geospatial Technology (GST) will be used to effectively map such sites.

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu says, “GST makes use of satellite navigation systems and computer databases called the Geographical Information System (GIS) to create, capture, store and retrieve geographic and spatial information of any place. The use of GST-based mapping of cultural and natural heritage assets to increase its viability is central to achieving the main objective of HRIDAY scheme.”

Under HRIDAY the MoUD approved

development of a 6-km long Dwarka Darshan Circuit in Gujarat at a cost of Rs 16.27 cr. The works to be taken up include development of streets and pedestrian pathways, laying of cycle tracks, provision of benches, resting spaces, changing rooms, drinking water and toilet facilities, craft and food bazaar, signages, LED lighting, plazas for vending spaces etc. This would make the place, as the MoUD says, an active cultural and interactive hub.

Restoration and repair works

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the nodal agency to maintain and restore heritage sites in India. Recently, the ASI carried out the preservation work of the Jonnagiri Rock Edict in Kurnool district, which dates back to the 3rd century BC. Jonnagiri is one such edict that was built under Mauryan emperor Ashoka’s rule. It is located in the Pattikonda mandal of Kurnool district and contains inscriptions written in Brahmi script. K Krishna Chaitanya deputy director, ASI, says, “For 2,300 years, this edict was left to the vagaries of nature. Now we are making use of technology to preserve it and restore it to its pristine glory. It is the world’s first rock edict with inscriptions that preach love for wildlife. An amount of Rs 6 lakh had been sanctioned by the Government of India for the current year, to carry out structural restoration work.” In order to make the Brahmi writings more intelligible, ASI will provide gist boards at the site. A gist board is a reference tool where every letter of the Brahmi script is transliterated into Telugu and Hindi, and the equivalent

grammatical connotations are juxtaposed so that the common public may understand and appreciate the text. A pavilion has also been constructed to protect the edict.

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) has also done its bit to protect the monuments in Delhi. Earlier, the Sundar Burj in the Nizamuddin area had a dilapidated look and was defaced with graffiti scrawls. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) under the AKF took up the restoration work and restored the Burj to its original pristine state. The AKTC is working in collaboration with government agencies as part of the Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative.

The trust’s noteworthy accomplishment has been the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb in 2013. Over a period of 10 years, the tomb was restored to its earlier avatar. Conservation architect Ratish Nanda, CEO, AKTC, says, “The AKTC’s objective is to enhance the life of the buildings by removing modern materials like cement that have been added to them over the decades, and, wherever possible, restore the missing elements with original materials and design. In the case of the Humayun’s Tomb, the design of the ASI was faulty and had compromised the structural integrity of the monument.”

Ultimately, protecting and preserving works of art must become every Indian’s responsibility. That responsibility can be aroused when all stakeholders right from lawmakers, bureaucrats and civil society to the common Indian see monuments as extensions of their own identity and look upon any damage to the monument as a threat to their own existence.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

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Article | Transport Infrastructure

♦♦ Highway sector budget increased by 12 percent to 64,900 crores ♦♦ Arun Jaitley said that the total length of roads, including those under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana), built from 2014-15 till the current year is about 1,40,000 kms. ♦♦ Government claims that construction of PMGSY roads has accelerated to reach 133 km roads per day in 2016-17, as against an average of 73 km during the period 2011-2014. ♦♦ The government claims that it would complete the current target under PMGSY by 2019. ♦♦ An allocation of Rs 19,000 crore in 2017-18 has been made for this scheme. Together with the contribution of states, Rs 27,000 crore will be spent on PMGSY in 2017-18.

38 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

2

1st Century India is climbing high on the path of progress and development and aspirations are rising high as well. It requires a lot of policy incentives and investments to meet those aspirations. The major locomotive of this growth has to be driven by urban transport which will further boost the growth and generate employment as well. Efficient and reliable urban transport systems are crucial for India to sustain a high growth rate and alleviate poverty.

Urban transport has both direct and indirect effects. The significance of its role stems from the fact that on the one hand it has a direct bearing on the quality of life and on the other it works as a stimulator for poverty

reducing growth.

Urban transport and mobility has direct bearing on the quality of life of citizens. As cities have grown over the years, especially after the liberalization in 1990’s, economic and urban growth has also brought its own share of problems. Air pollution has become a cause of national concern now. So much so that the national capital is described as a gas chamber. The airborne suspended particulate matter far exceeds the normal air quality.

Urban transport sector is directly related to air pollution that it creates.

It is important for Indian cities to retain their livability in order to attract international capital and compete with other international centres.

Environment is as much relevant for

Urban transport

crucial for India to sustain high growth rate

Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor

economic health as medical health for the cities. The worst affected lot is the pedestrians, whose mobility and safety is always in danger because of non-existent sidewalks and difficult street crossings. Motor vehicles have already pushed off bicycle riders from the street. Secondary and tertiary road networks have been ignored largely over the years.

Industries such as services and manufacturing concentrate around urban areas. It requires efficient and reliable urban transport to move workers and connect production facilities. Urban transport in India is already under pressure and the growth of service and manufacturing sector has brought it under further strain.

Cities like Chennai, Bengaluru and even National Capital Region have attracted significant investment in the field of technology because of highly qualified workforce. Cities have grown but urban transport in every Indian city is still struggling. Developing an efficient urban transport system should be part of the broad Government policy aimed at improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of Indian cities.

It is in this context that budget 201718 and its emphasis on urban transport and infrastructure becomes important.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley provided a lion’s share for infrastructure in his budget. For the transportation sector he allocated massive 2.41 lakh crores.

Allocation for highways was increased by twelve percent. Finance minister termed roads, railways and rivers as lifeline of the country.

New metro rail act in the offing

Metro rail has become an important mode of transportation. While in earlier days it was identified with Kolkata only,in the last two decadesstarting from Delhi, now every state is implementing the project in its cities, be it Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru or Kochi.

Jaitley in his budget speech identified metro rail as an important mode of urban transportation. He said ”a Metro Rail Policy will be announced with focus on innovative models of

implementation and financing, as well as standardisation and indigenisation of hardware and software. This will open up new job opportunities for our youth.”

A new Metro Rail Act will be enacted by rationalising the existing laws. This will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation”. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said after the budget that funds allocated will give a big boost to infrastructure sector, especially highways. He said highways sector continues to be a focus area for the government and announcements of multi-modal logistics parks and multimodal passenger stations will be a game changer.

But the crucial factor is that National Highway Authority of India will have to raise almost sixty thousand crores to undertake projects worth over 1.5 lakh crores in the fiscal year 201718. The government is expecting that Indian companies will be able to generate funds from the global market as tax exemption is available on ‘masala’ bonds and it will help NHAI.

Aviation sector needs overhauling

While the Tier 1 cities have all the amenities at airports and have been turned into world class ones, working force has to move quite frequently to even Tier 2 cities. Therefore it is important that land available with Airports Authority of India be put to good use. It has a huge land bank of almost fifty five thousand acres across the country. Now glitzy malls, hotels and convention centres are being proposed. But the important fact is that over the next fifteen years India will require an investment of almost three lakh crores in this sector. And where is that going to come from?

Head of aviation and partner at KPMG, Amber Dubey says “many AAI airports, especially in state capitals, have significant commercial value. The revenue generated can be utilised for airport upgradation, development of new regional airports, and for reducing

aeronautical charges”.

The government has waived the service tax on airlines offering cheap tickets with the help of viability gap funding to help operator and people at smaller airports that are not commercially attractive. The provision in this year’s Budget is an attempt to make viable the Ude Desh Ke Aam Nagrik (UDAN) more viable.

Innovation will be the key to meet the demand

US based SkyTran Inc. is developing pod car system for urban transport and is willing to build a one kilometre pilot track in India at its own cost.

SkyTran, a NASA technology partner, is among three companies that have been chosen by the government to build pod cars—driverless vehicles that run along a pre-determined route.

The move comes after a NITI Aayog panel cleared transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s proposal to test three rapid transport systems using pod cars. The government think tank had mandated that these new technologies should be tried on a pilot stretch of about 1km in different places, where the bidders will execute the pilot at their own risk and cost. The NITI Aayog has said stretches selected for pod taxi pilots should be such that each one of them can be further extended to a length of 15-20 km, if successful.

Is technology a solution to the woes of urban transport?

Urbanization and rising incomes have been driving rapid motorization across urban India and even in small cities and towns. In the coming years we will have millions of cars on our streets that are already choked. Urgent action is required if we do not want to see the benefits of urbanisation undermined, lowering the productivity from constant congestion and higher level of pollution. Innovation is the key though it has its own challenges especially in the transport sector. It requires ability to adapt and change. Effort must be made to build cities that are accessible, smart, healthy and livable.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

39

Article | New Cities

Development without demand?

The new city of Raipur

Kumar Dhananjay | Consulting Editor

T

he new city of Raipur was conceptualized by the first government after the formation of the state and since then has been continued by successive governments.

The present chief minister Raman Singh has made it his dream project.

40 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

The new city is located at a distance of about 25 kilometres from what is now known as old Raipur. So what is unique about this new city, a planned one along the lines Chandigarh and Jamshedpur among others?

The development of Naya Raipur as a smart city was envisioned inthe Naya

Raipur Development Plan 2031, which was sanctioned in 2008. The city has been divided into forty sectors out of which twenty one will be residential.

Planning and development is being done by Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA). The city is being dubbed as an ultramodern ‘green and

smart city’.

The authorities claim that it would provide all modern amenities to its residents. New lakes are being developed which will have theme parks for residents and for recreation and leisure activities and also attract tourists. The officials also claim that gardens and playgrounds will be spread across the city and will be linked together via a pedestrian corridor. The city is being developed on about eight thousand hectares and in three layers.

But seventeen years down the line still the first layer work is on. Planning for the second layer is still to begin.

Authorities claim that 130 kms of road has already been laid and all the streets have LED lights. As one moves around the city, one finds it true that you don’t see any electricity poles and wires hanging. All the wiring is underground.

There are solar power stations, BRT and others facilities. NRDA also claims that while acquiring the land they did not disturb the villages but rather included them in the first layer itself except one village from where people were relocated and compensated.

A ghost city

But the problem is ;where are the people for whom this infrastructure is being created. The houses built are empty, the streets are empty. Except the activity that takes place in the New Mantralay and other government offices that have shifted there you don’t find people.

When confronted with this question the Chief Executive Officer of NDRA Rajat Kumar says “the first challenge was to create city level infrastructure.

The government’s biggest challenge is to do things and prove it. You can’t prove things to people with animated diagrams. The government setup has shifted here and government housing is almost complete”. Obviously the government servants have no choice but to come to office. But still they are commuting from their homes in old Raipur. And why are people not coming to stay in New Raipur? Is the new city just being built for the elites and higher ups of the society? When this question

was put to CM Raman Singh he accepts that yes it is very difficult for people to move for emotional reasons.

He says “to answer about Naya Raipur; It is being developed as an integrated smart city for the future, which can provide high quality life to a much larger population than Raipur.

Migration of people from one city to another is not an economic decision, but an emotional one. For someone who has spent their life, built their family, their home, seen their kids grow up in Raipur… It is difficult to leave those memories behind. Some of the housing colonies in Naya Raipur are fully occupied and with the new dreams of the new generation, I am sure Naya Raipur will soon be populated”.

The government’s defence is that people don’t move in ones or twos.

They like to move together citing the example of Chandigarh which took almost thirty years for it to prosper.

But they also accept that of about 7000 houses built for government officials sixty percent are still vacant. So what is the government’s plan for making Naya Raipur populated? Rajat Kumar says “we are looking at a population of one lakh by 2020, 3.5 lakh by 2025 and 5 and half lakhs by 2031 which was part of the original master plan and we are trying to speed up things”.

But as you drive down from the old Raipur to the new one you hardly find any activity happening on that stretch of about 25 kilometres. In between you just find roads lined with trees or farmlands. Police headquarters and the Secretariat have already shifted to Naya Raipur and people feel that government is out of public reach.

Once all major offices shift to the new capital, it is likely to widen the distance.

So the question that begs an answer is whether people come first or the city?

In the existing city people are residing and planning is done accordingly but in the case of Naya Raipur planning was primary and people are secondary.

Town planners are also questioning the same. Manish Pilliwar, architect and town planner says “infrastructure is being created but people are not willing to move. We spread the city as

it grows and develop peri-urban areas.

But if we look at Naya Raipur they started from the farthest stand. And also old Raipur has been neglected over the years. So there is no connect between the two. And in the ultimate analysis any investment which is not giving benefit to the people is not considered worth”.

Also while you plan your city the livability factor is the most crucial part.

There is always a site suitability based on various parameters which is given weightage. Apart from the physical aspect there is the livability index that needs to be considered. Was that ignored in the case of Naya Raipur?

A point which Pilliwar concurs to.

He says “livability index is a crucial factor for people to migrate. And there are several parameters to measure that.

Water is a big challenge in Naya Raipur.

They are finding it difficult to maintain even landscape. Planning authorities did not go for best technologies. It was not that the technology was not available while this planning was being done. A wrong site comes up with many constraints and you will keep struggling”.

It is being claimed that Naya Raipur is based on creating a healthy and ecofriendly system to create state-of-theart urban infrastructure to promote a modern lifestyle. It will also have educational and service sector hubs.

A central business district is also being developed. But the question is for whom? A new city or a suburb is developed following extreme pressures on the existing city. In Raipur, on the other hand, many housing units are waiting for occupants and people just do not want to migrate to a new one. There is a danger that Naya Raipur might just become the administrative capital populated largely by government officials and staff of private companies as and when they come up. There is no integrated and simultaneous development of peripheral areas. Though dubbed as a city of the future there is a danger that it would be a disadvantage for the people as the government offices will move away from the people.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

41

one on one | Dr Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh CM

ULBs are important pillars of democracy: Singh In a free-wheeling interview with Kumar Dhananjay of Urban Update, Dr Raman Singh talks about his development agenda and the initiatives of his government to improve lives of the people living in urban and rural areas of the state

Dr Singh this is your third term in office. What has been your vision for the state and how satisfied are you so far as the development of the state is concerned?

Chhattisgarh, in last 13 years has achieved so much as a state. It has empowered its residents and leads the nation in various metrics of socio-economic development. Unity and understanding between various stakeholders will lead to a developed Chattisgarh.

Development or Vikas has become the buzzword in political discourse today. Can you reflect on it in terms of human development index? How much have you achieved in terms of that?

Our government has done exemplary work in all the three indicators that comprise HDI. The per capita income has increased more than 750% in last 13 years. Our endeavor to provide employment has made sure that we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, which is evident in Economic Survey 2016-17. We are 4th in the nation in “Ease of Doing Business”, which reflects on the state´s ability to provide infrastructure and invite investment from private sector,

which will translate into higher per capita income. CG Food Security Act and complimentary schemes such as Mahtari Jatan Yojna, Amrit Yojana, etc. that help in providing complete nutrition have brought down IMR and MMR drastically. I believe that it is not about providing Food Security, but about providing Nutritional Security.

There are 21,600 schools and more that 50,000 anganbadis in the state.

Not only have we built schools but also our endeavor has been to ensure that children are motivated to enroll and study. Prayas, Saraswati Cycle, etc. have produced astounding results.

Its seventeen years now that Chhattisgarh was created. A state which was struggling, there was so much of poverty. How did you chart your course of action to alleviate poverty and create employment and bring dignity to the life of people?

Chhattisgarh has been endowed with tremendous natural resources.

However, the biggest strength we have is our people. I have always believed that empowering the people of this State is the most important part of development.

The Government´s role is to provide a healthy ecosystem, whether it is for agriculture, education or industry.

Agriculture is still the primary source of employment for rural CG, hence we have tried to focus on giving our farmers basic requirements such as water, electricity, etc. and ensured that their produce is sold. Moreover, we have minimized the input cost and we procure on support price.

Similarly, we have provided industries base infrastructure, so that they can flourish and provide employment to the residents of the State

Both Raipur and Naya Raipur smart city dev pace. The BRTS is already operational betw zation of public service delivery, from powe implemented. We already have the first op the country, Naya Raipur . We will strive to

42 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

Cities are engines of growth. You have embarked on a mission of smart cities.

Some in central list and some have been initiated by your government.

What is the time frame you are looking at to achieve the desired results?

The State Government is in mission mode when it comes to creating smart cities. Both Raipur and Naya Raipur smart city development is happening at a fast pace. The BRTS is already operational between Old and New Raipur. We have started schemes to keep our cities cleaner and greener.

Modernization of Government service delivery, from power to law and order, via IT has been implemented.

We already have the first operational integrated smart city of the country, Naya Raipur.

How do you see the role of urban local bodies in providing services to the citizens and how do you think they can become financially independent?

How do you propose to empower them?

Urban local bodies are pillars of our democratic system. With rapid urbanization, their role is becoming increasingly significant. Urbanization is putting stress on existing infrastructure and we are carefully planning their upgradation. Since it is difficult to halt a city, these developments take some time. We are upgrading the system of collection of local body taxes and deploying IT infrastructure to ensure increase in the number of taxpayers.

This will boost financial inclusion and digital transactions.

It has been seventeen years that the idea of New Raipur came into existence but still a lot of work remains. Houses are built but the occupancy rate is so

velopment is happening at a fast ween Old and New Raipur. Moderniwer to law and order, via IT has been perational integrated smart city of achieve more milestones like these.

low. Nobody is willing to shift there, rather they prefer to commute from ‘old Raipur’ as we know it now. Where do you see the problem?

“Old Raipur” has renewed itself too, and even though the population has increased many folds, Raipur has managed to sustain and upgrade to give a good quality life to its residents.

However, to answer about Naya Raipur; It is being developed as an integrated smart city for the future, which can provide high quality life to a much larger population than Raipur.

Migration of people from one city to another is not an economic decision, but an emotional one. For someone who has spent their lives, built their family, their home, seen their kids grow up in Raipur, it’ s difficult to leave those memories behind. Some of the housing colonies are fully occupied in Naya Raipur. We hope to see further increase in that sphere.

transformed from a washing area to a tourist location. As I said before, there is rapid urbanization and Rajnandgaon is also experiencing the same. This presents us with unforeseeable yet temporary issues, which are efficiently taken care of by the local bodies.

We have established 27 District level laboratories and mobile laboratories to improve the quality of drinking water.

Mission Clean City Scheme has been launched for solid waste management

How will you respond to the criticism that New Raipur is built for the elites as there is no place for the lower rung of the society and the city in not inclusive?

I urge you to visit the residential areas in Naya Raipur. Both Central and State housing schemes are operational in Naya Raipur. It’s a stellar example of low cost housing. The rents are low and public transport is very affordable. The city is designed to accommodate people from every stratum and has already started to populate itself, especially the LIG and MIG type houses.

Do you think environment protection should be the key agenda of urban planning after seeing the bad state of urban environment in cities like Paris, London, and Beijing and in our National Capital? Raipur is also among one of the most polluted cities. Your plan of action...

Pollution control is indeed one of the major challenges in a fast developing state like Chhattisgarh. There are two sides to make our cities cleaner and better. One side is the Government, which is trying its best by implementing schemes like Mission Clean City for Solid Waste Management and providing easy and cheap public transport to minimize air pollution. We are the leading state in distribution of LPG cylinders under Ujjwala Scheme and have further subsidized it in Chhattisgarh. According to CPCB data, Raipur´s air quality has tremendously improved and we are striving to better it further.

The other side is the people of the city. I’m proud to say that the people of this city and voluntary organizations have been changing the face of this city.

This is an endeavor that will require the energies of all the stakeholders.

Dr Singh, I was in Rajnandgaon during my trip to Chhattisgarh. Roads are in bad shape. Lake water is so dirty and there is so much of pollution. It is your constituency. It is on smart city project list as well. Still things do not seem to be moving at all?

Connectivity has always been the State´s priority. Even remote areas like Sukma and Bijapur have excellent roads. However, we are in the process of upgrading the existing infrastructure in many parts of the State. Temporary inconveniences are inevitable.

The Lake in Rajnandgaon has

All the states are joining the smart city bandwagon. How will Chhattisgarh be different and retain the cultural heritage of its cities?

For Chhattisgarh, urbanization doesn’t imply forgetting our roots. If you travel in Raipur, you will see that the sites of cultural and historical significance are still in their full glory. From Dudhadhari Math to Vivekanand Ashram, the heritage of the city has been preserved.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

43

BOOK REVIEW | GOOD READS

Architecture infuses livability in cities Christopher Benninger’s book ‘Architecture for Modern India’ brings some fascinating facts about the role of architecture that will not only make cities scientifically and aesthetically pleasing but also humane. Such a city would lead to creation of recreation zones, inclusive public participation and an existence that would be in synchronisation with nature. Government sponsored schemes such as AMRUT, HRIDAY and Smart City can get interesting insights from this book

Abhilash Khandekar National Political Editor Dainik Bhaskar

A

rchitects play a very crucial role in the overall making of any good and liveable city.

In other words, the built environment in a city tells us a lot about who created that. Of course some architects are extraordinary in their vision, planning and execution while others are not. Some build ordinary houses, shabby government buildings and private offices, while others design cities and contribute through their creative genius to build beautiful public spaces and buildings which add to any city’s aesthetics and goodwill.

The book which I have been enjoyably reading for sometime, I thought of introducing to the readers of Urban Update only because of this celebrated American architect’s impressive vision for modern India which he has shared through this voluminous

44 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

compendium, printed in Italy recently.

This book introduces to us his ideas and creativity in great depth. What is special about Christopher Benninger is that after acquiring degrees from the top institutes in the United States (from MIT and Harvard), he decided to settle in India, first in Ahmedabad and now in Pune. So he is one person who is an American by birth and education and an Indian by experience and learning. Public buildings, corporate headquarters, slum-upgradation project (Kolkata), mass self help housing (Chennai), experimental shelter strategies in Hyderabad, SOS Village near Delhi and government buildings designed by him proudly stand tall across India, from Delhi to Ahmedabad and Pune to Kolkata. Benninger and his studio team also designed the Supreme Court of Bhutan Building which Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated

last year, among many other prestigious buildings in South Asia.

Many years ago I had an occasion to visit the External Affairs Ministry headquarters on Rajpath, facing the Central Vista in New Delhi and was amazed to see its beautiful design.

Then, frankly, I had not at all heard about Benningeror much of his stylish works elsewhere in the country. And of course his building philosophy and outlook towards India were not much known. This Delhi building, built sometime in the year 2000-01, was heavily influenced by the creations and thinking of Edwin Lutyens in designing the Parliament building which is easily the most precious and prominent gift of Lutyens to the Indians.

Benninger’s India story begins with the well known Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi who was instrumental in inviting the American architect to initiate the School of Planning at Ahmedabad, which is now known as Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) way back in 1971. Now 75, Benninger is still active and there is a long queue of young aspirants wanting to be trained under him as future architects, not to talk of

private and government clients. Some of those who know Benninger, term the Gujarati doyen as the ‘Guru’ of the American architect.

Benninger’s modernism, according to Ramprasad Akkisetti, curator at India House & Art Gallery at Pune, has to do with social architecture, urbanism, and the human condition. He is interested in creating the architectural’ building blocks’ that transform society and gift rationality to the institutions that build civil societies.

The beautifully produced expensive book which showcases some of his best works, tells a reader a lot about Christopher, nay introduces him to India all over again. In his many urban plans he has put ‘the last first’ and focussed on inclusive human settlements. He sees the plan of a city as harmony between networks of critical systems realised through rational structure plans, assuring potable water, mass transit, sanitation and basic amenities. Within that structure, local area plans are defined by micro water sheds, where land pooling and participatory decision making involve all stakeholders. He sees planning itself as a continuous, ad hoc and disjointed

Book Architecture for Modern India Author Christopher Benninger Publisher India House Art Gallery, Pune Pages 384 Price Rs 4181 Rating Must read from a library

Good

Reads

process of public decision making for the common good and rationally distributing limited resources in a sustainable manner. According to Akkisetti, the septuagenarian architect rejects comprehensive planning, zoning and automobile oriented planning as oppressive, polarising and creating inefficiencies that drive local communities into endless debt.

Benninger’s superb creations include the Mahindra group’s Mahindra United World College of India, only one of its kind in the country. This is one of the world campuses worldwide under United World College banner, led by (late) Nelson Mandela and Jordan’s Queen Noor. The picturesque campus, spread over 120 acres, is situated on a plateau 100 metres above Mulla river basin, 100 kms south-east of Mumbai, in the Western Ghats. Remember the same Western Ghats, where the building of Lavasa residential city and other amenities created a nationwide furore a few years ago!

But don’t be mistaken about his environmental concerns or lack of it. He believes in contraction of consumption, and the application of intelligent design principles to sustain homeostatic microclimates. He has practiced in utilising, rather than exploiting resources, replenishing energy, reelaborating traditions authenticating cultures rather than cloning customs, respecting geo-climatic conditions and supporting conviviality, writes Rosa Maria Falvo from Milan, among others from different countries who wrote about their impressions of the architect par excellence.

In his own words, Benninger says, while explaining his experiences with India and why this book was produced, that the book is about the practice of architecture in South Asia and the kinds of artifacts our studio has produced over the past four decades.

So it is a document about intentions, strategies and methods of producing buildings. It also illustrates how the products of these processes appear in reality. However, an architect produces more than just buildings; he or she practices art, aiming to create what

poetically reflects their context in terms of social, economic and cultural, forces. Their architecture intervenes with a history of official fabric, which is often more responsive to the politics of contemporary urban planning than to ancient prototypes. He goes on to state “their creations have to say something uniquely lyrical about the context within which they emerge to qualify as architecture. And that unique lyricism has to read visually as a putative truth, leaving words as poor substitutes for architecture content.”

I think this much explains his philosophy as a professional of highest order in this particular field. Like the veteran and famed British journalist Mark Tully who adopted Delhi as his natural home, Christopher Benninger, the American, has adopted Pune as his second home which is now a permanent home. He built India House, a superb architectural marvel in Pune where not only he lives but creates beautiful designs for the rest of India which, after 45 years of his stay, he feels has become ‘a very complex society’.

Benninger has been a witness to many changes in urban India. During his initial years in the 70s, there were no TV sets in the country, very few homes had telephones for which there were year long waiting lists and cars were few and far between.

Urban development as a process or a phrase was almost non-existent.

“But in the last decade this nation has been addressing global realities of a subcontinent trying to address a world economy” he says, observing further: Urban development has moved into public debate without the necessary institutional underpinnings in the areas of public finance, urban law, urban planning and administration.

This book gives us an adequate insight into urban India’s issues, architect’s worries, approach and thinking of a well trained and educated foreigner towards India and its cities, as its unfolds his superb creations one after the other before us while simultaneously telling us subtly a lot about urbanisation, importance of planning, environment and aesthetics.

www.urbanupdate.in | March 2017

45

URBAN AGENDA | Infrastructure & Investment

Can we ignore infrastructure?

No. We cannot. Infrastructure is the oxygen on which cities thrive and survive. When the cities are contributing almost 65-70 per cent to National GDP and this number is expected to grow further, ignoring proper maintenance of urban infrastructure in any given area concerning cities, or not building new ones to meet the demand will not be a wise move

T

he governments in cities and at the center are well aware of the fact that cities cannot be ignored. The country cannot prosper, industries cannot grow, and jobs cannot be created if we chose to ignore cities and their needs.

India has primarily been a rural country and a majority of its population still lives and works in villages so why do we need to shift focus. The reasons are many. The first is that demography has begun to change and the last census in 2011 has indicated that population growth in urban areas has surpassed rural population growth, first time in Indian history since independence.

This means that urban population will grow organically and also through migration from villages. The number of towns and cities in the country will also grow. It is high time governments created an infallible urban management system to govern and manage cities through improvement in their infrastructure and services. The government schemes for urban transformation are all about bringing about these changes. On one side we have Smart Cities Mission which focuses on embedding state-of-the-art management system and building modern infrastructure capable of handling evolving challenges in sync with climate change action plan.

On the other we have AMRUT that strives to build a skilled workforce in municipal corporations that can bring innovative ideas and handle the new system efficiently. The intentions are good but Indian experience in implementing great projects draws a sorry

46 March 2017 | www.urbanupdate.in

figure and all of us, leaders, bureaucrats, technical experts and more importantly citizens, have to walk an extra mile to ensure these plans do not just remain in pipeline and see the light of the day.

If we look at the investment requirement for building favorable infrastructure then the demand is significantly high in comparison to what we are investing in cities. The funding gap can only be filled if we become successful in bringing in private players from India and abroad. For doing this successfully, we would need to address challenges within our system and make the country more attractive for investment. At present, India is ranked 23rd in the Global Infrastructure Investment Index-2016. As per the report, private investors always look at those countries which have the strongest growth potential, most secure business environments, well established legislative and regulatory systems and stable political environments. India performs poorly on Business Environment (how attractive a country is for investment, based on indicators such as ease of doing business and freedom from corruption) and Risk (how much risk a country poses to the security of investment returns, based on indicators such as the political terror scale and strength of investor protection). The role of central government is paramount in addressing these issues to bridge the financial gap. However, the country has been successful in bringing in investment from many countries to improve infrastructure but more efforts are required to streamline governance system and improve business environment.

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor bhau1008@gmail.com

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