ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384
Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities
UrbanUpdate Volume VIII, Issue II
June 2022
Can cities get rid of encroachments?
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UrbanUpdate A monthly magazine published by the AIILSG. Ranjit Chavan President-AIILSG Dr Jairaj Phatak Editor-In-Chief Director General-AIILSG Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor Abhishek Pandey Editor Ravi Ranjan Guru Executive Editor Hitesh Nigam Senior Sub-Editor
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Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities
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ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384 Volume VIII, Issue I
Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities
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UrbanUpdate Volume VIII, Issue II
June 2022
Can Cities get rid of enCroaChments?
AIILSG continues to work for robust local governance
Arjun Singh Digital Marketing Associate Meenakshi Rajput Art Director
ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384
Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities
CITIES ARE BRANDS TOO
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The project is funded by the European Union. The project is implemented by the AIILSG.
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The project is implemented by the AIILSG.
European Union The project is funded by the European Union.
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Volume VIII - Issue II Printed and published by Ranjit Chavan on behalf of All India Institute of Local Self-Government. Printed at Artz & Printz, 208, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I New Delhi-110020 Published at Sardar Patel Bhavan, 22-23, Institutional Area D-Block Pankha Road, Janakpuri, Delhi-110058 Note: Subscriptions are only invited from municipal corporations, government bodies, academic & research institutions, etc. working in the domain of urban development. We only levy courier and handling charges. We may fully waive-off the charges for municipalities and academic institutions upon receiving such request and approval from our management. Despite careful selection of sources, no responsibility can be taken for accuracy of the contents. The magazine assumes no liability or responsibility of any kind in connection with the information thereof. The views expressed in the articles are the personal opinions of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the All India Institute of Local Self-Government. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher.
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Editorial
Dr Jairaj Phatak Editor-In-Chief | dg@aiilsg.org
I
Urban laws – better compliance for better liveability n early June, a massive fire engulfed a shopping centre in a very busy area of the national capital. It required nearly 40 fire tenders and a large team of firemen and officials to control the fire and douse it. Fortunately, as per initial reports, there were no casualties, possibly because the fire started early at about 4 am when markets were not yet open. This incident came close on the heels of a fire in a hospital, also in Delhi, leading to the tragic death of one patient. Such incidents of fires in our cities, especially in vulnerable locations have repeatedly brought the subject of regulations and their compliance into sharp focus. There are regulations in several other areas which are designed to enable orderly governance and growth of our cities. There are acts, rules and regulations to address important urban issues such as fire safety, building control regulations for flood control, earthquake resistant structures, pollution control, waste management, and specially-abled-friendly spaces among others. These are in place to make our cities safe, equitable, inclusive, and environment friendly in character and improve on the liveability scores. However, inspite of these, cities continue to face challenges and risks in each of these areas. Thus there is need to put in place corrective measures to improve the situation. Take for instance the case of fire safety. There are provisions for regular fire audits and the need for Fire NOCs if a building is to remain in operation. However there could be a number of buildings and installations in our cities that operate without such certification. Or building owners fail to comply with conditions of the NOC. With the rapid growth and spread of our cities, our authorities like the ULBs are likely strapped for human resources to monitor the large number of structures in our cities for compliance to various laws. One possibility is to have a panel of accredited agencies/auditors to carry out inspections and provide certification. This could take some burden off our city administration while ensuring compliance to regulations. There could be other mechanisms. However, the biggest gains would accrue from creating public awareness on issues of safety, security, environment protection, and other aspects of our cities. If we look at organised and sustainable waste management for example, it calls for strict segregation of waste at source, i.e., in our households. While regulations calling for such segregation have been around for many years, success in this area has been elusive. The only way to achieve greater success is through better participation and compliance by households. Efforts must be directed at the youth including children with the help of NGOs and civil society. Similarly for pollution, road safety and other areas. Our Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is an example of a successful nation-wide campaign with noteworthy participation at the macro and micro levels. This can surely be replicated in other areas too. In this issue of Urban Update, we look at some the urban regulations, compliance situation, challenges of monitoring, and so on. This could enable further informed debate on the subject.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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QUOTES
BUZZ
PIN POINT
Kamal Kishore
Member Secretary
NDMA
As rates of hunger skyrocket around the world, partnerships are critical because they help the World Food Programme (WFP) reach millions of vulnerable people with the nutrition they need to survive – and thrive. Together, we are saving and changing lives David Beasley Executive Director, WFP
@KamalKishore_IN
Infrastructure around the world is undergoing a transition. The real challenge is how do we make sure that the narrative remains focused on people we wish to serve through infrastructure services
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director General, WHO @DrTedros
We will not have an effective Global Biodiversity Framework if international institutions and national governments do not include the recognition and promotion of agroecological food systems to prevent the collapse of biodiversity and mitigate the climate crisis
War, hunger & disease are old friends. More than pandemics, war shakes & shatters the foundations on which previously stable societies stood; and it leaves scars that can take years to heal. There can be no health without peace
Edie Mukiibi Vice President, Slow Food Ibrahim Thiaw
Executive Secretary
UNCCD @ibrahimthiaw
We have an opportunity, one that comes along very rarely. To build the kind of future we want. One that is clean, green, sustainable and resilient. One that is prosperous in all senses of the term
We can see the scars we left on the land from space. And we can see the clear signs in marches and protests that we cannot continue business as usual if we’re to avoid the future no one wants
Patricia Espinosa Executive Secretary, UNFCCC
Who is a Sheriff?
Urban TRIVIA
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The Sheriff is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year. He/She is an officer of the high court and ranks just below the mayor, but does not have independent executive powers. In India, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai had the office of Sheriff, however Madras abolished it in 1998. Mumbai and Kolkata still continue with the Britishera position. Satish Chitgopekar (2016) and Mani Shankar Mukherjee (2019) were the last Sheriffs of Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively.
content
Inside Volume 8, Issue 2
Cover Story
Leaderspeak
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Can cities get rid of encroachments?
June 2022
Local Governments should have final say in matters of cities
36 One on One Ajeet Kumar Sahu Commissioner Secretary UT Administration of Ladakh
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38
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Delhi needs to own responsibility for its waste
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Ladakh: A New Administration and New Hopes
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Fire Incidents: Charring dreams of resilient Indian Cities
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Urban Floods: Growing Menace in Cities
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Ways Small Islands & Coastal Areas can Adapt to Climate Change
Are Smart Cities inclusive for differently-abled
Regulars
6 8
Pin Point Girl Power Project
11 17
Newscan
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Urban Agenda
City Image
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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GIRL POWER Project
Empowering rural women & girls through Goat Farming TEAM GIRL POWER
oat rearing or goat farming is a business enterprise, which is practised by a large section of people in rural areas. It plays a significant role in the Indian economy and nutrition of landless, small and marginal farmers or livestock owners in the nation. Goats are among the main meat producing animals and stay in huge domestic demand throughout the year. Goat rearing under semi-intensive and intensive system for production has been gaining momentum. Several goat farms have been established across the country. Its easy accessibility, favourable market conditions and improved technologies are also retaining the attention of entrepreneurs on a large scale. In India, we have large and genetic resources of goats as they play a significant role in economic upliftment, especially in rural areas. This sector is gaining potential in employment generation and reducing poverty. The Girl Power Project funded by the European Union and implemented by the All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment in Jharkhand is playing the role of independent agents of change that bring transformative change in the lives of 5000 women and girls of the state. The project team organised two training programmes, one from May 30 to June 1, and another from June 2 to June 4, 2022, in Devipur Block of Deoghar District, Jharkhand. In this training, 100 women beneficiaries participated to learn about goat farming/ rearing practices, skills, technology, and other aspects of goat farming to take up as business. In the opening session of training program, women beneficiaries were briefed about the objective of the training programme by a team member. The certified goat farming
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trainer explained the detailed process of goat farming. He covered aspects like accommodation, feed and fodder cultivation, labours, veterinary aid, water requirement and its demand and potential market. On the second and third day of the training program, the trainer also explained grazing methods suitable in the state. Farmers should be aware of practical knowledge of grazing options available and how to increase the productivity of goats. He briefed about two methods: Semi-intensive and zero grazing. In semi-intensive grazing, goats are allowed outside for grazing, exposed to sun, during the day time in the fenced field, while in zero grazing, goats are not allowed to go out of pasture, their forage is brought to the shed.
Objective of the training programme
♦♦ The significance of goats, their nature and scope of goat farming business ♦♦ Goat breed selection for specific purpose suitable with the local climate ♦♦ Goat feeds and concentrates for both dairy products and meat ♦♦ Goat health care, diseases, treatment and other prevention ♦♦ Goat farming business plan ♦♦ Covering Commercial farming of goats for fibre, meat and other products Goat farming is highly beneficial, especially for unemployed farmers. There are higher returns in goat farming. For unemployed people in rural areas, goat farming has proven to be basic source of income throughout the year. In India, not only goat breeds have huge demand but also their products like meat manure, milk and fibre too. It is believed that goat farming is mainly done by labourers, landless, or by marginal farmers and India is the largest producer of goat meat, milk and fibres in comparison to other countries. In the initial stage, it might be small employment but gradually the demand and returns increase. Even state and central government provides assistance
to economically weaker section in terms of loans and subsidies.
Benefits of Goat Farming in India
Employment: For labour, less literate and unskilled, it can be a good source of income as the initial investment in setting up business is quiet low. Food: Meat and milk extracted from goat. Dung and Waste material: Dung and waste material of goat is used as farmyard manure by agricultural farmers. Skin or fibre: By using goat skin or fibre, belts, pelts, hair and wool are prepared which generate income.
Advantages of goat farming
♦♦ Goats are easy to handle and can survive on trees or shrubs in adverse harsh environment ♦♦ Low labour requirement ♦♦ Initial investment for goat farming is low ♦♦ As goats are small in size, their facilities and amenities are minimal ♦♦ The demand for meat is increasing faster than the growth in goat population ♦♦ Goat meat is of great appeal because of its health benefits as it is low in cholesterol, fat and calories ♦♦ Market demand is high throughout the year ♦♦ Goat milk helps in curing diseases like Cough, Asthma and Diabetes
Goat breeds recommended for Goat Farming in Jharkhand
Black Bengal, Jamunapari, Sirohi, Beetal and Barbari are the meat producing goat breeds suitable for the farming system in the state. It is suggested to purchase quality and disease-free goats aged between 6 to 12 months after examining their mother’s udder and father’s teats. For example - Black Bengal goats are dwarf goats and are a good source of milk, meat and leather. They are easy to breed because of their small size, require less maintenance and have ability to multiply.
Women during the goat farming training workshop in Devipur block of Deoghar, Jharkhand
Women beneficiaries with trainers after the goat farming workshop in Devipur block, Deoghar, Jharkhand
Outcome
The training programme will improve efficiency of women beneficiaries by educating them on how they make use of resources available to them in efficient and balanced way for Goat Farming. Also, this programme provided a roadmap of latest technology used in goat farming. Training programme will lead to skilled behaviour and pave the way for self-employment opportunities among the beneficiaries to promote women entrepreneurship.
Feedback
Most of the women beneficiaries stated that women in rural areas are at enormous disadvantage, given
their limited access to the resources available and male members being the decision maker. These training programs give an opportunity to most of the women beneficiaries to fight back their miseries. Rural population which largely survives on their daily wages were highly affected due to the pandemic, but now they can start their venture in goat farming and become independent. Starting their own venture becomes difficult in rural areas because of limited awareness and access especially to technology, but such training programs organised by the Girl Power Project has given a hope to women of the state.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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AIILSG Diary
Sunil Chavan, District Collector, Aurangabad lighting the lamp along with Ranjit Chavan, President, AIILSG; Dr Jairaj Phatak, IAS (Retd.), DG, AIILSG; Ravi Ranjan Guru, DDG, AIILSG; Vijay Sane, GC Member; and Devarshi Pandya, CFO, AIILSG, at the foundation stone laying ceremony of AIILSG Training Centre at Karodi, Aurangabad
Ranjit Chavan, President, AIILSG welcoming Sunil Chavan, District Collector, Aurangabad. (L-R) Dr Jairaj Phatak, IAS (Retd.), DG, AIILSG; Vijay Sane, GC Member; and Ravi Ranjan Guru, DDG, AIILSG were also present
Sunil Chavan addressing the audience during the foundation stone laying ceremony of AIILSG Training Centre at Karodi, Aurangabad
(L-R) Dr Jairaj Phatak, IAS (Retd.), DG, AIILSG; Sunil Chavan, District Collector, Aurangabad; Ranjit Chavan, President, AIILSG; Vijay Sane, GC Member; Ravi Ranjan Guru, DDG, AIILSG; and Devarshi Pandya, CFO, AIILSG, along with other staff of AIILSG, Aurangabad
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NEWSCAN
Recyclable waste from Indian cities may generate `30k crore annually: Report NEW DELHI: A report on solid and liquid waste in municipalities of India was released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. The report titled ‘Circular Economy in Municipal Solid and Liquid Waste’ has been prepared by experts from Indian Institutes of Technology, reputed research institutes, and government entities. It highlighted how a large share of municipal waste can be prevented from getting dumped at landfills by recycling them. The report has been released at a time when Indian cities are struggling to get rid of hulking municipal wastes and finding new landfill sites. Moreover, the issue of large chunk of untreated and unprocessed municipal wastes going to dump yards and water bodies has emerged as a major crisis in India due to rise in urbanisation in absence of proper planning. Currently, India generates around 1.45 lakh tonnes of solid waste daily, 35 per cent of which is dry waste and a major share of the dry waste is plastic. The report noted that around 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated daily in India, out of which only 15,600 tonnes is recycled, and over 9000 tonnes of it remains uncollected and is dumped to the landfills and water bodies. The report stated that proper treatment of municipal solid, wet and construction wastes can generate nearly `30,000 crore worth of revenue every year and can create employment opportunities for more than one crore people by 2025. It estimated that material recycling facilities across the municipalities in the nation can help improve current revenue from the dry municipal waste of `5187 crore per annum to `17,023 crore by 2025. These can also generate employment for 40 lakh man-days during construction and additional 80 lakh man-days in perpetuity for operations and
maintenance for these facilities. The report recommended that government bodies mandate the use of 25 per cent recycled materials in the non-food grade packaging to ensure uptake of recycled materials and to mandate the cement kilns to use 25 per cent non-recyclable combustible dry waste replacing coal. On the front of wet waste, Indian municipalities generate nearly 75,000 tonnes of wet waste, out of which 32 per cent goes untreated. The report estimated that the wet waste processing through bio-methanation can yield additional benefits, like `2460 crores per annum can be yielded in revenue if 50 per cent of wet waste is processed by this method in urban areas. It added that this can generate
about one crore man-days during construction of treatment plants and about 60 lakh man-days for operation and maintenance of these facilities in perpetuity. The report noted that around 120 lakh tonnes of construction and demolition waste is generated annually, out of which 95 per cent can be reused or recycled if processed scientifically. It said that disposing of recyclables in landfills/dump sites not only leads to loss of valued resources but also causes environment pollution. The report recommended setting up of at least one collection point for a coverage area of 5 square kilometers with a population of 25,000. It also suggested that GST for products made from waste should be reduced from 18 to 5 per cent.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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NEWSCAN
Briefs
Gurugram water unsafe for consumption: Report GURUGRAM: The Gurugram Health Department ruled that the water given in the Westend Heights, DLF, Phase 5 is unsuitable for consumption, two days after 100 residents became ill. The Health Department’s report on the water samples, gathered today, explicitly said that the water was unsafe for drinking; however, it did not specify any contaminant or pollution. Dr Virender Yadav, Chief Medical Officer, Gurugram has said that the water is unfit, and we have reported it to the concerned authorities. He refrained from saying anything more on the cause or type of contamination. Meanwhile, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GDMA), which is the society’s principal water supplier, has shirked all responsibility and blamed the community for poor water quality. Following this incidence, it has also issued a directive for all societies to ensure water hygiene. It has ordered that all local governments, developers, and RWAs purify or chlorinate stored water before supplying it. According to an official statement issued by the GDMA, the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) value of water, supplied internally by the society, is higher than the TDS value of GMDA water, indicating that water from other sources has been mixed in. A survey of GMDA’s master water supply pipes was also conducted but no source of pollution was released.
Jal Jeevan Mission provides 50 lakh tap connections BHOPAL: During a meeting held to review the efforts of Jal Jeevan Mission, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan was told that 50 lakh connections had been established in the state. Currently, the precise figure is 50,01,722. The mission’s growth has accelerated in the last two years, from 17,50,000
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to more than 50 lakh tap connections. CM Chouhan expressed his delight at the achievement and congratulated the Jal Jeevan Mission and the Public Health Emergency department. The Jal Jeevan Mission has been working continuously over the past two years, in keeping with the Prime Minister’s resolution. MP is the country’s leader in this mission. The CM stated that the mission will continue its efforts to provide safe drinking water to households, as well as expand focus to remote places where people walk miles to access drinking water. He was presented with sweets by Malay Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering and Manish Singh, Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Housing. CM Chouhan was informed that the mission’s activities have picked up speed since April 2020, when the CM had expressed his worries over potable water arrangements in the first meeting.
Tourism and Hospitality sectors get industry status by Rajasthan Govt
The tourism and hospitality sectors were given industry status by the Government of Rajasthan. Shanti Dhariwal, Minister of Urban Housing Development and Local Self Government, issued a notification regarding this, according to an official release. Consequently, their electricity prices and various other taxes levied will be closer to those charged in other businesses, rather than the significantly higher commercial rates. It was also announced in the budget presentation that these incentives will cost the state `700 crore each year.
Five model schools unveiled in the Karimganj district, Assam Parimal Sukalbaidya, Minister of Environment and Forest, Excise and Fisheries, Government of Assam, inaugurated five model schools in the Karimganj district of Assam. Suklabaidya inaugurated Dullabacherra TE Model High School, Gumbheera TE Model High School under Ratabari LAC, Bubganj TE Model High School, Pathini TE Model High School, and Sefinjuibeel TE Model High School in Patharkandi. The state administration has vowed to establish 119 such schools in the tea garden areas. 15,000 students had already been enrolled, and 8 teachers had been appointed for the purpose until now. Each school will get Rs 1 lakh to provide free textbooks, uniforms, mid-day meals, etc.
Briefs Tripura Cabinet approves Electric Vehicle Policy
Tripura cabinet approved the Electronic Vehicle (EV) Policy, which aims to convert 10 per cent of the automobile into EVs in the next five years. Currently, there are at least 42,000 twowheelers, 10,000 three-wheelers, 6500 four-wheelers and 500 buses in the state, and the state government is aiming to convert 10 per cent of the vehicle, out of a total of 60,000, into EVs in the next five years. The EV policy is already being implemented in 14 states, and Tripura would be the 15th state to do so.
GWMC is planning to upgrade bus stations to smart bus stations
The Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) is planning to upgrade existing bus stations into smart bus stations for the convenience of the commuters. The plan proposed by the GWMC to develop the existing bus stations into smart stations would cost them about `105 crores. The GWMC could avail the loan of up to `90 crores due to its better credit rating. The civic body is planning to rope in a private advertisement agency for the proposed makeover of these bus stations. The proposed plan was unveiled by the Mayor Gundu Sudharani during a meeting.
NEWSCAN
UP budget focuses on infrastructure and youth LUCKNOW: The Government of Uttar Pradesh presented its state budget of over `6.15 lakh crore for the year 2022-23. The budget was tabled by Suresh Kumar Khanna, Minister of Finance, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The state has allocated `2000 crore for ten selected cities under the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission and `210 crore for seven cities under State Smart City scheme. Additionally, `1353.93 crore has been proposed for the Swachh Bharat Mission to improve cleanliness in the state. In the budget for 2022-23, the state government has earmarked `550 crore for the development of infrastructure facilities in newly created, upgraded and expanded municipal bodies. The budget for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for all (Urban) has been kept at `10,127 crore. This time, the budget also includes a provision for the development of slums in the state and to increase the facilities at the level of Nagar Panchayats. It allocated `200 crore under Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Adarsh Nagar Panchayat Yojana and `215 crore for the Chief Minister’s Urban Underdeveloped and Slums Scheme. `21,000 crore in the budget has been set aside for the establishment of 14 new medical colleges in the state. `2200 crore has been earmarked to give a thrust to the plan of providing every household with pure drinking water through taps.
Jharkhand to be awarded by WHO on World Tobacco Day RANCHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) decided to award Jharkhand for its efforts towards the prevention and control of usage of tobacco under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) launched by the Government of India in 2007-08. On the occasion of World Tobacco Day (May 31), the State Tobacco Control Cell (STCC) will receive the award. The NTCP was introduced in Jharkhand in 2012. At that time, the prevalence rate of tobacco in the state stood at 51 per cent, out of which, 48 per cent were smokeless tobacco users, according to the first Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), 2009-10. In the second GATS report, 2018, the number of tobacco users came down to 38.9 per cent out of which 35.4 per cent were smokeless users. The NTCP was launched by the Government of India, as a subset of the
National Health Mission (NHM) under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. During the 11th Five Year Plan, NTCP covered 42 districts from 21 states. Tobacco control cells are established under the programme at the national, state and district levels. Currently, the programme is being implemented in 612 districts of 36 states and union territories.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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NEWSCAN
Briefs
MoHUA launches 8th edition of Swachh Survekshan 2023 NEW DELHI: Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, launched the eighth edition of Swachh Survekshan 2023, under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, a flagship scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the country garbage free. This year, the survey is observing the theme of ‘Waste to Wealth’ aiming to promote circularity in waste management. Swachh Survekshan is the largest urban sanitary survey in the world. In the seventh edition of Swachh Survekshan in 2022, 4355 cities and 85,860 wards were covered. Additionally, 2.12 lakh locations were visited, 5.5 lakh documents were analysed, 1.14 crore citizen feedbacks were recorded and 4.77 lakh citizen validations were received, 23.38 lakhs photos and videos were recorded and 17.24 lakhs data points were collected. This year, certain changes have been introduced in the manner of collection of data under the Swachh Survekshan. The survey would be done in four phases instead of three, and citizen validation and field assessment will be done in the third phase as well. So, the cities have to work all year round instead of working for a few days during the survey to show better results in the survey.
Assam govt & IIT-Guwahati ink pact for multi-speciality hospitals
‘Aapda Mitra’ launched for East Khasi district
To enhance the efficiency of local-level disaster response, the Aapda Mitra scheme, was launched for the residents of East Khasi District. The scheme was inaugurated by D Phawa, Additional Deputy Commissioner & Chief Executive Officer, District Disaster Management Authority in Mawdiangdiang. The National Disaster Management Authority and State Disaster Management Authority have joined hands for financing and implementing the scheme, which aims to strengthen the local level disaster response with the help of community volunteers. A total of 200 volunteers will be trained, drawn from amongst the local residents, National Service Scheme, Nehru Yuva Kendras, Bharat Scouts, and colleges.
7 cities to be declared Smart Cities by end of 2022 DISPUR: The Government of Assam inked a MoU with IIT-Guwahati for the establishment of Assam Advance Healthcare Innovative Institution (AAHI), a Multi-speciality hospital inside the campus of IIT-Guwahati. Assam Advance Healthcare Innovative Institution (AAHI) will be integrated with a hospital with a 350-bed capacity and the total cost of the project is estimated to be `546 crore. Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, Government of India, Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of AYUSH, Port Shipping and Waterways, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs and Education and Ranoj Pegu, Minister of Education, Government of Assam were
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also present during the event. The institute will be established inside the campus of IIT-Guwahati and will serve as a hub for doctors, researchers and technological experts. The institute will primarily focus on cell research, artificial intelligence, implantation, robotics surgeries, simulation labs and wearable electronic devices. CM Sarma posted on his Twitter account, “The AAHI will mark a new paradigm in interdisciplinary medical research & innovations at the upcoming institute will enhance India’s medical tech industry in the coming years. The state government has committed `546 crore for the project while IIT-G will contribute the required land and expertise.”
Surat, Udaipur, Bhopal Indore, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Varanasi are the first set of cities to be awarded ‘smart cities’ status by the end of 2022. The Smart Cities Mission was launched in June 2015, aiming to modernise 100 smart cities with eco-friendly high technology solutions. This mission is supposed to be concluded in June 2023. Among the seven smart cities, Bhopal is in the lead with a 92 per cent project completion rate, followed by Surat with 82 per cent, Udaipur at 78 per cent, Bhubaneswar at 76 per cent, Indore at 70 per cent, Varanasi at 70 per cent and Ahmedabad at 70 per cent.
Briefs Delhi govt raises minimum wages of labourers
The Government of NCT of Delhi, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, raised the dearness allowance (DA) for labourers in Delhi on Friday, May 20. With the latest revision in the DA, the monthly wages for unskilled labourers have been raised from `16,064 to `16,506. Similarly, the wages for semi-skilled labourers have been increased from `17,693 to `18,187. Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia said that the step has been taken in the interest of the labour class amidst the rising inflation.
Ane Angong: Arunachal’s initiative for institutional deliveries Alo Libang, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Women & Child Development, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, launched ‘Ane Angong’, an initiative to promote and encourage safe institutional deliveries. The Government of Arunachal Pradesh is aiming to provide quality healthcare facilities to pregnant and lactating mothers and promote institutional deliveries through the initiative ‘Ane Angong’. Ane Angong is a joint initiative of the district health society, district administration and Integrated Child Development Services. Libang launched the initiative on May 18. Shashvat Sourabh, Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner, and Lumgeng Litin, Zila Parishad Chairmen (ZPC) were also present on the occasion.
NEWSCAN
Manipur Cabinet approves ‘Manipur Plastic Policy 2022’
IMPHAL: Recently, the state cabinet of Manipur has approved the Manipur Plastic Policy 2022, to combat plastic pollution, and Manipur Tourism Policy to harness the tourism potential of the state. The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, has decided to curtail the use, manufacture and sale of single-use plastic items with “low utility and high littering potential” and plastic bags of less than 120 microns by the end of 2022. The Government of Manipur has approved the Manipur Plastic Policy 2022, for the implementation of Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, amended in 2021. Along with it, the
Manipur cabinet has also approved the Manipur Tourism Policy to harness and evolve the tourism potential of the state. Additionally, it will create employment and livelihood opportunities and, boost investment and income generation in the state. The state cabinet also evaluated the progress of the ‘100 days programme’. The state government has decided to complete the 100 action points during the first 100 days of the government. The action plan included broadening the width of 79 stretches of roads. Out of which 57 roads lie in the Greater Imphal area, 10 roads across the other district headquarters and 12 in the hill district headquarters.
Delhi HC denies permit to cut trees NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court ordered that no further trees are to be cut in the capital city. While hearing a contempt case, Justice Nazmi Waziri observed that over 29,000 trees in the city had been cut down in the previous three years and questioned, whether Delhi has the “luxury” to afford this. “A total of 29,946 trees were allowed to be cut in the past three years, which on computation comes to 27 trees per day i.e. 1.13 per hour,” he said. The court ruled that there is no record of the circumference and age of the trees that were allowed to be chopped, as well as the status of the corresponding tree transplantation, and that large-scale denudation of fully grown trees harms the environment. According to the Central Zone’s Deputy Conservator of Forests’ status report, 13,490 trees were allowed to be chopped and 16,456 trees were directed to be transplanted in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. Last month, the court voiced worry about the cutting down of fully grown trees, stating that rather than taking them down, it would be more rational and wise to transplant them. It emphasized that even nascent compensatory afforestation cannot bring true respite.
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NEWSCAN
Briefs
Western nations must shoulder finances to combat climate change NEW DELHI: Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India said that India’s per capita carbon emissions are among the lowest in the world, and that the western developed nations should shoulder the majority of cost to tackle climate change. Yadav also underlined the importance of maintaining a balance between development and the environment, while speaking at
Chandigarh University’s Conference on “Environmental Diversity and Environmental Jurisprudence: National and International Perspective.” He stated that India’s environmental legislation and policy is about “equity and justice” in addition to “protection and conservation.” According to him, there would be no environmental justice and equity if those who are most afflicted by environmental protection measures weren’t the ones who caused the problem. India’s per capita carbon emissions are among the world’s lowest (two tonnes), and as a result, the western developed nations should bear the brunt of the financial burden for tackling climate change. Yadav also mentioned that environmental legislation in past years have been damaging the progress of the country. “Industrialisation and preservation of the environment are two conflicting interests and their harmonisation is a major challenge before the judicial system and the governance system of the country,” he said.
Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary designated as a tiger reserve NEW DELHI: Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, announced that the Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary, Rajasthan, is designated as India’s 52nd tiger reserve. This is Rajasthan’s fourth tiger reserve after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra. Yadav announced on twitter saying, “Pleased to note Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve has been notified today. The 52nd reserve of India will conserve biodiversity and bring in ecotourism and development to the area. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are committed to preserving our wildlife.” According to him, the tiger habitat between Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in northeast region of the state and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in south is included in the newly constituted tiger reserve, which supports tigers’ spreading from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Wild animals like Indian wolf, leopard, striped hyena, sloth bear, golden jackal, chinkara, nilgai and fox can be seen in the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve. On July 5 last year, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) gave in-principle clearance to turn Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary and neighbouring regions into tiger reserves. According to “Status of Tigers in India” report released in 2019, there are 2,967 tigers in 20 states across the country.
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June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
Odisha ULBs to repair drains before monsoon
The Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha has directed the civic bodies of the state to inspect and repair drains and machined holes, both open and closed ones, before the monsoon sets in. The action comes after facing severe criticism for reported deaths in open drains during heavy rains in the last few years. As part of the action plan, civic bodies will identify vulnerable waterlogging points and take appropriate steps for the discharge of water expeditiously during emergency with help of prepositioning pump sets.
Traders’ protest could lead to food shortage Jharkhand could face a food shortage as traders in protest have stopped buying consumable items from other states. The traders of Jharkhand are on the roads protesting against the plan of Government of Jharkhand to introduce a market fee in the state. Traders have come together under the banner of the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries. Jharkhand State Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing Bill 2022, has been approved by the state legislative assembly and is waiting for the Governor’s assent. The managing director of the Jharkhand State Agricultural Market Board added, “Once the new rule comes into force, 2 per cent market fee will be realised on non-perishable items and 1 per cent on perishable items.”
CITY IMAGE
Solar on wheels: Squad launches “world’s first solar city car” A Netherlands based company named Squad Mobility has launched “the world’s first solar city car” with a capacity of two passengers with luggage. The mini four-wheeler is 2 meter long, 1.2 meter wide, with a height of 1.6 meters. The solar car is also a light electric vehicle which needs just a moped license to be able to drive it. Packed with two 2 Kw rear in-wheel motors and four 1.6 kWh batteries, the car offers a range of almost 100 km on one charge. It has solar panels installed at its roof that can add up to 20 km of range per day.
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NEWSCAN
Briefs
5 states yet to reach ‘replacement rate’: NFHS-5 NEW DELHI: The National Family Health Survey - 5 (NFHS-5) showed that there are five states in India, namely Bihar, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Manipur, which are yet to achieve the population replacement rate. The fifth round of the National Family Health Survey was conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in 20182019. The NFHS-5 covers 67 indicators to collect information regarding fertility, family planning, nutrition, Anaemia, maternal and child health, reproductive health, and infant and
child mortality. According to the data published in NFHS-5, five states of India are yet to achieve the replacement rate fertility or Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1. These states are Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya (2.91), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26) and Manipur (2.17). The average TFR of the country has come down to 2 in NFHS-5 (2018-19), from 2.2 during NFHS-4 (2015-16). In 1992-93, the TFR among women of the rural region was 3.7 and in urban region, it was 2.7, which came down to 2.7 and 1.6 respectively in 2018-19. Additionally, the survey reports that the TFR among women who have received at least 12 years of school education stands at 1.8, while among those without the school education, TFR is at 2.8.
Next census will be a digital one: Amit Shah
DISPUR: Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, Government of India, during his visit to Assam, announced that the upcoming census is to be done in digital mode. Shah announced that the census which was due in 2021, is to be done in digital mode, where nearly 50 per cent of the total population will be able to feed their data using their mobile phones. This will not only enhance the timely delivery of the services but will ensure the accuracy of data as well. Additionally, the Government of India is planning to link the birth and death registers to the census, which means that the uploaded data could be updated with every birth and death. Shah also participated in the Bhumi Pujan ceremony held at the Border Security Force’s (BSF) Central Workshop and Store in the Tamulpur district of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). He launched Khadi products in the canteens of the paramilitary forces and awarded the President’s colours to the police force of Assam. “The next census which has been delayed because of the COVID-19 will be an e-census…a hundred per cent perfect census, on the basis of which the country’s roadmap for the next 25 years will be built,” he said.
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June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
UP to receive `494 crore for urban infrastructure
The Urban Development Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to disburse `494 crore to cities with less than 10 lakh population for carrying out development work. According to officials, `244.5 crore will be provided to 200 municipal councils and `143.5 crore to 517 town councils in the state. `98 crore will be disbursed to 10 municipal corporations and Rs 8 crore to 13 Cantonment Boards. While tied grants are used only for strengthening basic services like water supply, sanitation, and rainwater harvesting, the untied grants are used to empower local governance and provide better services to the citizens.
Center grants `5,128 cr to Gujarat under Amrut 2.0 The Government of India has sanctioned `5128 crore to the Government of Gujarat in order to upgrade water supply facilities and underground drainage systems in the state under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT 2.0). A total of 412 works will be completed under the scheme, which will be executed by the Gujarat Urban Development Mission (GUDM). The scope of the project includes 206 water supply works to eight municipal corporations and 156 municipalities and 70 underground sewerage projects. It also includes beautification of 68 lakes and upgradation of another 68 parks. Technical approval from Urban Development Department is still pending.
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NEWSCAN
Integrated approach essential to address multiple inequalities in cities: Report
NEW DELHI: The United Nations General Assembly met to examine the progress attained towards implementing a 2016 framework on sustainable urbanisation. The New Urban Agenda was adopted by nations just a year after an agreement was made for Sustainable Development Goals. In his opening remarks, Abdulla Shahid, President, General Assembly, talked about how sustainable urbanisation can drive change across a variety of interconnected issues of the world, including poverty eradication, climate action, migration, land degradation, economic prosperity, and creation of peaceful societies. He said that despite its far-ranging implications, the New Urban Agenda has often been under-appreciated. Shahid noted that while sustainable urbanisation is related to the achievement of all the SDGs, only a few countries at present can truly claim that they have in place the governance, and the necessary policies, including an inclusive urban planning, capacity
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development, technology access, and financing necessary to ensure sustainable urbanisation. He added that there is a need to change this trend. The Assembly meet brought together government representatives, city mayors, business leaders, youth and other constituencies. The meet-up included publication of the latest UN Secretary-General’s report on progress made in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, five regional forums on sustainable development, and a special meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Highlights
The report was written in collaboration with more than 40 partners and is divided into seven sections. It was created in light of rapid urbanisation, threats to global planetary ecosystems, and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the opportunities that cities can provide to ground pandemic recovery in social
justice, fulfill the Decade of Action, and ensure effective climate action.
Housing
According to the report, about 70 per cent of households worldwide live in unstable housing, with the housing shortage expected to reach 440 million by 2025. While the number of urban residents living in slums decreased globally between 2000 and 2014, the trend had reversed by 2014, and the pandemic is believed to have exacerbated the situation. Many cities have implemented slum improvement initiatives and housing programmes that target the homeless, women, migrants, and persons with impairments, according to the report. It was noted that, in addition to cities such as Barcelona, Bogotá, Bristol, Guangzhou, and Rio de Janeiro, other Finnish cities have improved service and housing provision. Monrovia has put in place its first urban development policy to deal with informal settlements. Cities such as Barcelona,
Bratislava, Los Angeles, Kyiv, Madrid, San Francisco, and São Paulo have also engaged in programmes to help at-risk homeless people.
Migration
According to the paper, global migration to urban areas is increasing, rising from fewer than 180 million in 2000, to more than 270 million by 2020. It noted that in cities around the world, inclusive solutions to the needs of migrants, refugees, and displaced persons, particularly women and girls, remain restricted. However, in Barcelona, Colombia, Guatemala City, So Paulo, Seychelles, and Turkey, plans for migrant integration are being developed in collaboration with the UN system agencies.
Employment
The Assembly referenced International Labour Organisation (ILO) forecasts claiming that global hours worked in 2021, would be 4.5 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, resulting in the loss of 131 million full-time employment, with job loss rates for women being significantly greater than for males. While working hours in highand upper-middle-income nations tended to rebound in 2021, working hours in lower-middle and low-income countries decreased. It discussed how cities in Botswana, Colombia, Cuba, Finland, and Turkey have supported employment by focusing on job training for urban youth, as well as how Egypt’s Upper-Egypt Local Development Programme has reduced urban poverty by creating jobs and using a budgeting formula to allocate central government funds to local governments.
Urban ecosystem
Sustainable urban development has shown to be an important naturebased option, according to the research. Countries are making headway in reversing biodiversity loss locally by regulating land conversion, preventing urban expansion, restoring urban ecosystems, and greening food systems. It used the Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration Project in Seoul as
an example, which turned a freeway overpass into a park.
Governance
Despite progress toward the New Urban Agenda’s principles, many urban areas suffer from insufficient multilevel governance, unclear responsibilities between different spheres of government, weak cooperative mechanisms, and limited participation of local governments in national coordination mechanisms, according to the report. The European Union’s Urban Agenda (Amsterdam Treaty) encourages multilevel governance cooperation on urban issues among member states, cities, the European Commission, and other stakeholders. It also mentioned how multilevel governance methods have been established by the Council of Australian Governments, the Local Government Commission of New Zealand, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, and the Union of Municipalities of Turkey.
Urban financing
More nuanced methods to fiscal decentralisation, as well as the ability of local governments to mobilise endogenous resources, are required for effective urban financing. According to the research, Kampala increased revenue collection from $1 million in 2010 to $25 million in 2019, through digitising, educating taxpayers, training revenue collectors, performing revenue audits, and allowing taxpayers to pay in instalments. It also cited the example of Jharkhand in India, where a public-private partnership has established tax collecting agents and project management units in 41 cities, successfully increasing municipal government revenue.
Technology in governance
Many countries in the AsiaPacific region are at the forefront of developing digital platforms, according to the report. Since 2019, a Group of 20 Global Smart Cities Alliance has been aiding cities in
establishing technology governance policies, including model policies on universal access to information and communications technology, in order to help local governments, meet higher procurement requirements. While community-led data innovations have been well received, the integration of citizen-generated data into policy and planning is yet to be achieved, according to the report.
City Diplomacy
According to a global assessment of 47 cities, city diplomacy is becoming more widespread, yet it generally lacks official strategy, training, and money. Cities such as Buenos Aires, Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Shanghai, as well as Helsinki, which, along with other Finnish cities, provided content for the development of global guidance on localising the Sustainable Development Goals, have strengthened their international institutional arrangements and processes by providing them with resources and technical expertise.
Recommendations
The report urged governments and all municipal and non-state actors to use the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to refocus and accelerate the New Urban Agenda’s implementation. Cities have been in the vanguard of the response and will lead the recovery, according to the report. It urged member states to make better use of the New Urban Agenda to bolster efforts to conserve our planet’s ecosystems. Countries can accelerate climate action, safeguard biodiversity, and decrease pollution by pursuing transformative commitments and implementing critical drivers, according to the report. The SecretaryGeneral advised that cities integrate housing and related basic services with health, income, education, and access to basic services as five aspects of the social compact, based on the results of the research. According to the research, addressing multiple types of inequality and reducing poverty will require an integrated approach.
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NEWSCAN
One in every six deaths worldwide due to pollution: Review
NEW DELHI: A review titled ‘Pollution and Health: A Progress Update’ was published by the Lancet Planetary Health. The Report found that pollution was responsible for 9 million deaths in 2015, making it the world’s largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death. The review updated this estimate using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, and established that pollution remains responsible for approximately 9 million deaths per year – one in every six deaths worldwide. The review stated that there have been reductions in the number of deaths attributed to the types of pollution associated with extreme poverty. However, these reductions in deaths from household air pollution and water pollution are offset by increased deaths attributed to ambient air pollution and toxic chemical pollution. According to the review, deaths from such modern pollution risk factors, which are the consequence of industrialisation and urbanisation have risen by 7 per cent since 2015, and by over 66 per cent since 2000. It said that little real progress against pollution can be identified overall, despite the ongoing
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efforts by UN agencies, committed groups, committed individuals, and national governments. The condition is direr in the low and middle income countries, where pollution is severe and more than 90 per cent of the pollution related deaths occur there. Air pollution, both household and ambient, remains responsible for the greatest number of deaths, quoted the review. It caused around 6.7 million deaths in 2019. Water pollution caused 1.4 million premature deaths and lead pollution was responsible for 900,000 premature deaths in 2019. Toxic occupational hazards, excluding workplace fatalities due to safety hazards were found responsible for 870,000 deaths. The paper noted that the total effects of pollution on health would be larger if more comprehensive health data could be generated and if all pathways for chemicals in the environment were identified and analysed. According to GBD 2019 data referred in the paper, effect of pollution on disease and disability varies by sex. Men, on the one hand are more likely to die from exposure to ambient air pollution, lead pollution, and occupational pollutants, whereas women and children on the other hand,
are more likely to die from exposure to water pollution. The paper said that pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss are closely linked and that successful control of these conjoined threats will require a globally supported, formal science– policy interface to inform intervention, influence research, and guide funding. Pollution has been typically viewed as a local issue. The review argued that however, it is increasingly visible now that pollution is a planetary threat, and that its drivers, its dispersion, and its effects on health transcend local boundaries and demand a global response. It suggested a massive rapid transition to wind and solar energy to reduce ambient air pollution and to slow the progress of climate change. The review asked international organisations to establish a Science Policy Interface (SPI) for pollution, which could be similar to those made for climate change and biodiversity. It recommended that private and government donors allocate funding for pollution management to support Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) prioritisation process, monitoring, and programme implementation.
Briefs ‘Bicycle mayor’ of Guwahati awarded
During 4th edition of the Unsung Heroes Red Carpet Awards, held at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Mayor of Guwahati Arsheel Akhtar was awarded in the social category for the promotion of cycling in the region. Akhtar was awarded for the promotion of cycling and his efforts for social mobility through his organisation ‘Pedal for Change’ and ‘Green and Active Mobility’, during the award ceremony held in Mumbai. A total of 35 awards were presented in the event, 25 for unsung heroes and 10 in the social category.
Rajasthan to come up with mining regulations To safeguard the environment, generate revenue, and create jobs, the Government of Rajasthan plans to develop precise guidelines on mining activities in forest regions. Inter-departmental cooperation among the Forest Department, Department of Mines and Geology, and Directorate of Petroleum is currently underway. Usha Sharma, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, said that these rules for granting approval for mining activities on forest land would benefit forest conservation and ecosystem protection. Mining leases are a significant source of revenue for the state government. Speaking at a meeting of the Group of Secretaries on InterDepartmental Issues, Sharma said that all issues will be resolved quickly in order to support the rapid development.
NEWSCAN
PMC launches robots to replace manual scavenging PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has introduced three advanced robots to clean and maintain manholes in the city safely without having workers entering them. The initiative has been launched to bring more safety to the maintenance of city manholes. Vikram Kumar, Commissioner, PMC, launched the robots at the PMC office. Conventional maintenance of such manholes include manual scavenging, which requires humans to enter manholes and clean them physically. This practice has claimed the lives of many workers across the nation. To address this issue, the PMC has introduced robots named ‘Bandicoot’ to clean the sewers of the city. The Bandicoot robot is the world’s first sewer cleaning robot developed under the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Swachh Bharat’ initiatives. It has been developed by a National Award-winning start-up – Genrobotics. Under this initiative, sanitation workers will be employed as robot operators after receiving training and rehabilitation programmes. The user interface of the Bandicoot Robot is interactive and user friendly. It would also offer a dignified work profile to these workers. The Bandicoot robot is equipped with a human comparable robotic arm and various sensors that would enable the robot to perform the cleaning action more efficiently.
MoHUA launches ‘Bharat Tap’ at Plumbex India Exhibition NEW DELHI: Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India launched the Bharat Tap initiative at the Plumbex India Exhibition. The exhibition was aimed at products and services related to plumbing, water and sanitation industry. He also launched NAREDCO MAHI’s ‘Nirmal Jal Prayas’ which will work to save 500 crore litres of water per year. Puri said that the exhibition caters to a fundamental service – water and sanitation – in the development of the country. He added that there was a paradigm shift in India’s social development after the announcement of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conceptualised the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Transformation (AMRUT) for safe water and sewerage system in urban regions. Puri also said that AMRUT 2.0 will provide 100 per cent coverage of water supply to all the households in and around 4700 ULBs through 2.68 crore water connections, and 100 per cent sewerage connections in 500 cities through 2.64 crore sewer connections. Plumbing industry is capitalising on the business opportunity and is playing a significant role in the development of sanitation and other basic services in the country. Bharat Tap initiative will provide low-flow sanitary ware at scale to reduce the water consumption at source.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
23
EVENT
World Urban Forum: Facilitating cities for Just, Equitable, Sustainable Urban Future The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a premier global conference on sustainable urbanisation which is all set to be held from June 26-30, 2022, in Katowice, Poland. This will be the first time when the conference, convened by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), will be held in Eastern Europe. The theme of 11th WUF is ‘Transforming our Cities for a Better Urban Future’. The event will provide great insights and clarity on the future of cities based on existing trends, challenges, opportunities, and suggest ways by which cities can be better prepared to address future pandemics The COVID-19 will feature prominently at WUF11 as it has provided a rare inflection point; an opportunity to look back, correct mistakes of the past and transform cities globally for resilience, inclusion, equity, green and economic sustainability. The pandemic has not only laid bare major challenges facing our cities, it has also added a sense of urgency for a radical shift from unsustainable practices if the vision of a better urban future is to be realised. Hence, building economic, social and environmental resilience, including appropriate governance and institutional structures must be at the heart of the future of cities. WUF has become the foremost international gathering for exchanging views and experiences on sustainable urbanisation in all its ramifications. The WUF11 will hold comprehensive dialogue on following issues of urban importance:
Urban Crisis and Urban Recovery
The Dialogue will explore how national and local governments can better prepare and respond to urban crises and use the recovery to accelerate progress to a more green, healthy and just cities. The complexity of crises in urban areas requires a much more detailed and granular understanding of its impact to allow for an effective response. The role of local governments, as front-line responders, is often overlooked. The
24 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
same goes for their local knowledge of urban systems and communities, their capacity to mobilise local actors and their central role in shaping a better urban future, pushing innovation. Taking into account the central role of cities in national economies, including in supporting rural economies, through the urban-rural linkages, there is a strong need to ensure the full integration of urban recovery into national strategies and the international instruments that support them. Over the last decade, important new practices and approaches have emerged in dealing with the variety of crises facing cities. Important lessons learnt can be drawn and new global instruments can be shaped. In a few areas, more needs to be done.
Equitable Urban Futures
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated poverty and deepened existing inequalities across the urbanrural continuum. It has laid bare the fault lines pervasive in many urban areas. Economic and social consequences of the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable low-income households, including informal sector workers, women and girls, migrants, internally displaced persons, indigenous peoples, persons with disability, older people and the poor. Urban Equity continues to be a central theme in major urban fora, implying
that inequality is still growing, and a lot still needs to be done. This Dialogue will explore how cities can address the challenges of inequality and poverty as well as strengthen social cohesion so that a prosperous, inclusive and equitable future can be realised for all.
Building Resilience for Sustainable Urban Future
The COVID-19 pandemic provides cities with the much-needed opportunity to refocus and build up resilience against unexpected shocks, especially for those in vulnerable situations. Resilient cities are those, which are able to absorb, adapt, transform and prepare for past and future shocks and stresses in order to ensure sustainable development, well-being and inclusive growth. This Dialogue will explore how urban resilience can be built across various dimensions— economic, social and environmental, including appropriate governance and institutional structures drawing on the lessons and experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, which provides an opportunity to transform our cities and town for a better urban future.
Future Urban Economy and Finance
Due to COVID-19, cities have experienced a decline in economic output, a drop in employment, a shrinking fiscal space, and growing
concepts and approaches. It will also discuss the lessons learned from the pandemic in different contexts where urban planners and other professionals made key interventions to enhance the form and function of the city.
Innovation & Tech for Inclusive Urban Futures
UN-Habitat is committed to bringing all stakeholders together in a concerted effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The inclusive nature of the forum, combined with the high-level participation, makes it a unique United Nations conference on urban issues. WUF11 arrives at a critical moment. The world is facing multiple crises which are intensifying the rate of urbanization. With an estimated 70 percent of the global population expected to be living in cities by 2050, we need to harness its transformative force. If we are to survive the climate crisis, we need to ensure that urbanization works for all of us and that we leave no place behind
The World Urban Forum is the most important global event on urban development, and we are delighted that thousands of guests from all over the world – representatives of national, regional and local governments, academics, business leaders, community leaders and urban planners – have decided to visit Katowice and be a part. The location of our meeting is not accidental, just as the motto of the current WUF: We are transforming our cities for a better urban future. Katowice has undergone a spectacular change, from an industrial city to a modern urban centre, where we focus on modern technologies and culture
Maimunah Mohd Sharif Executive Director, UN-Habitat
Marcin Krupa Mayor, Katowice
pressure on public finances. Differences in the scale of the impact of the pandemic can be attributed to the resilience of the urban economy, economic structure of urban areas, exposure to global markets, etc. This Dialogue will explore how to achieve productive and inclusive urban economies that are resilient to future and unpredictable shocks. Drawing on perspectives from different parts of the world, the dialogue will also explore how sustainable urban futures can be adequately financed.
The Dialogue will explore the role of innovation and technology in transition to more sustainable urban futures as well as the accompanying challenges. The future of cities will be knowledgebased, driven largely by innovation and the widespread use of new technologies and digitisation of virtually all facets of our urban space. The dialogue will further explore how the deepening digital divide and social inequalities within cities and across the urbanrural continuum can be addressed with a view to build inclusive connected communities that ensures no one is digitally left behind.
Greener Urban Futures
The experts will explore how cities can transition to sustainable urban futures characterised by net-zero GHG emissions and much reduced impacts on the environment. The Dialogue will also share about and advocate for innovative policies and practices of partnerships between organised community-based groups and government that feature participatory and inclusive decision-making process in the implementation of “greening” programmes.
Reimagining future of Integrated governance Cities in spatial planning for WUF11 will feature an extraordinary a more Just, Green, and dialogue on urban crisis prevention Healthy Urban Future and response, and special sessions on There is no doubt that cities’ preparedness, response and recovery from future shocks rests on robust and responsive urban planning and governance systems. This Dialogue will explore the role of urban planning and governance in achieving a better urban future. It will discuss the current gaps in urban governance that affect the transformations in urban planning
the social dimension of post-conflict reconstruction and urban recovery. Cities are the engines of change towards creating a better world, one that is safer, more sustainable and inclusive. WUF11’s programme will provide fertile ground for fruitful discussions and serve as an inspiration for action, especially as the urban challenges facing the world today are so critical.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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COVER STORY | Encroachment in Cities
26 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
Can cities get rid of encroachments? Indian cities are getting crowded and congested. In absence of formal affordable options to stay and do business in cities, poor migrants are encroaching on public land. Encroachment is a problem widespread in residential colonies, industrial and institutional areas, marketplaces, footpaths, public parks, water bodies, heritage and cultural sites, green belt areas, or say wherever people can find a usable piece of land for raising houses or doing businesses. People have even raised illegal structures alongside drains and railway tracks, under over bridges, on flood plains, wetlands, and near dumping sites. Cities need to get rid of the encroachments. The recent anti-encroachment drives in many cities of North India have drawn attention to this decades-old problem. However, there are several questions around the methods of handling the situation. The milliondollar question is how urban local bodies are going to get rid of encroachments and what is the right way www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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COVER STORY | Encroachment in Cities
Abhishek Pandey | Editor
ncroachment is a common problem in our cities. It is everywhere. Some people have encroached land because they can’t afford to buy or pay rent; people migrating to cities without any arrangement of their accommodation erect illegal houses and make slums. Others need extra space outside their property. They encroach footpaths outside their homes to park their bikes and cars, they capture space outside their commercial property for displaying goods they sell and services on offer, manufacturers use vacant public land to dump their industrial waste. It does not stop with individuals. Even the Resident Welfare Associations or community groups encroach public parks.
Growing urban issue of encroachment
Encroachment is prevalent everywhere and it is affecting the quality of life in cities. Many of us have experienced snarling traffic on busy roads because people park their vehicles on roads. People cannot walk on footpaths because the pedestrian pathways are either encroached by street vendors or people living nearby have illegally captured the space for personal use. Children in many cities are deprived of playing in public parks as the resident welfare associations or group of people in a locality have made it their personal property and have put locks on the doors of parks. “All major Indian cities have turned into slums. This is a sad story going on for 75 years and we are celebrating the 75th year of Independence next year. Look at any city, Chandigarh might be an exception but there are problems in Chandigarh as well. That is happening
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everywhere. Let us rise to reality and think how the problem has to be resolved,” said Justice AM Khanwilkar. He was on the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India along with Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar. The Bench refused to allow 5000 hutments to continue on a railway land in Gujarat. The bench had said, “Railways cannot be let off the hook of their responsibility. It is not just the state government’s responsibility... The time has come for the corporations to take the responsibility of removing the encroachment.”
Delhi at the centre of encroachment drives
The courts have been strict on removing encroachments from cities in the past too. The Delhi High Court asked civic authorities in Delhi to consider airlifting 108-ft Hanuman Statue in central Delhi for clearing encroachments around it. According to PTI news report, the bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar added that entire skyscrapers have been airlifted in the United State. The mindset of people in Delhi could change if civic bodies could “at even one place show that the law was being enforced”, the court said, while hearing a petition seeking the unauthorised constructions in Karol Bagh, where the statue is located, be removed. The court said that enough opportunities had been given to municipal bodies of the Capital to enforce the law, “but no one wants to do it”. Apart from the lack of compliance by local bodies, there are issues on the part of community as well. Delhi has been at the heart of recent encroachment drives by urban local bodies. After the controversial Jahangirpuri incident of clearing encroachment by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), other local bodies of Delhi (South and East) also followed the suit. To monitor and look into the matter of encroachments on the Public Works Department’s roads, a nine-member Standing Committee on Public Utilities
and Civic Amenities was formed. As per the statement of the Committee, encroachment of pedestrian roads by hawkers/vendors is a major reason for traffic chaos in cities. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, in a meeting with the Committee, said that there is a proper provision for the removal of permanent encroachment under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. It added that in order to remove temporary encroachments at commercial places, continuous drives at various places need to be done. Recently, there have been various discussions around the actual intent of encroachment drives in cities. Some have been labelled as politically motivated actions, while the local bodies have been defending these drives terming increased encroachments by hawkers, street vendors, informal migrants, etc. The information rendered to the Committee also showed that a Special Task Force has also been constituted, by the Supreme Court of India, presided by the Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority. The Force was tasked to monitor permanent encroachments in the city, along with field functionaries of Delhi Traffic Police and concerned officials of the local bodies. The report of actions taken by the Special Task Force under these drives was also handed over to the Urban Development Department, Government of NCT of Delhi. Even after such actions and continuous removal of encroachments by the concerned authorities, there has been little impact at the ground level. The illegal encroachments were found to shift from the places where the drive was conducted and were found to be mushrooming at some other place in the form of temporary or permanent structures, as per the statement of Task Force. Such incidents completely nullify the very purpose of these drives. However, with a boom in urbanisation in India, cities like Delhi have seen a steep rise in urban population and “due to lack of proper planning, more than 63 lakh people in Delhi live in unauthorised colonies, jhuggis or have done
something which does not conform to original maps”, as per the statement of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Removal of all illegal encroachments from cities is not an overnight process. It has to be a long and steady process, where the local bodies have to think about the rehabilitation of people who are at the receiving end of these antiencroachment drives.
Administration actively demolishing encroachment
Anti-encroachment drives of ULBs have been in full swing recently. Other states have also followed suit and have begun to come down heavily on people encroaching upon government lands. In May, 2022, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority freed almost 50,000 square feet of land owing to these anti-encroachment drives. The cost of land was estimated to be `100 crore, which was illegally occupied by four colonies. In the same month, Indian railways also cleared various encroachments in West Bengal and other states after the directive of Supreme Court to clear all illegal buildings. Protests were also held post these drives, where people blamed the Railways for their wrong-doing and said that they used to pay a lease rental against the property. Number of ULBs in India are battling to make themselves financially sustainable so that they don’t have to turn towards state or central government every time the civic body plans its development schemes. The scale of encroachment such as the one cleared in Greater Noida is worrisome, as the local bodies are deprived of whatever little resource they have. As the urban population grows day by day, it will become more and more difficult for civic bodies and administration to manage these mushrooming illegal urban hamlets. It’s like preventing water to ooze from cuts as the container is getting full slowly, if you cover one leak, water flows from another. The answer to the question ‘Can our
Cities like Delhi have seen a steep rise in urban population and “due to lack of proper planning, more than 63 lakh people in Delhi live in unauthorised colonies, jhuggis or have done something which does not conform to original maps”, as per the statement of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Removal of all illegal encroachments from cities is not an overnight process. It has to be a long and steady process, where the local bodies have to think about the rehabilitation of people who are at the receiving end of these encroachment drives cities get rid of encroachments?’ is not that simple. The issue of compliance with municipal guidelines and laws has to be addressed from both sides, i.e. authorities and community. The local bodies have to work for the welfare of people and try to engage with the community to come on the common ground. Simultaneously, people and other urban stakeholders have to keep in mind the municipal guidelines while planning infrastructure. The encroachment drives have to be followed by the resettlement of community with the help of NGOs or other civil society organisations, so that the resettlement is done by analysing the livelihood opportunities of the region. The issue needs to be handled by engaging experts and stakeholders so as to design solution prioritising planning. We need to create better, safe and sustainable urban space for all.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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Leaderspeak | Municipal Governance
Local Governments should have final say in matters of cities Governing cities is a complex matter. A common man cannot know for sure who makes the final decision in city matters. The problem is not unique to India. It is true for many cities and urban spaces around the world. On these issues, Prayagraj and Paris face similar fundamental challenges in urban governance. In most cases, the central or state government has control over subjects that can decide the future course of development of a city
Ranjit S Chavan | President, AIILSG
ith the growing population and evolving challenges, the contours and spectrum of urban governance are changing. The concept of locally elected governments running cities in India was firmly established after the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992. However, even after thirty years of constitutional validity, experimenting and learning, the management of urban affairs is an unsolved labyrinth for the common man. Cities in different states have several departments dealing with urban matters. Urban Local Bodies have 18 defined functions under the 12th Schedule for ensuring proper management of urban affairs and the socio-economic welfare of their citizens. Urban local governments in India lack uniformity in the governance system or standardization of urban management. As we all know that urban management is a state subject; every state in India has made its own rules for running local governments. Even the tenure of the mayor and the process of his/her election is not common across states. Some cities in India, like Delhi and Chandigarh, have only one-
30 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
year term for the mayor while some have 2.5-year and some others 5-year term. Some states have provisions for direct election while some cities elect their mayors indirectly. Every state has different rules. One link that joins almost every local government in India is the dependence of municipal corporations on state and central government for fund allocation as per the recommendations of the State Finance Commission or via special project grants. Cities which are not dependent on state and central government can be counted on one’s fingers. There is a need for cities to be innovative and find new ways for creating multiple streams of revenue, away from traditional methods. This, of course, requires coordination with the state government and other parastatal agencies. Until cities get what they desire in terms of financial and administrative authority, they need to find ways in the existing system to generate more funds for new projects and programs. It is widely known that revenue generation has not kept pace with the expenditure requirements of local governments. The need of the hour
ULB officials working at the local level and exposure workshops for elected representatives so that they can adopt creative approaches to generate funds and also for implementing projects.
Prudent urban governance
is to expand self-generation resources and not just depend on service fees and property taxes alone. There are other issues which are nation-specific. Several urbanists came together and published a book called “Cities Transformed: Demographic Change and Its Implications in the Developing World (2003).” The book has dedicated one chapter to urban governance. It talked about the challenges on the financial front too. It says, “In many countries, even mandated central government transfers are not reliable. Most municipalities in developing countries cannot borrow, and they cannot run a deficit. In addition, local revenue is highly dependent on both macroeconomic factors (for example, whether national economies are prospering or in distress) and on the level at which municipalities are permitted to borrow through the market.” Several studies and research reports have indicated that cities in the developing world have serious capacityrelated problems when it comes to servicing their populations. It requires advanced skill-building programs for
Since the world is increasingly becoming urban, the existing cities are becoming bigger in size and population; new cities are being built for accommodating people. At the same time, cities are facing new and complex challenges every now and then. With extreme stress on services and infrastructure, cities are facing a challenge in providing civic services to one and all. Among all this, one thing remains constant. How our cities are being managed. The institutions which manage them are becoming fragile by the day. There are no lessons learnt on this front. The state governments have several parastatal bodies which are from the pre-74th CAA era. There is hardly any visible change in their functions and authority over ULBs. These institutions are still running with more authority on local matters than ULBs. One example is that of Development Authorities which directly report to State Governments. One of the most important documents for a city is its Master Plan and which is prepared by the Development Authorities and urban local bodies have a limited role in its preparation. The Guardian newspaper quoted Gerald Frug, Professor of local government law at Harvard University in an article on the structure of urban governance system in global cities. He said, “cities ought to be able to make policies that improve the lives of their citizens. The more basic question for urban dwellers today is: who decides who decides? Who has the power to allocate decision-making authority?” His statement holds true for many global cities. Research done by the London School of Economics in 2015, suggested that the problem of urban governance exists in many global cities in the regions of America, India and
The Guardian newspaper quoted Gerald Frug, professor of local government law at Harvard University in an article on the structure of urban governance system in global cities. He said, “cities ought to be able to make policies that improve the lives of their own citizens. The more basic question for urban dwellers today is: who decides who decides? Who has the power to allocate decision-making authority?”
China. If we take the example of our national capital and the management system here, Delhi had five urban local bodies till a month ago (now it has three). The education, health, and transport are managed by the state government. Delhi Metro is governed by the central ministry. Smart City projects come under New Delhi Municipal Council. Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Police come under Central Government. Municipal Corporations here are majorly looking after waste management, garbage collection and disposal, management of parking places, and parks. It is difficult to distinguish who calls the shots in urban affairs of the national capital. Now, the unified corporation of Delhi needs to present a strong local leadership if the city affairs are to be streamlined. There are many models in India and the world that our cities can emulate based on their strengths. The reforms in urban governance are long due and they must focus on political empowerment of local governments that promote local democratic accountability. Since local governments are closest to people, citizens can hold them responsible only when they know ULBs can take decisions and lay a road for the future development of their city.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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One on One | Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Commissioner Secretary, UT Administration of Ladakh
Ladakh, a trans-Himalayan region in the northernmost part of India, has become a popular tourist destination in the last few years owing to the scenic Ladakh landscape figuring in the backdrop in many Indian films. Its estimated population was 3.1 lakh in 2020, around 40 per cent of which has no access to available infrastructure. Tourism contributes approximately 50 per cent to the GDP of Ladakh, which is also a seasonal trade because of extreme temperatures during winters. Limited connectivity, agricultural dependency, digital divide, lack of healthcare facilities, localised education system are some of the key challenges faced by the Union Territory, as outlined by the recently released document ‘Vision 2050 for UT of Ladakh’. To discuss more about these issues and possible solutions, Pooja Upadhyay, Reporter, Urban Update, spoke with Ajeet Kumar Sahu, who has been Commissioner Secretary of the UT Administration of Ladakh, since August 2020. In this interview, Sahu gets candid about the initiatives taken by his administration to develop Ladakh and the challenges he has faced whilst making services like healthcare, and education accessible to people. Excerpts from the interview….
Ladakh: A New Administration and New Hopes 32 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
It has been over two years since Ladakh was separated from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and became a Union Territory. In these past two years, we’ve seen the budget increase and developmental works accelerate. How has the new administration managed to achieve this? For instance, the new airport of Leh, considered one of the most scenic airports, which opened recently was developed in record time.
Thank You Pooja. You have rightly pointed out that there has been a significant change in the administration since Ladakh became a Union Territory in October 2019. A lot of new things have happened since then. You must also be aware that Ladakh is a
Ajeet Kumar Sahu Commissioner Secretary, UT Administration of Ladakh
Illustrated by: Arjun Singh, Digital Marketing Associate
completely new administrative unit. The challenges here are not only related to geography and climate, but also the new administrative set up. Due to the hard work of the administration, things are in place now and development is picking up pace. The creation of UT also coincided with coming of the COVID-19 pandemic; but despite the challenges of the pandemic, the administration has tried to keep development on track. And I think we’ve been successful in this effort. With regard to the budget, in 2018-19, the total budget of Ladakh was around `11.35 crore, while in 2022-23, it increased to `59.58 crore which is more than five times. Most of this is capital investment that is going to change the infrastructure set up here. Besides the UT administration, we have two autonomous district councils whose budget has also gone up significantly. Where earlier their budget was `50 crore, it now stands at `250 crore for each council, as a result of which their spending has also increased. We also have Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), which have also been strengthened. `50 crore have been given to the Panchayats alone. And nearly `20 lakh has been given per panchayat additionally, plus one crore has been given to each block for developmental work. The ULBs have been given `23 crore as grants-in-aid besides other support like `208 crore as capital investment for infrastructure development. So, all in all in every sector the budget has tremendously increased whether it is health, power, road, etc. Talking about the increase in budget allocation, the developmental activities have also been given impetus. What are the challenges faced by the administration during implementation?
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One on One | Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Commissioner Secretary, UT Administration of Ladakh Ladakh is definitely a difficult terrain topographically and climatically, being a trans-Himalayan area. It also has capacity challenges. As I mentioned earlier, being a new administrative set up, it was a challenge in itself. On top of that, the pandemic posed its own challenges. There was an acute shortage of labour as most of them had migrated during the pandemic. To deal with this issue, we tied up with agencies like Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to mobilise labourers. So we first focused on building capacity. We still have a shortage of officials at the appropriate levels, especially the technical level. We don’t have the provincial services officers, like 70 per cent of posts of BDOs and SDMs are vacant. We don’t have sufficient number of accounts officers, so we requested officers to be posted on deputation from the UT administration of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Besides, the local officers who were available
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hadn’t worked at such a scale before, so they didn’t have the capability to handle projects of bigger size. We also brought national level agencies here, like CPWD, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). More such agencies are coming like National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). So we first had to build capacity because with increase in developmental activities, manpower is also needed. The local economy here, is nearly a six-month economy, so we have to bring in new technologies to make sure work continues during winters as well. Through constant experimentation and innovation, we have seen improvement in work conditions during winter months. We’re trying to work on the living conditions of workers so that they can stay here during winters. These are a few of the challenges being faced here, while we’re still working on many others, by infusing new technology, coordination, mobilising expert agencies, etc.
Everyone knows that Ladakh is a beautiful place, but it is also a geographically difficult place for dwellers and administrators alike. For instance, with the JJM mission which aims to provide tap water connections to every household, there’s always the fear of pipes bursting since water freezes in subzero temperatures during winters. How does the administration deal with this?
Not only zero, the temperature goes as low as -25 degrees Celsius in towns itself, and in certain places it even reaches -35 degree Celsius. There are many other challenges besides technological ones like that of freezing of pipelines. People weren’t accepting this scheme since everyone thought this would be a failure. Never before has tap water been provided in Ladakh during winters. All the stakeholders, from contractors to the common people had to be convinced since they had apprehensions about this scheme. After multiple rounds of meetings with a team of engineers, certain best
practices were adopted like insulation of pipes where required, going below the frost line wherever possible, changing the type of material being used (from Galvanised Iron pipes to High Density Polyethylene pipes and Polypropylene Random Copolymer pipes). We’re also experimenting with the bleeding technology, wherein the water is left dripping from the taps during extreme winters (one or two months) so that the water doesn’t freeze. We worked on 50 per cent of the area last year, and the remaining is still being worked upon. We are gradually learning from practicing and it’s an ongoing process. In plains, people expect certain living standards and sustainable development from their local governments. I’d like to understand what the aspirations of the people of Ladakh are and what are their expectations from the administration?
Every citizen in the country or rather in the world, has simple expectations – improved liveability, economic upliftment and sustainability. These are the major objectives around which we are working. The solutions are different because the challenges here are different. The ultimate goal is the same. We have to be a little more careful here, because of the fragile ecology. Whatever development is being undertaken, it has to be sustainable and environment friendly. In fact, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has declared Ladakh to be a carbon-neutral zone. All our efforts have this over-arching objective. So, we’re not encouraging any pollution generating activities. We’re trying to promote e-buses, plantation (wherever possible), green technologies. Our goal is that overall living conditions should improve, economic opportunities should increase and whatever development is being done, it should be sustainable. When other cities in India are shifting towards green mobility and sustainable infrastructure, Ladakh has started its developmental journey on that
note. Although, the population is not much in Ladakh, how does administration address the issue of poor population?
There are many schemes which are working in this regard. Tourism is a major source of employment in this region. For every hotel room, at least one job is created. We have nearly 5000 hotel rooms in Ladakh. Moreover, if we provide basic amenities like good roads, water supply, and power supply, then overall living conditions improve and employment opportunities also go up. The UT administration is promoting horticulture and local products in a big way. We’re also promoting greenhouse technologies so that production can continue even in winters and vegetables won’t have to be transported from other states. This will not only improve liveability and economic opportunity, but also reduce carbon footprint in the region. As far as education is concerned, pupil-teacher ratio here is 1:6, which is a general estimate. The expenditure on every child is `4,00,000 per annum. That’s quite an expenditure considering that the schools have to be kept open even in the remotest areas. Every student, from class sixth to 12th, has been provided with an educational tablet. All the highschools and higher secondary schools have smart classrooms and computer labs. Moreover, we have targeted to achieve zero drop-out within a year or two, and that will be tracked from the Anganwadis till higher education. We are close to achieving 100 per cent house-for-all status. After the survey of the homeless population, they were provided the benefit of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in both rural and urban areas. We’re expecting all houses to be completed this year. Remarkable! In fact, yesterday I came across a woman who is a primary school teacher in Durbuk and was travelling from somewhere around Leh. She was telling me that she stays there for a week and the school provides her with all the facilities, because it’s not
The local economy here, is nearly a six-month economy, so we have to bring in new technologies to make sure work continues during winters as well. Through constant experimentation and innovation, we have seen improvement in work conditions during winter months. We’re trying to work on the living conditions of workers so that they stay during winters feasible to travel every day.
The educational challenges in the region are completely different because of the extreme winters during three months when the students cannot sit and the teachers cannot teach. So, in order to increase the instructional days, we provide solarised classrooms and heating operators, so that the schools can remain functional even during the winters. Additionally, this year we have also started providing jackets as part of the school uniform. So, for every challenge, the administration is coming up with innovative solutions.
Certainly. The locals know their problems best because they live with it every day. So it’s better to consult and involve them in deriving solutions, and that’s what we are doing. What is your vision for the region of Ladakh?
After Ladakh became a UT, we are working on a vision document known as ‘Ladakh 2050’, which is ready and about to be published very soon. It includes our overall objectives, vision of every department and an action plan has been made accordingly. The overarching concept is that of living sustainably. Transcribed by: Ayesha Saeed, Reporter
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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aRTICLE | Fire Safety Compliance
Fire Incidents: Charring dreams of resilient Indian Cities Fire is one of the five basic elements of Earth, which give birth to all life on the planet. On the other hand, in its disastrous form, it can engulf buildings and cause loss of life and valuable infrastructure. As per the data of Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India released by the National Crime Record Bureau, from 2016 to 2020, fire related accidents have killed 35 people every day. In order to prevent this, the Government of India came up with the National Building Code of India (NBCI), which was amended and revised nine times between 1970 and 2015 Hitesh Nigam | Senior Sub-Editor
T
36 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
he NBCI was revised a number of times due to continuous change in building patterns, new and innovative construction materials and technologies, greater need for preserving environment and planned management, etc. In lieu of this, a comprehensive revision of the Code was done in 2016, under the aegis of National building Code Sectional Committee, involving around 1000 experts. In Part 4 of the Code, fire and life safety procedures have also been
revised as per the requirements of modern complex buildings.
Recommendatory Policy
The NBCI is a recommendatory document issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards, and it is up to the state governments to decide the scale of implementation. Various experts have time and again underlined the importance of making NBCI, a compulsory policy for states in order
to ensure its compliance. One of the reasons for patchy implementation of the policy could be that the NBCI is an extensive and complex document with multiple chapters and provisions for buildings categorised under Residential, Institutional, Educational, Assembly, Mercantile, Business and Industrial, Storage, and Hazardous. Fire Services is mentioned under the 12th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which means it comes under the ambit of local bodies. Local bodies ensure the compliance of state bye laws and fire safety in buildings via issuance of a NOC (Non-Objection Certificate), which can be obtained only after proper inspection of building by the Fire Department. However, due to the absence of strict supervision of these NOCs by local bodies, we often hear about unfortunate fire incidents in cities.
Hospitals at centre of issue
A hospital is a sensitive place with patients who are often unable to move from their beds, and when fire breaks out in hospitals it becomes the death bed of various innocent lives. As per the media reports compiled by Scroll, between 2020 and 2022, almost 129 people in 29 incidents were killed due to fire accidents in hospitals. Shockingly, four of these 29 incidents happened in government facilities, such as the one which erupted in the COVID-19 ward of Ahmednagar civil hospital which engulfed more than 12 people. The COVID-19 pandemic (especially second wave) already put immense pressure on health infrastructure of Indian cities, and repeated incidents of fire in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and COVID-19 facilities exacerbated the situation. The Supreme Court of India had to intervene in this issue, when it directed the hospitals to acquire the NOC from the respective fire departments within four weeks. Audit probes held after this brought up some shocking revelations. For instance, more than 1300 hospitals (156 municipalities) in Gujarat did not have NOCs from the Fire
Department, which included 377 COVID-19 facilities. The aforementioned details furnished by Regional Commissioners of six fire regions also found that more than 2800 schools in the area lack any NOC from the Fire Department. The condition is more or less similar in various parts of the country. In Chandigarh, which is celebrated as one of the most planned cities of India, just 59 schools out of the total 200 audited by the Fire Department were found with proper NOCs.
What can be done?
In order to understand more about the provisions of fire safety in buildings, Team Urban Update talked to Santokh Singh, former Deputy Chief Fire Officer (East and South), Delhi. He informed that the applications for NOCs come via proper government channels and the Department does not deal directly with owners or builders. Owners are summoned only when there is an application for renewal of NOC. The renewal is only done after proper audit of building by the Fire Department. He added, “Most of the buildings which are not in compliance with the norms of Fire Department or do not possess any NOC are unauthorised or are not under the purview of Delhi Fire Services.” Even after 50 years of the formulation of NBCI by the Government of India, in 2020, the country lost more than 9000 lives due to fire accidents. The local bodies and the administration have to be vigilant in implementation of fire safety and other building guidelines. The NOCs issued by the Fire Departments should ensure compulsory compliance with the norms of revised NBCI as well as state bye laws. Singh said, “In Delhi, the NOCs have the clause where the applicant has to adhere to the guidelines of NBCI and Delhi Building bye laws. In case they don’t have any specific requirement, the Department gives recommendations to the applicant so as to plug any loophole.” He added that the Fire Department acts upon the complaints made to it by people or if there is any fire related incident. It is also authorised to take suo moto
As per the media reports compiled by Scroll, between 2020 and 2022, almost 129 people in 29 incidents were killed due to fire accidents in hospitals. Shockingly, four of these 29 incidents happened in government facilities, such as the one erupted in the COVID-19 ward of Ahmednagar civil hospital which engulfed more than 12 people action in case of non-compliance with the norms. In case of any discrepancy, the Department is authorised to seal the building after giving 90 days time to the violator. Public awareness is also necessary to save as many lives as possible in case of any mis happening around. The safety measures should be made public and documented in order to ensure compliance with these norms. General Fire safety guidelines and techniques for mass awareness such as Cracker Fire Safety, School Fire Safety, and use of Fire Extinguishers are mentioned on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
Way Forward
Some of the recent incidents of fire mishap in Delhi, which took a heavy toll on human lives, have once again brought the debate of fire safety procedures to the forefront. As per the Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India report of NCRB, the capital has the greatest number of fire accidents (128) among UTs in 2020, which is more than some of the bigger states such as Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. The central government has revised the NBCI various times to make it synonymous with the changing trends in urban infrastructure, but the policy has no use if the local bodies do not ensure its compliance. People also have to realise the importance of fire safety, and have to strictly adhere to fire safety standards.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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aRTICLE | Segregating Waste at Source
Delhi needs to own responsibility for its waste
Ashish wakes up to the sound of a van – it is around 6 in the morning and time for duty. He greets Ramin and Sagar, who are there to take government vehicle for collection of waste from around the neighbourhood. Soon, Ramin, Sagar and others will start arriving at the same place with vans filled with waste. They will drop all of it into a little open space created in the government waste compression facility. But, before compression, they would enter into the heap of garbage to segregate wet waste from dry, paper from plastic, polythene from glass, biodegradable wet waste from bio-hazardous waste. He wonders about the use of speakers in those waste collection vans when even after years, people continue to choose to give their waste unsegregated Pooja Upadhyay| Reporter
W
aste is defined as anything that one finds not useful or unwanted. With almost every product that we use, we generate some waste. Naturally, due to rapidly increasing population in urban areas in recent years, cities are witnessing mammoth amount of waste being generated, which is increasingly becoming a challenge for governments and administrations to deal with. Cities, that are supposed to be at the core of development and progress, are currently home to a number of open landfill spots. Two years after the highly acclaimed programme, ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ was launched by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) notified the new Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM), 2016. It replaced the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, which had been in place for 16 years. The purposeful SWM, 2016, introduced some much-awaited rules and directions for management of solid waste across the nation.
Segregation at Source
According to World Population Review, the metropolitan area of Delhi has over 32.1 million people and over 3.4
38 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
million housing units. The capital city of India generates around 11,144 tonnes of solid waste daily, as reported by the Government of Delhi in December 2021. The number, however, does not account for the waste collected and disposed by informal waste collectors across the city. The waste collected, dry waste like paper, plastic, and metal are to be sent to factories to recycle them; wet wastes like vegetable peels are to be sent to industries to convert them into manure and energy; and domestic hazardous waste such as sanitary napkins, cleaning agents, and diapers are dealt with separately by incineration; segregation becomes an essential part of handling of waste. The SWM, 2016, mandates the source segregation of waste to channelise the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse and recycling. Waste generators are required to segregate waste into three streamsBiodegradables, Dry, and Domestic Hazardous waste before handing it over to the collector. Once generators mix the three categories of waste and hand it as such to the collectors, the collectors are left with the responsibility of going through the heaps of waste to segregate each item with their bare hands – like Ashish does, at a government waste compression centre in Janakpuri.
Delhi, the city which is supposed to be the reflection of the whole nation is currently largely falling behind in its handling of waste, as is evident from the 2020-2021 Delhi Economic Survey, which reported that in only 94 out of the total 294 wards of the city, waste is segregated at source. As generators of waste, people stand to lose nothing by submitting their waste in accordance with the categories to the collectors, but workers like Ashish are exposed to chemicals, toxics, allergens, etc. that more often than not ends up making them sick.
Derelict citizens and authorities
The city administrations, a few years ago, replaced conventional waste collection vehicles with vehicles having three separate compartments for three categories of waste. Vinod, one of the drivers of the waste collection unit of Janakpuri area, has been collecting waste from Janakpuri area for six years now. He said that people dumping their waste remain deaf and blind to instructions on public announcement system of vehicle and descriptions on the vehicle. In a small survey conducted by the Team Urban Update, people cited ‘time consuming’ and ‘hassle’ as reasons for not practicing the rule that is their responsibility. Some said that since their informal waste collectors do
not have separate compartments for carrying the collected waste and end up mixing all bags ultimately, they choose to not segregate either. This reflects how government and administrators continue to neglect the informal sector of waste management, even though the SWM, 2016, mentioned the necessity of integrating rag pickers, waste collectors and kabadi walas from the informal sector into the formal sector to build efficient network of waste management, where each article of waste can be traced and treated appropriately.
mounting landfills, not wealth
In the survey conducted, 45.5 per cent of the total respondents mentioned that their waste is collected by informal waste collectors and 7 per cent said that they themselves dump their waste at nearby landfill site or black spot. These informal waste collectors tend to segregate the waste into wet and dry – they sell the dry waste that would include paper, plastic, wood, and metal, to kabadi walas and dump the wet waste, including the domestic hazardous waste, at nearby landfill sites. Only 25 of the 88 respondents in the survey said that they do not have any landfill site near their home or workplace. In addition to adding a black spot in a city, open landfill sites are a major source of pollution, toxins, Ghazipur landfill site
Delhi, the city which is supposed to be the reflection of the whole nation is currently largely falling behind in its handling of waste, as is evident from the 2020-2021 Delhi Economic Survey, which reported that in only 94 out of the total 294 wards of the city, waste is segregated at source
leachate, and other harmful gases that have been linked to birth defects and other serious health problems. According to a study report submitted by a team of experts to the National Green Tribunal, Delhi’s three large landfill sites – Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur – that receive over 10,000 tonnes of waste daily, have cost the city over `450 crores in environmental degradation. Smaller, unofficial landfill sites across the city remain unaccounted for.
Compliance
Rules and laws in a nation, city or community are formed to organise the relations between individuals and society; to establish what is right and wrong; to ensure safety, fairness, and respect for everyone. Much as it is the responsibility of local governments to ensure compliance of waste management regulation, citizens are responsible at individual level and as a community to do their part by complying with the rules established – by segregating their waste at home, by using public dustbins instead of sidewalks and foot of trees, and by owning the responsibility of keeping their city clean. Over 65 per cent of the respondents of our survey believe that introduction and implementation of penalties are sure to make people more responsible in terms of how they handle their waste. Framing rules and building infrastructure for waste management is equally important as making the people part of the process.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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aRTICLE | Making Cities Inclusive
Are Smart Cities Inclusive For Differently-Abled Inclusivity is the new watchword for cities all over the world. Till now, development has been focused on making cities fast and efficient. The rapid pace of life and cut-throat competition is what defines big cities, but there has been little progress in making our cities inclusive, especially for persons with disabilities. It is high time that we make the transition from a welfare-based approach to a rights-based approach while designing our cities Ayesha Saeed | Reporter
H
istorically, within religious and mythological worldviews, disability was looked at as an anomaly - a result of sin or bad karma. Think of the figure of the witch mostly presented with
a hunchback, a crooked face and a faulty gait. It is not a surprise then that ableism has always been a norm in the world. Consequently, we’ve built our world for able-bodied people. As I sit in my home writing this piece, I think of the front steps of my house which make it inaccessible for a wheelchair user. Back in my college days, I remember teachers making exceptions for students who were differently-abled, by having classes on the ground floor, for a lack of an elevator in the building, or organising a writer for a visually impaired student. But the point is, why were these instances mere exceptions. Where is the place for the differentlyabled in our cities?
Legal Provisions
Delhi Metro
40 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
In India, a comprehensive framework of policies and guidelines provides for the provision of an inclusive environment to the differently-abled population. But the numbers tell a different story. According to the 2011 census, 26.8 million people are differently abled in India, which is about 2.21 per cent of the population. On the other hand, WHO, in a 2011 report, pegs it at 15.3 per cent. But these numbers are highly under-reported because of the stigma associated with disability in India. According to experts, in the Indian society, the discourse around disability
is mired in stigma which in turn, leads to a lacuna in data The idea of disability inclusion took its roots in the early years of 1970s with the starting of the Disability Rights Movement, but the movement got impetus only in the 1980s. Finally, in 1995, Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (or PWD Act) was passed. It ensures three per cent reservation in government jobs to PwDs for the first time. In 2016, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, was enacted by the parliament, replacing the earlier PwD Act, 1995. The new Act is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The types of disabilities listed in the Act were increased from seven to 21, reservation was increased from three to four per cent, and accessibility in the public buildings (government and private) has been ensured. This Act also puts emphasis on implementation, through provisions such as constitution of district level committees by the State Governments to address local concerns of PwDs, penalties for offences committed against PwDs and designation of special courts in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs, etc.
What makes cities accessible?
Infrastructure designs in urban regions have been apathetic to the disabled population. This is now changing globally. With a rise in aging population worldwide, the need is finally being felt for infrastructure designed for the needs of everyone, rather than for just the able-bodied population. Microsoft, in collaboration with other global companies, has launched a toolkit containing four tools to help Smart Cities worldwide, to focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), accessibility and the digital inclusion of PwDs and older persons. In 2010, the European Commission launched the Access City
Award, to recognise cities which have made laudable efforts towards making infrastructure accessible for differently abled and elderly populations. Luxembourg City won the Access City Award 2022. The award is granted on four basic criteria: ♦♦ Built environment and public spaces; ♦♦ Transportation and related infrastructures; ♦♦ Information and communication technologies; ♦♦ Public facilities and services.
Policies
India’s Smart Cities Mission has opened up the opportunity for the authorities to reorient urban development and make it more inclusive for the differently abled. In 2015, the Government of India rolled out the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) specifically to make public infrastructure (like administrative buildings and transport) more accessible to differently-abled people. The scheme focuses on three main aspects of accessibility including creation of a barrier-free environment, transportation system accessibility, and Information and Communication eco-system accessibility. Amidst the general inaccessibility of urban infrastructure, the Delhi metro has emerged as clear exception. People are not only provided assistance, but even the general public appears to be more inclusive towards their differently abled co-passengers. Mr Baldev Gulati, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, who is visually challenged, praises the “positive ecosystem” created by the Delhi metro. He says, “The best part about the metro is that they give you space and choice as well as give respect to your decision. For instance, if I want to use the escalator instead of the lift, the staff will not say no. This is what I call the ecosystem.” Mr Baldev’s views resonate with many other daily commuters who share similar experiences. It proves that it is possible to create a culture wherein the same
Infrastructure designs in urban regions have been apathetic to the disabled population. This is now changing globally. With a rise in aging population worldwide, the need is finally being felt for infrastructure designed for the needs of everyone, rather than for just the able-bodied population people who litter the streets give up their seat in the metro for someone who needs it.
Enforcement of Rules
Despite having policies and laws in place, implementation is the usual bottleneck. While the new law does emphasise on the implementation of existing laws and policies, substantial change hasn’t been seen since the enactment of the new law. We still have a long way to go to ensure compliance of public as well as private authorities. It is not just active discrimination which needs to be penalised, but also passive non-compliance which needs to be considered a serious offence.
Cultural and Behavioural Change
Most importantly, the sensitivity towards differently abled people in the general public is still lacking. The local governments need to spearhead a cultural revolution, by spreading awareness among the public, while also encouraging more public participation from the differently abled population. Public spaces like parks, museums, art galleries and market squares are sites, where this change can be engendered. It is high time we realise that it doesn’t take much to be mindful of the needs of our vulnerable population and simple, economical changes can go a long way in bridging social gaps in accessibility.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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aRTICLE | Encroaching Urban Drains
Urban Floods: Growing Menace in Cities Humans have begun witnessing the effects of climate change in the form of rising annual mean temperature, rising sea level, sporadic monsoon, and increased frequency of cyclones. Cities in India have also begun to feel the effects of climate change in various forms and one of them is urban flood. According to the data of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the incidences of urban floods is on the rise in India. Floods in Hyderabad happened to be the first recorded event of urban floods in the country. Later, Ahmedabad (2001), Delhi (2002, 2003, 2009 & 2010), Chennai (2004), Mumbai (2005), Surat (2006), Kolkata (2007) Jamshedpur (2008) and Guwahati (2010) have also had the misfortune of encountering urban floods Pushpender Singh | Editorial Assistant
U
rban floods have emerged as a major issue in cities, especially in India, and encroachment of drainage infrastructure in cities has been one of an important catalytic factors. In order to combat and minimise the effects of urban floods on Indian cities, various departments and organisations such as the National Green Tribunal (NGT), NDMA, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), have prepared their own set of guidelines. However, the primary focus will be on guidelines of MoHUA and how Indian cities are adhering to these guidelines.
What are the prescribed guidelines?
MoHUA has prescribed a set of guidelines, to prevent Indian cities from coming to a standstill and preventing the loss of life and damage to property. These guidelines are called the Manual for the stormwater drainage system, prepared by the Central Public Health
42 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) in 2019. These guidelines highlight that all the storm drains should be inspected frequently to identify any blockage or damages to the drains in India. It recommends thorough examination of scouring of bed and sides, blockage of the drains due to garbage dumping, damage to the structures, and keen inspection of junction sump and gutters. Additionally, walking inspections should also be done regularly, especially before the onset of monsoon, and the interval between such inspections must not exceed one month. It also made a recommendation regarding the maintenance of the storm drains. All the drains must be desilted, all the damages should be repaired, and the garbage such as polyethene which could block the flow of water must be removed before the onset of monsoon. In addition, condition of road cambers needs to be inspected after every heavy shower to inspect any potential damage and essential corrective measures should be taken immediately following the rain. To prevent any accidents, all the missing and corroded slabs and caps of the gutters should be replaced if necessary. One of the most essential aspects of these guidelines is creating awareness among citizens, in order to dissuade them from dumping garbage and other materials that could block the passage of water and encroaching or building any pavements over these drains. States however could take any additional steps along with these recommendations.
How our cities have been faring?
As far as the National Capital Territory of Delhi is concerned, the NGT itself has established an Integrated Drain Management Cell (IDMC), to look after the remediation and management of networks of drains in Delhi. Apart from that, Public Works Department (PWD) manages nearly 2064 km, while rest of the drains in the capital are managed by the Municipal Corporation and Delhi Jal Board. The drains that are maintained by the
PWD are desilted once a year before the monsoon arrives in the city, while those maintained by the civic bodies are desilted twice a year. The local bodies in Delhi have taken several initiatives to solve the problem of water logging in the capital. For instance, for the management of excess water around the Minto Bridge underpass area, four CCTV cameras and sensors have been installed by the PWD that are connected to 12 pumps around it. When the water reaches a certain level, the alarm goes on, and the pump begins to throw water out of the underpass in order to avoid water logging and flooding during Monsoon. One of the major challenges faced by Indian cities, especially Delhi, regarding the maintenance of storm drains is the problem of choking of drains, which leads to water logging on the roads. In areas around Ghazipur Mandi and Azadpur Mandi, one can see heaps of garbage piled up on the roads, while some of the garbage such as plastic bags, bottles, cans, and construction and demolition waste is directly dumped in the drains. Chennai also had a catastrophic encounter with urban floods in the year 2015. The city has also been taking measures to prepare for any contingency situation. The Government of Tamil Nadu had established the Thiruppugazh Panel in November 2021, to prepare areaspecific stormwater drainage plans and
devise long-term plans for the basin area of Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Ranipet. Earlier, in October 2021, the Government of India signed a pact with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the planning and implementation of Integrated Urban Flood Management in Chennai. Under this pact, the ADB will provide assistance in the creation of urban flood protection infrastructure. The pact includes the construction of 588 kilometres long new storm drains, replacement of 175-kilometre-long old drains and enhancing the water carrying capacity of the channels in Ambattur, Ariyallur, Kadapakkam, and Korattur.
Does this solve the problem of urban floods?
Although states and civic bodies seem to have been implementing these guidelines of MoHUA, the compliance is neither complete nor efficient. Waterlogging on the roads after even moderate rainfall is a common sight. It is, in itself, enough evidence of the effectiveness of the implementing agencies. A majority of cities in India are primarily focusing on the development of new drains and flood management infrastructure, while neglecting the maintenance of the existing ones. It’s not that making new drains and adopting innovative technological solutions should be cast aside. These
For the management of excess water around the Minto Bridge underpass area, four CCTV cameras and sensors have been installed by the PWD that are connected to 12 pumps around it. When the water reaches a certain level, the alarm goes on, and the pump begins to throw water out of the underpass in order to avoid water logging and flooding during Monsoon
could solve the problem of waterlogging in the cities of the future, but the maintenance of the existing drainage system must not be neglected either. Apart from that, whenever a drain or a gutter is cleaned, the extracted material is dumped just beside the drain from where it again makes its way back to where it was extracted from. The burden of waterlogging and urban floods cannot be completely shifted onto the shoulders of the administration. People themselves are equally responsible for the situation. A majority of shopkeepers in cities throw dust cleaned from their shops right on top of the side drains, where they haven’t already been encroached upon. Even though the civic bodies in the majority of our cities collect garbage directly from the houses even then you could easily locate the garbage bags lying on the roadside or flowing down in the local ‘nallahs’. All the awareness campaigns unleashed by the central government, state government and the local bodies haven’t been able to bring much behavioural change. Therefore, compliance with these guidelines has to come from both the administration as well as from the people, if we as a country want to make the incidence of urban floods and water logging a thing of the past. Thus, making our cities disaster resilient.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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Bhopal
advertorial
The Cleanest State Capital
Bhopal has received the status of Second Cleanest City and the Cleanest Capital in the country for two consecutive years now. Bhopal Municipal Corporation has been conducting various activities related to cleanliness, door-to-door waste collection, running community awareness drives, waste processing and disposal, and environment conservation related activities.
Reclaiming Bhanpur landfill site Dumpsites or landfill sites with massive legacy waste have become a common feature of cities. It was the same for Bhanpur dumpsite, Bhopal
with 7.23 lakh tonnes of waste, which had been there for about 40 years. On January 1, 2018, Bhopal Municipal Corporation decided to shift the dumpsite to Adampur, and simultaneously conduct waste remediation on it. BMC has done scientific remediation of Bhanpur (Khanti) dumpsite and reclaimed 37 acres of land, earlier in disuse. This unique example is being followed by other cities in the country as well. Earlier, the landfill site at Bhanpur looked like a mountain of garbage but the sustained scientific efforts of the municipal corporation helped them get rid of legacy waste and reclaim the land.
ABOUT BHANPUR LANDFILL SITE PROJECT ♦♦ Total Solid Waste Collected: 11.13 Lakh Cubic Meters or 7.23 Lakh Tonnes ♦♦ Total Processed Solid Waste: 2.42 Lakh Cubic Meter or 1.57 Lakh Tonne ♦♦ Total area of Khanti: 37.00 acres ♦♦ Total Reclaimed Area: 21.00 Acres ♦♦ Area of capping: 16.00 acres ♦♦ The total cost of the project: Rs. 52.38 crores ♦♦ Height of dump when capping was complete: 27 m ♦♦ The paver blocks used in the packing area as well as the tear-walls, are made by recycling Construction and Demolition waste
44 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
Door-to-door collection of waste For door-to-door collection (DTDC) of segregated waste, BMC developed 14 transfer stations with collection, segregation and transfer facilities, where waste collected from the entire city is dropped via 671 DTDC vehicles. The waste is then transferred to the designated transfer station, which then transfer waste to Adampur centralised plant for processing and disposal of waste in a state-of-the-art and scientific manner.
Another byproduct is 12.50 tonnes of CNG which will be produced from biodegradable waste and provided to BMC at Rs 5 less than the market price, which will further be utilised in 250 public transportation buses. For non-biodegradable waste, BMC has collaborated with the NTPC and will be producing ‘Torrefied Charcoal’ to be used as fuel in factories and power plants. Certain useful items like plastic waste tiles, etc. are obtained from the separate Material Recovery Facility (MRF) installed at transfer stations directly.
Gobar Dhan Plant The waste undergoes scientific waste processing at the Gobar Dhan plant at Adampur Chavni, set up through PPP mode. Bhumi Pujan of the plant was done by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The plant has the capacity to convert 400 tonnes of waste to bio-CNG. This is a cost-effective method of treating waste, at the same time producing 80 tonnes of organic manure per day. This will, furthermore, help the farmers to improve their yield and reduce carbon production by 1,05,000 per year.
Sewage Treatment Plants Bhopal is a city known for its beautiful lakes and ponds. To keep them and groundwater from getting polluted, nine Sewage Treatment Plants and 29 Sewage Pump Houses at Shirin River, Maholi Dam Khedra, Char Imli, Shhpura Maksi, Nilbad, Sun Khedree, and Professor Colony have been set up. The sewage is treated through 350 km of sewage network. The BMC has also provided 12,000 domestic sewage connections in the city.
www.urbanupdate.in | June 2022
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URBAN AGENDA
Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor
Compliance is vital for smooth urban governance he goal to create sustainable urban spaces can only be achieved by taking small and consistent steps at the very local level. Municipal governance oversees the implementation of such laws which assist a region to become a safer and better space. There are various categories under municipal governance ranging from fire safety, traffic, to roads and bridges, water supply, public health, etc. But, compliance with these laws has been often found to be inadequate which becomes the cause of economic, infrastructural and social loss. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of strictly adhering to the guidelines which were issued by the Centre and state governments. Compliance with the provisions of masks and social distancing became important for the health of entire community. As per the official data, within two years, 46 lakh people were penalised for not wearing masks just in Mumbai. This is despite the strictness and fines imposed by the administration and local bodies for flouting the norms of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour (CAB). Recent drives of local bodies on encroachments have brought up forth the issue of compliance. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation since 2021, has carried out over 150 demolitions in their drive to remove encroachments and illegal structures on public spaces and government land. In Gurugram, cycle tracks built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in 2017, on the side of the highways from Signature Towers to Rajiv Chowk to IFFCO Chowk were encroached by cab drivers, food vendors, and mechanic shops. This prompted the local authorities to build segregated cycle tracks. Increasing urban population necessitates building adequate urban infrastructure, policies, and regulations, but for smooth operation of a city, compliance on part of citizens is as important. The Central Road Research Institute has cited encroachments and roadside parking as primary cause of congestion and severe traffic problems on Delhi’s internal roads. The capital city built multilevel parking structures in congested areas such as Lajpat Nagar and Green Park to provide people with affordable parking spaces, as a solution to congested roads in the areas, however, residents continue to park their vehicles on the roadside and there remains larger absence of supervision to ensure compliance. One more issue which has been coming to the fore time and again is compliance of the fire safety norms. The capital city of India witnessed over 2100 fire incidents in the month of May, this year. Officials from the city’s fire department have noted that in most of the factories or commercial buildings where fire broke out, the owners did not have a No Objection Certificate from Delhi Fire Services (DFS). The DFS cited unchecked mushrooming of illegal factories, unauthorised colonies, congested roads, which are currently present in every major city of India, as reasons for frequent fire incidents in Delhi. Rules and regulations under local governance are introduced to ensure maintenance of infrastructure and safety for citizens. India right now is struggling to ensure compliance of years old policies and regulations; challenges for the urban local bodies are only going to surge on the front of compliance with newer policies and regulations that await introduction in view of the issue of climate change and global warming.
46 June 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in
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