Urban Update November 2018

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Volume V, Issue VII

How is Housing for All faring?

November 2018

A house is a fulcrum on which major features of good living hinge. Skyrocketing prices of land in cities and increasing construction cost kept the poor away from buying a house. Housing for All 2022 is a strident move towards providing affordable housing to urban poor

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

Magazines & Journals

Energy Efficiency

AMRUT Knowledge Management

Seminars

Project Management Customised Training

Sustainable Development Goals

Policy Research

Advisory Services

Swachh Bharat Mission

ECBC

Smart City Mission Capacity Building

Skill Development

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UrbanUpdate

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

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Urban Update is a leading magazine on sustainable development of cities brought out by All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG). Bringing together the experience of the multilateral sector with that of the private sector and the local governments themselves, the magazine focuses on the challenges and solutions for city leaders and local governments.

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November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

EDITORIAL

Make urban reforms inclusive and sustainable

C

ities occupy under five per cent of the earth’s land area and host over 50 per cent of the population. This urban population is expected to cross 67 per cent by 2050. Cities account for about 80 per cent of global GDP, 70 per cent of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly, cities are compact human settlements, highly concentrated centres; hotspots of economic activity.

Little wonder then that policy makers the world over are focussing on making their cities better, more livable, more efficient, more smart and above all sustainable. The rural-urban migration has in the past been often looked upon as an impending challenge, even a disaster. But as we progress, there is growing realization of the inevitability of the process and therefore an effort to harness its potential rather than to fear it or attempt to discourage it.

In India, we have seen policymakers unleash a slew of reforms aimed at transforming our cities into hubs of smart living. There have been several measures to reform the processes at our urban local bodies, to improve basic services to citizens and an increasing reliance on e-governance and smart management of cities.

We believe that these efforts should go towards building ‘cities for everyone’. Efforts are already underway in this direction. ‘Housing for All’ is a key plank of these efforts. As the rural poor migrate to cities in search of livelihoods, there is an increasing tendency for them to be relegated to the fringes or create slums and slum-like settlements closer to their livelihood opportunity.

Appropriate, affordable housing with basic services including power, water and sanitation is necessary in order that cities are equitable and just. Our race towards making cities smart and efficient needs to be tempered with compassion, to take everyone along, to make our cities inclusive. The Greek philosopher Plato apparently foresaw the danger.

He said “Any city however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich. These are at war with one another”. Planners need to guard against this.

Another dimension in our efforts towards successful cities is sustainability. Cities all over are already faced with severe stresses on account of poor air quality, waste management, water

pollution and so on. The stresses could increase as the population as well as activity in cities grows. Solutions call for out-of-the-box thinking and robust implementation of measures towards clean mobility, efficiency in energy use with sharp emphasis on renewables, and greater efforts on reuse and recycling of resources i.e., ‘doing more with less’ if we are to keep our cities safe and healthy alongside their march towards efficiency and productivity.

Resilience of our cities will be tested with increasing frequency as densities grow alongside climate change threats. While we work to make our processes more sustainable and less damaging to the environment we need to build in measures to guard cities and its citizens against natural and man-made disasters.

Above all, as urban reforms unfold, cities need to engage actively with citizens on all above aspects so that they are able to meet the aspirations of the city-dwellers. This is now evident in our Smart Cities Mission and other reform measures of ULBs. We at AIILSG are working with several ULBs for capacity building of their personnel on various above aspects in order that they are better equipped to meet the emerging challenges.

In this issue of Urban Update we look at urban reforms in the recent past and the direction of policy making in times to come. Do write in with your feedback.

Rajiv Agarwal Editor-In-Chief dg@aiilsg.org

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

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Quotes

Statue of Unity is an answer to all those who question the existence of India. The height of the statue is to remind the youth that the future of the country will be as huge as this. It is also symbolic of our engineering and technology affordability

India’s energy consumption will grow by 4.2 per annum, the fastest among all major economies by 2040 with fossil fuels meeting 82 per cent of the demand, followed by renewable energy as the second largest source of energy

Narendra Modi Prime Minister of India

Venkaiah Naidu Vice President of India

PIN POINT Indonesia is one of the biggest contributors in the world for plastic waste.

Indonesia’s second-largest city Surabaya has come up with a novel way to encourage its residents to recycle waste giving free bus rides in exchange for used plastic bottles

The electric vehicle industry has seen a decent leap in 2017-18, especially in the electric two-wheeler segment.

Citizens are accepting electric vehicles as an economical as well as a cleaner mode of transportation in comparison to conventional vehicles

Irvan Wahyu Drajad Head of Surabaya’s transportation department

Sohinder Gill Director, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles

BUZZ Amitabh Kant

Ministry of Health

UNESCO

Greenpeace

@amitabhk87

@MoHFW_INDIA

@UNESCO

@Greenpeace

Vulnerable populations are the people at the highest risk of their health being affected due to air pollution. These vulnerable groups should avoid outdoor physical activities when Air Quality Index is poor. Increased air pollution level can have major health consequences

One in five people in developing countries lives on less than $1.90/ day. Ending poverty is not an unreachable goal. If we ACT together, iIf we are ENGAGED, iIf we are COMMITTED to this goal, wWe will End Poverty once and for all

We are calling for the corporations to urgently and immediately stop over-packaging their products, to redesign products so waste can be eliminated, and to take responsibility for the waste once it ends up in the environment. Break Free From Plastic

CEO, Niti Aayog

India’s automobile world is different from rest of the world.

78.73% of the market share is held by 2-wheelers with passenger vehicles share-a mere 15%. India needs a huge technological disruption towards electric scooters & retrofitting with home charging

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November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

inside

Inside Volume 5, Issue 7

Articles

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40

44

After a death, two more on fast unto death: fight to claim Ganga back is on

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Matri Sadan in Haridwar is the place where Swanmi Sanand sat on indefinite hunger strike for 112 days. Subsequently he was removed by the police and admitted to the hospital where he died. Aashram still witnesses a hectic activity as it’s a hub of activists fighting to reclaim ganga

Be ‘environment cautious’ and celebrate festivals Water is life. Polluting of water resources have negative impacts on environment and biodiversity. Are we putting environment at stake to keep our traditions alive? Of course all cannot be painted with the same brush.

Environmentally cautious citizens are finding innovative ways to celebrate festivals without negatively affecting the environment

Smart Cities Mission Work in Progress but with Hiccups The government’s own figures suggest that flagship program of Smart Cities is going to miss its first deadline though the government claims that it is one of the fastest implemented projects of its kind anywhere in the world

Cover Story

26

Mumbai the city of dreams that never sleeps

RegularS

6 8 12

Pin Point Equi-City Newscan

15 46

City Images Urban Agenda

How is Housing for All faring?

A house is a fulcrum on which major features of good living hinge.

Skyrocketing prices of land in cities and increasing construction cost kept the poor away from buying a house. Housing for All 2022 is a strident move towards providing affordable housing to urban poor

travelogue

42

November 2018

LEADerspeak

30

AMRUT overhauling working of municipal system AMRUT has received good response from state and municipal governments since its launch. The mission that is expected to benefit more than 22 cr population in 500 cities has a series of reforms linked.

Skilling of municipal workforce to handle the present and evolving challenges is an integral part of the Mission. After the success of the scheme, the announcement of AMRUT Plus is a welcoming step and will give impetus to government’s efforts to improve basic civic services in our cities

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

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feature Equi-City

Equi-City conducts training workshop on Smart Cities for elected representatives Team Equi-City

A

gainst the background of economic and technological changes caused by the globalisation and the integration process, cities face the challenge of combining competitiveness and sustainable urban development simultaneously. Evidently, this challenge is likely to have an impact on urban issues such as housing, culture, economic, social and environmental conditions. Even though the vast majority of the urban population lives in mid-sized cities, the main focus of urban research tends to be on the ‘global’ metropolises. As a result, the challenges of medium-sized cities, which can be rather different, remain unexplored to a certain degree.

Medium sized cities, which have to cope with competition of the larger metropolises on corresponding issues, appear to be less well equipped in terms

of critical mass, resources and organizing capacity. In this connection, Indian cities are not an exception and there is an inevitable requirement to introduce city smartness in the system to attain sustainable urban development.

The contemporary thinking about the integrated smart sustainable city as a system can only be turned into reality with a smart, integrated approach to both delivery and strategy. In an interconnected urban system, trees and green walls naturally cool streets and buildings; their green waste can be transformed into energy via anaerobic digestion or similar biological treatment; this energy can be used to power a fleet of street cleaning vehicles; the vehicles can make use of the recycled grey water from nearby apartments; the organic waste from the apartments can be used in greenhouses on the roof; and this can deliver food back to the apartments or the

Dr Ramnath Sonawane, CEO of NSSCDCL, and Nagpur Mayor Nanda Jichkar inaugurated one-day training workshop on Smart Cities on October 23, 2018 at Town Hall, Nagpur

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November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

cafĂŠ at street level, and so on. Nutrient cycles are closed, water cycles are closed, energy is transferred from one system to another, and communities are engaged.

Benefits are environmental, social and economic. So the idea of the smart city has become important not simply due to the emergence of the internet over the last two decades but also due to political, organizational, social, cultural and spatial challenges now facing city governments.

Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with a mission to develop 100 cities (the target has been revised to 109 cities) all over the country making them citizen friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for implementing the mission in collaboration with the state governments of the respective cities.

Moving forward on these aforementioned objectives the EquiCity Team along with the Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) and All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) organized a one-day training workshop on Smart Cities on October 23, 2018 at Town Hall, Nagpur. The workshop was conducted to sensitize the elected representatives on the Smart City Mission Guidelines and Proposal, mainly focusing on awareness generation among the elected representatives about the concept of Smart Cities Mission.

Currently, Nagpur stands at two position in implementation ranking of Smart City Challenge amongst 100 cities.

The training workshop commenced with the introduction and welcome note

by Jayant Pathak, Regional Director of AIILSG, Nagpur. The workshop was inaugurated by Nagpur Mayor Nanda

Jichkar in the presence of Opposition Party Leader Tanjai Wanve; Additional Commissioner Ravindra Thakre, Assistant Commissioner Mahesh Dhamecha, Technical Director, AIILSG, Pashim Tiwari and Equi-City Project Head, Dr Amrita Anand. The CEO of NSSCDCL, Dr Ramnath Sonawane was the expert for the Smart Cities Training Workshop. He gave insight into the concepts and guidelines of Smart Cities Mission and then elaborated on Nagpur Smart City Proposal which will carry out Area Based Development of Punapur, Bharatwadi and Pardi area and the PanCity Solution for Nagpur.

The Mayor expressed that the elected representatives should feel proud that they are a part of building a Smart City.

Along with being smart, the development should be environmentally viable and sustainable. Nagpur is getting smart gradually with the implementation of Smart City Proposal such as Pan-City solution under which CCTV cameras are installed and Wi-Fi connectivity is provided to the citizens at all the major junctions, City Operation Centre (C-O-C) has also been established in NMC. The Mayor also gave example of the usability and importance of Pan -City Solution by recalling the incident of heavy rains in Nagpur which was monitored and controlled with the help of C-O-C. The Mayor suggested that the elected representatives should visit and understand the working of C-O-C. Thakre, Additional Commissioner, talked about the problems faced by the citizens when any new development takes place. He suggested that technologically advanced smart solutions should be found out for the problems faced by the new generation. He also proposed to all the elected ward members to take maximum benefit of this training and reach out to citizens and explain the ‘Smart City Concept’ effectively to them.

Dr Sonawane said that ‘Smart City’ concept is often misunderstood as only to be high-rise buildings, wide roads and smart infrastructure but the provision of basic services such as water supply, sewerage management, and solid waste management is also included in the Smart Cities Mission. The Nagpur Municipal

Corporation has appointed NSSCDCL as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the Smart City Proposal in Nagpur city. He gave information about the demographics of Nagpur city and explained the land use change and urban growth in Nagpur from 1990 to 2017 and explained the reasons of unplanned and haphazard growth in Nagpur city to the elected members.

He also explained that a Smart city is the one which has basic infrastructure and uses smart solutions to make infrastructure and services better and relies on area-based development.

Following are the important points discussed during the training conducted

by Dr Sonawane on the concept, objectives and guidelines of Smart Cities Mission and Nagpur Smart City Proposal. ♦♦ The objectives of Smart Cities Mission are to provide basic infrastructure, quality of life and clean and sustainable environment with integration of smart solutions and set example to be replicated both within and outside the Smart City and catalyze the creation of similar Smart Cities. ♦♦ The strategy of Smart Cities Mission is given below: 1. Pan city initiative in which at least one Smart Solution is applied through out the city 2. Develop Areas step-by-step by three modules of area-based developments (ABD) a) Retrofitting - Development of an existing built area greater than 500 acres so as to make it more efficient and livable, b) RedevelopmentReplace existing built environment in an area of more than 50 acres and enable co-creation of a new layout, especially enhanced infrastructure, mixed land use and increased density. c) GreenfieldDevelop a previously vacant area of more than 250 acres using innovative planning, plan financing and plan implementation tools with

♦♦

♦♦

♦♦

♦♦

♦♦

♦♦

provision for affordable housing, especially for the poor.

The Vision of Nagpur Smart City is e3i – To transform India’s Heart - Nagpur into the most liveable Eco-friendly, Edu-city that electronically connects people with the government.

Nagpur Smart City Proposal is based on four agendas Smart Mobility, Smart Environment, Smart Governance, and Smart Living.

There are 20 Projects undertaken in Nagpur Smart City Proposal. Out of these 19 projects are under Area Based Development and one project is under Pan City Solution.

The Area Based Development module undertaken in Nagpur Smart City Proposal is Retrofitting of 1730 acres of Pardi-BharatwadaBhandewadi-Punapur through Town Planning Scheme.

Some of the impactful projects under Nagpur Smart City Proposal are as follows: 1. Tender SURE – Design and construction of roads, bridges, culverts, sidewalks, Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) works on Tender SURE Concept for ABD area under Nagpur Smart City Project.

2. Project Green Light – To install 1,36,000 LED lights in 10 zones of Nagpur Municipal Corporation.

3. Nirmal Nag River Project - Nag River Pollution Abatement Project The Pan City Proposal consists of Citywide solutions such as installation of 1200 km of fiber-based citywide connectivity, 100 smart kiosk terminals, internet connectivity for general public at 136 locations and city surveillance through 3800 CCTV cameras, mobile vehicles and drones. It consists of Smart Strip intervention which will have smart transport, ICT based SWM, Smart Lighting, Smart Parking, Smart Traffic and Environmental sensors. The Pan City proposal will also set up two control centres Command Control Centre and City Operation Centre.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

9

AIILSG DIARIES

Saryu Rai, Minister of Food, Public Distribution & Consumer Affairs (Jharkhand )inaugurates three-day Swachh Bharat Mission -SWM City Cluster Workshop in Jamshedpur . The workshop was organised by National Institute of Urban Affairs and AIILSG

Participants from Bihar ULBs on the field visit during workshop under Swachh Bharat Mission at Bodh Gaya

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways; Devendra Fadnavis, CM of Maharashtra; Ranjit S Chavan, AIILSG President; and Vishwanath Mahadeshwar among others unveiling of the book ‘Saarthi’ at Annual Mayors Conclave 2018 at Nagpur

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November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

India unveils world’s tallest statue Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat’s Narmada district on October 31, on the occasion of 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The ‘Statue of Unity’ is 182 meters tall. The height was picked as ‘182’ meter to match the total constituencies in Gujarat Assembly. The ‘Statue of Unity’ beats China’s ‘Spring Temple Buddha’ as the world’s tallest statue and is twice the height of the ‘Statue of Liberty’ in the US NARMADA: “The world’s tallest statue will remind the entire world, the future generations about the courage,

capabilities and determination of the person who did this holy work of vanquishing the conspiracy to

10 Things to know about the Statue of Unity 1. The Statue of Unity stands 177 feet higher than the current world’s tallest statue China’s ‘Spring Temple Buddha’.

2. The statue depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister, wearing traditional dhoti and shawl, towering over river Narmada.

3. 25,000 tonnes of iron and 90,000 tonnes of cement have been used in its construction.

4. 3,400 labourers and 250 engineers worked round-the-clock at the site of the statue.

5. The statue can withstand severe wind velocity and earthquake.

6. The statue has a gallery which can accommodate 200 visitors at a time.

7. The museum has 40,000 documents, 2,000 photographs and a research Centre dedicated to Sardar Patel’s life.

8. The statue has been created by a renowned sculptor, Ram Vanji Sutar.

The 93 year old sculptor has given India over 8,000 sculptures 9. About 15,000 tourists are expected to visit the statue daily.

10. The statue is made up of reinforced concrete, but its surface that gives it a distinct design, has been created using 553 bronze panels, with each panel having 10 to 15 micro panels.

disintegrate India into pieces,” PM said while addressing the ceremony.

PM Modi also reminded the audience that the idea of building the tallest statue in the world was shared by him with people exactly eight years back in Ahmedabad when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, adding how a “mass movement” was created for the statue across the country as iron farm tools and farm soil were given by lakhs of farmers from all over the country.

The Statue of Unity is now open to the tourists from 9 am, November 1. For Gujarat tourism, which already has the Great Rann of Kutch and the Gandhi circuit as big attractions, the ‘Statue of Unity’ is on its way to being added to the list. The Gujarat government already started promoting the statue as a major tourist destination. On an average, 15,000 visitors are expected daily to the site.

Online booking to visit the ‘Statue of Unity’ opened with `350 as an admission fee for the 153-metrehigh observation deck. Barring the observation deck, a regular entry ticket costs you about `120 for adults and `60 for kids between 3-15 years. For toddlers under 3, entry is free. Buses have also been made available for tourists inside the complex. Boat rides will also begin soon. Tourists will be treated to 30-minute laser shows in the evening every day. If planning for an overnight stay at the ‘Statue of Unity’, then tourist can also book a room at a 3-star hotel inside the complex.

Gujarat government said that 185 families moved to make way for the statue had been compensated and given 1,200 acres of new land. The statue of unity will attract lots of tourist which will lead to the economic growth of the country. However, a lot of people have criticised the government for spending `3000 crore to build the statue. One media reports claim that even if the Statue becomes as popular as Taj Mahal, it is estimated to take 120 years to break even.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

11

BRIEFS

Delhi will soon have 500 standard-floor buses

Delhi Transport department permitted to buy 500 standardfloor buses in the city on October 5, 2018. Varsha Joshi, Transport Secretary-cum-Commissioner, tweeted, “Letters of acceptance awarded to successful bidders of two clusters for a total of 500 standard floor CNG buses as per permission granted by Hon’ble Supreme Court. They shall be fitted with hydraulic lifts for differently-abled passengers.”

These buses will mainly cater passengers commuting between the rural belt in the south-west and central Delhi. Buses will hit the streets in installments by the end of the current year.

MCB all set to provide free parking for residents The Municipal Corporation of Bathinda is ready to provide free parking for the city residents at all MCB parking lots. Recently, it cancelled eight parking contracts because of a high number of complaints related to overcharging by the contractors.

In a general house meeting of MCB, the proposal to provide free parking to the residents was given a nod. In the meeting, councilors alleged that parking contractors were fleecing commuters, whereas the MCB was not taking any action against them. The parking lots which will be free for residents are at Medicine Market near the railway station, fish market, Gandhi Market, GollDiggi Market, Subhash Market, water tank parking, sports market and Arya Samaj Chowk.

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November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

Himachal to get 3rd Municipal Corporation PALAMPUR: Himachal Pradesh will soon have its third Municipal Corporation in Palampur after Shimla and Dharamsala.

Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh announced that the state government had finalised a draft plan for the proposed Palampur Municipal Corporation (PMC).

With the formation of PMC, more than 15 adjoining panchayats will be merged with the proposed corporation.

Palampur fulfilled the conditions to become Municipal Corporation from a Municipal Council as per the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. The first condition was the population of the city. As per 2011 census, the population for a Municipal Corporation was 53,000 and if the present population is taken into consideration,

it could cross 64,000. The second condition was that the annual income of the municipal council should be `2 crore.

The basic conditions had been fulfilled by the Palampur Municipal Council for the formation of a Municipal Corporation.

The draft plan will be forwarded for the final approval to the Principal Secretary, State Urban Development Department.

After the final approval, official notification would be provided for the creation of new wards. Since it is a long process, it would take up to one year to have the final structure.

Palampur was set up as the municipal council in 1952 when Kangra was part of Punjab. Several social bodies, NGOs and resident welfare associations have welcomed the step.

AIILSG to organise training program on disaster risk reduction for ULB officials from Bangladesh NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) in partnership with the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) is organising a training workshop on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Changing Climate Scenario at Local level on November 12 - 16, 2018 for the officials from Dhaka North City Corporation at The Royal Plaza, New Delhi.

Bangladesh is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change and also one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. More than 80 per cent of the population are potentially exposed to floods, earthquakes and droughts and more than 70 per cent to cyclones. Despite many efforts, the vulnerability of the coastal population is on the rise due to climate change. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is among the most vulnerable cities in the world.

The five-day training program will cover significant issues on disaster risk reduction. The course will have a blended delivery system with interactive sessions, debates, group assignments, field visits and discussions between participants and guest lecturers with a holistic view on disasters.

Focus Areas Of The Training Program 1.

Understand disaster risk and vulnerability through assessment of various sectors, 2. Role of adaptation and mitigation with ecosystem services in addressing the needs in context of mainstreaming DRR, 3. Mainstreaming DRR into various sectors such as housing, health, environmental and natural resources, education, transport, infrastructure, etc.

4. Improving planning through policies, preparedness, effective coordination, local self-resilience, science and technologies and capacities to deal with emergencies at zonal and local level, 5. Focus on emergency response, primary health care, dead body management and communication system, 6. Developing capabilities by sharing knowledge and expertise in the area of climate change adaptation, climate risks, resilience finance by demonstrating the opportunities available through international climate finance mechanism.

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BRIEFS

Southern Railways to have water recycling plant at Coimbatore The Salem division of the Southern Railways is commissioning a water recycling plant (WRP) at an estimated cost of `1.20 crore in Coimbatore.

The plant is commissioned under the Efficient Water Management Policy to improve the wastewater usage. According to the railway officials, the WRP is useful for treating wastewater for making it fit for non-potable purposes.

The total capacity of the plant is 4 lakh liters of water a day. The recycled water will be used for cleaning the coaches and filling water in passenger coaches for sanitary use.

`1500 crore to be invested in Pimpri-Nigdi metro line extension

Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the extension of PimpriNigdi metro line had been submitted. The estimated cost of the extension would be `1,500 crore. According to Shravan Hardikar, Commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the corporation will be contributing `200 crore for the extension of the metro line. The remaining funds have to be raised by the central and the state government.

The 2021 deadline will not be missed, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) officials claimed. The Metro DPR proposed three stations apart from a multi-modal hub at Nigdi Chowk-Chinchwad, Akurdi and Nigdi - on the upcoming extension of the metro line.

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November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

MoHUA modifies Delhi’s land pooling policy NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) notified the modified land policy on October 11, 2018.

The policy would be applicable in the urbanisable areas of urban extensions in 95 villages of Delhi. The modified policy replaces the previous one notified in the year 2013. It aims at developing smart and sustainable neighbourhoods, sectors and zones, planned and executed as per the availability of water, power and other infrastructure.

The core of the policy also indicates the active role of private sector and farmers involved in assembling land and developing physical and social infrastructure. Owners or group of owners can pool land areas for development as per the given norms. Land areas of any size can participate under the policy.

However, the minimum land to be pooled is 2 hectares to ensure adequate return of land for development and form a Developer Entity. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will play the role of a facilitator and the process of planning, pooling and development will be taken up

by Developer Entities/Consortiums.

For better planning and development of infrastructure, integrated Sector-based planning approach shall be followed. A minimum of 70 per cent contiguous land of the developable area within a sector, free of encumbrances is required to be pooled to make the sectors eligible for development under the policy.

Considering the availability of resources and services a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 200 is allowed for group housing/ residential use under the policy. DDA has estimated that it could generate about 17 lakh residential units out of which around 5 lakh residential units will be available under Economic Weaker Section (EWS) category, to house about 76 lakh persons.

External Development Charges (EDC) shall be payable on entire area of pooled land in instalments to cover the cost of providing city level infrastructure.

In order to promote affordable and inclusive housing, a FAR of 15 per cent over and above maximum permissible for residential had also been allowed for EWS/ affordable housing.

Natural disasters cost India $80 billion, reveals UNISDR NEW DELHI: A study released by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on October 10, 2018 said that in a period of 20-years from 1998 to 2017 India suffered economic losses of $80 billion due to natural disasters.

India has been ranked fourth among the world’s top five countries (US, China, Japan, India, and Puerto Rico) in absolute economic losses caused by natural calamities. The damages caused by disasters have increased by more than 120 per cent in the last 20 years as compared to the preceding two decades (19781997). Mami Mizutori, head of UNISDR, said, “The report makes it clear that economic losses from extreme weather events are unsustainable and a major brake on eradicating poverty in hazard-exposed parts of the world.”

The UNISDR said, “It is also clear that the economic losses suffered by low and lower-middle income countries have crippling consequences for their future development and undermine our efforts to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, the eradication of poverty.”

The study was jointly conducted by UNISDR and Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED).

The report concludes that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. It said that disasters will continue to be a major impediment to sustainable development so long as the economic incentives to build and develop hazard prone locations outweigh the perceived disaster risks.

CITY IMAGES

ITO Skywalk

Now, you can ‘skywalk’ in Delhi Delhi’s much-awaited first skywalk at ITO crossing was inaugurated by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C) recently. The 400-meter skywalk is funded by the central government and designed by Public Works Department. The skywalk that cost around `55 crore offers various facilities including seven elevators each having a capacity of 20 people, free WiFi facility, CCTV Cameras for providing better safety to ‘sky-walkers’, LED lights and solar PV modules. The skywalk connects Sikandra Road, Mathura Road, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Pragati Maidan, ITO Metro Station and Supreme Court. The government is also planning to construct more such skywalks at other important junctions.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

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PMC to procure 50,000 new LEDs in Pune Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will procure 50,000 new LED street lights, as the earlier purchases failed to match the expected standards.

Shrinivas Kandul, PMC head of the electrical department said that regional ward offices had installed almost 65,000 LEDs earlier but most of them were sourced from local manufacturers and were of poor quality, so this year PMC will install 50,000 new LEDs of better quality. The estimated cost of procurement is `24.55 crores approximately.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe offers support to SBM

Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan offered his government’s support to the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’. In a written message, PM Abe said that Japan will cooperate with India, to promote the Clean India Initiative under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.

“Securing clean water and improving sanitary conditions is a common challenge in the world. We hope for the further progress of each country’s efforts to address the challenge through active discussions at this convention (MGISC)”, Prime Minister Abe said. The Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC) was a fourday international conference that had brought together Sanitation Ministers and other leaders in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) from around the world.

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Puri calls for putting ‘systems in place’ to enhance our emergency response infrastructure

NEW DELHI: Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) of Housing and Urban Affairs, called for putting ‘systems in place’ to enhance our emergency response infrastructure to meet large number of ‘inter-related challenges’ stemming from ‘urban flooding’. He was talking to the press after conclusion of a workshop on “Urban Flooding Resilience” on October 11 in New Delhi. The workshop was organised by the National Institute of Urban Affair (NIUA). He said that he will hold talks with experts to look at the causation, to put together facts on the recent floods and later look at disaster management in all kinds of urban areas.

Puri added, “The idea is to chalk out ways of prevention and mitigation of floods in Indian towns and cities and set into motion the national guidelines on management of urban flooding.” Puri said that at some level, flooding can be an indictment of municipal management, as it could be due to lack of dredging and drain cleaning; it can also be caused by the urban heat island effect. due to climate change. The workshop noted that climate change and increasing urbanisation pose huge challenges in managing urban planning for a sustainable future. Statistics show that flood disasters are one of the most significant in terms of damages and losses.

Cabinet approves National Monitoring Framework on Sustainable Development Goals NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the constitution of a High Level Steering Committee (HLSC) for periodically reviewing and refining the National Indicator Framework (NIF) for monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with associated targets.

The HLSC will be chaired by the Chief Statistician of India and Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), with the secretaries of data source Ministries and NITI Aayog members and the secretaries of other related ministries as special invitees, with function of reviewing of NIF including refinement of the indicators from time to time.

The main targets for the framework are to measure mainstream SDGs into on-going national policies, programmes and strategic action plans to address the developmental challenges. The statistical indicators of NIF will be the backbone of monitoring of SDGs at the national and state levels and will scientifically measure the outcomes of the policies to achieve the targets under different SDGs. Based on a statistical indicator, the MoSPI will bring out national reports on the implementation of SDGs.

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Tragic Dussehra in Amritsar: What went wrong?

AMRITSAR: The Dussehra celebration took a tragic turn and festivities spelt a pall of gloom over the city. The tragedy took place in nearby area of Joda Fatak where a train mowed down over hundred who were watching the burning of Ravan’s effigy. As many as 62 people died and 70 plus were injured as the last report came in.

People gathered in big numbers to witness the Dussehra festivities. At the time of effigy burning, the organisers reportedly asked the people to move back which led to a large number of people moved towards the railway track.

Meanwhile the Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU moving at a fast pace crossed the spot. Hundreds came under the train leading to a tragic end to Dussehra with a trail of dead bodies and people critically injured on the railway track.

The accident highlights a gross negligence of public administration and the public itself. Sadly, public appeared ignorant about the safety norms. As per some officials, the accident was triggered by a stampede when the crowd moved towards the railway track to avoid exploding crackers from the effigy. The noise from the burning effigy was so loud that it was difficult for the people to hear the train coming.

Sourabh Mithu Madan, the organiser

of the event, said, “I am not responsible for the accident. I had taken all the permissions and function was within the boundary wall of the Dhobi Ghat ground. Around 100 policemen were present for security. They asked us to put up some barricades and we did it.”

Elaborating about the permission he said that on October 15 he went to the Municipal Corporation office and gave a written request for permission with diary entry number 7521 to PA of the MCA Commissioner Sonali Giri as she was not present in the office then.

“The MCA sent fire tenders and water tankers to the venue”, he added.

Madan further said, “We didn’t inform railways because our programme was not inside the boundary of railways.

Otherwise posters of the event were everywhere at Joda railway crossing and everyone there knew that function was going to be held at Dhobi Ghat.”

Iqbal Singh, ADGP, Railways, formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Daljit Singh, AIG Railways, four days after the incident took place.

The case registered was under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others).

Government Railways Police (GRP) has summoned Arvind Kumar, driver of Amritsar DMU and Sourabh Madan.

The driver has been summoned for the first time by any agency. In a statement Daljit Singh said, “We have summoned Arvind Kumar and also Sourabh Mithu Madan. But no date of appearance is fixed yet.”

Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, tweeted, “Rushing to Amritsar to personally supervise relief and rescue in tragic rail accident on Dussehra in Amritsar. My government will give `5 lakh to a kin of each deceased and free treatment to injured in government and private hospitals. District authorities have been mobilised on war footing.”

Brahm Mohindra, Health Minister of Punjab, along with Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sukhbinder Sarkaria and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot visited five hospitals in Amritsar on October 28.

Mohindra expressed his satisfaction on “prompt delivery of quality medical care and treatment” to the victims and announced a grant of `10 lakh to Amritsar Civil Hospital and Guru Nanak Hospital from his discretionary fund. The minister also gave cheques of `50,000 each as financial help from the government to each of the 38 victims undergoing treatment.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

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CPCB records 554 violations in Delhi The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded 554 violations of dust and pollution control measures during 96 inspection visits in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad from September 15 to October 7, 2018. Inspection visits observed 287 violations in Delhi, 61 in Noida, 32 in Gurugram and 39 in Ghaziabad.

Out of 554, 41 per cent violations were due to open storage and dumping of construction and demolition waste, 14 per cent due to dumping of waste in open areas, 13 per cent for unpaved roads, traffic congestion caused 7 per cent, 5 per cent due to resuspension of road dust. Open burning of biomass and other sources contributed 3 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Punjab Brick-Kiln Owners’ Association rules out PPCB order Rakesh Verma, the state appellate authority-cumPrincipal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and Environment, overruled an order of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). As per the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT) the PPCB asked around 3,000 brick-kilns to discontinue their regular operational methods from October 2018 to January 2019 and to adopt the “zig-zag” technology to ensure uniform distribution of heat, which reduces emissions.

The Punjab Brick Kilns Owners’ Association had moved the appellate authority against the order. Verma said that the PPCB had not specified any objective or quantifiable measure for evaluating the impact of the NGT directions. Board did not install any mechanism to assess the role of brick-kilns in pollution.

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‘Green crackers’ only for Delhi NCR NEW DELHI: Pollution levels in Delhi are already severe, the Supreme Court in its verdict on October 23 allowed the sale and use of firecrackers with stringent conditions.

The apex court in its verdict said that only ‘green firecrackers’ which are less polluting will be sold in the country, but it refused to impose a complete ban on firecrackers. However, the SC on October 30 clarified that its order on ‘green crackers’ is only for the National Capital Region (NCR) for now and not for the whole country. A bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that its order was restricted to NCR after it was pointed out by the manufacturers that many state governments had passed orders to prohibit the sale of non-green crackers on the basis of the SC order. The court modified its order fixing the time as 8 pm-10 pm for bursting firecrackers on Diwali and said that the time will be changed for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, but the time limit cannot exceed two hours.

Tamil Nadu, Puducherry can fix on their own a two hour Diwali slot as per their customs.

The Tamil Nadu government urged the Supreme Court to allow firecrackers to be burst on Diwali in the morning from 4:30 am to 6:30 am as per their religious practices.

MoEFCC launches ‘Harit DiwaliSwasth Diwali’ campaign

DSIIDC to pay `5 lakh as fine for open waste burning

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched “Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali” campaign on October 22, 2018. The main motive of this campaign is to prevent from detrimental effects of bursting the crackers. This campaign was initiated in 2017-18 wherein a large number of school children especially from ecoclubs participated and took a pledge to minimize bursting of crackers and also discouraged the neighbourhood and their friends from bursting crackers.

During this intensive campaign, the children were advised to celebrate Diwali in an environment-friendly way.

Now, this year the campaign has been extended and merged with “Green Good Deed” movement that has been initiated as a social mobilization for conservation and protection of the environment. The Ministry encourages all schools and colleges to be a part of this campaign.

Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) was charged a fine of `5 lakhs by The Environment Protection (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on October 21 for poor management and open burning of industrial waste. A fine of `10 lakh was issued on the two private concessionaires Bawana Infra Ltd. and PNC Infra Ltd. responsible for picking up waste in Bawana and Narela respectively. Bhure Lal, chairperson of EPCA, passed an order to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to carry out night patrolling. Lal said that people are dumping waste on roads and empty plots at night. “Patrolling is the only way to catch culprits and solve the problem,” he added. Lal informed that he had witnessed an open burning in the area on October 20, during his visit to the Delhi Technological University in Bawana.

Illegal Industries in Delhi, will be shut

SC orders ban on BS-IV vehicles by 2020 The SC on October 24, ordered a complete ban on the sale and registration of Bharat Stage IV vehicles in the country from April 1, 2020, considering the importance of switching to cleaner fuel to combat vehicular pollution. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also mentioned that only BS-VI vehicles will be allowed after the deadline. It further said, “It is an established principle of law that the right to life, as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, includes the right to a decent environment. It includes within its ambit the right of a citizen to live in a clean environment.” The difference between BS-IV and BS-VI (which is comparable to Euro VI) is in the amount of Sulphur present in the fuel. The Bharat Stage is the emission standards that are established by the government to regulate the discharge of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.

It is estimated that the BS-VI will bring down the Sulphur content by 80 per cent — from 50 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm. Experts also believe that Nitrous Oxide emissions from diesel cars and petrol cars will reduce by nearly 70 per cent and 25 per cent. The court emphasised on the benefits of moving from BS-IV to BS-VI.

Hike in parking fee to curb increasing pollution Officials from Delhi-NCR implemented the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) that lays down stringent measures and enforce restrictions to combat air pollution. From October 15, the parking fees were increased and the diesel generators were banned in the Delhi-NCR. The idea behind it is, if the people can’t be concerned about environment they would be concerned about spending their hard earned money.

This seems to be driving the officials from Delhi-NCR to hike parking fees so that people would start using public transport, pooling strategies in order to curb their expense on parking and in turn curbing the pollution quotient caused by private vehicles.

The announcement came as farmers

began burning crop residue and weather officials predicted a change in the wind direction – factors that can significantly worsen air quality in the national capital and cities on its outskirts.

GRAP, drawn up in response to an increasingly severe air quality crisis that has hit the NCR in recent years during winter, may also trigger restrictions such as the odd-even road rationing scheme and a ban on construction activity if the air quality deteriorates to levels seen in 2016 and 2017 when pollution was considered a public health emergency.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) the air quality index has been in the ‘poor’ category since the first week of October and deteriorated to ‘very poor’ later this month as atmospheric conditions change.

In a report submitted before a bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta, a monitoring committee headed by Anshu Prakash, chief secretary of Delhi outlined its plan of action against the industrial units that were supposed to shut its operations as per an order passed by the Supreme Court (SC) in May 2004.

According to the committee, 51,837 units operating from the residential areas had applied for alternative plots in industrial zones under a relocation scheme.

Out of the total, 27,985 were found eligible of which 6,025 were unable to pay. Hence, the numbers of effective allotments were 21,960. The rest of them will have to shut.

KMC to ban disposable cutlery & plastic products

Ahead of full plastic ban in the district, Kozhikode Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to ban the use of disposable plastic and thermocol made products like cups, plates and spoons. The corporation decided to issue the notice to owners of bunk shops on beaches to stop the use of disposable plastic products. Earlier this month the civic body said that it has planned to impose a blanket ban on all disposables including cutlery and plastic product irrespective of its thickness. “We are not against plastic bags that are long-lasting and reusable. It is just the singleuse plastic that is problematic,” said Dr R. S. Gopakumar, health officer, KMC.

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200 new coaches to reduce rush on Magenta and Pink lines

200 new coaches will be inducted in the recently opened Magenta line and Pink line of the Delhi Metro. The metro lines have recently witnessed a rise in footfalls and to address congestion DMRC has taken the decision. Trains operating on Pink and Magenta lines have only six coaches, which limits its accommodating capacity compared to the trains operating on blue and yellow lines, which have eight coaches. DMRC will induct 200 coaches, of which 164 will be used for Pink and Magenta lines and the rest 36 coaches will be used for the Airport Express Line.

The Airport Express line is being extended from Dwarka sector 21 to the upcoming Exhibition cum Convention Centre in Dwarka.

Shimla to get 30 electric buses The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) decided to purchase 30 electric buses to promote and implement smart and pollution-free public transport. These buses will hit the streets of Shimla within six months. Each new bus will cost `76.97 lakh and have about 30-seat capacity. Govind Singh Thakur, Transport Minister of Himachal Pradesh said, “The focus is on improving the HRTC operation and give better service to the people.” “The charging time of buses is less than 60 minutes and the drive range is 150 km,” said H.K. Gupta, General Manager, HRTC. The HRTC will procure electric buses under FAME India Scheme.

20 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

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Goa to complete school upgradation by 2022

PANAJI: The government primary schools in many regions of Goa are unrecognizable today with their classrooms being modified with latest amenities. Since 2012, the infrastructure of 327 primary and high schools has been upgraded in the state and many of them are present in remote locations inside the state. There are around 800 government owned primary schools in the state.

Some of the schools are very old and were constructed after Goa’s liberation.

Impact of weather over the years caused serious damage to their infrastructure.

In 2008, the state government handed over the project of repairing and upgrading these schools to Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation

(GSIDC), as earlier the public works department (PWD) was unable to cope up with the work allotted to them.

“While the Directorate of Education (DoE) had mainly chosen primary schools with 30 or more students for repair and upgradation, some schools in remote locations with less than five students were also chosen for upgradation, keeping in mind that students in these areas only had access to these institutes,” a DoE official said.

The government had spent `40 crore till now for the upgradation and maintenance work of government schools. In most of the schools renovation work was partly done, only a few schools were in a shabby condition so they were demolished and reconstructed.

“The upgradation included providing infrastructure to the building like state-of-art blackboards to dusters, benches, water supply, and electricity connections,” said an official.

The corporation has set the deadline to complete the project by 2022. The GSIDC is yet to complete the upgradation work of 344 schools across the state to meet the deadline.

NGT gives nod for Pragati Maidan redevelopment project NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) approved the re-development of the Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan on October 24.

It dismissed the plea that challenged the decision to proceed with the project and sought quashing of environmental clearances granted to the developer.

A bench headed by Justice AK Goel, NGT Chairperson, dismissed the plea and said that even though doubts had been expressed on the credibility of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report, they are not supported by better materials.

The bench said, “The tribunal, as the appellate authority against the grant of Environmental Clearance (EC), has examined not only the EIA report but also the entire stages in the EIA process. The examination and scrutiny of the process does not reveal any substantial deficiency so as to vitiate the Environmental Clearance.”

The bench further said, “The object of undertaking an EIA is founded on the principle of Sustainable Development and the Precautionary Principle. As already discussed, the principal concerns raised by the appellant (with) respect to environmental clearance do not appear to be justified.” The bench further directed the Union Environment Ministry and other regulatory authorities to ensure that each of the conditions of the environment clearances is meticulously complied with through close monitoring of the project. The bench directed that physical inspections of the project site be held to ensure that the conditions of the Environmental Clearance.

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Nordhaus & Romer get Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

William D Nordhaus and Paul M Romer

STOCKHOLM: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2018 to William D Nordhaus, Yale University, New Haven, USA, for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis and Paul M Romer, NYU Stern School of Business, New York, USA, for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.

They have designed methods for addressing some of our time’s most basic and pressing questions about how long-term sustained and sustainable economic growth can be created.

The Swedish academy said that Nordhaus and Romer “do not deliver conclusive answers, but their findings have brought us considerably closer to answering the question of how we can achieve sustained and sustainable global economic growth.”

The focus of this year’s prize comes as the United Nations issued a dire warning on the urgent need to address climate change. Nordhaus has long cautioned that it’s “unlikely” that nations can achieve the targets set in the landmark Paris Agreement and that policy delays are raising the price of

carbon needed to achieve the goals.

At its heart, economics deals with the management of scarce resources.

Nature dictates the main constraints on economic growth and our knowledge determines how well we deal with these constraints. This year’s Laureates William Nordhaus and Paul Romer have significantly broadened the scope of economic analysis by constructing models that explain how the market economy interacts with nature and knowledge.

Technological change – Romer demonstrates how knowledge can function as a driver of long-term economic growth. When annual economic growth of a few per cent accumulates over decades, it transforms people’s lives. Previous macroeconomic research had emphasised technological innovation as the primary driver of economic growth, but had not modelled how economic decisions and market conditions determine the creation of new technologies. Paul Romer solved this problem by demonstrating how economic forces govern the willingness of firms to produce new ideas and innovations.

Romer’s solution, which was published in 1990, laid the foundation

of what is now called endogenous growth theory. The theory is both conceptual and practical, as it explains how ideas are different to other goods and require specific conditions to thrive in a market. Romer’s theory has generated vast amounts of new research into the regulations and policies that encourage new ideas and long-term prosperity.

Climate change – Nordhaus’ findings deal with interactions between society and nature. Nordhaus decided to work on this topic in the 1970s, as scientists had become increasingly worried about the combustion of fossil fuel resulting in a warmer climate. In the mid-1990s, he became the first person to create an integrated assessment model, i.e. a quantitative model that describes the global interplay between the economy and the climate. His model integrates theories and empirical results from physics, chemistry and economics.

Nordhaus’ model is now widely spread and is used to simulate how the economy and the climate co-evolve. It is used to examine the consequences of climate policy interventions, for example carbon taxes.

The contributions of Paul Romer and William Nordhaus are methodological, providing us with fundamental insights into the causes and consequences of technological innovation and climate change. This year’s Laureates do not deliver conclusive answers, but their findings have brought us considerably closer to answering the question of how we can achieve sustained and sustainable global economic growth.

Jakob Svensson, professor of economics and director of the Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm University said, “Both their methods and the core questions they’re addressing in the research are of the utmost importance to human welfare.

I would hope that policy makers and politicians would use their findings to think about long-run global issues.”

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Rani-Jhansi flyover opens for public

The most awaited Rani Jhansi flyover is now open for public. Harsh Vardhan, Union Environment Minister along with Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of state (I/C), Ministry Housing and Urban Affairs, inaugurated the flyover on October 16, 2018. Speaking on the occasion, Harsh Vardhan said, “Not only it will benefit nearly 5 lakh commuters daily but a free flow of traffic would help in reducing pollution and save fuel as well.” Hardeep Singh Puri said, “The Union Government is aggressively spearheading a series of pending projects in Delhi and all such projects will be completed by March 2019.”

Solar roofs for public buildings soon A few public buildings in the city will soon be equipped with solar rooftop panels to generate power for feeding few grids of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

According to the officials, Cochin Smart Mission Ltd. (CSML) had signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. (BHEL) for installation of solar panels on the rooftop of as many as 30 buildings under Kochi Municipal Corporation limits.

Government-owned buildings including schools, colleges, hospitals etc. will be utilized for the project. The project aims at generating 1000 kilo-watt power (kW) per day from such panels.

The project is expected to be completed within six months at a cost of `5.7 crore.

22 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

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European Union to ban plastic by 2021 BRUSSELS: The European Parliament voted to ban single-use plastics across the board in an attempt to stop the plastic pollution making its way into the oceans and affecting the marine ecosystem. Single-use plastic products include straws, plates, cups and cotton buds, and can take several centuries to degrade in the oceans where they are observed to be consumed by marine life. As per the European Commission, such plastics make up to 70 per cent of all marine litter.

A ban was proposed in May 2018, after the public outcry and awareness over the issue reached a new zenith. A vote at the European Parliament was held earlier this week, with a huge majority of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) – 571 with the motion to 53 against, with 34 abstentions – agreeing to enforce the ban by 2021. Apart from the 2021 complete ban on single-use plastic products, the use of plastics for which no alternatives currently exist – mostly food packaging – will have to be cut down by 25 per cent and beverage bottles to be collected and recycled at the rate of 90 per cent by 2025. Cigarette butts, remarkably resilient components of plastic pollution, will have to be reduced by 50 per cent by 2025, and 80 per cent by 2030. In addition to this, at least 50 per cent of lost or abandoned fishing gear containing plastic will be collected per year, with a recycling target of at least 15 per cent by 2025. Fishing gear represents 27 per cent of the waste found on Europe’s beaches.

NGT orders to stop housing project lacking environmental clearance SHIMLA: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a fine of `3.2 crore on the colony Doctors Cooperative Society Limited in Panthaghati and ordered to stop the construction work as the colony failed to obtain the mandatory Environmental Clearance.

NGT directed the State Supervisory and Implementation Committee to file a compliance report in the matter within a month’s time. The matter has now been listed for January 21, 2019. The NGT’s Principal bench, headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, chairperson NGT, passed the order in connection with the case namely Vidya Shandil versus the State. It ruled that the housing society should deposit 10 per cent of the project cost as a penalty, which would be shared in the ratio of 75:25 by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The court observed, “The project can be continued only after further orders are

passed by the tribunal on being satisfied that remedial measures have been taken for the protection of environment.”

Shandil, the complainant, challenged the Environmental Clearance given to the project on October 15, 2016, by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to Dr Shyam Lal Kaushik, chairman, IGMC Doctors’ Cooperative Housing Society Limited.

She cited a notification dated September 14, 2006, under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, item no. 8(a) of the Schedule that “requires a project pertaining to building and construction in excess of the 20,000 square meters to obtain prior Environmental Clearance”.

The project has a built-up area of 21057.931 sqm and its cost is `32.48 crore. It was approved by the Shimla Municipal Corporation on February 6, 2010, and over 100 flats have already been built.

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Threat of climate change is looming large over humanity, warns IPCC INCHEON, (South Korea): Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on October 8, 2018 issued a special report on the impacts of Global Warming of 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels. The special report prepared by IPCC talked about limiting the global warming to 1.5˚C as oppose to the 2°C that was an assumed guardrail for a climate safe world according to the scientific research presented before.

The new assessment presented by the IPCC said that limiting global warming to 1.5˚C would require rapid, farreaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.

“With more than 6,000 scientific references cited and the dedicated contribution of thousands of experts and government reviewers worldwide, this important report testifies to the breadth and policy relevance of the IPCC,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. Valerie Masson-Delmotte,

Co-Chair of Working Group I said, “the IPCC report is an outcome of 91 lead dedicated authors and editors from 40 countries, with inputs of 133 contributing authors and as part of new synthesis of knowledge the authors accessed more than 6,000 scientific publications.”

The report highlighted a number of global climatic effects that could be avoided by limiting the global warming to 1.5˚C. For instance, by 2100, global sea level rise would be 10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C. Coral reefs would only be declined by 70 to 90 per cent with global warming level limited to 1.5˚C, whereas around 99 per cent will be lost with 2°C. There will be lower impact on biodiversity and species. Limiting global warming to only 1.5 degrees will also mean in smaller reduction in yields of maze, rice, wheat etc.

The likelihood of an Arctic Ocean

free of sea ice in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5°C, compared with at least once per decade with 2°C. “Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since warming of 1.5˚C or higher, increases the risk associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II. The report said that limiting global warming to 1.5˚C will also effect the fisheries and the livelihood of people dependent on them. It also indicated that up to several hundred million fewer people will be exposed to climate-related risk and susceptible to poverty by 2050.

The report also suggested that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in industry, transport, energy sector, cities etc.

It also mentioned that global net carbon dioxide emissions would need to fall by about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, which would result in reaching ‘net-zero’ around 2050, as opposed to most of the pathways that suggested to limit the fall of carbon dioxide by about 20 per cent, which would reach ‘net-zero’ by 2075.

Achieving such results means that any remaining emissions would need to be balanced by removing CO2 from the air.

Reducing non-CO2 emissions with this would also have direct and immediate health benefits.

“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared with 2°C would reduce challenging impacts on ecosystems, human health and well-being, making it easier to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” said Priyardarshi Shukla, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

23

Need of AI integration for Smart Urbanisation

T

he concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) came a few decades ago. It was seen as an evil machine that can take over the world and turn it into a doomsday place. However, the reality is different. The most growing and required dimension for Artificial Intelligent technologies can be seen around us in our cities.

We are moving towards an era where we talk about smart cities. Many countries are bringing policies and implementing new technologies for building new cities or renovating the present ones with the inclusion of AI. India has also published its “National Strategy for AI”.

In India, the Smart City Mission was launched in 2015 by the GoI with a plan to develop 100 smart cities. Uptill now, many cities have been provided with the most eminent facilities-better municipal infrastructure, the inclusion of big data technologies in managing traffic and energy usage, maintaining safety and security of citizens at public places, etc. But it has lagged in universal implementation of the actual concept.

How AI can help in building smart cities?

Prateek Singh Editorial Assistant

Artificial intelligent system can be used in governing the quality of life in a city. AI can monitor real-time traffic in the city and provide authorities with solutions regarding where to deploy the force on ground for managing traffic. It can effectively help to divert the traffic in case of an accident on a stretch or traffic snarling on a particular street for whatsoever reason by intelligently turning on and

24 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

off the traffic lights.

Public safety and security can also be enhanced by AI through sophisticated surveillance technologies, linking criminal database, monitoring violation of rules, monitoring accident patterns, and so on.

AI can also be used for crowd management at time of festivals. It can also be used for managing the smart distribution of energy and water supply.

AI can greatly affect the citizens’ service delivery by creating intelligent bots which can work 24x7 and can respond according to the behavioral changes of a person interacting with them. Other than these, AI can greatly assist in numerous other city functions to improve the public accessibility, including maintenance of outdoor spaces, parking facilities, education sector, agricultural sector, skill development, disaster management and so on.

India’s approach towards AI

India’s aspirations, combined with the advancement in AI, and a desire to assume leadership in this nascent technology means India’s approach towards AI strategy has to be balanced for both local needs and greater good. NITI Aayog adopted a threepronged approach to address the challenges in few sectors. First, it will undertake exploratory proof of concept AI projects. Second, it will strive to build a thriving ecosystem, in collaboration with start-ups and mature enterprises. Third, it will create a multistakeholder, multinational approach. An integral part of India’s national AI strategy will be to share best practices and innovative operating models with other developing countries, thereby making it an innovation hub for emerging economies.

NEWSCAN

Government rejects World Banks’s HCI ranking NEW DELHI: The World Bank on October 11, 2018 released a Human Capital Index (HCI) as part of the World Development Report 2019. It ranked India at 115th position out of 157 countries. Government of India has rejected HCI saying that its score does not reflect the key initiatives that are being taken for developing human capital in the country.

A statement from the Ministry of Finance said, “There are serious reservations about the advisability and utility of this exercise of constructing HCI. There are major methodological weaknesses, besides substantial data gaps.”

The statement added, “The metric of HCI is too simplistic at one level and too ignorant of development realities at another.”

The Human Capital Index quantifies the contribution of health and education to the productivity of the next generation of workers. It is designed to measure the amount of human capital that a child born today could expect to attain by the age of 18.

The HCI has three components: 1. Survival: It is measured by using the data of mortality rate on kids under the age of 5.

2. Expected years of learning-

adjusted school: Information on the quantity and quality of education a child actually receives by the time he/she attains the age of 18. How much children learn in school based on countries’ relative performance on international student achievement tests.

3. Health: This component uses two indicators for a country’s overall health environment: ♦♦ The rate of stunting of children under age 5, which reflects the health environment experienced during prenatal, infant, and early childhood development. ♦♦ The adult survival rate, defined as the proportion of 15-year-olds who will survive until age 60. It reflects the range of health outcomes that a child born today may experience as an adult.

The health and education components of the index are combined in a way that reflects their contribution to worker productivity, based on evidence from rigorous micro-econometric empirical studies. The resulting index ranges between 0 and 1.

The HCI for India has been estimated at 0.44. As per the release on Press Information Bureau (PIB), the key

The qualitative aspects of improved governance that have a strong correlation with human capital development cannot be and have not been captured by the way the HCI has been constructed. The gap in data and methodology overlook the initiatives taken by a country and, in turn, portray an incomplete and predetermined picture A statement from Ministry of Finance

observations regarding HCI for India in the report are: ♦♦ Human Capital Index: If a child born today in India gets to enjoy complete education and full health he will be only 44 per cent productive of his complete potential when he grows up. ♦♦ There has been marked improvement in the HCI components in India over the last five years. ♦♦ Probability of Survival to Age 5: 96 out of 100 children born in India survive to age 5. ♦♦ Expected Years of School: In India, a child who starts school at age 4 can expect to complete 10+2 years of school by her 18th birthday. ♦♦ Harmonized Test Scores: Students in India score 355 on a scale where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment. ♦♦ Learning-adjusted Years of School: Factoring in what children actually learn, expected years of school is only 5.8 years. ♦♦ Adult Survival Rate: Across India, 83 per cent of 15-year-old will survive until age 60. ♦♦ Healthy Growth (Not Stunted Rate): 62 out of 100 children are not stunted. 38 out of 100 children are stunted, and so at risk of cognitive and physical limitations that can last a lifetime. ♦♦ Gender Differences: In India, HCI for girls is marginally higher than for boys.

The quality adjusted learning has been measured in India by using the data as old as 2009.

The Ministry of Finance stated that many initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat Programme, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jandhan Yojana are transforming human capital in India at rapid pace and very comprehensively touching upon the lives of millions of people living in rural and tribal areas.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

25

COVER STORY Housing for All

How is Housing for All faring?

Owning a dream house is a common aspiration of people of all strata. A house is a fulcrum on which major features of good living hinge. Skyrocketing prices of land in cities and increasing construction cost kept these people away from buying a house. The government’s scheme Housing for All 2022 that was announced in June 2015 is a strident move towards providing affordable housing to urban poor

Abhishek Pandey | Editor

26 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

“

We are working towards ensuring that every Indian has a home by 2022, when India marks 75 years since Independence.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this statement while launching the scheme Housing for All by 2022. Seeing the enormity of the issue, it is easier said than done.

Government estimates in 2011 suggested,the urban housing shortage in India stood at 18.78 million units, out of which about 96 per cent is in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS, 56 per cent) and Low Income

Group (LIG, 40 per cent) categories put together. However, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), reportedly said that the new assessment suggests that the estimate of the housing shortage in urban areas has been revised downwards to about 10 million units. It means to achieve the target of Housing for All, the government now needs to build 8.76 million fewer houses. The government has already completed 6 million houses which means, as per new estimation, they need to build 4 million more houses by 2022 to achieve the target under Housing for All scheme. Seeing the progress of the government’s efforts under the scheme in the last four years, the target seems a cake walk. If the estimates of the government are to be believed on its face value then everyone will have a roof over their head by 2022.

However the facts tell a different tale and the objective of the program seems flimsy. Around 25 per cent population in Indian cities lives in slums. Have we considered them while counting the requirement of houses? On one hand, developers have a huge inventory of unsold apartments. And, on the other, we have a shortage of affordable housing for the poor and the middle class. The change of social contours has also changed the ownership patterns.

Urbanisation in India began with setting up of industries. Cities around industries had a provision of housing facilities for its industrial workforce.

Though many of the old mills and industries died over a period of time, such colonies still exist in most of our old industrial cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, and Kanpur. Can we link employment and housing together?

This is still happening in remote industrial locations. But, in cities, low wage workers are devoid of any such facility. Can we link Housing for All or PMAY with Make in India scheme?

There is a range of options available but to make this a reality, the government and private players have to work together.

The financial viability of the projects for buyers and developers

has to be chalked out in a way that makes the program a success.

Role of the private sector

The role of private players in the arena of Affordable Housing has not been more than of a bystander. Most of the big players in the sector have not entered the territory of affordable housing. Affordability is a relative term.

Affordable housing means different things in different context. Some of the developers who are advertising affordable luxurious apartment or using this adjective before any project are free to do so because there is no clearcut definition or uniform definition for an affordable housing project. Such ‘affordable’ projects are, of course, not contributing to building a pool of houses which will contribute to the success of Housing for All. The scheme has its own set of parameters for a project to be qualified as an Affordable Housing project.

Private players are also in a fix. They do not want to jump into affordable housing space for many reasons. They are of the view that the land and construction cost is going up and if they have to build affordable houses they will have to go outside city limits where demand is uncertain. The industry players have seen dull responses from buyers in the past. According to news reports, the government had allocated around USD 1.5 Billion for the project but USD 319 million could be utilized.

The engagement of private players in the scheme can be a game changer.

The recent crisis in Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) may impact the real estate sector. As in recent times, their share of the sector is almost 40 per cent. The Asset and Liability mismatch in the case of big players like IL&FS, DHFL has created a negative sentiment across the sector.

It is expected that the intervention of government and the Reserve Bank of India will soothe the frayed nerves somewhat.

RERA and its implications

The introduction of the Real Estate

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

27

What is Affordable Housing?

V Vijaykumar | Sr Advisor

In India and elsewhere in the world the term Affordable Housingis part of national policy making and a subject of much debate in political and academic circles as well as in business and trade.

What then is the meaning of Affordable Housing?

In a broad sort of way, the term refers to housing for the less prosperous or we may say the lower half of the population on the income scale.Many of these are living in inadequate housing facilities. Estimates say that about 1.6 billion people live in inadequate housing of which 1 billion live in slums. Among the factors that contribute to inadequate is affordability.

The term affordable housing is linked to the cost of housing whether rental or owned in comparison with the income of the household. Another general way of looking at the term is to compare the cost of housing with respect to other costs.

The United Nations

Within the UN Organization, The underlying principle is that household financial costs associated with housing should not threaten or compromise the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs such as, food, education, access to health care, transport etc. Based on the existing method and data of UN-Habitat’s Urban Indicators Program (1996-2006), unaffordability is currently measured as the net monthly expenditure on housing cost that exceeds 30 per cent of the total monthly income of the household. (https:// unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-11-01-01. pdf) In other words, affordable housing is one which is “... reasonably adequate in standard and location for lower or middle income households and does not cost so much that a household is unlikely to be able to meet other basic needs on a sustainable basis”.

The UK

In the UK, with respect to rented housing, there are three categories:

Particulars PMAY (U)

EWS

Social rentedhousing is owned by local authorities and private registered providers (as defined in section 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008), for which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime.

It may also be owned by other persons and provided under equivalent rental arrangements to the above, as agreed with the local authority or with the Homes and Communities Agency.

Affordable rented housing is let by local authorities or private registered providers of social housing to households who are eligible for social rented housing. Affordable Rent is subject to rent controls that require a rent of no more than 80 per cent of the local market rent (including service charges, where applicable).

Intermediate rented housing is homes for sale and rent provided at a cost above social rent, but below market levels subject to the criteria in the Affordable Housing definition above. As regards owning a home – the government states that it must be provided at a level where the mortgage payments on the property should be more than the cost of rent on council housing, but below market levels.(https://www.gov. uk/guidance/definitions-of-general-housing-terms#socialand-affordable-housing)

Canada

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) defines housing as affordable when a household spends less than 30 per cent of its gross (before-tax) income on acceptable shelter. Shelter costs will differ between renters and home owners In terms of home ownership, the same household earning $60,000 would need to keep its mortgage payment below $1,115 per month to meet the affordability threshold. Assuming a five per cent down payment, five per cent interest rate and a 25 year amortization, a maximum mortgage payment of $1,115 per month would allow a household to purchase a home worth approximately $195,000. (https://auma.ca/ advocacy-services/programs-initiatives/housing-hub/whataffordable-housing)

LIG

MIG I

MIG II

Household annual Income (`) Up to 3 lakh

3-6 lakh

6-12 lakh

12-18 lakh

Eligible Loan Amt for Interest Subsidy (`)

6 lakh

9 lakh

12 lakh

6 lakh

Interest Subsidy 6.50% 6.50% 4% 3% Dwelling Unit Carpet Area

30 sq m

60 sq m

160 sq m

200 sq m

Max loan tenure (in yrs)

20

20

20

20

Net Present Value (NPV) subsidy (`)

2.67 lakh

2.67 lakh

2.35 lakh

2.30 lakh

28 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act on May 1, 2017, was a long-awaited step required for controlling and monitoring the affairs in the real estate sector. The sector contributes to almost five per cent to national GDP and is expected to touch USD 180 billion mark by 2020.

Before the implementation of the Act, the sector was infested with several problems; buyers were not getting the timely delivery of their houses despite making payments, some builders were defaulting, real estate firms were including norms in buyer-builder agreement that were favourable to them, inflating the price of the property by giving faultyarea measurements, and so on The tsunami of reforms through RERA, GST and demonetization impacted the growth of the sector but it has changed the way developers conduct their businesses. The reform will help in clearing the sector of the unorganised and unprofessional players. It will surely, in turn, restore the confidence of the home buyers.

So it is a welcome and long overdue policy initiative.

The progress of Housing for All

The Government has also announced the creation of the Affordable Housing Fund under the National Housing Board. The benefits offered by the government under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) includes a subsidy to the tune of `2.3 to 2.6 lakhs to home buyers, the tax benefit for five years for the developers of affordable housing projects and reduction of GST from 12 per cent to 8 per cent for underconstruction projects. The government has also accorded infrastructure status to the affordable housing space which will give them access to more attractive sources of funding, including external commercial borrowings (ECBs).

According tothe report of the Standing Committee of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the government had allocated around `15,025 crore for the scheme of which `10,011 crore were released and only 2080 crore could be utilized. This

comes down to be around 21 per cent of the allocated fund. The Committee, chaired by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP from Puri, Pinaki Mishra, had submitted the report in March this year.

In a reply to the Committee, the ministry had said: “release of funds/ utilisation is part of the normal financial procedures to ensureproper accounting and it is not a true barometer of the physical progress and speedof the implementation of the mission targets/objectives.” The reply further updated the data saying that `17,900 crore was allocated of which 16982 was released. The funds for which utilization certificates were due in 2017-18 amounted to 2516 crore.

And, utilization certificates actually received against total funds released till 2017-18 amounted to 5817 crore.

In a statement given to the committee, then UD Secretary had said, “.....the ‘Housing for All’ project is very big and major one and is quite challenging too.

As we know that there was a Planning Commission, there used to be an assessment and there was a technical group on it. As per the assessment made earlier, there was a gap of approximately 1.8 crore houses yet to be made available to meet the ever growing need and demand. However, as per the validation done with all the States, later on, the revised gap came down to 1.2 crore. We have already sanctioned 40 lakh houses. About 17 lakh houses have been constructed and the remaining sanctioned houses are getting ready. We think that the provision of `25,000 crore made in the next year’s Budget for Housing for All programme as an extra resource, will certainly be greatly helpful and effective as we have committed to providing houses to all by the year 2022. We are progressing to achieve the target to provide Houses to All by 2022. The Allocation of `25000 crore will be very useful to us. We have already started preparing and going ahead to get the approval of the Cabinet by April 2018.”

However, there are some measures which can enlarge the canvas of coverage of the scheme. To maximize

The government estimates in 2011 suggested,the urban housing shortage in India stands at 18.78 million units, out of which about 96 per cent is in the Economically Weaker Section (56 per cent) and Low Income Group (40 per cent) categories put together. However, MoHUA’s new assessment suggests that the estimate has been revised downwards to about 10 million units. The govt has already completed 60 per cent of the required work,they need to build 4 million more houses by 2022 to achieve the target. Seeing the progress of the government in the last four years, the target seems a cake walk the coverage, the government should make people aware about the benefits of credit linked subsidy scheme under PMAY. Many people are still unaware of the benefits provided. Another constraint in its success is lack of availability of Affordable Housing projects in medium-sized and metro cities because of the cost of land and construction. Developers need to use modern, low-cost engineering and construction technology to reduce the cost of houses.

Developers need to shift their focus to tier-II and tier-III cities. This can also benefit the sector and homebuyers both. Many flagship schemes of the government are designed to shift the pressure from metros towards these cities by achieving total development in terms of physical infrastructure, social amenities like healthcare and educational facilities, affordable housing and employment opportunities. The government and private players both must see that the housing requirements of all are met with an element of dignity.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

29

leaderspeak Municipal transformation

AMRUT overhauling working of municipal system Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) has received good response from state and municipal governments since its launch. The mission that is expected to benefit more than 22 crore population in 500 cities has a series of reforms linked. Skilling of municipal workforce to handle the present and evolving challenges is an integral part of the Mission. After the success of the scheme, the announcement of AMRUT Plus is a welcome step and will give impetus to government’s efforts to improve basic civic services in our cities

Ranjit S Chavan President, AIILSG

C

ities in India are not only growing in terms of population but also in size. Skyscrapers are pushing cities upward and new transportation systems extending them outward. To improve the physical infrastructure and bring technological advances in service delivery mechanism, the government launched the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in June 2015.

The main objective of the Mission was to improve access to water supply, sewerage, urban transport and parks.

This was intended to improve the quality of life for all especially the poor and the marginalised. The focus of the Mission is on infrastructure creation in these areas.The Mission covers covering 500 cities that includes all cities and towns with a population of over one lakh with notified Municipalities.Total outlay for AMRUT is Rs. 50,000 crores for five years from FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20 and the Mission and is being operated as Central Sponsored Scheme. The

30 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

project fund is divided among States/ UTs in an equitable formula in which 50:50 weightage is being given to the urban population of each State/UT and number of statutory towns.

Capacity building is one of the main components of the scheme in which our institute is playing a significant role.

With introduction of new technology in all spheres of urban management, it has become imperative to improve the capacity of municipal workforce without which any program or project of the government to transform cities cannot become successful.

All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment is conducting training programs and exposure visits for the municipal officials and elected representatives in more than 15 states of the country. Over 5000 municipal officials have already been trained under this program.

It is a matter of pride to mention that AIILSG has trained maximum municipal officials in India as compared to other 35 empanelled agencies. This could become possible because of our

spread and reach in remotest corners of the country. Our institute will try to give its 100 per cent to improve the coverage of the scheme and train more municipal officials thus committing to our vision of empowering urban local bodies and local governance in India.

Progress under AMRUT The government released the details of the progress made under AMRUT and the fund utilized under the scheme. According to government data, out of State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) size of Rs 77,640 cr, projects worth Rs 65,075 cr (84%) are under various stages of implementation including projects tendered and where Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) have been approved. A total of Rs 11,945 cr has been released so far. Close to 400 projects worth Rs 325 cr have already been completed and for 2188 projects worth Rs 40,074 cr, contracts have been awarded and are at various stages of implementation. Further, 895 projects costing Rs.13,586 cr are under tendering and for 729 projects costing Rs10,824 cr DPRs have been approved.

Sr. Type Milestones

Implementation No timeline 1

E-Governance

1. Creation of ULB website.

6 months 2. Publication of e-newsletter. 6 months

2 Constitution and 1. Establishment of municipal cadre.

24 months

professionalization of 2. Cadre linked training.

24 months

municipal cadre 3. Policy for engagement of interns in ULBs and implementation.

12 months

3 Augmenting double 1. Complete migration to double entry accounting system 12 months

entry accounting and obtaining an audit certificate to the effect from

FY2012-13 onwards.

2. Appointment of internal auditor. 24 months

4 Urban Planning and 1. Preparation of Master Plan using GIS. 48 months City level Plans 2. Preparation of Service Level Improvement Plans (SLIP), 06 months

State Annual Action Plans (SAAP).

5 Devolution of funds 1. Ensure transfer of 14th FC devolution to ULBs. 06 months

and functions 2. Appointment of State Finance Commission (SFC) and 12 months

making decisions.

6 Review of Building by- laws 1. Revision of building bye laws periodically.

12 months

2. Create single window clearance for all approvals 12 months

to give building permissions.

7 Set-up financial intermediary

at state level

1. Establish and operationalize financial intermediary- pool finance, access external funds, float municipal bonds.

12-18 months

8(a) Municipal tax and 1. Atleast 90% coverage & 90% collection,

fees improvement 2. Make a policy to, periodically revise property tax,

levy charges and other fees,

8(b) Improvement in levy and 1. Separate accounts for user charges,

2. Atleast 90% billing & Atleast 90% collection

12 months 12 months

9

18 months

1. Energy (Street lights) and Water Audit (including non- revenue water or losses audit), 2. Making STPs and WTPs more energy efficient

12 months

Credit Rating

10 Energy and Water audit

1. Complete the credit ratings of the ULBs

12 months 12 months

12 months

11 Swachh Bharat Mission 1. Elimination of open defecation, 36 months 2. Waste Collection (100%), 36 months

Further, 8.58 lakh water tap connections have been provided so far under the Mission and by convergence of other schemes. By the end of the Mission, i.e. June 2020, nearly 1.4 cr water taps will be provided across the country.

37 lakh street lights have been replaced with energy efficient LED lights. Around 322 green spaces and parks projects have been completed under the Mission.

A Single Window clearance system has been implemented in Delhi and Mumbai for construction permits, where only 8 procedures and less than 60 days are required for all approvals.

Online Building Permission Systems (OBPS) is operational in 370 Mission cities and is under various stages of implementation in remaining cities.

Success Stories from Indian cities

Many cities in India have done excellent work under the Mission and have come up with innovative solutions to solve the problem of running crucial civic service system. In the times when cities in India are facing a huge problem of water crisis, wastage of water through leakage of underground pipes is a big challenge. Leak detection in water-supply network using Ground Microphone Methodology by Kerala Water Authority is one of the solutions that can address the problem without using conventional open excavation method.

The solution helps to find out the exact leak location using the Ground Microphone Methodology.

According to a report presented by R Girija, Mission Director (AMRUT) of Kerala, the technique involves positioning the microphone on the

ground at intervals along the line of the pipe and noting changes in sound amplification as the microphone nears the leak position.

The accuracy and the time to identify the leak point, depends greatly on the detection skills of the personnel.

Hence, strong analytical skills and sharp judgement skills are extremely important. An experienced expert can distinguish water leakage sound from other background disturbances and environmental noises by correlating his past experiences with the present situation.

This is one example of innovation by the city to improve efficiency in service delivery. There are several such stories which can be shared with other municipal corporations for creating a robust and effective urban management systems.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

31

Article CLEAN GANGA

After a death, two more on fast unto death: fight to claim Ganga back is on Matri Sadan in Haridwar is the place where Swanmi Sanand sat on indefinite hunger strike for 112 days. Subsequently he was removed by the police and admitted to the hospital where he died. Aashram still witnesses a hectic activity as it’s a hub of activists fighting to reclaim ganga. Carrying forward the struggle of Swami Sanand now another swami has gone on indefinite hunger strike

Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor

M

atri Sadan, on the banks of river Ganga is no ordinary ashram in Haridwar. It is a quiet ashram buzzing with activities all the time. It has been the hub

of activities to save Ganga from mining mafia, save ecology, for years now. It was here that Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, fasted from June 22, 2018 for hundred and eleven days and finally laid down his life demanding a law

Swami Sanand with Swami Shivanand interacting with activists and journalists

32 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

for conservation of the Ganga. He was forcibly picked from the ashram by the police and admitted to a hospital where he passed away. His supporters indicate towards some kind of conspiracy in his death. Their argument is that he fasted

Government does not have a policy?

Swami Sanand with Swami Shivanand and Rajendra Singh at Matri Sadan in Haridwar

Swami Sanand believed that the Narendra Modi government would go a step further for the cause of river conservation as was apparent from the setting up of a separate ministry for Ganga. His perception, however, changed and he claimed that every action of the government was a gain for the corporates, and that the people in power had done nothing for Ganga 111 days inside the ashram and nothing happened. But what happened in the hospital that led to his death. They are demanding an enquiry.

Swamis and sadhus have been observing long fast at the ashram to save Ganga. Earlier, Swami Shivanand, head priest of the ashram, and his disciples Nigmanand, Dayanand, Yajnanand and Purnanand observed long fasts to prevent illegal mining around the Ganga in Haridwar. Nigmanand died on the 115th day of his fast in 2011.

That time too a conspiracy was alleged but the matter was never investigated properly.

Coverage of the event

Mainstream media did not give wide coverage to him till the time he was fasting for the cleaning of Ganga. It was getting good coverage in local media. Namami Gange is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had announced a whooping `20,000 crores to clean the river.However on

the ground level no positive results can be seen.

The demise of GD Agarwal has brought back the focus on condition of Ganga in Varanasi, Bihar, Haridwar, Rishikesh and other places I took a trip to Haridwar to get a firsthand account of the situation after the death of Swami Sanand. After reaching Haridwar I went straight to Matri Sadan which is a very modest place unlike many other five star ashrams. I met Swami Shivanad ji there and spoke to him at length. His views on Ganga are at two levels. One is at spiritual level and other regarding what is being done to the river.

He says “Ganga is purest even today.

The holy qualities of Ganga are still intact. So called development mentality has polluted rivers and now attempts are being made to show that they want to clean it. Don’t pollute Ganga. Don’t disturb the nature. Let river be in river form, so Ganga will stay as it is, like earlier”.

When I prodded him a bit more on the government policy, on his fight for continuous flow of water in the river and whether the policy lacks some key factors, he was very candid in his views.

He says “Government doesn’t have any policy on the issue. Is it Ganga’s responsibility to take care of city sewage or city administration’s responsibility?

Sewage tax is paid in cities. If sewage is more in cities, administration’s can increase tax to treat it. Use it treated not untreated. Treat factory waste and use it productively. Why is it passed into Ganga? Why is Ganga’s name taken?

Does making of ghats near Ganga enable any welfare for Ganga? This is wrong mentality (viklaangmaansikta) for Ganga. That’s why it can’t be said that any work is done for Ganga”.

Demand for investigation

There is also a demand that it must be investigated as to out of `20,000 crores how much amount has reached in pockets and how much is put to work.

After Sanandji’s demise, Satyagraha by people has become more fierce.

People around the ashram say that such mentality of government was never seen before. Political parties are targeting our religious sentiments. The main point is that government is all set to ‘destroy’ Ganga completely. Money is being stolen in the name of Namami Gange.

Fight is on

The fight appears far from over. Two more swamis have gone on fast unto death. Brahamachari Aatma Bodhanand is now sitting on fast unto death. He is a young man in his thirties. He says he has taken over from Swami Sanand and the fight will continue till the Act is passed.

He Says “Since Swami Sanand ji observed the fast regarding the Ganga act in Matri Sadan, it is from here we had decided that if Sanand Ji is harmed in any manner and as now that he is no more, we have decided to carry forward his struggle at the Matri Sadan and continue the protest to get the act

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

33

Obituary Prof G D Agrawal was an engineer and environmentalist.

He did his PhD from University of California, Berkeley and taught at IIT Kanpur. He was also the first member secretary of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). He fasted for hundred and eleven days after which he passed away in a hospital. His attachment to Ganga kept growing as he understood its importance and finally he became a crusader.

He envisioned the holy river very differently. For him Ganga wasn’t

34 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

just a mighty stream. It was a symbol of human spirit and salvation. And therefore, he was ready to die for it... and he did. In 2011, he became a swami and was rechristened as Swami Sanand. He believed that all rivers are special and life givers but Ganga was something more than that. His colleagues recall that he would say “Even Nile and Amazon are life givers. Ganga is different from them. It can’t be compared with other rivers,” stressing on the ecological and religious importance of Ganga.

Well known environmentalist Ravi Chopra, who has also been a member of the Supreme Court appointed expert committees on dams, closely followed professor G D Agrawal and his work. He recalls, “When Professor Agrawal was teaching at IIT Kanpur in the 1970s, one question always fascinated him. What are the qualities of Ganga which kept its water fresh for a long period of time? Then he got a research done by a student (on this subject) and he himself was the guide of this research.”

Both were able to show that the selfpurifying capacity of Ganga was far greater than any other river. Perhaps, the result of this research set professor Agrawal on a devotional journey that ended with his life. He wrote three letters to prime minister enlisting his demands before sitting on indefinite fast;but did not get any response from him and then sat on hunger strike and died for the cause he was fighting.

Professor Agrawal always maintained that the Ganga derives its special non-putrefying qualities from its

sediments. It is not just the water, but it is the water, the sediments and the ecosystem of the river that gives it the unique quality. For him the unrestricted flow of the river was paramount.

This was his fifth fast for Ganga and its tributaries in the last ten years. He first sat on fast in 2008 and then in 2009 with a demand to revoke the under construction and proposed hydro-power projects on Bhagirathi River. The then UPA government agreed to some of his demands and declared the 100 kilometers stretch from Gomukh to Uttarkashi an eco-sensitive zone. This was a big achievement for his efforts.

Now government has changed the name of Water Resources Ministry, adding the phrase ‘Ganga Rejuvenation’.

Swami Sanand was clearly not impressed by the efforts of the government. He was against construction of more dams on River Ganga and its tributaries in Uttarakhand. He wanted the ecological flow of the river maintained and a strict law to protect River Ganga.

Prof G D Agrawal was extremely displeased with the current form of the bill proposed by the government.

He would say that this bill is going to empower only ministers and bureaucrats. He wanted complete prohibition on mining of Ganga’s river bed and advocated formation of Ganga Bhakt Parishad that would include experts from various fields and lovers of Ganga.

Today, his comrade in arms and those who adore Ganga and supported him are indeed sad and dejected.

“The present regime simply did not have the wisdom to understand the scientific principles on which his faith was based. Their minds were too simple to grasp the concept of Ganga being India’s civilizational identity,” said Ravi Chopra.

passed. After his demise, as I am part of Matri Sadan, it is my responsibility to work for the welfare of Ganga Ji. Now I am on fast. Punyanand Ji, my Guru bhai who is on fruit diet will continue the protest if I am sacrificed like Sanand Ji. After Punyanad Ji some other Saint will continue the protest. The protest will continue till the demands are not met.

It will be an honour to make sacrifice for Ganga ji” So what are the main demands? He says “That all proposed and underconstruction dam projects should get cancelled. Constructed dams should get decommissioned in a time bound manner, and ensure that the effluence between Uttarkashi and West Bengal should be in a manner that it is independent of Ganga. In Namami Gange, ghats and steps have been made which is not helping Ganga.

All this is scandal in the name of River Ganga. Work should be done based on ground reality and facts.

Mining should be stopped in Gangaji’s riverbed and floodplains”.

Grave situation

Then I set out to travel along the river for kilometres. The situation is not very different from what activists are claiming. NGT orders are being flouted openly. Construction activity is on and administration turns a blind eye.

There is no water in the river and hardly any flow. It is stagnant and filthy.

Not very far from Harkipaudighat where famous Ganga Aarti takes place, I saw all the filth possible from plastic bottles, slippers, mattresses, plastic bags in huge quantity. Locals says no effort has been made to clean it for days now. It seems government and activists are not on the same page.

Government’s idea of making the river a business route is going to be disastrous. There should be no fiddling withuninterrupted flow of water in the river. They question the government on interfering with Ganga. The life giving power of Ganga resides in its flow. These activists certainly believe that ‘the flow kills various disease causing agents.

This is the reason behind Ganga’s healing qualities’.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

35

Article Sustainability

Copenhagen–a pioneer in sustainable urban development Bambang Susantono Vice President, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Asian Development Bank

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isiting Copenhagen this week to attend the International Anti-Corruption Conference, it was a chance to also view the city’s work on pioneering sustainable urban transport and lessons we can take back to Asia. In 2014, Copenhagen won the prestigious European Green Capital award, presented by the European Commission, which recognizes efforts to improve the urban environment, the economy and the quality of life.

The city was chosen as “a good model in terms of urban planning and design” and especially for its work as a “transport pioneer.”

With a population of up to 775,000 the city has set itself high goals. For example, Copenhagen wants to go CO2-neutral by 2025. Overall following the principle of providing people accessibility rather than car mobility, the city is also famous for its cycling culture. According to the Cycling Embassy of Denmark, 41 per cent of all trips to work and study to/from Copenhagen in 2017 were by bicycle and 62 per cent of Copenhageners chose to cycle to work and study in Copenhagen. Copenhagen is targeting that half of all its residents should cycle to work. It was clear even in my short stay that there had been a massive investment in infrastructure and transport inter-connectivity in pursuit of sustainable urban development.

36 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

There is now an extensive cycle lane network of about 411 km in an area of about 90 km2. The city has been improving cycling conditions through innovative transport planning with impressive results – cyclists now outnumber cars in the city center.

Everywhere you find spacious bike lanes parallel to streets, convenient cycle parking spaces, and free-cycle repair shops. Quite rightly, Copenhagen has been ranked No. 1 as the most bicycle-friendly city in the world. The city is further working to optimize and extend the city’s cycle network.

Actions such as widening existing cycle tracks as well as offering additional services to aid cycle usage in general (e.g., air pump stations, LED warning sensors on special intersections) will enhance Copenhagen’s reputation as a cyclist’s paradise.

Promoting green mobility

The city is crisscrossed by canals and surrounded by water, with several bridges restricted to pedestrians and cyclists, while cars need to detour back and forth. Harbor buses offer additional shortcuts for the city on the water. In 2020, these currently yellow colored ferries will turn green. By then, all harbor buses will be electricpowered and CO2-neutral. The city of Copenhagen is investing DKk10 million (about $1.54 million) to electrify the entire fleet and to put in place a sufficient charging infrastructure. The

municipality has also set a target of switching all of the city’s public buses to electric power by 2030. This will further contribute to the clean and green ambience of the city.

Equally important from the perspective of sustainable transport are measures to minimize urban car traffic.

Copenhagen’s bicycle and public transport planning gets priority over cars. Car parking spaces in the inner city district have been reduced at a rate of 2 per cent to 3 per cent per year and future street closures for cars are planned. In early October, the Danish government announced that it will ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2030 and hopes to have 1 million electric and hybrid cars on the road by then.

Put people first

What is the secret behind Denmark’s success in going green and greener?

Governments at all levels, national and municipal, champion the needs of the population and put people first, a philosophy that I whole heartedly support for any city environment.

Most Copenhageners live in walking or cycling distance of a few minutes to some green and open space. Thanks to massive investments to reroute wastewater, build overflow-barriers, and create underground water storage vessels, the water in the harbor is so clean that residents can enjoy a swim. Mobile saunas at the riverside

add to the pleasure. The city plans to add more public spaces such as parks and community sport facilities to strengthen the urban social cohesion.

However, a change in circumstances has put climate change front and center in Denmark. On 2 July 2011 a cloudburst producing 135 millimeters of rain flooded in less than three hours basements, streets and major roads in the low-lying and mostly flat city. According to the authorities, 80,000 homes were flooded and the city suffered damage amounting to more than $1 billion. Copenhagen reacted with a Climate Adaptation Plan to improve the city’s defenses against water and extreme weather.

Among the actions being taken are the building of dikes and better management of storm water. The city is also working on warning systems for rain, and waterproof cellars. But

as many point out, it will take several decades to fully implement the plan.

Floods continue to affect parts of the city, with many pointing to climate change as accelerating the problem.

But I am impressed by the political will to recognize and then positively tackle these issues.

This is something that Asian cities need to take on board if they are to be green, smart, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, which I believe must be the target for all. Of course, the circumstances are very different in Asia, where cities face many challenges compared with Denmark. Most obviously, Asian city populations are usually so much larger and the streets more congested with commuters having little option but to crowd onto relatively unregulated mixed transport.

A first stage is recognizing the scale of the problems and then mustering

the political will to effect change. This needs to be backed by innovative ways of fostering community participation and consensus on a “vision” across institutions, and mobilizing finance and know-how to create sustainable living. It is sustaining such finance and know-how and fostering peer learning from other livable cities’ models that is at the core of ADB’s mission in Asia and the Pacific.

We should be open to all models from other parts of the world. The task will not be easy. Every context is site-specific and there is no one-size-fits-all for Asia cities. But there is much to inspire us from a livable city like Copenhagen on sustainable urban living.

[The article was first published in ADB.org.

The views expressed are the author’s own. They do not purport to reflect the views of Urban Update.]

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

37

ARTICLE Ground water

Cities need multi-pronged efforts to conserve groundwater The government of India recently informed the Parliament about high levels of toxic contamination of groundwater. Such pollutants from landfills and industries have been a matter of big worry. These along with pollution of groundwater caused by chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been flagged as major concerns already. Governments need a conclusive policy regime to take care of water woes in India

Ranjan K Panda Convenor, Combat Climate Change Network, India

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roundwater depletion is a major concern the world is facing now. A scientific study published in 2014 found out that India is among the top five countries where groundwater depletion was the highest in the first decade of 21st century. The other countries are United States of America, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China. This study further found that the rate of global groundwater depletionin the study period (2000-2009) is more than double in comparison to the period between 1960 and 2000. While the global groundwater depletion per year stayed at around 56 km³ (cubic kilometres) per year during 19602000, it rose to almost 113 km³ per year during 2000-2009. For India, this figure rose from 21.70 km³ to 43.14 km³. What is more important, about 15 percent of the globally abstracted groundwater was taken from nonrenewable groundwater during this period.

Another important scientific study by researchers from the University of California, analysing data from NASA’s GRACE satellite mission, published in 2015, found a decline in water

38 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

reserves in 21 of the 37 largest aquifers of the world since 2003 threatening water availability in many regions. For more than two billion people across the world aquifers are the primary water source but the shocking reality is that key groundwater basins in all the inhabited continents are being drained. According to this study, the Ganges also faces a high rate of depleting groundwater caused by dense cities and extensive irrigation.

Cities and groundwater

In India, as per a recent report of the NITI Aayog, 21 cities, including the capital city, will run out of groundwater just in two years. It is estimated that about 50 per cent of urban drinking water is drawn from groundwater sources. The same report puts deaths due to drinking contaminated water at 2 lakh per year.

In this report the government said the groundwater in more than 50 per cent of districts of the country have been contaminated with nitrates exceeding permissible limits. This is not all. The government also has reported excessive levels of fluoride, iron, arsenic and heavy metals in groundwater. Just taking the example

of India’s capital city should worry all of us. Delhi’s groundwater has been found with excessive levels of nitrate in eight of the eleven districts, excess fluoride in seven districts, excess lead in three districts and excess arsenic in two districts.

Even though the government finds groundwater in major parts of the country potable, the World Bank in 2012 had estimated that more than 60 percent of the country’s groundwater resources will be reaching critical condition in just about two decades.

Some independent experts however say this level has already been reached.

According to the government, at the moment, excess of nitrate is found in groundwater in as many as 386 districts, fluoride in 335 districts, iron in 301 districts, salinity in 212 districts, arsenic in 153 districts, lead in 93 districts, chromium in 30 districts

and cadmium in 24 districts. There could be presence of more than one, two or three contaminants in excess in groundwater of many districts.

It’s alarming.

Recharging surface water, tackling landfill menace

Cities of the country depend on groundwater reserves for almost half of their water supply, and unfortunately are also a major source of pollution of these resources.Urban areas are faced with a unique situation. While they block a lot of freshwater – falling on the land during monsoon through rainfall – from penetrating into the soil, they cause a lot of recharge of the groundwater with contaminants from leakages of wastewater drains and leaches from landfills and other dumping yards.

Researchers are of the opinion

that despite the land sealing effect of several infrastructural projects that often tend to concretise the urban landscape preventing thereby natural recharge from precipitation, there could actually be an increase in groundwater recharge from leaking wastewater drains, water bodies converted into wastewater pools and leakages from poor onsite sanitation systems. According to the International Association of Hydrogeologists, urbanisation greatly modifies ‘groundwater cycle’ because the reduction consequent upon land impermeabilisation is more than compensated by water-mains leakage, waste water seepage, storm-water soak ways and excess garden irrigation; large sub-surface contaminant load from in-situ sanitation, sewer leakage, inadequate storage and handling of ‘community’ and industrial chemicals, and disposal of liquid effluents and solid wastes; and major discharge as a result of inflows to deep collector sewers and infrastructure drains.

Such modification, according to the association, is in continuous evolution, resulting in changes to the groundwater regime which can seriously reduce the resilience of urban infrastructure. The solution therefore for our cities is to go for green and blue infrastructure, as I have been arguing in this column regularly.

We need to let rainwater seep into soil through natural ecosystem-based conservation models in our cities, tighten our wastewater infrastructure and prevent it from leaking, convert all our landfills into sanitary landfill; and, most importantly, recycle, treat and reuse most of our resources, be it water or daily use materials.

Above all, there is an urgent need for conservation and rejuvenation of existing wetlands and green spaces.

Further, creation of new waterbodies and forests in urban geographies are essential to fight groundwater depletion and contamination.

[The views expressed are the author’s own. They do not purport to reflect the views of Urban Update.]

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

39

ARTICLE Environmental Concern

Be ‘environment cautious’ and celebrate festivals Water is life. Polluting of water resources have negative impacts on environment and biodiversity. Are we putting environment at stake to keep our traditions alive? Of course all cannot be painted with the same brush. Environmentally cautious citizens are finding innovative ways to celebrate festivals without negatively affecting the environment

Mohita Gupta Editorial Intern

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estivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja have been part of Indian tradition for quite long.

The joyous celebration ends with immersing idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Durga in water bodies. Immersion of idols raise environmental concernsas most of the idols are made of non-biodegradable materials. Every year the festival ends with heaps of garbage on river banks

40 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

polluting the water as well as the land area nearby thus ground water.

Researches indicate that pollution level in water bodies increases significantly after idol immersion.

Idols made of non-biodegradable materials such as Plaster of Paris take years to dissolve thus hampering the water flow and its quality. The use of synthetic colors for decoration contain heavy metals and chemicals which contaminates water and makes

it unfit for use even after filtration. It affects the aquatic life leading to an imbalance in the aquatic ecosystem.

Such contaminated water can cause serious health hazards to humans too.

A study published in 2014 by the International Letters of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy informs that the concentration of hazardous metals like Lead, Arsenic, Mercury and Cadmium increases post immersion.

On exposure to lead, adults can suffer from cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure, decreased kidney function, etc. Lead also affects the central and peripheral nervous system.

Chronic exposure to Cadmium could lead to anemia, anosmia (loss of sense of smell), cardiovascular diseases, renal problems, osteoporosis and hypertension.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had issued guidelines on idol immersion in 2010. As per the guidelines, idols should be made of natural materials as described in Holy Scriptures and their painting should be discouraged. Use of nonbiodegradable chemical dyes should be strictly prohibited. It also mentions that materials such as flowers, clothes and decoration stuff that are used for worship must be removed before the immersion. However, the

implementation has been sluggish.

Innovative initiatives

Traditionally idols were carved and cast out of earth. The use of nonbiodegradable materials such as Plaster of Paris (POP), thermocol, synthetic colors, plastic and synthetic cloth to make idols increased due to their low prices. On the other hand, limited availability and higher cost make it a tougher choice for people to use ecofriendly idols.

Mumbai is famous for celebrating the Puja in grandeur. Ganesh Chaturthi is the biggest festival in the city. As people are becoming more environment cautious due to increase in pollution, a slew of measures were taken by devotees to prevent water pollution.

A report by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) indicated that the immersions at artificial ponds had increased significantly.

A newly formed housing society at Worli in Mumbai decided to keep eight different types of eco-friendly idols. These eight Ganesha idols were made of banana and coconut leaf, Alum Ganesha, Turmeric and Multani mitti idol, Tree idol, Paper Ganesha, Sprouts Ganesha, Shadhu Ganesha, and Cornflakes and Supari Ganpati. All these idols were created considering religious sentiments and environmental perspective. In many cities, artificial ponds were created for immersion.

In many cities across the country, especially those in West Bengal, Durga Puja brings eagerness, excitement and the season of festivity. The environmental concerns associated with the festival is similar to that of Ganesha Puja.

This year Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) decided to set up a boundary with nylon nets around certain zones along the Hooghly River where immersions of Durga idols took place. The nets prevented the idols and decorations from floating away.

The following day, immersed idols and decoration materials were picked up by cranes employed by the KMC. Besides municipal corporations,

many NGOs and clubs have been organizing workshops and awareness programs on making of eco-friendly idols using clay and terracotta. Clay idols could be immersed in any container and that water could be used for gardening. Many alternate methods such as creation of edible Ganesha with chocholate, boondi, flour, maida, coconut or peepal leaves were also suggested.

An NGO ‘Sprouts Environmental Trust’used fish-food to make idols.

Hollow idols of river clay were made and stuffed with fish-friendly food like dried corn, spinach and chickpea powder. On immersion of the idols, the clay settled down and the food particles were dispersed in water. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, devotees used idols made of unbaked clay, potato flour and sago waste.

The ‘Big Green Ganesha’ campaign was started in 2008 which received an outstanding response in many cities of India. In this campaign BIG FM collected tonnes of paper products from residential areas, corporate offices, shops and other commercial establishments.

The collected paper was shared with the sculptors across the nation to make eco-friendly idols using papiermache and clay molding techniques.

Clay idols stuffed with seeds are also available for sale. They can be planted rather than immersed, or they can be immersed in water filled pots. The clay will settle down gradually and the seeds will germinate.

To prevent environmental impacts, Puja committees could arrange celebrations in ways that generate minimum waste. Authorities could keep a check on the unregistered pandals and committees. One of the major concerns in our country is safe drinking water for all. India, being the land of rivers is facing a water crises.

Water bodies need to be conserved and appropriate steps must be taken to save our rivers.

Environmental concerns in Diwali

Diwali, the festival of lights is most

loved festival of the country and is celebrated with great enthusiasm.

Firecrackers are the most important part of the celebration which sadly causes harmful effects to environment making Diwali a festival of pollution.

The bursting of crackers releases harmful gases and toxic materials like Cadmium, Sodium, Mercury to environment. The small particles emitted by firecrackers increase the level of Respirable Suspended Particulate Material (RSPM). This increase causes problems to eyes, nose and throat. Chronic Pulmonary diseases such as Bronchitis and Asthma are caused by high concentration of suspended particles.

Besides air pollution, bursting of crackers also leads to noise pollution.

Loud noise of fireworks causes Temporary deafness, permanent Eardrum rupture, trauma and hypertension. The use of loud speakers by many people for celebration contributes to noise pollution. Level of noise often goes beyond 125 dB which is as loud as the take-off of Military jet.

For residential area the government limits Noise level at 55 dB in daytime and 45 dB at night. These type of noises are very harmful for new-born babies. Animals like dogs and cats have sensitive sense of hearing and thus suffer due to noise pollution.

On the following day of festival, large amount of dry waste consisting of paper and plastic are found in surroundings leading to soil pollution which adds to the already existing problem of waste management.

This year the Supreme Court in its verdict said that only ‘green fire crackers’ will be sold in nation’s capital.

The Supreme Court also imposed time restrictions on burning crackers during celebrations. The court fixed the time of 8 pm-10 pm for bursting firecrackers on Diwali and said that the time will be changed for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, but the time limit cannot exceed two hours.

India the land of festivals needs to come up with more environmentalfriendly alternate methods of celebration.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

41

travelogue Mumbai

Mumbai the city of dreams that n Temples, Crime, Wealth, Neon Lights, a fast moving city that defines ‘Amchi Mumbai’.

People land up in the city full of dreams but never sleep to realise those dreams. It’s a journey that never stops, never ends. It just means that you deliver, nothing else

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umbai, the city of Sri Mahalakshmi, siddhivinayak, the wealth in abundance writ large over it.

Where the goddess of fortune and abundance resides and grants favours, worshipped by countless devotees who have made Mumbai their home. Little boxes, people upon people, concrete humanity. A city that works against every odd The only city where it all works, against all odds. A city where people strive for excellence or how would they stand the pace of desperate living here.

A city of crime

Crime visible or not: you look at it

42 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

then you may see the crime. But still you feel safe, where and when you are.

It’s a city in India where a policeman will help you push your car if it stalls, but a city albeit where cars do not stall.

A city that respects money...where to be a ‘mota seth’ is not an insult, but a title that replaces any that the old aristocracy might have had on offer.

Neon signs, fast cars, bright lights, beautiful people, the city that never sleeps. Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, the home of Bollywood that churns fantasies and dreams and unreality. The locals are the lifeline of the city. It belch people out into the underbelly of the city. The street of the city are so smarts that while you attain your adulthood it makes

you smile. The dirt and the squalor, its also a city of slums. And within it, each individual respects the personal space of another. Truly cosmopolitan, there are no divisions, no differences, no advantages, no qualifications : only your ability to deliver.

Throbbing with the vitality of dreams and the will to realise them, of reaching for the stars, it is a city of instant changes, constant changes, a city of opportunities, a city of fortune.

It is where tomorrow stands today. If you have the guts and the gall to live in Mumbai, survive it, and enjoy it, you have arrived. Welcome to the real world. No-one has time for anyone here. And yet, at times of crisis, no city responds with greater solidarity.

never sleeps Mumbai is where the intrepid traveller sees yet another face of India... the catterpillar during chrysalis...the strange transition from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first.

My colleague at Aaj Tak, Vidya who made Mumbai her home eighteen years back told me ‘it was in 2000 that I had stepped into Mumbai for the first time ever. Still remember the day. It had been pouring in my hometown and it was pouring here. Varanasi was water logged and so was Mumbai. But it was seeing the financial capital of country, the megapolise come to knee jerk halt that really shocked me that day. I have been to many well planned cities and coming from Mumbai, they always come across as pleasant surprises.

Unfortunately Mumbai never really saw much planning.’

She adds ‘over the years Mumbai has grown taller. In 2000 most of the high-rises were in Nariman point,

the southern tip of Mumbai or some parts of working area where the rich stayed but soon the high rises spread to suburbs too. When I came here as a college student, I had never given a single thought to buying a property here. It was always “when I earn good, will buy a big place” kind of notion.

But just like everything else, the city became costlier. The rate at which my salary rose, it could never match with property prices around and so even after 18 years in the city, am still paying rent for a 1BHK of 400 something sq feet that I share with my family and hope that someday I will have a comfortable house for four people.’

Mumbai is almost going in for an overhaul. Metro rails that were long due are being made now. Trains have always been crowded and in spite of growing infrastructure they continue to be crowded. The farther suburbs like those in the districts of thane and palghar are being recognised and better transportation facilities are being built up so that those who cannot afford to live in the city can travel easily. This is something that should have been done earlier keeping in mind the migrant population growth. But better late then never.

When I first visited Mumbai I thought it was the one city in India I would avoid living in. but I still love the city and don’t mind frequenting it for a week or so. The city has always been kind to me. There is a perceptible difference living in Mumbai and Delhi.

Delhi is home for me and I was always surprised to hear people talking so soulfully about Mumbai’s greatness when all I see is the stench, congestion and horrible climate. I might not be able to fall in love with the city in this lifetime but I found some interesting facts about the most populous city in India. Here are ten things you might not know about Mumbai.

Facts You must Know

Bombay was actually named by Portuguese explorer Francis Almeida from Bom Bahia, literally meaning ‘the Good Bay’. The present day Mumbai is named after goddess Mumba devi

of the Koli community. The erstwhile ‘Bombay’, which is actually a set of seven islands, was not part of the British Empire but was given as dowry by the Portugese when Princess Braganza married Charles II of England.

The famous ‘dabbawallah system’ is more than hundred years old and the lunchboxes are still delivered without any computerised system. Magazines like Forbes and The Harvard Business Review have given it the ‘six sigma Â’ rating, which implies that there is less than one error in a million transactions!

Bhendi Bazaar area has nothing to do with bhindis (okra)! The British referred to this area, which was situated in the northern part of the famous Crawford Market, as ‘behind the bazaar’. The local people mistook that for ‘bhendi bazaar’ and thus the unique name.

Mumbai initiated the first of many amenities we enjoy today including the Juhu Aerodrome which was the first airport of India, the Taj Mahal Hotel, founded in 1903, which is India’s first five star hotel and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, which was the first railway station in India. Even today, Mumbai is the only city to have skywalks!

Mumbai doesn’t just have the largest slum in Asia, but probably the most expensive one also. Building a house in Dharavi could cost more than 3 lakhs!

The number of skyscrapers in Mumbai is equal to the number of slums there.

Navi Mumbai is the largest planned township on the planet in recent times which was especially planned by the government as a result of all the congestion.

The Churchgate railway station in Mumbai neither has a church nor a gate.

Several other places have ironic names; Victoria Terminus (where Queen Victoria never resided), Mahalaxmi Temple (which is at Haji Ali and not Mahalaxmi), Breach Candy (where there is a hospital, no candies), Lohaar Chawl (which has no ironsmiths) and several others. The ‘B’ in Bollywood is derived from the city’s older name: Bombay.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

43

ARTICLE Tracking Smart cities

Smart Cities Mission Work in Progress but WITH Hiccups The government’s own figures suggest that flagship program of Smart Cities is going to miss its first deadline though the government claims that it is one of the fastest implemented projects of its kind anywhere in the world Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor

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year after coming to power Narendra Modi government announced Smart Cities Mission.

On June 25, 2015 the program was announced with much fanfare. The first set of twenty cities was selected on January 1, 2016 and subsequently another seventy were added and finally with addition of ten more this number reached hundred. It was dubbed as the most transformational urban mission. The stated objective was to ‘strengthen urban infrastructure through application of smart solutions and give a decent quality of life to citizens’.

Challenges of Smart Cities

The government had underlined the challenges when the mission began.

It said “The Smart Cities Mission requires smart people who actively participate in governance and reforms.

Citizen involvement is much more than a ceremonial participation in governance. Smart people involve themselves in the definition of the Smart City, decisions on deploying Smart Solutions, implementing reforms, doing more with less and oversight during implementing and designing post-project structures in order to make the Smart City developments sustainable.

The participation of smart people will be enabled by the SPV through increasing use of ICT, especially mobile-based tools.”

This was probably the first time, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

44 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

(then MoUD) used the ‘Challenge’ or ‘Competition’ method to select cities for funding and using a strategy of area-based development. It was termed as ‘competitive and cooperative federalism’. States and Urban Local Bodies were to play a key supportive role in the development of Smart Cities.

It was stated that success of the mission will depend on smart leadership and vision at this level and ability to act decisively. It was also recognized that understanding the concepts of ‘retrofitting, redevelopment and greenfield development by the policy makers, implementers and other stakeholders at different levels will require capacity assistance.’ Further, it said that method adopted will be different from conventional DPRdriven approach.

Is time running out?

On January 1, 2019, the mission will complete three years when the first set of twenty cities was declared. As late as on January 4 this year, the ministry informed the Rajya Sabha of the progress under the mission and the data is startling. Only 5.2 per cent of the projects had been completed till that date and only 14 per cent of the budget used. A total of 2864 projects have been identified by the cities. Of these projects, 184 had been completed with an investment of 1872 crores. Work on another 407 projects had begun. 72 per cent of the identified projects were still at the stage of preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). Only 31 cities had completed at least one project.

Twenty seven cities had not issued a single tender under the mission.

This certainly does not present a rosy picture. As per the mission statement and guidelines the duration of the mission is for five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20. The Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri says that there are procedural issues. He says “first the DPR has to be prepared that takes 15 to 18 months then tendering has to be done which takes another 15 months and then only work begins”. Well the question is being raised whether these factors were taken into account when such ambitious target was set. Another factor that is being pointed out by experts in the field is that the centre provides only rupees 500 crores as financial support to the selected city.

A matching contribution has to be provided by the respective state governments. Cities have to raise the balance funds. Now there are just two ways cities can do it. Either by raising it through their own resources or levying user charges. The fact is that many projects are stuck because of inability of local bodies to raise money using their own resources. Many cities are also facing problems because there is stiff resistance from citizens on imposition of user charges for services provided under the mission. That is also hampering of execution of projects.

Corporation Vs SPVs

Another point of contention from the beginning of the project has been formation of Special Purpose

Less money was allotted to smart cities in 2017-18 than in 2016-17 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 1.496 4.599 3.990 Revised estimates 1.469 4.494 3995* Actual *Up to 9 February, 2018

SCM Status Update Selected cities that have formed SPVs as on 31 March 2018

92

Cities that have appointed project management consultants as on 31 March 2018

69

Town planners working on the scheme

Total investment proposed in 4,500 projects by 99 cities

5,500

2,03,979 cr

No of projects that will cost 100 cr or more only in the 60 cities selected in 2016

329 50,000 cr

Worth Projects have been tendered

98

Cost of affordable housing projects

17,036 No of affordable housing porjects only in the 60 cities selected in 2016

73 220

Projects costing 6,000 cr being executed via public-private partnerships

Projects worth 3,113 cr have been completed as on 31 January 2018

99.5 million

Source: Ministry of housing and urban affairs, National Institute of Urban Affairs

Population affected

Vehicle (SPV). It was seen by elected representatives of municipal corporations as infringement upon their rights. They also thought that essence of ‘local self-governance’ will be defeated with specific focus on private sector driven SPVs. Now 92 chosen cities have formed SPVs. The ministry was not happy with secretaries or municipal commissioners doubling as SPV manager as well. But over a year’s period of time this issue has been settled and ministry has made its intention clear that if there is a conflict of interest it will crack the whip. It is also said that global experiences have been factored in while formulating SCM. The first part was how to select the cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ help was sought to overcome this challenging

process. The government claims that cities were chosen impartially. Area based development is a unique feature of Smart Cities Mission which uses integrated planning approach.

Critiques of area based approach

It is this area based approach that has drawn much criticism from town planners, architects and other stake holders. They say it is too ‘project focused’ rather than evolving an integrated development plan and lacks non-discrimination approach to city development. A report prepared by Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) says that area based development zones cover less than five per cent of the geographic domain of

many of the proposed smart cities. It fears that “the scheme could perpetuate existing biases and discrimination in national planning processes by aiming to impact the lives of only eight per cent of India’s population”.

Shivani Chaudhry, Executive Director, HLRN, says “The Smart Cities Mission should reinvent itself as the Sustainable Cities Mission. A shift is required to bring about substantial and sustained improvement in the lives and livelihoods of not only the eight per cent of India’s population covered by the mission’s proposed ‘area-based development’, but for every inhabitant of this country.”

The report also flags off the point that SCM has just descended into a series of projects without a holistic plan. Critics of the mission also point out the lack of a city development model. They cite the example of absence of adequate standards to guide project implementation, including for housing, water, sanitation, health, and environmental sustainability and raise questions about whether the mission will really be able to deliver on its aims and ensure the fulfillment of rights and entitlements of all city residents.

Pace of progress

On his part, Hardeep Puri dismisses these apprehensions and even calls his critics ‘anpadh’ (illiterate). He also refutes the criticism that the progress of the mission is very slow. Puri claims that it is one of the fastest implemented projects of its kind anywhere in the world. To buttress his argument he says that people overlook this fact that first twenty cities were chosen in January 2016 and last nine in January 2018, so all smart cities cannot be at the same level of implementation.

From all accounts, it is quite evident that there is no way the mission is going to meet its target. Also there is a need to rethink the area based development approach. Unless the mission seeks to address structural inequalities and inadequacies in Indian cities, its piecemeal, project-based interventions are unlikely to succeed but the jury is still out on this.

www.urbanupdate.in | November 2018

45

Urban Agenda HI-TECH ULBs

Technology can be ‘all weather friend’ of city governments Municipal workforce is today working in a reactive mode to address the problems which are rising in our cities. If municipal authorities want to match the speed of urbanization, they need to adopt advanced technologies to offer solutions to the challenges being thrown at them

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor

T

echnology has always proved to be the biggest disruptor for many industries. It can break and make sectors. Computers, mobile phones and Internet has been a game changer for several sectors; from finance to mobility, shopping to communication, and what not. Cities in India, at least in the first decade of the 21st century kept themselves away from adopting the technology in governance. The cities, which utilized technological advances, improved their efficiency and quality of services and in turn could become financially sustainable and also livable. However, such examples of success are very rare in India because city governments did not take initiative to implement e-governance or say, did not adequate resources to adapt to the changing governance system world over.

However, this is changing now. The popularity of e-governance is picking up in many small cities and towns of our country. The role of cheap Internet connection and the fast spread of smart phones and computers in every household accelerated the process.

This was also mandated under AMRUT

46 November 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Mission of Government of India. But the credit for this will surely go to the easy accessibility of technology among the masses.

Benefits to citizens, ULBs

From citizen’s point of view, one of the major advantages of the adoption of technology in urban management system was more transparency and accountability in the system. Citizens were also able to access urban services with ease via multiple channels such as smart phones, websites and information kiosks at key locations from the comfort of their homes.

The launch of web portal and mobile applications of municipal corporations from Delhi, Mumbai, and Kanpur to small towns of Bihar, Maharashtra and several other states proved to be beneficial for citizens. Anyone can access the information from anywhere.

Technology is playing an important role in bringing local governments closer to the people.

The benefits were not limited to citizens; municipal governments too could improve their financial management system and efficiency by using technology. The revenue

generation was enhanced through increased coverage and collection, and identification of new revenue sources.

However, the capacity building of the workforce for implementing technological tools at the microlevel remained a challenge. Now, the situation is gradually changing through focused training programs under different missions of Government of India. Public participation in decision making process has also improved and it is reflected in government programmes.

Reaching out to people has also become easier for the local governments.

Using ICT and convergent media, ULBs can seek feedback from the citizens for the services provided and also obtain their suggestions for starting a project. We can also say that the introduction of technology in civic bodies has led to a more informed citizenry. This has also assisted citizens in evaluating the functioning of the local governments and make an informed opinion about them. ULBs are also functioning in a prudent and efficient manner thus creating an accountable, efficient and responsive government.

Urban

Dialogues December 18, 2018 Agra

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Agra To discuss how the city of Agra can address urban problems of today without disturbing the city’s heritage and cultural ethos

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