Urban Update April 2022

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Intriguing Story ofMcd Volume VII, Issue XII

April 2022

AIILSG continues to work for robust local governance

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European Union The project is funded by the European Union.

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AIILSG The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

Magazines & Journals

Energy Efficiency

AMRUT Knowledge Management

Seminars

Project Management Customised Training

Sustainable Development Goals

Policy Research

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Swachh Bharat Mission

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Smart City Mission Capacity Building

Skill Development

All India Institute of Local Self-Government No. 6, F-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, TPS Road-12, Bandra-East, Mumbai-400051, Maharashtra Tel.No.: +91-22-26571713, 26571714, 61805600, Fax: +91-22-26572115, Email: contact@aiilsg.org

Quality is just one of our strengths

AIILSG has begun skill development programmes in Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The institute with its 90+ years of experience in the field of capacity building would impart training to youth living in rural areas of these two states to make them employable in various emerging sectorsApparel, Beauty & Wellness, Electronics, Healthcare, IT-ITEs, and Renewable Energy.

As per Mou singed, AIILSG will train 16,000 youngsters.

AIILSG is committed to build empowered India with skilled human workforce For Details, email at delhi@aiilsg.org

UrbanUpdate A monthly magazine published by the AIILSG. Ranjit Chavan President-AIILSG Dr Jairaj Phatak Editor-In-Chief Director General-AIILSG Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor Abhishek Pandey Editor Ravi Ranjan Guru Executive Editor Hitesh Nigam Ayesha Saeed Reporters

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Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

Pooja Upadhyay Trainee Reporter

UrbanUpdate

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384 Volume VII, Issue XI

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Volume VII, Issue X

Pushpender Singh Editorial Assistant

February 2022

UrbanUpdate IntrIGuInG Story ofMcd Volume VII, Issue XII

AprIl 2022

THINkINg

JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance

CITIes ANew

Arjun Singh Digital Marketing Associate Meenakshi Rajput Senior Graphic Designer

March 2022

AIILSG continues to work for robust local governance

How to make Indian cities ‘AatmaNirbhar’

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Cities must tap local wisdom to solve complex issues: Rathi AIILSG

European Union

AIILSG

European Union

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

European Union The project is funded by the European Union.

AIILSG The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

Volume VII - Issue XII Printed and published by Ranjit Chavan on behalf of All India Institute of Local Self-Government.

Printed at Artz & Printz, 208, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I New Delhi-110020 Published at Sardar Patel Bhavan, 22-23, Institutional Area D-Block Pankha Road, Janakpuri, Delhi-110058 Note: Subscriptions are only invited from municipal corporations, government bodies, academic & research institutions, etc. working in the domain of urban development.

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Editorial

Dr Jairaj Phatak Editor-In-Chief | dg@aiilsg.org

G

Capacity building for improved governance overnance has become a major theme in public discourse in various contexts in recent times. The term could mean ‘administering’, ‘overseeing the implementation’, etc. Governance is used in the context of governments, public institutions, and corporate entities.

While the term is very relevant in the context of all governments and their institutions since they are public bodies accountable to people (the electorate), it is all the more relevant in the case of urban local governments as these are closest to the people and are in a position to directly respond to and impact the lives of people in their local jurisdictions.

There is therefore effort at all levels to tone up and upgrade the governance at our urban local bodies in order to deliver better services to citizens given the rapid and relentless urbanisation taking place in the country and the accompanying challenges which in many cases are mounting. We believe there are several planks that are to be addressed as we work to align the governance architecture of our urban local bodies with the emerging challenges and the rising aspirations of the people. Among them are organisation structure, systems, and processes within various parts of the ULB organisation. These need to be tuned to receive feedback and capture the ‘people’s voice’, process the same, and respond with appropriate interventions and actions on the ground. In recent years there have been several urban development missions announced by the national and state governments realising the importance of building vibrant cities and efficient urban spaces in order to reap the economic benefits that urbanisation has to offer. Our ULBs are tasked with implementation of these initiatives on the ground in a timely, transparent, and accountable manner.

Above all, in all their efforts, ULBs must keep sustainability firmly in their sights.

In all that they do, there must be the element of environment protection. Principles of waste reduction, recycling, reuse, and circular economy must be incorporated in all that we do. All these will need an organisation of well-skilled and well-trained personnel with insightful knowledge and enlightened approach to the problems of cities and crafting sustainable solutions. In short there is need for continued capacity building of ULB personnel to equip them to carry out their functions effectively. We at AIILSG have since many decades continued as a trusted partner of our ULBs in this journey to create more livable urban spaces. We are working with them for capacity building of their personnel in all areas of their work to ensure that the governance at ULBs is constantly upgraded and they can discharge their functions smoothly, efficiently, and effectively.

This issue of Urban Update looks at the subject of governance at ULBs. We trust that readers will find the issue engaging. We shall look forward to hearing from you.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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QUOTES

BUZZ

PIN POINT

Mike Hudema Climate Campaigner Greenpeace Canada

As a minister representing a subnational government with a population of over 125 million people, I don’t have the luxury of debating the importance of progressive climate action, and must act now Aditya Thackeray Minister of Environment, Govt of Maharashtra

@MikeHudema

Tiny urban forests can help #rewild urban settings and help fight #climatechange.

The brainchild of the Japanese botanist Miyawaki is taking his idea global. We have so many solutions. Let’s stop the delays and implement them

António Guterres Secretary General, UN @antonioguterres

Understanding that the pandemic will soon be forgotten, we have limited political opportunity to focus on clear deliverables to improve our urban space & health

Graham Alabaster Chief of Section (Waste Management), UNHABITAT

Our addiction to fossil fuels is killing us.

People and ecosystems are being clobbered by climate change. We need urgent, transformative efforts from all countries to eliminate coal & stop expanding oil & gas exploration to keep warming to 1.5 degrees

Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus Director General, WHO @DrTedros

There is huge potential for reducing emissions on the demand side – through changes in behavior

Ramón Pichs-Madruga Vice Chair, IPCC Working Group III

Urban TRIVIA 6

April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

As the Earth rebuilds from #COVID19, we can create societies, economies & products that nurture health & well-being, & stop subsidising those that destroy it. Because we cannot afford ever-deepening inequalities & expect continued prosperity. We must choose a #HealthierTomorrow.

Tara Cherian became independent India’s first woman Mayor in Madras (now Chennai) in 1957. Incidentally, Bhubaneswar got its first woman Mayor only in March 2022

content

Inside Volume 7, Issue 12

April 2022

Cover Story

Numerograph

Leaderspeak

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32

34

Intriguing story of MCD

Local Governance in urban India at a glance

AIILSG continues to work for robust local governance

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36

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Empowering mayors necessary for managing cities efficiently

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Untapped potential lies in forum of mayors

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Alternatives for secure adaptation and mitigation strategies

How is the third tier government faring in terms of finance?

E Dialogue

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Shifting dynamics in water management sector to meet water security

Regulars

6 8

Pin Point Girl Power Project

13 19

Newscan

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Urban Agenda

City Image

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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GIRL POWER Project

Mushroom Farming: Changing lives of rural women, girls TEAM GIRL POWER

W

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omen make up about half of the world’s population, and they account for two-thirds of the world’s adult illiterates. Women empowerment can be achieved through the development of entrepreneurship and incomegenerating activities.

Suitable enterprises will be able to generate better jobs and help them become economically independent. In the present era, mushroom cultivation is a profitable enterprise as the productivity of mushroom is higher than any other crop. The crop, apart from solving the malnutrition problem, will also pave the way of self-employment opportunity for the rural female population.

One of the biggest advantages of mushroom farming is that it is a nutritional delicacy. Due to its productivity and profitability, its nutritional and medicinal value, mushroom cultivation is a profitable venture which can lead to integrated

development of rural areas by increasing the income of women beneficiaries. Mushroom farming will play a pivotal role in economic empowerment, particularly for landless or small women farmers, by providing them skill-oriented training, which in turn would raise the quality of living of rural families.

Agriculture is the main pillar of the Indian economy. The nation has achieved food security but the struggle to achieve nutritional security is still on. In view of this, mushroom farming has been identified as a suitable and profitable venture. Mushroom crop is an ideal tool for converting agricultural waste into protein rich food items.

The Girl Power Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment (AIILSG) in Jharkhand, is playing a significant role as independent agents of change, implementing actions that bring transformative change into the lives of women and girls in 10 districts of Jharkhand. The major emphasis is on enhancing skills by providing training so that women can start their own entrepreneurial units using low-cost setup. Thus, an initiative was taken to train about 40 rural women beneficiaries in Madhupur Block of Deoghar District on cultivation of Mushroom and its value addition.

The three days residential program was held from March 29 to 31 at Mega Skill Centre established by AIILSG. The training session was presided over by Sangeeta Nayak, a certified mushroom trainer. She addressed the beneficiaries and stated that mushroom farming is an important subsidiary occupation for small and landless farmers as well as women entrepreneurs. It is an indoor crop that can be cultivated by utilizing vertical space. To overcome the changes in lifestyle and prevalence of unhealthy food habits, the consumption of mushrooms is a powerful tool as it has an abundance of health benefits.

She further briefed about its nature, types, nutritional values, origin, and cultivation practices. Mushroom is highly perishable in nature and is low-

calorie also known as white vegetable.

It is loaded with minerals, proteins, vitamins, and fibers. Mushrooms have no cholesterol, low starch content, and are low in calories. The antiinflammatory properties present in the crop are proven to improve the efficiency of the immune system and also contains therapeutic properties. It is highly recommended for people with diabetes, obesity and hyper-tension.

Mushroom farming is a favourable activity in Jharkhand due to its limited availability and year-round demand.

In Jharkhand, approximately 84 per cent of farmers are smalland marginal farmers and among them women workforce is available abundantly. The cultivation of oyster mushroom can help as an independent or additional source of income for women by utilising easily accessible resources.

Oyster mushroom is one of the most popular edible and delicious mushrooms. It can be grown on almost all types of agricultural waste, which is available free of cost. ♦♦ It helps in generating direct and indirect employment ♦♦ It requires less human resource and can be cultivated in closed rooms ♦♦ The used compost can be reused as good manure in other field crops ♦♦ It provides rich diet to vegetarians ♦♦ It has capacity of being exported to foreign countries ♦♦ Potential for utilisation of mushroom in preparation of value added products like mushroom powder, papad, and pickles

Cultivation practices for production of oyster mushroom

The trainer conducted a practical session where she discussed extensively about the practice of mushroom cultivation. Firstly, the synthetic compost was prepared by soaking the straws of 2 to 3 inches in clean and cold water for 12 hours. Then, the substrate was soaked in a solution of Formalin and Bavistinmixed in the water.

This helps to suppress the growth and multiplication of molds in the

33 women beneficiaries during the mushroom cultivation training organised in Madhurpur block

Mushroom cultivation in Deoghar district, Jharkhand

substratum. After this, the straws were kept at a dark place placed in a slanting manner to drain off excess water from the heap. The strawswere placed in four layers in polythene bags that are 45 cm in length and 30 cm in diameter perforated with holes. The straws are filled up to 2/3rd of the bags and then the mouth is tied. The bags are then placed on the shelves in the growing room in a humid place. Total of 51 bags are prepared by the beneficiaries which will be ready to harvest after a month from which approximately 200250 kilograms of mushroom will be produced, ready for the market. Further, she also talked about the complete method of harvesting of mushroom to the beneficiaries. She added that while harvesting, the cap should be twisted gently with forefingers. She explained the importance of hygiene to be maintained in the shed. The room should be kept clean, away from insects and particularly from rats, which can

damage the crop and later can cause infection. The best season to grow oyster mushrooms is from March-April to September-October.

Outcome

After the training, the beneficiaries will be able to produce mushrooms and related value added products like powder, pickle, and other edible items for selling and self consumption purposes. In the next step, the project team will support women entrepreneurs for establishing mushroom based micro enterprises by the women beneficiaries in Deoghar District and help in marketing of their produce through various means.

Thus, the Girl Power Project aims to create mushroom based enterprises in the state, which will not only solve the malnutrition problem but also provide self-employment opportunities among the beneficiaries to promote women entrepreneurship.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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AIILSG Diary

AIILSG conducts social mobilisation drive in Dharampuri Social mobilisation is a powerful tool to inculcate and address inequities through community engagement and grassroot level action. It is a name given to an overall process of change, which happens to a substantial part of the population moving from traditional to modern life Taiyab Hussain Ansari | Project Coordinator, AIILSG

IILSG – MPUDC - Bhopal Outreach Campaign Project team tried to build consensus in the community about the importance of sewerage connections, especially among households, according to project demand and objectives. As per Kamlesh Bhatnagar, Technical Officer, MPUDC, in terms of sewerage connections, MPUDC is working in 28 ULBs out of 377; and 80 per cent of work is done in Dharampuri ULB. Household sewerage connections have been completed within a couple of months. The AIILSG - IEC & social mobilisation team has delivered ample IEC campaigns within appropriate strength, and with good holistic approaches.

Field executives of outreach campaign project have conducted social mobilisation intervention and dissemination through various IEC activities. They did this through demonstrating, producing and selling the concept of sewerage connection, its importance, characteristics, benefits and sustainability. This is achieved through social marketing, IEC tools, and kits, to fabricate awareness, sensitive behaviour/moral change, social transformation, and transition from myth to scientific temperament and capacity building.

The Outreach Campaign Project of AIILSG Bhopal has achieved the target of “Social Mobilization and Population Education” in Dharampuri, District Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, in limited time through missionary prospect.

The project helped in sensitising people about the importance of sewerage connection for a healthy life through various IEC and social

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mobilisation activities. Some of the important measures taken by the IEC team, AIILSG Bhopal. ♦♦ Social indoctrination. ♦♦ Continuous visit (IPC). ♦♦ Meeting with stakeholders, civil society, and users. ♦♦ Ensured women participation through women meetings. ♦♦ Cluster approach. ♦♦ Inclusion of marginalised. ♦♦ Assimilation with community. ♦♦ Listen to their problem & action research. ♦♦ Promotional IEC activities. ♦♦ Preventive measures. ♦♦ Mohalla Nukkad meeting and Natak. (Folk Media)

Area of intervention:

♦♦ Community mobilisation is a capacity building process of individuals, groups, family, organisation, peer groups, workers, and institutions. ♦♦ Institutional inclusion of different government, and nongovernmental agencies on the community level such as USHA, anganwadi, ward members, local NGO, religious institution, unions, and youth clubs. ♦♦ Ensuring community participation through formation of social media groups, like WhatsApp groups, as well as Swagat Samiti and Swachh Manch etc. ♦♦ Community ownership of institutional based intervention through democratic, and federal approaches. ♦♦ Community based monitoring with better transparency in every aspect

Mass mobilization through folk media using various tools and methods to sensitise people towards sewerage connection

Door to door social mobilisation by a field executive

of IEC and social mobilisation.

Population Education

Poverty and illiteracy are interrelated and interdependent factors, acting as hurdles in the path of development in any region. UNESCO made an attempt to define population education in an internationally acceptable manner. It is an educational programme which provides for a study of the population growth in the family, community, nation, and world, as well as rational and responsible attitude towards it.

Population education has two dimensions - Population awareness programmes through communication media, and including subjects for

People taking oath after Nukkad Natak

population education in the present school curriculum. It includes educating people about eradication of poverty and hunger, myth, mythology, superstition, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, and women empowerment, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/ AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Population education is a lifelong socio-economic and cultural learning phenomenon. It is the process to develop knowledge, skill, and understanding of any specific area like sewerage connection, sanitation, health, hygiene, or sustainable

agrarian cultural and environment development. Such transformation from “Lab to Land” v/s “Land to Lab” is also known as scientific continuing education, which is a part of population education and learning process.

Conclusion

This pre-exercise has played a vital role in the IEC activities, and social mobilisation of the ULB Dharampuri.

The local self-government, sewage technical team, civil societies, and the civic body actively participated in coordination with the AIILSG – MPUDC Outreach campaign project, and IEC & social mobilisation team.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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AIILSG Diary

Regional specialised Training Programme on PMAY organized at Ahmedabad AHMEDABAD: The Regional Centre for Urban & Environmental Studies (RCUES) of the All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG), Mumbai organised a “Regional Specialized Training Programme on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)” at AIILSG, Ahmedabad on March 28 and 29, 2022. The key objective of the programme was to discuss various ways of achieving targets of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). On the same day, the meeting of Gujarat Mayors’ Forum was also organised.

Mayor of Ahmedabad Kiritbhai Parmar; Mayor of Rajkot Pradeep Dav; Mayor of Junagadh Gitaben Parmar; Mayor of Jamnagar Binaben Kothari; Mayor of Bhavnagar Kirtiben Danidharia; Hiteshbhai

Barot, Standing Committee Chairman, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation; Arun Singh Rajput, Dandak, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation; and C R Kharsan, Deputy Commissioner, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, attended the programme.

The specialised training programme commenced with an introduction by Anirudh Shiyal, Regional Director, Ahmedabad. He welcomed the dignitaries on the dais and the participants. He further stated the objective of the said training programme, and requested dignitaries to inaugurate the training programme by lighting the lamp. The Mayors inaugurated specialised training programme by lighting the lamp in the presence of Ranjit Chavan, President,

AIILSG; Hansa Patel, Executive Advisor, AIILSG, Vadodara, and other dignitaries. After the inauguration, Ranjit Chavan and Hansa Patel honoured all the dignitaries present in the training programme. He welcomed all dignitaries on behalf of the organisation, and thanked the participants for their presence.

All the Mayors and dignitaries on the dais shared their commendable work, as well as experiences and gave ideas regarding PMAY. At the end of the second day of the training programme, Parmar along with Binaben Kothari, and Kirtiben Danidharia distributed certificates of participation to the participants. A site visit was arranged for the participants on the second day.

Ranjit S Chavan, President, AIILSG and Former Mayor of Vadodara, addressing the participants. (L to R) Gitaben Parmar, Mayor of Junagadh; Hansaben Patel, Executive Advisor, AIILSG; Kiritbhai Parmar, Mayor of Ahmedabad; Pradeep Dav, Mayor of Rajkot; Kirtiben Danidharia, Mayor of Bhavnagar & Hiteshbhai Barot, Standing Committee Chairman, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Gujarat

Ranjit S Chavan, President, AIILSG and former mayor of Vadodara honoured Kiritbhai Parmar, Mayor of Ahmedabad. Hansaben Patel, Executive Advisor, AIILSG Vadodara honoured Pradeep Dav, Mayor of Rajkot; Gitaben Parmar, Mayor of Junagadh; Binaben Kothari, Mayor of Jamnagar; Kirtiben Danidharia, Mayor of Bhavnagar; Hiteshbhai Barot, Standing Committee Chairman, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Arun Singh Rajput, Dandak, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation; and CR Kharsan, Deputy Commissioner, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

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Briefs Delhi sets aside `1300 crore for development of unauthorised colonies

The Government of Delhi has allocated `1300 crore for development and construction works in unauthorised colonies of the city during the fiscal year of 2022-23. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, said that all such localities will have sewer lines by the end of 2022. The budget set aside `5766 crore for the housing and urban development sector. Installation of CCTV cameras, street lights, and construction of roads, sewers, parks, among others has been completed on priority basis in the unauthorised colonies of the city.

CM inaugurates projects worth `271 crore for Ahmedabad

Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel laid foundation and inaugurated housing and development projects worth `271 crore for the city of Ahmedabad.

He inaugurated Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana at Odhav, Indiranagar and dedicated the development projects worth `271 crore to the city. CM Patel also inaugurated housing projects worth `179 crore, water supply projects worth `47 crore, and heritage projects worth `1 crore.

NEWSCAN

Over 20 private universities sign pact to commit to SDG goals PANAJI: In a first of its kind event, a coterie of private universities and Higher Education Institutes has signed a pact to work towards attaining UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

A three-day PACT2030 Conclave was held in Goa during 10-12 March, 2022.

At the end of it, Goa Declaration was signed, wherein the signatory institutes pledged to strive towards achieving India’s Net Zero target, in their cities and institutions. Pact 2030 is the culmination of several discussions between QS I-GAUGE, a UK based private company, which rates higher education institutes and academic institutions. As a formal initiative, it was launched in November 2021.

Some universities, which are part of

the declaration, are O P Jindal Global University, Alliance University, IIHMR University, Chandigarh University, Chitkara University, World University of Design, and NIMS University.

The conclave was organized by QS I-GAUGE and was co-hosted by the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Uttarakhand, and Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education (Deemed to be University), Tamil Nadu. The first keynote address was delivered by Anil Prakash Joshi, Founder, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization, who said that the government needs to initiate Gross Environment Product just like Gross Domestic Product to keep the environment safe.

Haryana budget proposes 3 dedicated development funds CHANDIGARH: The Government of Haryana presented a `1.77 lakh crore budget for 2022-23. The budget proposed setting up of three dedicated funds to achieve fiscal consolidation by unlocking the economic potential in various sectors to open fiscal space.

The three dedicated funds include Climate & Sustainable Development Fund; Research & Innovation Fund; and Venture Capital Fund.

The Climate & Sustainable Development Fund aims to achieve green development objectives, including solid and liquid waste management, controlling water and air pollution, eliminate stubble burning, recycle plastic and undertake circular economic activities among others. The Research & Innovation Fund has been established to support scientific activities and scholarships in universities and other educational institutions, as well as economic enterprises in the public and private sectors. This will help in connecting science and scholarship to decision-making, investment, and to

leverage growth. The Venture Capitalist Fund will promote entrepreneurship and assist youth in establishing startups with financial assistance as well as developing market linkages.

Among other announcements made during the budget speech, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the Pinjore garden will be revamped with a sound and light show and Bhakti Music festival shall be organised for Surajkund Crafts Mela. He also announced initiation of project estimated at `52 crore for the development of Adi Badri temples and facilities for the pilgrims.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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NEWSCAN

Briefs

Kerala budget lays foundation for major development works THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K N Balagopal, Minister of Finance, Government of Kerala, presented the state’s budget for the financial year 2022-23 in the Legislative Assembly.

The budget, which was fixed at `2000 crore, boosts the development projects in the fields of health, IT, infrastructure, transport, and tourism. `150 crore have been set aside for the Water Metro project, while `200 crore is for the Cochin International Airport Ltd. `100 crore has been allocated for IT infrastructure development. `10 crore has been set aside to procure a Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel and another `10 crore for ‘Operation Breakthrough’ to contain waterlogging in Kochi. Ten key

infrastructure development projects in the state, including the Kochi Metro and integrated urban regeneration and water transport system received `507 crore. `90 crore has been allotted for Startup Mission and `28 crore for an electronic hub. In a bid to cut carbon emissions and minimize the impact of global warming and climate change, Balagopal announced that 50 per cent of ferry boats in the state will be converted to solar powered boats. Subsidy of `15,000 has been proposed for conversion of fossil fuel powered autos to electric. `10 crore has been allocated to use in studies and promotion of re-use and recycling in the construction industry.

FMCG faced consumption slowdown in urban markets: Report NEW DELHI: Nielsen, a Data analytics firm, said that the Indian Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry witnessed a consumption slowdown in urban markets and de-growth in rural areas of India in 2021. It cited the sector being hit hard by higher inflation levels as the reason.

In 2021, the FMCG industry went for double-digit price growth in three consecutive quarters to protect its margins, which converted into a price-driven growth of 17.5 per cent in comparison to 2020, the report said.

According to the FMCG Snapshot released by Nielsen IQ’s Retail Intelligence team, the FMCG industry witnessed a consumption de-growth of 2.6 per cent in October-December quarter due to inflationary pressure and other macroeconomic factors.

The Nielson report added that price rise continues to impact small manufacturers, where the number of small manufacturers, having a turnover below Rs 100 crore dropped by 13 per cent due to the difficulty of continuing

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operations with higher costs. However, large and medium manufacturers stayed stable through the year. The report added that the pace of opening new FMCG stores was double in the last two years in comparison to the preCOVID years.

According to the report, the overall slowdown is caused by 4.8 per cent volume de-growth in traditional trade in both urban and rural markets.

Surat, Gujarat to get roads made out of steel waste In a first, Surat in Gujarat has developed roads made out of steel waste. Built by Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India, the research project is an initiative of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Central Road Research Institute and supported

by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. The road not only utilizes industrial waste that would otherwise go to landfills, but is also sturdier and more durable. The pilot road at Hazira Industrial Area, Surat is a kilometer long and has six lanes.

The steel road is being touted as an environmentally sustainable, potential replacement for road construction material.

Panel warns against scrapping of GO 111

A three-member committee, which was set up to examine the effects of scrapping (Government Order) GO 111, has warned the government against it. The government has been lobbying to scrap the order, which will allow for unrestrained construction and industrial activity around the area. Emptying them out of all water is likely to make the catchment area prone to earthquakes. According to Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, the reservoirs have fallen into disuse and therefore, the government order protecting them is redundant.

Briefs

NEWSCAN

SC Projects worth `31.5 crore launched in Karnal

Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stones for five Smart City Projects in Karnal worth `31.5 crore. A synthetic hockey ground would be built at the cost of `14.05 crore. Foundation Stones of 21 parks were also laid, which will be developed at `5.82 crore in Sector 32 and 33. Among other projects are a community center and yoga shed at Sardar Milkha Singh Hockey Stadium, construction of 63 roads and lanes of Phoosgarh and reparation of others.

Nahan Highway in HP gets India’s first Rolling Guardrail system

NH 907A, from Nahan to Kumarhatti in Himachal Pradesh gets India’s first Rolling Barrier Guardrail System to avoid accidents. It is a pilot project of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India and installed by the National Highways Authority of India. The system is meant for accident prone roads, especially hairpin bends in the hilly areas.

The barriers are supposed to push the vehicle back towards the road, while their luminescent color will make it visible to the drivers at night. It will also minimize casualties by absorbing collision shock energy and converting it into rotational energy.

Nations sign up to end plastic pollution NAIROBI: At the United Nations Environment Assembly held in Nairobi, Heads of State, environment ministers and other representatives from 175 nations signed a resolution to end plastic pollution. The nations decided to form an international legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.

Based on three initial draft resolutions from various nations, the resolution establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) which will begin its work this year as it aims to complete a draft of legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.

The agreement, as a legally binding

instrument, is expected to reflect diverse alternatives to address the full life cycle of plastics, the design of reusable and recyclable products and materials, and the need for enhanced international collaboration to facilitate access to technology. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) stated that it will convene a forum by the end of this year, which will be in conjunction with the first session of the INC. The forum will facilitate sharing knowledge and best practices in different parts of the world.

Inger Anderson, Executive Director, UNEP, said that this is the most significant environmental multilateral deal.

WHO and GoI to set up Global Centre for Traditional Medicine NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) informed about the agreement signed between WHO and the Government of India to establish the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The onsite launch of the centre will take place on April 21, 2022.

Traditional medicine includes indigenous knowledge and practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures as well as modern medicines. The Global Center for Traditional Medicine center will be in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. The center aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine from around the world through modern science and

technology to improve the health of the planet and people. It will focus on four areas of evidence and learning; data and analytics; sustainability and equity; and innovation and technology, in order to integrate the rich traditional knowledge systems in global science.

The Government of India will support the centre with investment of USD 250 million. Referring to the collaboration, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi said that the agreement between the Ministry of Ayush and the World Health Organisation is a commendable initiative. He said that the centre will help in providing the best healthcare solutions to the world by leveraging rich traditional practices.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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NEWSCAN

Briefs

Abu Dhabi launches incentive-based plastic bottle return scheme

ABU DHABI: As part of its ongoing efforts to achieve a more sustainable life in the city, Abu Dhabi launched a new initiative titled ‘Points for Plastic: The Bus Tariff’. The initiative was launched by the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi. It encourages citizens to obtain free trips on public buses by gaining points each time they hand in empty plastic bottles, which are then used to pay for bus fares. The goal is to increase the uptake of public transport in the

city along with ensuring organized collection of plastic bottles.

The city has partnered with Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre ‘Tadweer’, and DGrade. DGrade is a UAE based organization that specializes in recycling plastics into different industrial materials by using environmental friendly and sustainable technologies. The empty plastic bottles are to be deposited in DGrade machines and a voucher containing points is obtained for each plastic bottle handed in. Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center will then be responsible for delivering the bottles to recycling centers.

A plastic deposit machine will be installed at the main bus station in Abu Dhabi where passengers can get points on their ‘Hafilat’ personalized bus card in return for empty plastic bottles. The campaign aims to increase recycling rates with the help of cooperation between relevant strategic partners.

Most people in the world breathe polluted air: WHO GENEVA: Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) says that about 99 per cent of the global population breathes polluted air beyond the permissible limit.

6000 cities monitor air quality, but people still breathe polluted air. This means, while cities are more cognizant of this massive environmental issue, the quality of air continues to plummet globally.

The scientists have discovered that air pollution poses risks to human health at far lower levels than earlier thought. Consequently, WHO has revised its air quality guidelines. The value for particulate matter (PM) has been reduced by two, and for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by four.

According to the data, 4.2 million people die from air pollution, in addition to 3.8 million deaths linked to household smoke from dirty stoves and fuels. The data also indicates that people for low and middle-income countries are at a greater risk of health hazards from air pollution.

This calls for an urgent need to tackle air pollution. Some of the steps suggested by the WHO to governments are, revise and implement national air quality standards according to the latest WHO Air Quality Guidelines, build safe and affordable public transport systems and pedestrian- and cycle-friendly networks, implement stricter vehicle emissions and efficiency standards, enforce mandatory inspection and maintenance for vehicle, etc.

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April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Waste Remediation to be done by Maharashtra govt

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India has approved a budget of `433.72 crore for the Government of Maharashtra’s ‘Legacy Waste Remediation Proposal’. Legacy waste deposited in garbage dumpsites over the years is a major problem of cities all over India. Not only do they pollute the environment, but also occupy valuable land. To deal with this problem, 28 urban local bodies of Maharashtra have submitted proposals to the state government for remediation of these dumpsites (3.7 MT of waste). The city intends to clear 2.6 crore metric tons of legacy waste through remediation, in turn, clearing up 355 acres of land.

Delhi govt goes digital, distributes tablets to all sitting MLAs Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia announced that all the 70 MLAs of Delhi Assembly will get tablets for all official purposes. The move to work digitally is part of an automation project. This twopronged strategy is aimed at achieving efficiency as well as adopting environment-friendly practices. From now, all official matters from tabling bills, raising questions, monitoring of questions and answers in the assembly to tracking of members’ attendance, etc. will be done digitally. Members will also be able to attend sessions virtually.

Briefs First integrated smart city project launched in TN

G Square, a real estate developer launched Tamil Nadu’s first Integrated Smart City, which spreads across an area of 120.7 acres. This is a first-of-its-kind project in the country with world-class amenities that includes a helipad. The city is located along the Salem-Kochi Highway (Coimbatore bypass). It will be the first integrated smart city in the state with 1663 villa plots and 26 commercial plots spread across 120.7 acres along with 150 world-class amenities.

Coimbatore is part of the Smart Cities Mission launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

NEWSCAN

Environment ministry launches ‘Prakriti’ to tackle waste production NEW DELHI: Several green initiatives were rolled out by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India to tackle the issue of plastic waste generation. Bhupinder Yadav, Minister for Environment, Government of India launched ‘Prakriti’, a mascot for promotion of plastic waste management.

It aims to spread awareness about elimination of single use plastic by advocating for small changes in daily life for more sustainable living.

India generates about 3.5 million tons of plastic waste annually, which has also been linked to air pollution, Yadav added, emphasising the pressing need to deal with this issue. The Central Pollution Control Board has

also announced that all single use plastic products will be banned from July 1, 2022.

Various other green initiatives were also launched, including National Dashboard on Elimination of Single Use Plastic and Plastic Waste Management, to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella. It will manage single use plastic and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) portal to improve traceability, accountability and ensure EPR compliance by producers and brand owners. A mobile app for SingleUse Plastics Grievance Redressal was also floated. Industrial production of Graphene from waste plastic was another initiative to promote more industries to up cycle plastic waste.

President clears bill to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi

Delhi CM flags off fleet of e-autorickshaws

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi and Kailash Gahlot, Minister of Transport, Government of NCT of Delhi flagged off a fleet of electric autorickshaws from the IP Depot. At the inauguration, the Chief Minister said that about 3500 people will drive these autos out of which 500 will be women drivers. He also spoke about the growing popularity and sale of electric vehicles. This past year, 10 per cent of the total sales were EV.

NEW DELHI: After being passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, President Ramnath Kovind gave his assent to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. President Kovind cleared the bill to merge all three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single corporation, which was trifurcated in 2012 during the government of former Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dixit.

As per the sources, the unified municipal corporation will be equipped for more efficient functioning. It is also expected to allow for better utilisation of financial resources which will help in the reduction of liabilities and expenditure on three corporations. Some other amendments are also cleared in the original act (The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957) to ensure greater transparency, improved governance and efficient delivery of civic services in the capital. The division of municipal corporations was not done evenly in terms of territory and revenue generation potential, as a result, there was a huge gap in the resources available for the corporations, sources said.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

17

NEWSCAN

Briefs

Kolkata to build India’s first underwater metro tunnel by 2023 KOLKATA: The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, which is building the Kolkata East-West Metro Line, is to build India’s first underwater metro tunnel inside the Hooghly river to establish the connectivity between Howrah and Kolkata. The tunnel will be fully functional by 2023.

Out of the total 16.6 km long stretch, 520 metres will be constructed 33 metres below the river bed. Mithun

Ghosh, the site supervisor, said that there will also be walkways in the tunnel to facilitate the exit of passengers in case of emergency. He added that important passenger work has been done for the tunnel, keeping in mind any technical issue inside the tunnel.

Almost 80 per cent of the work of EastWest Howrah Metro station is finished and full services are expected to begin by 2023, he added.

These trains will also be the deepest run underground metro trains in the country. The 16.6 kilometer stretch between Sector V in Salt Lake and Howrah Maidan has been built below 500 houses. The depth of the railway tracks will be 27 meters at Esplanade, while it will be 17 meters by the time the trains cross Sealdah station.

National Water Awards held in New Delhi NEW DELHI: The third National Water awards were held in New Delhi. The President of India Ram Nath Kovind presented the awards and launched ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain Campaign 2022’. The awards were constituted in 2018 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and recognize efforts in water conservation and water resource management by states, urban and rural local bodies, and other organizations. A total of 57 awards

18

April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

were presented across 11 categories.

Some of the awardees were: ♦♦ Best State - Uttar Pradesh ♦♦ Best Urban Local Body - Vapi Urban Local Body, Gujarat ♦♦ Best NGO - Gramvikas Sanstha, Aurangabad ♦♦ Best Industry - Trident Ltd, Punjab ♦♦ Best Industry for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities HAL, Bengaluru, Karnataka ♦♦ Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for Campus usage - Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Jammu ♦♦ Best Water User Association - PanchGachiya, Hoogly, West Bangal In addition to the awards, ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain Campaign 2022’ was also launched by the President. He urged everyone to work on this campaign with dedication and make it a success, emphasising the role of sarpanchs and district magistrates for motivation and involvement of communities.

Gujarat increases budget for urban development

In the Gujarat State Budget 2022-2023 presented by Kanubhai Desai, Minister of Finance, Government of Gujarat, the budget allocation for development of urban infrastructure has gone up by 19 per cent. Gujarat spends 6 per cent of its budget on urban development which is amongst the highest in the country. This year, the budget allocation has been stepped up to `12,639 crore, a third of which will go towards Swarnim Jayanti Mukhymantri Shehri Vikas Yojana. This scheme provides amenities to urban areas like water works, sewage works, and construction of sewage treatment plants. The program is intended for provision of infrastructure in municipal corporations, municipalities and urban authorities.

Fresh DPR for Dal Lake conservation The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is planning to frame a fresh detailed project report for the conservation of Dal Lake in consultation with the experts. It has been noted that the Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority has been only carrying out de-weeding around the Shar-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre as it has the distinction of hosting important functions for both government and private crowds. Recently, the Government of India had allotted `273 crore as grants towards the rehabilitation of Dal and Nigeen Lake. However, the condition of the lakes continues to deteriorate.

CITY IMAGE

Sailing in Sustainability: World’s largest electric cruise ship Yangtze River Three Gorges 1, the world’s largest electric cruise ship developed in China, sets sail for the first time in Yichang, Hubei province. The ship is 100 metres long, 16.3 metres wide, and can accommodate 1300 passengers. It is completely powered by electricity, provided by 7500 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity, which is equivalent to the battery capacity of more than 100 electric cars. It can travel 100 kilometres in a single charge and will account for reduction of 1660 tons of emissions, every year. With an investment of 150 million yuan ($23.5 million), the ship is developed by China Yangtze Power, and sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Government of China.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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NEWSCAN

Briefs Slums in Ahmedabad vulnerable to water-borne diseases: Study

Moradabad amongst noisiest cities NEW DELHI: As per the Annual Frontier’s Report published by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) titled ‘Noise, Blazes and Mismatches’, Moradabad is the second noisiest city in the world, after Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 61 cities have been listed in the report, out of which, five are in India. Moradabad’s noise pollution level was recorded at 114 decibels (db) while Dhaka stood at a worrying 119 db. This is alarmingly higher than the permissible limit of 55 db for residential areas and 70 db for commercial areas.

The Annual Frontier Report talks about emerging threats to the environment, every year. This year’s

reports look at three issues it considers to be threatening to the environmentNoise Pollution, Wildfires and Phenological shifts. Along with enumerating the issues, the report also mentions possible methods to mitigate these issues. The report urged that traffic, construction, and security alarms constitute ‘urban soundscapes’ and can cause lasting damage to physical and mental health. The solution to the problem lies with nature.

Trees and vegetation absorb noise and create balance in the environment by producing calm and soothing sounds like rustling of leaves. Cities need to increase green cover in the form of public parks and planting more trees.

Telangana to schedule desludging in ULBs HYDERABAD: In a bid to work towards safeguarding environmental quality, public health, compliance with Swachh Survekshan protocols and in order to achieve Parisubramina Pattanalu of ‘Pattana Pragathi Programme’, the Government of Telangana has announced scheduled desludging across its 142 urban local bodies (ULBs). Telangana has become the first state in the country to notify scheduled desludging of onsite toilets in all its ULBs. Telangana is one of the first states in India to implement Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) policy. The state government has committed to establish Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants in all ULBs, in accordance with the guidelines of National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) policy launched by the Ministry of Urban Development.

The scheduled desludging will include geo-tagging of all the septic tanks of residential and institutional areas, and that of public and community toilets in cities. While ULBs are responsible for paying private desludging operators, the cost is to be borne by households, institutions, and commercial establishments.

However, to reduce the financial stress on economically marginalised population, a differential pricing structure with pro-poor tariffs has been listed.

The Administrative Staff College of India is collaborating with the Government of Telangana as a knowledge partner.

20 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

A team of community health professionals including the Health Department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation conducted disease mapping of water-borne infections in the city. The number of cases recorded from water-borne infections over the span of last 7 years was analysed.

The analysis indicated that areas with the highest cluster of population under the age of 6 and slum settlements were most vulnerable. It notes that one of the reasons for higher incidence rate was that eastern and southern zones have higher number of mills and factories that has led to higher informal settlements of slums.

Air pollution, a widespread national problem: CSE The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted an analysis of air quality across India during the winter of 202122 (October 15 to February 28).

The study found Ghaziabad as the most polluted city and Shillong and Aizawl as the least polluted. Delhi has been reported as the second most polluted city followed by Noida, Faridabad, Greater Noida, and Gurugram. The analysis has been done for the 2021-22 winter air quality tracker initiative of CSE’s Urban Data Analytics Lab. Cities of National Capital Region dominated the list of most polluted cities in India.

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Volume VII, Issue IX

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

UrbanUpdate

January 2022

Volume VII, Issue X

UrbanUpdate

February 2022

Volume VII, Issue XI

JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance

Cities need strong local leadership

Key Trends To sTeer Urban sTory in

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

March 2022

THINkINg

CITIes ANew

How to make Indian cities ‘AatmaNirbhar’ How ‘Pink City’ coloured lives during COVID-19 pandemic

Cities must tap local wisdom to solve complex issues: Rathi AIILSG

European Union The project is funded by the European Union.

AIILSG

European Union

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

The project is funded by the European Union.

European Union

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

The project is funded by the European Union.

AIILSG The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

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NEWSCAN

Top city initiatives awarded in 7th Smart Cities India Expo NEW DELHI: The 7th Smart Cities India Expo recently concluded at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. It was held during 23-25 March, 2022. The threeday event saw convergence of multiple stakeholders in urban development and governance. Key themes for this year’s expo were Smart Cities, Smart Transport, Smart Buildings, Smart Water, Smart Energy, Cleantech, and Urban infrastructure.

The award ceremony was held on last day of the event, to recognize the efforts of city leaders in betterment of urban infrastructure using technology and innovation. The awards were given in the categories of Smart Cities India Awards and Fintech India Innovation Awards.

The recipients for some of the Smart Cities Awards 2022 were: Best Startup Initiatives - Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Limited for B-Nest (Bhopal Incubation Center) City Innovation - Ujjain Smart City Limited for Digital Center Digital City - Kolkata Smart City

22 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Limited for Digital Services in New Town Kolkata Safe City - Dehradun Smart City Limited for DICCC (Dehradun Integrated Command Control Centre) City of the Year - Ujjain Smart City Limited for MRIDA (Mahakaal Rudrasagar Integrated Development Approach) Best Fintech Company of the Year Paytm Fintech Product of the Year- Airtel Payments Bank Best Healthcare Initiative - Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation for COVID-19 management Best Water Management - Solinas Integrity Pvt Ltd for Pipeline Management Project for 24x7 water supply Governance and Economy - Pimpri Chinchwad Smart City Ltd for Smart Sarathi Public Private Partnership Initiative Indore Smart City Development Ltd for She Kunj Excellence in Pandemic Response Vodafone Idea Limited.

UP to organise camps to train street vendors in digital transactions

The Department of Urban Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to organize special camps for street vendors where they will be trained in digital transactions.

The department plans to rope in players like Swiggy and Zomato for delivery of food items prepared by the vendors. The aim of the initiative is to introduce cashless mode and payment in the market and to increase the income opportunities for the street vendors. These camps are also set to disburse loan of `20,000 to street vendors under the Pradhanmantri Swanidhi Yojana.

The State Urban Development Agency will be responsible for its implementation.

Meghalaya budget gives boost to SDGs Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma, who is also the Minister of Finance in the Government of Meghalaya, presented the state’s budget for the fiscal year 2022-23. The budget proposed a separate section on funding for sustainable development goals. Out of a total `18,881 crore, the budget has assigned `9,182 crore for work on various SDG indicators. Two major eco-tourism projects at a cost of `1450 crore are already underway. The government is also planning to introduce electric buses and e-buggies at major tourist attractions to enhance the ease of movement and promote low-impact tourism.

NEWSCAN

Centre releases arctic policy for sustainable development

NEW DELHI: India is among 13 nations holding Observer status in the Arctic Council, a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic government and indigenous people of the region.

The Government of India released its Arctic policy titled ‘India and the Arctic: Building a Partnership for Sustainable Development’. The document discusses six pillars: Scaling up India’s scientific research and development, protecting environment and climate, developing economic and human resources, transportation and connectivity, governance and cooperating with international institutions, and capacity building on a national level in the arctic region.

India’s Arctic Policy has gone beyond purely scientific approach. While the primary focus is still scientific, the six pillars address all the aspects of Arctic which are relevant to India. This is expected to make India’s engagement with the Arctic more broad-based with a holistic approach. The implementation of policy will be based on the allocation of requisite resources. The missions under the policy will be realised via an action plan and a governance and review mechanism, which consists of an inter-ministerial Empowered Arctic Policy Group. It states that the implementation will be based on the timelines and prioritisation of activities

involving the stakeholders. The policy aims to expand the capacity and awareness of arctic related scientific research in the country by widening the pool of experts in various sectors such as mineral, oil and gas explorations, blue-bio economy and tourism relevant to the area.

The policy focuses on promotion of the following agendas: 1. Building relevant national capacities and competent authorities for science and exploration, climate and environmental protection, and maritime and economic cooperation with the arctic region.

2. Inter-ministerial cooperation and coordination in pursuing Arctic interests of India.

3. Increase the emphasis on information distribution to the public regarding the impact of climate change in Arctic region on climate, economy and energy security of India to enhance public awareness.

4. Providing better analysis, prediction and coordinated policymaking on the direct implications of ice melting in Arctic on India’s economy, military and strategic interests related to energy security, global shipping routes, and exploitation of mineral wealth.

5.

Analysing any linkages between the Himalayas and polar regions.

6. Deepening cooperation between countries of Arctic region and India through various Arctic forums.

7. Increase India’s participation in the Arctic Council and improve understanding of the complex governance structures in the Arctic, relevant international laws, and geopolitics of the region.

The policy document is available on the website of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

A release by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India said that ‘Implementing India’s Arctic Policy’ will help in defining timelines, prioritising activities and allocating requisite resources to relevant authorities. The nodal institution for India’s Polar research is National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa, an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The Arctic Policy is the first step towards developing a whole-ofgovernment approach on India’s engagement in the region. The economic agenda of the policy is to help Indian industries in establishing a foothold in the region, and have access to clean and sustainable technologies.

The development of indigenous capacities in the region will help in greater and multi-faceted cooperation.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

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NEWSCAN

Mumbai becomes first Indian city to unveil Climate Action Plan MUMBAI: In an effort to help India reach its goal of ‘Net Zero’, Mumbai has become the first city in India to release its Climate Action Plan (CAP). The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) released the first-ever CAP, which aims to build a climate-resilient city and achieve the mission of netzero by 2050. The plan is drafted by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, with support from World Resource Institute (WRI), India engaged as the knowledge partner.

Highlights

The 240-page MCAP document is the first plan to set short, medium, and long term climate goals. It aims to achieve the net zero emission by 2050, which is two decades ahead of the Government of India’s deadline of 2070. The plan is based on three baseline assessments namely, “The Climate and Air Pollution Risks and Vulnerability Assessment”, The Green House Gas inventory to identify major sources of emissions, and an inventory of natural green cover in the city.

The plan will focus on six thematic action areas such as decentralised waste management, increased green cover of the city, urban flooding and water

The plan will focus on six thematic action areas such as decentralised waste management, increased green cover of the city, urban flooding and water management, low carbon electricity and climate-resilient infrastructure, air quality, and zeroemission public ransport

24 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

management, low carbon electricity and climate-resilient infrastructure, air quality, and zero-emission public transport. With an aim to increase contribution of renewable energy in the city’s energy supply to 50 per cent by 2030 and 90 per cent by 2050, the plan aims to ensure that the electricity used by BMC and other municipal agencies is from renewable sources.

Key Features

The MCAP is a data-based policy document which adopts the evidencebased planning approach to mobilise the resources and shift from planning to implementation of strategic projects. The plan is in line with the Mumbai Development Plan 2034, and leverages existing institutional capital to reinforce Mumbai’s climate goals.

It focuses on investment towards an inclusive and transformative climate solutions, as well as transparent and coordinated governance for a targetbased approach.

The plan has been prepared with participation from various subject experts, research organisations, citizen forums, international development agencies and municipal service providers.

It makes Mumbai the first city in India and South Asia to have a climate action plan, and set the deadline

two decades prior to the country’s deadline to become net-zero, i.e. 2070.

According to Mumbai CAP, rooftop solar installations in the city can produce up to 1724 Megawatt of power, which is enough to meet half of the city’s power demand. Currently, solar installations comprise just 0.70 per cent of the total power demand of Mumbai.

The plan highlights that residential buildings have the highest potential for generation of rooftop solar power amounting to expected 1300 MW of capacity. The plan listed Andheri West and Borivali as the places with highest solar potential.

I S Chahal, Commissioner, BMC, said at the launch that currently the civic body is working on infrastructure projects worth `40,000 crores to make Mumbai climate resilient.

He mentioned signal-free Mumbai Coastal Road, sewage treatment plants to recycle waste water, desalination plants, and the recently inaugurated Goregaon Mulund Link Road.

Aditya Thackeray, Minister of Environment, Tourism and Protocol, Government of Maharashtra said, “In order to plan a detailed climate action, we needed a directive principal, and Mumbai CAP enlists management in all sectors. It will likely be the most important document in the coming two decades.”

NEWScan

63 Indian cities in 100 most polluted places: Report Bhiwadi, Rajasthan found the most polluted city on Earth, Delhi is the most polluted capital NEW DELHI: New Delhi has once again been found to be the most polluted capital city in the world, for fourth time in a row, according to the World Air Quality Report by IQAir, a Swiss organisation. Delhi is followed

by Dhaka (Bangladesh), N’Djamena (Chad), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Muscat (Oman). The report also found that Bhiwadi, Rajasthan is the most polluted city of the world. In the top 100 list of most polluted cities, 63 Indian cities are included.

The average air pollution, measured as the level of lethal and microscopic Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 pollutant, is found 58.1 micrograms per cubic meter in India, which is more than 10 times the air quality guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO). India was found to be the fifth most polluted country in the world along with Bangladesh, Chad, Pakistan and Tajikistan. The report said that India was home to 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021. Delhi saw a 14.6 per cent increase in the levels of PM 2.5 in 2021 from 84 micrograms per cubic meter to 96 micrograms per

Top 15 list of most polluted cities in World Global Rank

City

Country

PM 2.5 level

1 Bhiwadi India 106.2 2 Ghaziabad India 102 3 Hotan China 101.5 4 Delhi India 96.4 5 Jaunpur India 95.3 6 Faisalabad Pakistan 94.2 7 Noida India 91.4 8 Bhawalpur Pakistan 91 9 Peshawar Pakistan 89.6 10 Bagpat India 89.1 11 Hisar India 89 12 Faridabad India 88.9 13 Greater Noida India 87.5 14 Rohtak India 86.9 15 Lahore Pakistan 86.5 cubic meter. It also added that 48 per cent of the Indian cities exceeded 50 micrograms per cubic meter level which is more than 10 times the WHO recommended level.

The report also makes a special mention about the smoke from crop burning after the rice harvest. It is responsible for almost 45 per cent of the pollution in Delhi, especially in the winter months. The cleanest air measured in India is in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu, which is three times WHO’s safe levels.

The report added that the average PM 2.5 levels has reached the pre pandemic level measured in 2019 “ending a three-year trend of improving air quality”. It also stated that major sources of pollution in India are vehicular emissions,

power generation, industrial waste, biomass combustion for cooking, construction sector, etc. As per the report, China is doing better in terms of pollution as its air quality improved in 2021.

The report also found that just three per cent of cities and no single country has met the criteria as per the latest WHO air quality guidelines. It analysed the air quality in terms of PM 2.5 concentration from air monitoring stations of 6475 cities in 117 countries, regions and territories. PM 2.5 levels are considered and accepted as the most harmful and widely monitored air pollutant, which worsens diseases such as Asthma, and leads to millions of premature deaths every year, the report added.

Frank Hamnes, Chief Executive Officer, IQAir, said that it is a shocking fact that no major city or country is providing safe and healthy air to its citizens. “The report underscores how much work is needed to be done to ensure safe, clean and healthy air for everyone. The time for action is now,” he added.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

25

COVER STORY | Local Governments of Delhi

Intriguing

Mcd

Story of

Delhi has been the seat of power in India for hundreds of years.

It still is. But the nucleus of power of Delhi’s local governments keeps shifting. It had also been marred with financial and administrative issues for decades. To govern the civic issues of the city, the MCD was formed after 10 years of Independence in 1958. Until then, the city was managed by a dozen local area committees and boards that lacked coordination. After 1958, the MCD witnessed a major change in 2012 when the corporation was trifurcated by the state legislature. Now again in 2022, a bill has been passed in the Parliament to unify all three corporations. This article attempts to trace the origin of the MCD, its changing roles, functions and authority, and also reflects on the Delhi Municipal Act (Amendment) 2022

Abhishek Pandey | Editor

26 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

he Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was born in 1958. Since then it has witnessed multiple changes in its structure, functions and authority. The history of local government in Delhi dates back to April 1863 when the first meeting of the municipality was held.

However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi was officially established in April 1958 by an act of Parliament namely the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Act, 1957.

Till 1958, there were about 12 committees and boards that were used to manage civic services at the local level in Delhi. As per the government records, these committees included Municipal Committee, Delhi; Notified Area Committee, Civil Station; Notified Area Committee, Red Fort; Municipal Committee, Delhi-Shahdara; Municipal Committee, West Delhi;Municipal Committee, South Delhi; Notified Area Committee, Mehrauli; Notified Area Committee, Najafgarh; Notified Area Committee, Narela; District

NDMC

EDMC

SDMC

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

27

COVER STORY | Local Governments of Delhi Board, Delhi; Delhi State Electricity Board; Delhi Road Transport Authority; and Delhi Joint Water and Sewage Board.These administrative committees and boards were merged in the MCD to better manage civic issues of the national capital. The Delhi Cantonment

First Meeting of the Municipality held.

1863

Board and the New Delhi Municipal Committee (later renamed as New Delhi Municipal Council) remained independent and continued managing civic services in the areas under their jurisdiction.

As per the wording of the Act, there

Several Notified Area Committees, boards and local bodies managed civic issues of Delhi. Municipal Government of Delhi was being administered as per the provisions of the Punjab District Boards Act, 1883 (2 of 1883) and the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (3 of 1911).

18631957

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, 1957 Bill got the assent by the President on December 28, 1957.

1957

was a need to have a unified body to look after the civic issues as the overlapping functions of the committees were hindering the development of the city.

The Act said, “With so many bodies and local authorities looking after the municipal affairs, complications and problems were being faced by the various authorities as well as by the public. A need to have a unified body to administer the Municipal Government of Delhi was strongly felt.” The Bill having been passed by both the Houses

Municipal Corporation of Delhi came into existence on April 7, 1958.

The first municipal commissioner of Delhi, P R Nayak, had also taken charge on April 7, 1958.

1958

28 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Aruna Asaf Ali became the first mayor of Delhi.

Pt Trilok Chand Sharma was the first elected mayor of Delhi.

1958

of Parliament was assented to by the President on December 28, 1957.

Aruna Asaf Ali, a noted freedom fighter, became the first mayor of Delhi in 1958.

The first municipal commissioner of Delhi, P R Nayak, had also taken charge on April 7, 1958. The significance of forming the MCD was such that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the first meeting of the MCD. The MCD had two main wings— the deliberative and administrative or executive wings. The deliberative The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) ran bus services under Delhi Transport Undertaking (DTU). In 1971, it became the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). Delhi government took over DTC.

1971

wing was headed by the Mayor and its main role was to provide guidance and supervise policy-making and engage with the public. The executive wing was responsible for professional administration, implementation of projects and programs and providing the technical assistance required for managing city operations. In the beginning, there were a total of 80 councillors in the MCD which increased to 272 in later years as the population and urban area of the national capital

The73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) was introduced that entrusted more power and authority to urban local bodies.

1993 New Civic Centre Building is inaugurated.

It replaced Old Delhi’s Town Hall as the headquarters of the city’s civic body.

2010

grew. As per the MCD records, the first elected mayor of Delhi was Pt Trilok Chand Sharma.

Since Delhi was a major urban centre, the city kept growing in its area and population. The MCD Act had provisions for the expansion of wards based on increasing population after the decadal Census. That’s how the number of wards increased from 80 to 100 to 134 and finally to 272 in 2012.

The office of the MCD was situated in the old Town Hall building at Chandani

The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced in the Parliament on March 25, 2022.

The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of The MCD is Delhi.

The Bill was trifurcated in passed on March East, North and 30, 2022 in Lok South Delhi Sabha and April 5, Corporation.

2022 in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill got President’s assent on April 18, 2022

2012

2022

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

29

COVER STORY | Local Governments of Delhi

Old Town Hall, Chandni Chowk

Chowk in Old Delhi till 2010 when the office of MCD was shifted to a swanky 28-storeyed Civic Centre building at Minto Road. The old Town Hall building was built in the 1860s and construction was completed in 1866 at a cost of nearly `1.86 lakh. The building was earlier called Lawrence Institute and Delhi College of Higher Studies operated from the building. Later, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi bought the building.An amendment in the DMC Act in 1993 after the implementation of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act changed the way the MCD was governed. The 74th CAA increased the role of urban local bodies and delegated many responsibilities to local governments not just in Delhi but to all ULBs across the country.

Trifurcation in 2012

Till 2012, the unified MCD was the second-largest civic body in the world after Tokyo, Japan. The MCD provided

civic services to 97 per cent of Delhi’s population. It had 272 wards distributed among 12 administrative zones, with 22 departments and a single commissioner.

With its trifurcation into three separate civic bodies namely South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation, and North Delhi Municipal Corporation in 2012, Delhi local bodies got three commissioners, 66 heads of departments, and three mayors as each of the urban local bodies had their departments to handle civic issues under their jurisdiction.

SDMC had four zones— Centre, South, West & Najafgarh. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) had a maximum number of seven zones that included Rohini, Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, City-Sadar Paharganj, Narela and Keshavpuram zones. In the redrawing of zonal boundaries under the NDMC, the Keshavpuramzone was carved out and two zones City and SadarPhadganj were

merged. SDMC and NDMC have 104 wards each. The third one was the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).

It has two zones namely Shahdara North and Shahdara South, and a total of 64 wards.

According to an article by Mukund P Unny published in The Hindu newspaper, “the split-up was first proposed in the 1987 Balakrishnan Committee Report which was bolstered in the 2001 Virendra Prakash Committee Report. Later a seven-member Delhi Legislative Assembly Panel was setup in 2001 to study the recommendations and suggest modalities. Since the recommendations had to be processed by the Central Government, another committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Ashok Pradhan to study the issue. The proposal finally took shape in 2011.” The trifurcation happened in 2012.

From 2012 till March 2022, Delhi had been governed by seven elected governments; five local governments, and state and central governments. Ten years ago, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated into East, North and South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The status of the New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board has remained unchanged since their formation.

What’s ahead for MCD

The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced in Parliament on March 25, 2022.

The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of

Corporation Area Coverage Population Coverage Population Density (%) (%) (Per Sq Km) MCD (North, East and South Delhi Municipal Corporation)

94.23 97.80 11735

New Delhi Municipal Council

2.88 1.54 6036

Delhi Cantonment Board 2.89 0.66 2560 DELHI 100 100 11305

30 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Pt Trilok Chand Sharma, Mayor of Delhi, with US President Eisenhower and Prime Minister Nehru, at the civic reception held at the Ram Lila grounds, New Delhi on Sunday, December 13, 1959

Delhi. The Bill was passed on March 30, 2022, in Lok Sabha and on April 5, 2022, in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill got President’s assent on April 18, 2022.

As the Bill was discussed in the Parliament, it received criticism from the opposition parties. They complained that the action is against the federal spirit of the Constitution. The opposition parties blamed the central government for non-cooperative federalism and interfering in the works of state and local governments. However, the Home Minister responded that the Centre had brought in this legislation because Delhi is a Union Territory. It could not bring such a Bill in Gujarat or Bengal.

He said, adding that the MCD Bill was “completely constitutional”. It is to be noted that it was not the first time that the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill was tabled in the Parliament. It has been done before in 1968 and 1983. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had argued that the last ten years of trifurcation did not work well for the national capital as the decision was taken in haste and not well thought out. The corporations were not divided adequately. There was no coordination among them and it resulted in the deterioration of civic services in the national capital. He asserted that there were three corporations for one city and they lacked coordination. The Bill explained the failures of the trifurcation further. It says, “the trifurcation of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi was uneven in terms of territorial

divisions and revenue-generating potential. As a result, there was a huge gap in the resources available to the three corporations compared to their obligations.” During the debate on the Bill, Shah explained in the Parliament that the main objective of bringing the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is to unify the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity. Since the bill has got assent from the President on April 18, 2022, all three corporations will be merged into one. The merger will ensure a robust mechanism for synergized and strategic planning and optimal utilization of resources; and bring about greater transparency, improved governance and more efficient delivery of civic service for the people of Delhi.

As soon as the terms of the elected local governments are over in midMay, the Act will come into force. A special officer appointed by the Central Government will exercise the powers and discharge the functions of athe Corporation until the day on which the first meeting of a Corporation is held after the commencement of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment)Act. The total number of seats in the newly formed MCD will not be more than 250.

At present, the combined number of seats in three corporations is 272. The NDMC and SDMC had 104 wards each, the EDMC has 64 wards. The renewed focus of the MCD will be to provide civic

services “anywhere, anytime” through a renewed focus on e-governance.

The argument of the central government that the national capital needs a strong urban local body is wellfounded. The local corporations of Delhi were not able to meet the aspirations of the people and provide efficient civic services because of financial and resource constraints. The state government made a change in 2011-12 but it did not work out as desired. One should not be wary of changes. More so we should not hesitate to return to the original state if the change proved ineffective and damaging. The Delhi Municipal Corporations, combined together, serve about 97 per cent of the city’s population and cover about 94 per cent of its geographical area. The population density of Delhi is also quite high, about 11, 735. On the contrary, the other two local bodies - New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board have population densitiesof 6036 and 2560 per sq km.

Indeed, the challenges of the MCD are colossal. The unification will give more power to the MCD mayor as in the good old days. The post of mayor in Delhi was important in the post-independent era. And, the notable and powerful politicians like ArunaAsaf Ali, Pt Trilok Chand Sharma, Nuruddin Ahmed, and HKL Bhagat held the positions of mayors. When in 1959, just after one year of the formation of the MCD, US President Eisenhower visited India.

ThenMayor of Delhi Trilok Chand Sharma, shared the stage with him along with the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the civic reception held at the Ram Lila grounds, New Delhi. The post of mayor was considered important but with time, the chair of MCD mayor lost its shine. After the trifurcation, its significance further declined. The MCD Mayor will indeed become more powerful with the unification of the corporations. Along with the power, the chair of the mayor will have more responsibility. It is expected that the civic services, urban functioning, and overall livability of Delhi city will see a complete makeover with the emergence of MCD in a new avatar.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

31

Numerograph | ULBs

Local Governance in urban India at a glance

Local governance is complex. A robust and efficient model of local governance include providing efficient civic services, managing city operations and its finances, taking everyone along using a participatory democratic model of governance and adapting to new ways and technologies to tackle evolving challenges. Since the municipal governance is a state subject, we have varied models in different states. Hence, their performances on local governance also differ. In this infograph, UU team tries to highlight the outliers and overall key data points to provide a bird’s eye view of local governance in India Compiled by Pooja Upadhyay | Trainee Reporter Pushpender Singh| Editorial Assistant

Municipal Corporations & Mayoral Tenure in India Ladakh 0 NA

Jammu & Kashmir 2 5

Himachal Pradesh 5 2.5

Chandigarh 1 1

Haryana 11 5

Rajasthan 10 5

State

Municipal Corporations Tenure of Mayors

Gujarat 8 2.5

Punjab

Delhi 1

3

8 5

Sikkim

Uttar Pradesh

Bihar

17 5

15 1

1 5

Arunachal Pradesh Assam 1 5

1 5

Meghalaya

Nagaland 0 NA

Manipur 0 1 NA Tripura Jharkhand 5 1 Mizoram 9 Madhya Pradesh West Bengal 5 1 5 16 7 Chattisgarh 5 5 5 14

The Dadra and Nagar Haveli Maharashtra & Daman and Diu 27 0 NA

13 5

Uttarakhand

2.5

5

Odisha 5 5

Telangana 13 5

Goa 1 1

Lakshadweep 0 NA

32 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Andhra Pradesh 17 5

Karnataka 11 1

Puducherry

Tamil Nadu 21 Kerala 6 5

5

0 NA

Andaman & Nicobar Islands 0 NA

States with Municipal Commissioners as CEOs of SPVs– UP, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura

Municipal Performance Index 2020

66.08 55

60

65

5

Indore

60.82

4

2

Surat

59.04

Karnal

3

3

Bhopal

59

Salem

Gandhinagar

51.59

2

4

Pimpri Chinchwad

58.79

< Millon municipalities

Tirupati

51.69

1

5

Pune

1

Millon+ municipalities

New Delhi MC

49.04 51.39

52.92 46

70

48

50

52

54

Richest Municipal Corporations of India and their Budget (In crores) 50000 45000 40000

45949

2021-22 2022 -23

39038

35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000

9287 10484

8051 8807

8300 8600

Bruhat Bengaluru Municipal Corporation

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

Pune Municipal Corporation

7112

6497

5000 0 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation

Municipal Performance Index 2020, released in 2021, examined sectoral performance of 111 municipalities.

They were assessed in 20 sectors and 100 indicators under five verticals namely Services, Finance, Policy, Technology, and Governance.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

33

Leaderspeak | AIILSG & LGs

AIILSG continues to work for robust local governance All India Institute of Local Self-Government, established in 1926, will complete 100 years of its existence in three years’ time. In all these years, the institute has worked closely with municipal corporations, Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI) to empower their workforce and elected representatives to work efficiently for local development. Urban and rural local governance, as envisaged by the Father of Nation, has grown strong in many states but a lot of work still has to be done to improve local governance in the country

Ranjit S Chavan | President, AIILSG

he concept of local self-governance is not new to India. It is as old as India itself. The reference to Gram Sangh or panchayats has been found in ancient stories and religious texts too. However, the constitutional recognition of local governments in India came with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992, and these local institutions were officially declared as the third tier of governments. Since then, LGs have been active at the grass-root level and making the lives of the people easier.

Though their style of functioning was different from one state to another, the constitutional amendments gave them a standardized working framework.

At present, there are over 250,000 local government bodies, rural and urban, across India. If we look at just the number of towns in India, there are over 8000. There are nearly 3.1 million elected representatives and 1.3 million women representatives. It is mandatory under the CAAs to have at least onethird of women elected representatives in local bodies. Some states have taken

34 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

this a step further. As many as 20 states have increased the representation of women in rural local bodies to 50 per cent. It has improved the way women are represented at the local level of politics. Since the local government is the first step into the political and administrative domain, the new entrant needs rigorous and extensive capacity building to be effective.

Almost 25 years have passed since local governments got constitutional validity but the capacity building of officials and elected representatives is still required to make governance efficient and effective. With the changing development requirements of cities and villages, the skill sets of officials need to be updated. The government of India has also taken note of the need for training for local government officials and elected representatives.

Almost every mission launched since has a component to train and capacitate officials and elected representatives. It is true for the recently launched missions like Jal Jeevan Mission, Smart Cities

Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission.

A significant amount of budget has been allocated for training and capacity building programs under all these missions.

Existing Structure of local governments

Many scholars, researchers in the local governance domain and elected representatives have been complaining that the existing local government framework needs revisiting. Since it is a state subject, every state has its own rules and regulations to run local governments. This is also visible in how these local government institutions are financed and what comes under their authority. Further, it is different in rural and urban areas.

The structure of urban and rural local bodies under state governments is similar in all states except in tribal areas.

There are three types of urban local bodies based on the population under their jurisdiction. Urban areas having a population of over one million are governed by Municipal Corporations or ‘Mahanagar Palikas’. The large areas

within the corporations are further divided into wards. And, urban areas with less than a million population are termed municipal councils. The rural areas transitioning to urban areas are governed by ‘Nagar Panchayats’. All these local governments are independent in their functioning and authority and managed by the respective state governments. In rural local governance, there are three nested bodies. At the top is the District Council which is made of a cluster of block councils (panchayat samiti) that is further made of village councils (gram panchayat).

The major responsibility conferred upon local bodies is to prepare development plan and execute 29 functions in rural and 18 in urban areas. These areas include health, social welfare, sanitation, education, poverty alleviation, housing, and the promotion of small-scale industries, among others.

The fundamental basis of local governance is that local citizens must have a say in decisions that affect their daily lives, and local problems are best solved by local solutions. Local governance has also been instrumental in removing the scourge of public malfeasance and increasingthe accountability of government departments and elected representatives.

AIILSG and local governance

Since its inception about 97 years ago, the institute is working towards empowering local government institutions in the country. For a long period, the local governments did not have constitutional recognition. Despite not having financial and administrative authority, traditional local government in the country supported the development projects and eased governance systems at the local level.

The institute provided handholding support from the beginning of its operations and emerged as one of the premier institutions in building the capacity of local government officials and elected representatives.

The institute organized the first World Mayors’ Conference at Jaipur in

Many scholars, researchers in the local governance domain and elected representatives have been complaining that the existing local government framework needs revisiting.

Every state has its own rules and regulations to run local governments. This is also visible in how these local government institutions are financed and what comes under their authority 1998 and then the second one in Kochi in 2005. The idea behind organizing the global conferences in the country was to give exposure to elected city representatives in India and empower them to take a lead role in improving services and governance in their respective jurisdictions. For many years since 1998, the institute functioned as the anchor institute for the Urban Management Programme (UMP) of UN-Habitat in South Asia. The overall thrust was to build and strengthen the capacity of local governments and other stakeholders to address urban problems within a participatory framework.

It also anchored the Sustainable Cities Programme of UN-Habitat in Maharashtra.

In later years of the 21st century, the institute has also started the South Asian Cities Summit, South Asian Mayors Forum and Urban Dialogues series to provide a knowledge-sharing platform to city leaders and officials and learn from the experiences of other cities. If cities are the engines of growth then local governments are the fuel than keeps that engine throttling at a required speed to maintain prosperity for all citizens. The role of the institute is expected to be substantial in the coming years. As the institute prepares to celebrate centennial anniversary in a few years, its role in the development of local governments will become quite significant.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

35

aRTICLE | Mayoral Reforms

Empowering mayors necessary for managing cities efficiently In 1992, when the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) came into existence, the local bodies and municipalities were accorded the constitutional status. Post that,the issue of devolution of powers to Mayors and their representation in the governance structure of Indian urban regions has taken centre stage. As per the 7th Schedule of Indian Constitution, “local government” is a state subject, making it the discretion of state governments to decide on the aspects of local governance. This explains why the Mayor in Mumbai is indirectly elected for 2.5 years, while the one in Bhopal is directly elected for 5 years Hitesh Nigam | Reporter

ayors in India have been regularly demanding for the effective and universal implementation of the 74th CAA. It guides the basis of governance at the local level in cities, but is patchy in implementation. A Mayor is considered as the ‘Chief Executive’ of affairs in a municipal corporation. When a region faces some civic crisis, people look at their local elected representative.

In a democracy, what makes a leader deliver his duties effectively? May be the fear of losing the seat in the next round of elections, which means they are accountable to the people. For this reason, the different methods of election of mayors in different states has been questioned by experts.

Direct election is the key?

In India, except some states like Haryana, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, all others conduct indirect election of Mayors. The representative of people at the very local level is not directly elected ‘by’ the people. Citizens

36 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

elect their councillors and then they select their leader as the city Mayor.

As a result, such representatives do not resonate with the local public and it creates a leadership gap. When people elect their representative, he/ she is directly accountable to them which acts as a motivation for the elected representative to work for the development of the region.

Since Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Thiruvananthapuram, initiated a private members bill in the Parliament in 2016, demanding direct elections and strengthening of Office of Mayor, it has been discussed time and again, but any substantial step towards it is still pending. Various global cities with directly elected powerful Mayors are presenting great example of leadership. For instance, Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor of New York City, has various feathers in his cap ranging from public health initiatives, improving and encouraging non-motorised mass transit system, to boosting scientific research and industry in New York.

Even with such examples, whether the direct elections for the position of Mayors would have any fruitful outcome is questionable. Even in India, states like Bihar have the provision for direct elections but few would argue that they perform differently. To know more about this, Team Urban Update talked to Tikender Panwar, Former Deputy Mayor, Shimla. He said, “Holding direct elections for the post of Mayor is not that important.

What’s more important is to strengthen the institution of Mayors by creating a bureaucratic setup which is accountable to Mayor, considering that he/she is the Chief Executive in a city.”

Eroding powers

With time, the authorities and powers of local body heads have been diminishing as they are dependent on state and central governments. The constitution of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for Smart Cities Mission is one such initiative which raised the question of community representation in it. Smart Cities Mission follows a model where Commissioners are most of the time the CEOs of the mission in cities. The board of directors which assists these SPVs are represented by both state government, and local public utility providing agencies, but there is no role of people’s representatives in a scheme with more than `6000 crores of budgetary allocation, this year.

Adding to this, Panwar said, “The constitution of SPVs for the mission has robbed the Mayors of whatever little power they had.” He added that the local bodies should act as independent

units with an independent head, which represents local people. They should have full control over basic civic

Mayor-in-Council model of Kolkata Municipal Corporation The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, like in few other cities of India, presents a fine example which promotes the model of ‘Strong Mayor’. As per the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, there should be a Mayor-in-Council comprising the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and ten other councillors, which will be nominated by the Mayor.

The Council acts as the local body cabinet of the Mayor just like the cabinet at the Centre. This model presents a fine example for other state governments to follow in order to strengthen the institution of Mayor. The city is doing well in multiple sectors, whether it is providing filtered drinking water to the people of Kolkata, speedy vaccination coverage, or preventing water wastage by marking zones and sensitising people.

Various other countries such as the United States, and the United Kingdom use similar structure of council of Mayor, which acts as the decision-making body at the local level as well as empowering the Mayor. Some states in India such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu also experimented with this model but it was soon taken back, owing to political tussles. Various city leaders in India have demanded similar structure in all Indian cities and it is high time to strengthen the government and leaders at the city level.

services in their region such as water, and sanitation, he added.

During the pandemic, imagine if the Mayors of cities kept stock of the situation, and talked to people regularly on the health emergency and solutions, rather than some official of central government sitting far away, then with whom would people resonate more?

People look up to a leader with whom they can meet, talk and share their problems. May be the situation of panic in cities would have been managed better, if the local leaders were present among the people to listen to their woes and assist them.

Conclusion

Strengthening the leadership at the very local level is important to empower local governments and improve the governance of ULBs. Mayors are an important cog in the wheel of governance and the central and states governments should move towards strengthening their position so that people find a leader in them, which comes from the same place as they do. The concept of Mayor-in-Council or Chairperson-in-Council, which is already adopted by various cities across the world, should be considered and adopted in India to empower the local leader.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

37

aRTICLE | Mayors’ Forums

Untapped potential lies in forum of mayors

Decentralisation gives power to the people by establishing urban local bodies consisting of elected representatives, but leaves much at the hands of bureaucrats and state governments to decide the contours of local governance. Mayors’ Forum at the state level give them a unified and strong voice to raise their issues of concern. It brings together mayors from various cities of the state to handhold each other in the all-round development of their cities. It also gives them a platform to demand their due rights and powers Pooja Upadhyay| Trainee Reporter

mayor is not only the legislative head and representative of municipal corporations, but also the representative, the voice, and ears of the citizens. Through the urban local bodies, mayors are required to ensure efficient delivery of civic services to the people and guide formation and implementation of development programmes according to the needs of the city. Mayors are the city leaders for they are involved in the development of the cities at the grassroots level and are directly answerable to the citizens.

38 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Mayors hand holdingeach other No city can develop itself entirely on its own – learning, evolving, and implementing ideas from other cities is an important ingredient in its progress.

Learnings from China during the COVID-19 pandemic equipped nations around the world with preventative measures against the novel coronavirus.

Similarly, Mayors’ Forum has been organised at the international, continental, national, and state levels to bring together city leaders on a single platform, where they can exchange knowledge and experiences that would help them develop their cities.

International Mayors’ Forums are currently organised by a number of organisations including the Green Municipal Fund Council, United Nations Office for Regional Development, UCLG ASPAC and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. Despite having varied agendas, the basic aim of these forums remains the same - to bring together city leaders from across the world on a single platform, where they can interact with one another, learn from each other’s experiences, and even form business

relations. As an attempt to promote dialogue and knowledge sharing among mayors from across India, the All India Mayors’ Conference, which is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is organised every year. However, the conference is attended by a very small fraction of Indian mayors. India has a total of 226 municipal corporations, but only 120 mayors attended the last All India Mayors’ Conference held in December 2021. It seems that such an important platform for city leaders, and hence for urban development, is not so accessible or popular among the mayors.

States in India were divided on linguistic lines. The motive was to ease the process of governance in the nation. Each city is different in its characteristics, but cities from a particular state have many similarities, including geography, language, and culture. Therefore, Mayors’ forum, when organised at the state level, can enable city leaders to learn from each other as the challenges, and their solutions, are often similar. Moreover, state mayors’ forums have proven to be more accessible to mayors because they help them avoid long distance travel and absence from their offices for long periods of time. However, so far, only 4 states in India - Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, and Maharashtra - have taken the initiative to organise forums for

mayors regularly. Mayors of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have themselves created the forums, where Mayors of the state meet on a timely basis. Sanjeev Sharma Bittu, former Mayor, Municipal Corporation of Patiala and Chairman of Mayors’ Forum of Punjab, in an interview with Urban Update informed that the state’s Mayors meet once every year under auspices of the forum. He was of the opinion that these meetings have widened Mayors’ perspectives to new ideas, technologies, best practices, and solutions to common challenges.

The office of the Mayors’ Forum of Gujarat and Maharashtra is hosted by the All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment in collaboration with respective city Mayors. An official incharge of organizing Gujarat Mayors’ Forum said that after the recently arranged meeting for the mayors of Gujarat under the Gujarat Mayors’ Forum in March, the plan is to arrange it on a quarterly basis. He said that the quarterly meeting will help Mayors discuss challenges, solutions and opportunities in varied sectors of urban development and get timely solutions.

Mayoral powers and their role

The 74th Amendment lists 18 roles that municipal bodies must perform to ensure that each and every citizen gets access to basic civic services. However, recent reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the state of

Maharashtra Mayors’ Council The Maharashtra Mayors’ Council was formed on May 12, 2012, and was registered on August 28, 2014. Ranjit S Chavan, President, AIILSG is the current President of the council, and Laxmanrao Latake currently holds the position of Convenor.

Objectives ♦♦ To provide a common platform for the Mayors to come together and exchange their experiences and deliberate to overcome their problems. ♦♦ To represent Municipal Corporations at the state and central level. ♦♦ To strengthen the working of corporations on democratic lines and autonomous basis. ♦♦ To organise, sponsor or participate in the studies, conference, seminars, trainings publications etc., by themselves or through AIILSG or similar organisations in India or abroad - generally on the concept of local self-government and particularly on local governance, urban management, urban development and the issues of urban governance and environment etc.

Each city is different in its characteristics, but cities from a particular state have many similarities, including geography, language, and culture. Therefore, Mayors’ forum, when organised at the state level, can enable city leaders to learn from each other as the challenges, and their solutions, are often similar

devolution of these roles to municipal corporations in the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Haryana show that no municipal body has full jurisdiction of more than 4 roles in these states. The situation with regard to devolution of responsibilities, powers, and finances to the all the municipal corporations in India is likely to be similar to that in the above-mentioned states.

Mayors are the official representative of the people and the municipal body.

A group of Mayors got together to ask for their corporations’ due rights was in 2011. Mayors from eight municipal corporations of the state of Gujarat formed a forum to demand more rights and financial powers, all of which should rightly be theirs according to the 74th Amendment. The demands of the Mayors remained similar in the All India Mayors’ Conference held in December last year. Since individual states are responsible for devolution of powers to the municipal corporations, Mayors’ forums for each individual state can create an effective platform for Mayors to collectively push for more rapid improvement in the situation. Such forums have the potential of bringing together Mayors of the nation to work towards a system of direct elections for mayoral positions, fixed tenures, and more executive authority in urban local bodies. As power ultimately belongs to the people, it should rest with the ones who are duly elected by them.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

39

aRTICLE | Municipal Finance

How is the third tier government faring in terms of finance?

Three decades have passed since the idea of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) as third level of government was crystallized into the Constitution, yet there seems a lot remaining to be done. Lack of autonomy, paucity of funds, and procedural hurdles, are some of the issues the ULBs are facing. Even now, financial issues of the ULBs are far from resolved Ayesha Saeed | Reporter

What is the issue?

M

40 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

programsor schemes. Non-plan grants are given as compensation for loss of income or some specific transfers Borrowings: These form the smallest share of revenues. They include loans undertaken by the local authorities from Center or State government, banks, etc.

ost of the ULBs in India need to learn to manage their finances for effectively managing their operations. The revenue sources are classified as follows: Tax Revenue: Taxes are an important source of income for the ULBs. They include property tax, octroi, advertisement tax, water tax, sewerage tax, and professional tax. Amongst these, property tax is the biggest source of income for the municipalities.

Octroi, once a large source has since been abolished in most ULBs. Non-tax revenue comprises fees levied such as fees on tehbazaari (imposed on hawkers etc.), license fees on cycle rickshaws, bicycles, etc.

Non tax revenue: Municipal fees, sale and hire charges, user charges, lease amounts Other receipts: Sundry receipts, lapsed deposits, fees, fines and forfeitures, Law charges cost covered, rent on tools and plants, miscellaneous sales Assigned (Shared) revenue: Assigned or shared revenue is that part of the State revenue, distributed to the urban local bodies from the divisible pool of taxes. Profession tax, surcharge on stamp duty, entertainment tax, motor vehicles tax, etc.

Grant in aid: Plan grants are budgetary allocations from the center/ state governments for specific projects,

The Finance Minister in this year’s budget speech acknowledged the growing boundaries of cities and the need to improve cities’ infrastructure.

It is estimated that half of India’s population would be living in cities by the time India achieves 100 years of independence. According to 2011 census, 31.16 per cent population was living in cities. By 2050, more than 50 per cent of the country’s population will be urban, as per World Urbanization Prospects. The official data tends to be understated as they may not have included the population living in the urban areas which have not been declared as such, hidden urbanization in cities’ periphery. Planners are unanimous on the fact that cities will, therefore, be at the center of all development activities.

This underlines the growing significance of ULBs, granted constitutional status through the 74th Amendment Act, 1992. It granted them the status of third tier governments at the local level defining its scope, powers and functions. However, it did not include any specifics on the regulation of finances. The powers of financial regulation have been entirely devolved to the State Finance Commission (SFC). The problem is that the SFCs, along with the Finance Commission of India, are advisory bodies. In order to implement their recommendations

Municipal Finance Indicators (per cent of GDP)

Municipal Own Revenue Tax Revenue Non-Tax Revenue Central Transfers CFC Grants Other Central Transfers State Transfers Borrowings Other Sources of Revenue Municipal Revenue Total Municipal Expenditure strong political will is needed. States must voluntarily part with their powers in order to empower the local bodies.

The decision on which taxes can be levied by the ULBs has also been left to the discretion of the State.

According to Dr Mukesh Mathur, former professor, National Institute of Urban Affairs, “there’s no change in the status of the finances of urban local bodies even after the 74th Amendment Act, because it hasn’t provided any local taxation list. That’s a major drawback. If the local taxation list is inserted in the Constitutional Act itself, the financial crisis of ULBs will be resolved.”

The municipal revenues/ expenditures in India have been a meagre one percent of the total GDP for over a decade, according to a report submitted in 2019 to the 15th Finance Commission titled ‘State of Municipal Finances in India’ by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. This is considerably inadequate for a municipal body which is considered as the third level of government. The growing cities of the country demand development of infrastructure at a pace that matches the pace of urbanization. The following table illustrates the stagnancy of municipal revenues over the years. It explains to a great extent the dismal state of ULB finances in India.

The way forward

As can be deduced from the present predicament of ULBs’ finances, the machinery of local governance needs to be overhauled. The 15th Finance

2010-11 0.48 0.30 0.18 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.28 0.04 0.07 0.94 0.82

2011-12 0.49 0.31 0.18 0.07 0.03 0.04 0.30 0.03 0.09 0.98 0.81

2012-13 0.53 0.32 0.20 0.08 0.04 0.04 0.34 0.02 0.08 1.05 0.83

2013-14 0.52 0.30 0.21 0.09 0.05 0.04 0.35 0.03 0.08 1.06 0.83

2014-15 0.51 0.30 0.21 0.08 0.04 0.04 0.35 0.03 0.09 1.05 0.86

Commission which submitted its report in October 2020 has given many recommendations in order to strengthen urban local bodies. One of the key recommendations of the Commission has been setting up of State Finance Commissions (SFC).

Even though, this is a constitutional requirement, many states have still not shown the desired commitment even after three decades. The role of SFCs is to decide the mandate for devolution of funds to the local bodies, recommend to the state government regarding distribution of resources between state and local bodies, levying of taxes, duties, etc. and the distribution of their proceeds, suggesting ways to strengthen rural and local urban bodies. In order to strictly implement it, the Commission has made it a mandatory prerequisite for the states to have SFC, in order to get funds. After 2024, States which have still not made SFC will not be eligible to receive grants from the Centre.

Another significant recommendation is that both provisional and audited accounting should be made compulsory for the ULBs. Every year’s audited accounts needs to be submitted, in order to receive next year’s grant. This will bring transparency in the system of funds devolution.

The grants-in-aid received by the ULBs are of two types- basic and performance-based grants.

The Commission suggests that for MillionPlus cities (cities with population over a million) the grants should be performance-based, that is those grants which are reserved for special projects

2015-16 0.51 0.30 0.21 0.10 0.05 0.04 0.34 0.03 0.08 1.06 0.86

2016-17 0.47 0.28 0.19 0.13 0.08 0.05 0.34 0.03 0.08 1.05 0.81

2017-18 0.43 0.25 0.18 0.12 0.07 0.05 0.33 0.02 0.10 1.00 0.78

and programs. While, for cities having population less than a million, basic grants should be given, so that those ULBs have more autonomy to use it as per the needs of the city.

There is need for greater financial discipline and need for financial reforms in ULBs. Grant-in-aid should be made more effective better accounting procedures in place. Accounting system should be standardized across the states which can improve reporting system and transparency. Financial reforms alone will not be of much help unless accompanied by structural reforms. Before the 74th Amendment, local governance was subservient to the powers of the State as it was not yet encoded into the Constitution. But even now, Union or State governments are reluctant to devolve functions of the 12th Schedule and finances to the 3rd level of government thereby unable to achieve decentralisation. The need of the hour is to make urban local bodies strong units of governance in cities and not merely exist as nominal structures.

An important aspect of good governance is public engagement. Local bodies need to do much more in order to elicit active public participation which could improve their accountability to the public and therefore governance.

People look to the state government for any inadequacy in the day-today functioning of the cities. The State governments need to pass on the responsibility and accountability to the local bodies to ensure robust cities with great infrastructure and excellent governance.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

41

aRTICLE | Analysing Climate Change Through IPCC

Alternatives for Secure Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies The effort to keep atmospheric temperature not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels is not heading very progressively. The largest contributor towards global warming-emission of carbon gases, and the global response for sustainable development is rather tardy

Tikender Singh Panwar | Former Deputy Mayor, Shimla

h that house? It’s in the sea now- there!”, a story on the Pari website describes the engulfing of a house and many other houses in Uppada village, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. T Maramma’s joint family lived in that house until the early year of this century. The sea levels are rising, the impact of climate change is real!

42 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

IPCC VI, Working Group II report

The latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was released on February 27, 2022. This is working group 2(WG2) of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6). A large number of scientists across the world were engaged in the process of writing this report.

The report is voluminous runs into 3,676 pages. The report points out the interdependence of climate, ecosystems and biodiversity, and human societies.

It also integrates knowledge across the natural, ecological, social and economic sciences, which is a departure from earlier IPCC assessments. This is good. The impacts and risks, as well as adaptation, is seen in concurrence to non-climatic global trends-biodiversity loss, overall unsustainable consumption of natural resources, land and ecosystem degradation, rapid urbanisation, human geographic shifts, social and economic inequalities and a pandemic. This is quite an ambitious work done.

The WG 2 points out the increase in the frequency of intense extreme events and damages to nature and people, beyond climate variability. The most vulnerable people and systems are observed to be disproportionately affected; the rise in weather and climate extremes has led to some irreversible impacts as natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt.

The WG2 also lays immense emphasis on the cities. Why? The simple answer is that nearly 4.2 billion people, i.e., more people now live in cities across the world. Cities are major contributors to climate change. According to UNHabitat, cities consume 78 per cent of the world’s energy and produce more than 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally urban populations have grown by more than 397 million people between 2015-20, more than 90 per cent of this growth occurring in Less Developed Regions. And the most rapid growth, according to the report, in urban vulnerability has been in unplanned and informal settlements, and in small to urban medium urban centres in low-and middle-income nations where adaptive capacity is limited.

Therefore, any paradigm shift in meeting the challenges of climate change must consider cities as the core areas. Not just that, only 25 mega cities of the world produce 52 per cent of the carbon emissions, exhibited in a study of 169 cities.

The most welcome formulations of the report are that it goes beyond the prism of technocentric solutions and speaks about systemic changes.

There are 183 pages of the report that deal with the urban conundrum. The chapter on cities also mentions concrete case studies -urbanisation and climate change in Himalayas-increased water insecurity; Semarang, Indonesia; Xi’xian New Area in China; etc.

The WG2 identifies three key impacts on the urban area. First, exposure to climate-driven impacts, such as heatwaves, urban heat islands, extreme precipitations and storms, in combination with rapid urbanisation and lack of climate-sensitive planning affecting marginalised urban populations and key infrastructure to climate change.

Second, Covid-19 has had a substantial urban impact and generated new climate-vulnerable populations.

Impacts on health, livelihoods and well-being felt disproportionately by economically and socially marginalised people. Third, urban areas and their infrastructure are susceptible to both compounding and cascading risks arising from interactions between extreme events and increasing urbanisation.

Losses become systemic.

Coastal cities across the globe find a special mention owing to disproportionate impact on them. The report states, because of exposure of multiple assets, economic activities and large populations concentrated in narrow coastal zones, their vulnerability is high. Early impacts of accelerating sea-level rise have been detected.

I recall this interaction with John Closs in Quito in 2016 during the UN-Habitat III conference; he vociferously pointed out that the current model of laissezfaire driven urban development is completely unsustainable and that we must go back to the basics of planning.

Historically it is proven that this is incorrect. Samuel Stien a US-based planner in one of his seminal works“The Capital City”, points out the combination of this nexus between urban planners and the big real estate capital giants like ‘Blackstone’. Also, how such models are completely unsustainable both ecologically and socially, creating humongous amounts of inequity in the social system also ruining the urban ecology and resilient capacities of the cities.

Let me share two anecdotal experiences explaining the above. The first one is an interaction with the mayor of Montreal in a world mayors congress where she pointed out how the federal government-driven mobility system of more highways and cars (because of push from oil and automobile capital), had even jeopardised their city mobility and did not focus on public transport.

They were, she said, revisiting the entire strategy and bringing in a shift from a private automobile driven mobility to public transport thus also reducing their carbon footprint.

The second one is from the building typologies. The push from glass capital to ensure “dead walls” in the building typologies made of glass. This did not just increase the energy intake for cooling and heating purposes in respective climatic scenarios, this typology has also proven that the glass is the worst form of health hazard particularly noticed during Covid-19.

Instead, more ventilated houses must be the way forward.

Hence, to imagine secure and better adaptability led urban system, one must focus on urban planning which is driven by people’s interests.

What is to be done?

The Indian Scenario

Key Impacts

There are many things. For long term mitigation challenges, the entire process of urban development must be revisited.

The Indian cities are considered to be one of the most vulnerable from a climate change impact perspective. The coastal

Coastal cities across the globe find a special mention owing to disproportionate impact on them. The report states, because of exposure of multiple assets, economic activities and large populations concentrated in narrow coastal zones, their vulnerability is high. Early impacts of accelerating sea-level rise have been detected towns and cities are already facing the perilous danger of receding shorelines.

The towns in plains and mountains are experiencing both heat island effects as well as frequent flooding.

The vulnerability has increased in the last few decades owing to faulty city development processes. Akin to the global trend, Indian policy decisions were also adapted to make cities competitive and attract investments from global capital.

Take for example in the mobility sector, the push was and continues to be for more flyovers, expanding the road networks in the cities, instead of public transport. The latest addition of such reforms is the “smart city plan”; these cities were supposed to be lighthouses for BJP’s model of urban development.

However, most of the smart cities chosen for development have proven to be the ones where urban flooding has increased. Because hard infrastructure without a comprehensive plan has damaged the existing water channels, thus blocking their pathways. Patna, Gurgaon etc., are part of such plans.

So, what India needs to do is to revisit its strategy of planning which should be people centric. Simultaneously, it should empower local governments in meeting their adaptive capacities, but at least providing them support to prepare their disaster atlas ensuring minimum damage to lives and assets.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

43

E-Dialogues

Shifting dynamics in water management sector to meet water security All India Institute of Local Self- Government, in collaboration with United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), 3R Waste Foundation, and Urban Update, organised the 31st edition of its E-Dialogues Series on the topic “Role of 3R Circular Economy in Water Security of India”.

The Webinar was organised as a pre-event of UNCRD’s 11th 3R and Circular Economy Forum, on March 10

D 44 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

r Kulwant Singh, CEO, 3R Waste Foundation began by giving an introduction to the panel of speakers and welcoming them. The esteemed panel of speakers included CRC Mohanty,

Environment Programme Coordinator, UNCRD; Avinash Mishra, Advisor, NITI Aayog; Dr Harpreet S Kandra, Federation University Australia; Dr Indira Khurana, Chairperson, Indian Himalayan River Basins Council (IHRBC); Rajneesh Sareen, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE); and Anupama Madhok Sud, Director and Editor, Water Digest.

Dr Kulwant Singh, mediator of the webinar, gave an introduction of the topic stating that we already know how water is needed to ensure food security, feed livestock, take up industrial production, and to conserve biodiversity and the environment.

Even though India is not a water poor country, due to ever growing population of the nation, and due to sheer neglect and over exploitation, water is becoming a scarce commodity in India. He mentioned that the webinar will aim to address the whole issue of water security in India – which will include the needs for it, what are the challenges that we face, and how it can be attained with the approach of 3R and circular economy. The fact that India treats only 22 per cent of its waste water, underscores the need to ramp up its efforts to attain water security, he said.

CRC Mohanty, the first and the keynote speaker of the webinar, said that water becomes an important sector for India to work in as it aims to build clean, inclusive, and sustainable spaces in the next three decades.

He established that any of the SDGs cannot be achieved without attaining water security. But water scarcity has already hit 40 per cent of the global

population. He quoted that for every 1 degree Celsius increase in global temperature, additional 500 million people will face water scarcity, because the climate change alters water cycle, reduces the quantity of freshwater and water body surface area.

He mentioned how the concept of circular economy offers an environmentally friendly alternative growth model According to him, it is rather unfortunate that several countries continue to pursue a linear economy, where waste generated after one usage is seen as having no value and is dumped. He said that circular economy can ensure that no pollutant is spilled into fresh water and other water ecosystems.

He added that circular economy or the move towards zero-waste society is a multi-stakeholder partnership involving governments, businesses, civil society, finance institutions, and research organisations. There is need to build strong triangular cooperation between the government, research and development institutions, and the private sector to successfully operationalise the concept of 3R and circular economy.

Avinash Mishra spoke on ‘The Reuse Opportunity’. Starting with a description of India’s water scenario, he mentioned that India consumes a quarter of the globally available groundwater, more than what US and China together consume. He noted how India continues to score low on treating sewage water, which could have been recycled in numerous ways.

Moreover, 72 per cent of the sewage generated, remains untreated, and is disposed of in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies, thereby further degrading the quality of fresh water.

He elaborated on the basics of wastewater recycling and how waste water can be treated and its quality tailored to meet the planned reuse in a cost effective manner. He also traced the regulatory and policy regime introduced in India in the sector over the years – including Namami Gange Programme in 2014 and Individual State Water Reuse policies in states

like Gujarat in 2018. Elaborating on the economic and financial benefits of recycling and reusing water, he stated that treated urban wastewater has the potential to irrigate an area ranging between 1-3 million hectares.

Additionally, nutrient potential in wastewater can reduce fertilizer requirement and deliver an increase of about 30 per cent in the farmer’s income.

Dr Harpreet Kandra, in his presentation on ‘Common Sense for Water Security = Circular Economy’ talked about the gaps present in current water management sector and possible solutions. He talked about how the entire definition of water management has moved from the traditional ‘Litres per capita per day’ to a much broader concept including water security, energy and food security, quality of life, climate change, culture, and nature.

He also compared the water billing systems of Chandigarh and Melbourne, wherein huge difference lies in the metering accuracy and the cost. He emphasized that individuals in India need to understand the concept of ‘Fit for Purpose’ along with accepting the idea of using treated wastewater. He noted that people in the real estate sector are still alien to the concept of developing energy and water efficient homes and buildings.

Dr Indira Khurana talked about community centered approaches for water security in rural India.

She mentioned how the water insecurity results in poverty, hunger, breakdown in access to healthcare, mass migration, etc. She proposed that instead of large and heavy infrastructure, decentralised models that include equitable and nature nurturing, tapping traditional wisdom, and empowering people and involving them will go a long way in ensuring water security. She mentioned that every corner of India has a tradition of water harvesting suited to geography and expected rainfall, which needs to be revived and multiplied. She added that community involvement is necessary for rejuvenation of ecology, water bodies and nature.

The next speaker, Rajneesh Sareen, talked about resource efficiency and circularity in the built environment.

He mentioned that the concept of green infrastructure involves ensuring circularity of water through water sensitive design and planning, sustainable urban drainage system, and rainwater harvesting. By investing in right design and sustainable materials, circularity of water can be ensured during the construction of those buildings, after people reside there, and even during the demolition of such buildings.

Anupama, the last speaker of the webinar gave presentation on upscaling the role of 3Rs towards water security through advocacy and stakeholder engagement. She said that in past few years, recycling and reusing have garnered a lot of attention in policy interventions and in many programs.

However, she added that due to various bottlenecks like technological inadequacies and limitations, policy and law conversions, lack of financial support and incentives, lack of awareness among the stakeholders, etc., many interventions have yet not been able to produce desired results.

She said that key challenges in the water sector include urbanisation, increasing demand and inefficient use of water in all sectors. According to her, the key to moving forward is the integrated approach for waste water management which should include adequate infrastructure, system upgradation, and sustainable financing system. She said that India will need to have a conducive policy approach, affordable technologies, and institutional framework and awareness building.

Dr Kulwant Singh provided concluding remarks and said that resources should be used for as long as possible by recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of each service line therefore forming a closed loop. The life cycle of water can also be increased just like any other resource or material, thereby addressing the issue of dwindling water availability, he added.

www.urbanupdate.in | April 2022

45

URBAN AGENDA

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor

74th CAA: Analysing future of local governance xperts have demanded reforms in the governance model at the city level time and again. There have been various demands and complaints around implementation of the 74th CAA. Naveen Jain, Mayor of Agra, raised one such demand for one-nation, one-election rule for Mayors during 111th Convocation of All India Mayor’s Council, held in September 2021.

The CAA was aimed to empower the local bodies by fixing their term and giving them constitutional status at the time when some of the major reforms were taking place in the country. However, it failed to clearly demarcate the financial aspect of local bodies as it did not provide capabilities or capacities to the municipalities to become politically and financially active. While they have a few revenue sources, they are heavily dependent on funds from state and central government. India spends just over 2 per cent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on municipalities; in contrast, developed countries such as the United States spend 20-25 per cent of GDP. Another aspect which the act does not talk about is the inclusion of people. The composition of a city is heterogenous in nature, inhabited by various communities coming from different places of the country. The governance structure of local bodies is a residential model, where only a person living in the area with a voter ID,has a say in the ward. Informal workers, vendors, etc. are also the part of urban ecology, but the act fails to include their interests as urban citizens. Delhi, for instance, has a mix of population from various parts of the country working in formal and informal jobs. As per the Census 2011 data on migration, Delhi has the second highest share of interstate migrants in its total population. However recent governance models have failed to fully address the issues of all sections and have made some people sceptical.

The proposal for unification of three municipal corporations of Delhi once again raised the question of municipal governance. The Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, 2022, seems to question the basic idea of “decentralisation” which guided the formation of third tier of government. In a city with population density ranging from more than 22,000 per square km (East Delhi) to around 9,000 per square km (South Delhi), the prospect of a single municipality is rather daunting. How far will this unification uphold the idea of 74th CAA, is still a question.

Another aspect of unification is that it will bring better coordination among departments and more power to elected mayor. It is high time to relook at the reforms required, depending on changes in the demography and topography of cities. The demand for implementation of the 74th CAA should be clubbed together with the demands for the evolution of the Act itself. Urban local bodies provide the foundation on which the democratic structure of this country stands, and it is important to make it as sturdy and inclusive as possible so that every stakeholder of the region can contribute in improving local governance.

46 April 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

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