Urban Update December 2018

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Volume V, Issue VIII

December 2018

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December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

EDITORIAL

Looking back at 2018 some misses

A

s we enter the last couple of weeks of this calendar year, it is time to look back and see what happened, what was achieved, milestones reached and goals surpassed. It is also time to think of and consider what could have been. In the urban governance sphere there are several areas where there is need for urgent intervention. In some of these areas we are left with a feeling that more could have been done.

One such area is urban mobility. The issue of poor air quality in cities has grabbed media headlines in many of our cities. Alongside, traffic congestion and road safety have been irking citizens and engaging policy makers.

Effective public transport is part of public discourse since long. However, in general, there has been little in terms of breakthroughs in public transportation. Safe, reliable, comfortable and affordable public transport still eludes us in most cities. Many cities are augmenting or implementing new rail-based options.However, city bus services, the backbone of public transport in most cities have stagnated or deteriorated. Independent studies have shown an over 8% annual drop in ridership of Delhi Transport Corporation buses and drop of 40% over last 7 years for BEST in Mumbai. Ridership in other big cities including Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Pune has fallen; one of the reasons being higher fares in comparison to 2-wheeler use. Inspite of this, bus services run up big losses and therefore curtail routes deemed ‘unprofitable’. City bus services need to be encouraged and promoted as a key element of the public transport architecture as they can also provide good first and last-mile connectivity, soessential for the success of railbasedmodes. Non-motorized transport has not seen much traction. Some cities (smart cities) are promoting bicycling. However it seems more as a leisure activity than a contribution to solving the urban mobility puzzle. Other potential options such as pedicabs (including battery assisted) and car pool, taxi/auto poolhave not received much attention.

Waste management in cities has grown into a humongous problem with severe implications for the environment and public health. While several states have announced bans in order to become ‘plastic-free’, feeble enforcement has made a mockery of the exercise. The strategy of Extended Producer Responsibility has been oft discussed but with no meaningful progress. While some technologies have been created by Individuals to gainfully recycle/reuse plastic and other waste, adoption and deployment of these has not been widespread. Therefore the problem of waste including plastic waste continues to choke our cities and towns with alarming implications for the future.

Among other disappointments is the inadequate citizen engagement/participation in various national or city-wide initiatives. For example, even in something as rudimentary as source segregation of waste, success is sporadic rather than sustained. Waste disposal on streets and into precious water bodies continues widely but for a little spark of success here or there. Defacing of road furniture, damage to other public assets, and dangerous traffic violations are widespread and make for a poor scorecard of citizen behaviour. Several measures such as water conservation and waste management are crucial in our quest for a sustainable future; these call for whole-hearted, enlightened citizen behaviour and robust enforcement.

Let us look for greater success in all above areas in the coming year. I take this opportunity to wish all our readers and their families a happy and prosperous new year.

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

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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Quotes

It will be essential to develop the right policies and incentives to achieve our common objectives of security of energy supply, reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality in urban centres and expanding basic access to energy in Africa and elsewhere

People are not willing to give up comfort and that is why a change in mindset is needed. A recent study showed that the transport sector was contributing 42% to the total pollution, followed by 30% by industries

Dr Fatih Birol Executive Director, International Energy Agency

Bhure Lal Chairman, EPCA

PIN POINT The massive exodus of people from villages to cities is a huge problem and this situation can’t be improved just by renaming cities. Instead we need to make new cities

The problem of open defecationhas not only taken lives of many, it has impacted the honor as well. Hence, it is important for everyone to work unanimously and contribute to achieve the 100% open defecation free

Javed Akhtar Poet, Lyricist and Screenwriter

Jack Sim Founder of World Toilet Organization (WTO)

BUZZ Dr Harsh Vardhan

Hardeep Singh Puri

António Guterres

@drharshvardhan

@HardeepSPuri

@antonioguterres

@JUNAIDWBG

Union Minister for Environment,

Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of

Secretary-General, United Nations

Country Director World Bank, India

Forests and Climate Change

Housing and Urban Affairs

Shared light electric vehicles (LEVs) are the answer to parking, pollution & climate change challenges. By offering compact& affordable zero-emission vehicles to citizens, government will be deploying a new transport facility

All these citizens [people with special abilities] need an inclusive & accessible ecosystem which flagship urban missions under my ministry are committed to provide.

I want our cities to be facilitators of a life of dignity & independence

If oceans are warming even faster than we thought—as the latest in a series of troubling reports show— we have even less time for Climate Action. We urgently need to limit global warming

In a rapidly urbanizing nation, it would be to the country’s advantage to invest in building disaster resilient infrastructure which will eventually help lower the cost of impact

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December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Junaid Kamal Ahmad

inside

Inside Volume 5, Issue 8

Feature

36

Wuhan, Milan, Guadalajara, Mezitli and New York win Guangzhou Award

December 2018

38

The jury announced the five winners of the 2018 Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation after reviewing over 300 submissions from 213 cities

Articles

38

‘Shanghai’ remains a far-fetched dream for Mumbai Mumbai is the city of dreams. Policy makers and politicians saw a dream for the city that it will become Shanghai of India but the poor implementation of the programs and infrastructure deficit in the financial capital is the biggest bottel-neck in realising the dream

travelogue

42

Kingdoms and dynasties rose & fell but Patna remained tall Patna, like Delhi, had been the seat of governance for successive kingdoms since ancient times. Patna has been known by various names from ancient times as each ruler who ascended to power gave his capital a new name. In modern times, city leaders have to work hard to attain the city’s lost glory. The city has to transfer itself into a hub of innovation, industry and employment to trigger reverse migration to the State and boasts itself as a city that can give a boost to the image of Bihar

RegularS

6 8 10

Pin Point Equi-City AIILSG Diary

12 15 46

Newscan City Images Urban Agenda

Cover Story

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The Year That Was-2018

As we prepare to close the calendar year 2018 and ring in the New

Year, it’s usually time to look back at the past 12 months for a recap of the major events in the chosen domain. Urban Update too takes a look at some such policies, announcements and developments that could have a significant bearing on urban India. The exercise as usual ended up with a mix of feelings….some satisfying, some not so…

LEADerspeak

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City leaders align local actions with global agendas, people’s aspirations As we bid farewell to 2018 and look back, we would see, like every passing year, cities have changed and so have their agendas. Cities have become the predominant living and working environment of humanity, and for this reason, improving livability or quality of life in cities has become crucial. City leaders are bracing up to align their actions with the objectives under various global agendas and citizens’ aspirations

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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feature Equi-City

EQUI-CITY PROJECT ACTIVITIES FOR 2018 Team Equi-City

T

raining workshop for elected representatives

The three training workshops for elected representatives of NMC were successfully conducted.

Topic Date

Training Workshop on Slum Development

31st January, 2018

Training Workshop on Gender Empowerment & Gender Issues

26th February, 2018

Training Workshop on Smart City Mission in Nagpur

23rd October, 2018

The Equi-City Project has a core element of capacity building wherein officials are capacitated and sensitised and honed to become leaders and tackle specialised issues faced by the target cities to ensure

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D | www.urbanupdate.in December 2018

equitable service delivery. The capacity building programme has been developed by engaging with the stakeholders (CDF) through interactive participatory sessions and strengthened by research.

The elected representatives were sensitised on both organisational and citizen needs. The training programme equips the municipal officials and elected representatives to translate their learning into action and pave the way for the equitable and efficient municipal services. The research support given by the staff is helping NMC to improve the quality of its intervention in providing services. Elected representatives and municipal officials using the training are promoting positive changes in the city.

Finalisation of Equality Framework and Inclusive HR Policy for NMC (January-September 2018)

This activity seeks to create Equality Framework which will enable municipalities to assess their human resources structure from an equality

and diversity perspective. It will be an internal assessment tool to ensure diversity within LA .

The Framework will seek to promote diversity in local government. It is about recognising the needs, values and contribution that employees from diverse backgrounds can make to local government and encouraging their participation at all levels. It will seek to promote diversity in leadership and decision-making roles, including elected representatives and senior staff.

Firstly, comparative analysis of different equality frameworks was made and a report prepared to suit the Indian context, specifically for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. The report derives inputs from “Diversity in Nagpur Municipal Corporation- A Status Report” undertaken by the research and analysis staff. Following which, Diversity and Equality Framework & inclusive HR policy were developed. This framework is seen as a progressive measure and will be used as a benchmark for promoting diversity and equality in the LA and its relationship to its citizens.

The equality and diversity framework is also non-discriminatory in nature providing equitable opportunities for each employee for merit based promotion, irrespective of community affiliations, and promotes a community oriented approach. The HR Policy also addresses equality matters such as job segregation and matters of equal pay.

The main objective of Equality Framework & HR Policy for Local Government is to: ♦♦ Identify & eradicate the unlawful discrimination and provide equal opportunities for the people ♦♦ Identify, assess & sensitize the roles & responsibilities, within the stakeholders of the system ♦♦ Review & improve the performance of the services for the people ♦♦ Enable identification, knowing and

involving communities ♦♦ Create a skilled & committed workforce Through analysing NMC’s workforce statistics, comparing these statistics with the broader community demographics and consulting with agencies, a number of key challenges under these objectives were identified. These objectives or gaps will lead to formulation of this framework & HR Policy by also creating a set of regulations for diversity and inclusion in local governance of the city.

Development of Municipal Rating System (JanuarySeptember 2018)

To bring the concept of Performance Measurement alive in Nagpur, Equi-City Team started working on developing a Municipal Rating System to measure efficiency in delivery of municipal services. The aim is to develop monitoring and evaluation tools which will allow both stakeholder (citizens, NGOs, etc.) and local authorities to ensure transparent and accountable delivery of municipal services. The monitoring and evaluation tools will be collaboratively developed by all stakeholders – through iteration of the Municipal Rating System.

The focus of these tools is to create a demand pull by citizens to ensure effective and efficient service delivery by local authorities. For this activity a questionnaire has been designed based on research and analysis to select 4 particular prabhags for further research on monitoring of current status of municipal services and coming up with citizen and community scorecard for an effective Municipal Rating System.

Further, Equi-City Team conducted an analytical field survey covering 4 Prabhags and approximately 3000 Households. The aim of this activity was to gather initial information of level of services being provided in these areas after which analysis would be done to compare services with the Service Level Benchmarks. Performance Measurement must be accompanied with performance benchmarking, otherwise it becomes difficult to judge how well or how poorly the agency is

performing and what types of corrective actions are required.

CDF meeting on Disaster Management Plan conducted on 2nd June, 2018

One of the objectives of Equi-City Project is to engage stakeholders in finding collaborative solutions for the city through a common platform, City Development Forum. Streamlining participatory forums like City Development Forum is crucial as it provides a platform to citizens as well as stakeholders to become a part of governance structure of the city.

Utilizing the already functioning CDF, the NMC organised a CDF meeting on 2nd June, 2018 to discuss the Disaster Management Plan for Nagpur City.

Feedback and suggestions from various stakeholders and CDF members were taken into account. The action has helped NMC to mobilise resources in a participatory manner using an innovative City Development Forum (CDF) comprising key stakeholders.

Cleanliness awareness campaign

Since Equi-City Project is bound to sensitise 200,000 citizens and 50,000 urban poor under its objectives on Water and Sanitation for which city wide campaign is proposed by EquiCity Team of which a total of seven Cleanliness Awareness Campaign were conducted at various locations in Nagpur from May to October, 2018.

Under these campaigns Equi-City Team sensitised households in the slums and students from schools and colleges by distributing pamphlets and sensitising them around the designated location on Water & Sanitation, Cleanliness, Rejuvenation of Water Bodies and No Tobacco Spitting Campaign.

Regular Activities for All Months

Equi-City Team regularly keeps in touch with CDF, Diversity Committee and NMC officials through mails and keeps them updated about the on-going and upcoming activities of the project.

Management and organisation of Project

Meetings are also done on a regular basis. Further, Monthly Newsletter and a monthly article in Urban Update are also published to highlight the ongoing activities under the Equi-City Project.

A separate website of Equi-City is also in place to receive feedback from the citizens.

Upcoming activities

♦♦ Further awareness campaign on Water & Sanitation will be conducted for which 200,000 citizens will be targeted in Nagpur. ♦♦ Equi-City Team will also generate a Municipal Rating System for which targeted survey in four Prabhags has been completed following which analysis on certain parameters to evaluate discrepancies in delivery of services will be identified and rated.

Stakeholders’ views

♦♦ Capacity Building initiatives under Equi-City Project involving Training Workshops for municipal officials and elected representatives have been effective in sensitizing stakeholders on various issues of governance and sustainable urban development. - Mahesh Dhamecha (Asst. Commissioner, GAD, NMC Nagpur)

♦♦ Equi-City Project is a very beneficial project for NMC as it has provided a platform for engagement between administration and citizens. It has provided an insight into the expectations of citizens from NMC and necessary policy changes to achieve them. Recently concluded survey has helped NMC to identify areas lacking in delivery of services and how to overcome them.Girish Gandhi (Convener - City Development Forum, and Director -Vanrai Foundation, Nagpur) ♦♦ Equi-City is an important project for NMC as it has enhanced the leadership qualities of elected representatives through capacity building Training Workshops on Slum Development and Gender Empowerment. - Varsha Thakerey (Elected NMC Nagpur)

Representative,

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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AIILSG DIARIES 2018

Dr Bernadia Irawati Tjandradwi along with Dr Steven Finlay, Ravi Ranjan Guru and international delegates from various south-asian countries at the ‘Training on Leadership and Gender Equality for Improved Local Governance’ during 4th South Asian Cities Summit

The officials of the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) visited the AIILSG Delhi office to discuss projects pertaining to improving municipal governance. Ravi Ranjan Guru, DDG, AIILSG; and Hansa Patel, Executive Advisor of AIILSG, welcomed them

Dr R Chidambaram addressing 1st Rural Dialogue at IIT Guwahati

Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and Ranjit Chavan, President of AIILSG along with mayors from the state during Maharashtra Mayors’ Council meeting in Goa

City leaders and delegates releasing white baloons to mark ‘liberating the knowledge on SDGs’ in 4th South Asian Cities Summit 2018

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December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Participants from Uttar Pradesh ULBs, at a field visit to Scrapshala, during a Solid Waste Management workshop in Varanasi

Participants from ULBs involved in an interactive session at the Solid Waste Mangement City ClusterExposure Workshop in Varanasi

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

Participants from Jharkhand ULBs at Solid Waste Management City Cluster Exposure Workshop in Jamshedpur

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

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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BRIEFS

NEWSCAN

DMRC adds 21 more trains to Metro fleet

BMC declares 10% water cut from November 15

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on November 1, introduced 21 trains which will provide 812 additional trips daily. Anuj Dayal, DMRC spokesperson said that this has been done keeping in view the worsening of air quality in the National Capital Region. He said that this includes 14 trains with 730 trips of Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake to Shiv Vihar section of Pink Line, which has been thrown open to the public from October 31.

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on November 14 announced 10 per cent water cut across the city for residential, commercial and industrial purposes. The civic chief has approved the proposal and declared that the water cut would be in place from November 15. The decision was taken due to the deficit in rainfall that led to a less-than-adequate water stock in the dams and lakes that supply water to Mumbai. The reservoir has water for 254 days which is 24 days less than the requirement before the onset of the next monsoon.

The seven lakes supplying drinking water to the city have received 8 per cent less water than the last year. A senior officer from the hydraulic engineering department informed that 10 per cent water cut in quantity and 15 per cent cut in supply duration will be imposed with immediate effect. The officer added, “As of now, the 10 per cent water cut will be

LMC frames monitoring committee to check STPs

in place and we will also make sure to maintain the pressure level in elevated areas so that there is no complaint of water shortage. We had investigated about the earlier complaints of water cuts and found that they were individual problems and not because of the less water supply from the source and we have resolved those problems.”

He also added that the water cut will continue till further orders. Every month the committee will be informed about the status of the lakes and then a decision would be taken accordingly.

As of November 14, the seven lakes that supply potable water have 10.95 lakh million litres of water (75.67 percent) which last year stood at 13.17 lakh million litres (91.94 percent) which is 16.27 per cent less water than the last year. Till the water cut is in place, no new water pipeline proposals or widening of water pipelines will be considered by the civic body.

PM inaugurates two National Highways & inland waterway in Varanasi Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (LMC) framed a monitoring committee on October 31 to keep a check on the functioning of sewage treatment plants (STP). The officials will monitor STP on Jamalpur Road, which is considered non-functional. The other two STPs in Bhuttian and Balloke are also non-functional.

These STPs have been releasing untreated water in Buddha Nullah. KP Brar, Commissioner, LMC, held a meeting with the officials of operation and maintenance cell to frame the committee. The officials of the branch were assigned the responsibility of ensuring the proper functioning of treatment plants. The concerned officers will be accountable in case of any shortcoming.

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December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on November 12, inaugurated two national highways in Varanasi, having a total length of 34 km and construction cost of `1571.95 crore. He was accompanied by the Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath, Ram Naik, Governor and Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The function was held at Ring Road Tiraha, Harhua, Varanasi.

The 16.55 km long Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of `759.36 crore, while the construction work on 17.25 km Babatput-Varanasi road to make it a four-lane road on NH-56 has cost `812.59 crore.

The Babatpur Airport highway will link Varanasi to the airport and will further connect Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow. With a flyover at Harhua, the travel time from Varanasi to the airport will be reduced. The Ring Road will provide a way for traffic on NH 56 (Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233 (Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29 (GorakhpurVaranasi) and Ayodhya – Varanasi highways to bypass Varanasi city and it will provide easier and convenient access to Sarnath.

Currently, NH projects with total length of 2833 km, costing `63,885 crore are under construction to link Varanasi to other places in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister also inaugurated an inland waterways terminal on River Ganga in Varanasi. This is the first of the four multi-modal terminals being constructed on NW-I (River Ganga) as a part of the World Bank aided Jal Marg Vikas project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India. The other three terminals are under construction at Sahibganj, Haldia and Gazipur. The project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with a capacity of 1500-2,000 deadweight (DWT) on River Ganga.

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BRIEFS

Bengaluru hikes fine on burning waste

G Parameshwara, Bengaluru Urban Development Minister announced that the fine for indiscriminate garbage dumping and the burning of waste has been increased from `100 to `500. Parameshwara was addressing reporters at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Office in Malleswaram following a meeting with officials from the civic body’s Solid Waste Management Department.

“There are black spots on the sides of the roads because of haphazard waste dumping and burning. So the proposal was made to increase the amount of fine from `100 to `500. We will also appoint retired army personnel to monitor and penalise offenders,” he said.

EPCA to consider banning non-CNG vehicles in NCR The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) on November 12, asked a task force led by CPCB to consider banning all vehicles, except those running on compressed natural gas (CNG), in Delhi, keeping in mind the high pollution levels post Diwali. Earlier in the day, the task force relaxed the ban on construction activities in NCR and also partially allowed trucks entry into Delhi. The ban on industries using coal and biomass, including brick kilns, was lifted on November 13.

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December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

NEWSCAN

PM inaugurates KMP expressway GURUGRAM: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, inaugurated the Kundli-Manesar section of the KundliManesar-Palwal (KMP) western peripheral express-way and 3.2 km-long Ballabhgarh-Mujesar Metro rail link on November 19, 2018. Ballabhgarh became the fourth city in Haryana to get metro connectivity after Gurugram, Faridabad, and Bahadurgarh.

The inaugurations and foundation stone-laying ceremonies were done through re-mote from Sultanpur village of Gurugram district. The Prime Minister, on his arrival at Sultanpur village in this district, went around a visual art exhibition pertaining to the KMP project. The officials briefed him about the project. He was accompanied

by Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana, Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh, MP, Gurugramand Birender Singh. Satyadev Narayan Arya, Governor of Haryana was also present on the occasion. A spokesperson of Haryana government said that a sum of Rs. 6,400

crore had been spent on the expressway project and 3,846 acres of land was acquired at a cost of Rs. 2,788 crore.

The length of the stretch from Kundli to Manesar is over 83 km. This stretch would have six major bridges, eight minor bridges, 21 vehicular underpasses, seven inter-sections and seven toll plazas and six lanes.

The expressway will decongest the road traffic from Delhi. It will especially reduce the number of trucks entering the national capital and it will be helpful in reducing pollution. The project will also provide a high-speed link between northern Haryana and southern districts and give an uninterrupted high-speed link for traffic, especially commercial traffic, from Haryana to neighbouring states. The PM inaugurated the Rs. 580 crore Metro link in Sultanpur village.

The metro would facilitate travel for people of Delhi and Faridabad. PM also laid the foundation stone of the Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, which will come up at Dudhola in Palwal district.

Kerala Tourism to rejuvenate Akkulam Lake TRIVANDRUM: Kerala Tourism plans to develop a walkers’ plaza, cycle track, bamboo bridge, green bridge, landscaped garden and intelligent onsite water quality monitoring system as a part of the rejuvenation and restoration of the Akkulam Lake with a project cost of `128 crore. Removal of waste and water weeds from the lake to maintain its cleanliness will be done on priority. Besides, the removal of plastic and other waste that reaches the lake, water will also be recycled to ensure quality. Decentralised Waste Water Treatment System (DEWATS) and watersheds will be set up. A living lab and an intelligent onsite water quality monitoring system will be installed to test the quality of water in the Akkulam tourist village. A water purifying system will be installed in such a way so as to resemble a landscaped garden. The small hillock in the Akkulam Lake will be landscaped and will be converted into a green island and a natural water purifying mechanism will be installed. Usha Titus, Executive Chairperson, Akkulam Destination Management Council, submitted the blueprint of the ambitious project to be executed by Kerala Tourism to Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism on November 13. The funds for the rejuvenation project will be provided by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The project would be executed with public participation, the Minister said after receiving the report modelled on the lines of the rejuvenation and restoration of eight lakes in Coimbatore. The `128 crore rejuvenation and restoration of the lake is in addition to the ongoing works in Akkulam tourist village to restore it to its old glory. A sum of `4.93 crore had been sanctioned earlier for the Phase II development of the village.

CITY IMAGES

Why can’t Delhi do this?

China recently built the world’s biggest air purifier in Xian to battle air pollution. Air pollution is a growing concern in many cities including Delhi. The experimental 100-metre-high tower can clean 10 million cubic meters of air each day and reduce PM 2.5 density by 10 to 19 per cent in a 10-square-kilometer area. It traps soot and other noxious particles with a series of air filters and has the purifying efficiency of more than 80 per cent. The cost of the project is $2 million or `14 cr. By following China’s model, Delhi can solve its air pollution problem by installing 3 to 5 such towers spending around `70 cr. This seems a feasible solution.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

15

BRIEFS

MCG collects `1 lakh fine for violations of GRAP The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) collected a fine of `1 lakh from people who failed to follow the guidelines laid out in the Graded Response Action Plan on November 1.

The officials informed that the maximum number of fines was imposed on those transporting garbage or debris uncovered, which stood at 17 challans worth `85,000. A total of 12 challans worth `60,000 were issued to those transporting construction material uncovered, and two challans adding up to `10,000 were issued to those selling construction material without covering it. The civic body issued challans worth `30,000 to six people undertaking construction work, despite being prohibited under GRAP. Three challans totaling `700 were imposed for open burning of garbage.

Piyush Goyal inaugurates Mumbai’s Nerul-Uran rail The first phase of the proposed Nerul-Uran rail was inaugurated on November 11. This brings the rail link closer to the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport.

A local train with railway employees was flagged off from Kharkopar station by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal along with Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Regular services on the corridor began from November 12 and link Ulwe node in Navi Mumbai with Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Panvel on the Harbour line besides Thane on the Trans-Harbour corridor.

Targhar, which is about three kilometres from the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport, will be the closest railway station and is likely to be ready for use in another eight months.

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December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

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MCG issues fines over `20 lakh for violation of anti-pollution emergency measures GURUGRAM: The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) issued fines worth over `20 lakh on the eleventh day of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for violations of the anti-pollution emergency measures on November 11, 2018. The measures include ban on construction activities, coal and biomass-dependent industries and on the entry of trucks into Delhi.

Four violators were fined `20,000 each for open burning of waste, 10 were fined `65,000 each for the open dumping of waste and construction debris, seven challans of `1,60,000 each were issued against builders carrying out unauthorised construction activities, while another seven challans of `40,000 were issued for improper management of construction materials. The civic body has recovered `2,85,000. The administration resumed the implementation of the SCmandated anti-pollution measures. Four mechanised road sweeping machines were deployed on the stretches between Mahavir Chowk and IFFCO Chowk, Huda City Centre to Cyber Park, Star Mall to Sector 45, and Rajiv Chowk to

Subash Chowk.

Water sprinkling was carried out in the areas identified with high generation of road dust including Civil Lines, Vikas Sadan, Sector 15, Atul Kataria Chowk, near Sheetla Mata Mandir, on the dividing road between Sector 31 and Sector 40, between Huda City Centre and Signature Towers, Vatika Chowk and others. At least four water tankers and two fire trucks were engaged in this effort, while tenders for another four water tankers have been floated by the MCG. The 10 day vigilance campaign was launched on November 1 under the orders of the Supreme Court appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention& Control) Authority (EPCA). Originally it was planned for just 10 days. The campaign was extended to 6 pm on November 13 due to no considerable improvement in air pollution.

Yashpal Yadav, commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) said, “Our teams have been patrolling day and night, and are penalising those who are not complying.”

Stubble burning increased this year: EPCA NEW DELHI: Bhure Lal, Chairperson of Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) on November 16, said that there have been more cases of stubble burning in the neighbouring states this year compared to the last year.

There is an urgent need to change the mentality of people so that they look at the alternatives to this practice, Lal added. Bhure Lal was speaking at a workshop on bulk utilisation of crop residue for the economic and environmental sustainability.

The workshop was organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Lal further said, “Paddy straw can be a very rich source of fertilizers. Its best utilisation would be to merge it with soil. Despite the enforcement being strict this time, more stubble burning was recorded this year as compared to last year.”

One of the major causes for poor air quality in Delhi is the burning of crop residue in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana. The Capital, on November 8, faced the worst air quality of the season as smog caused due to bursting of firecrackers engulfed the city. He said the practice of stubble burning has been prevailing despite granting of subsidies. In a letter to the Central Pollution (Prevention & Control) Board (CPCB), Lal on November 14 recommended the implementation of either the odd-even scheme or a complete ban on the non-CNG private vehicles if pollution levels in Delhi increased again.

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Death by Breath NEW DELHI: On the day of Diwali some waited for the clock to hit 8 pm while some waited for the clock to hit 10.

Ultimately the Supreme Court order was met with people defying its direction of lighting crackers only between 8 and 10 pm. Delhi registered its worst air quality of the year next morning on November 8 as people lit crackers till late in the night. Delhi was engulfed in a thick layer of smog the next morning. The air quality deteriorated to ‘hazardous category’. The air quality index (AQI) recorded 999 at Anand Vihar, 459 at Chanakyapuri, and areas around Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium at 999 exposing people to major health risks.

Fast deteriorating Situation According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality

on the night of Diwali at 11 pm was 302 AQI – ‘very poor’ category in DelhiNCR. It began deteriorating rapidly 7 pm onwards when the AQI was recorded 281. It was 291 at 8 pm, 294 at 9 pm and 296 at 10 pm, according to the CPCB. A “very poor” AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illnesses on prolonged exposure to such air. If the air quality dips further, the AQI will turn “severe”, which may trouble even those with sound health conditions and seriously affect those with ailments. Expressing concern over the poor air quality, the Supreme Court had restricted bursting of firecrackers to two hours from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali. The apex court had ordered that only “green crackers”, which have a low light and sound emission and less harmful chemicals, can be sold in NCR.

This has become a chronic problem in Delhi for some years now particularly in this time of the year. In the first week of November as air quality entered ‘severe’ category, hospitals in the city had seen patients in huge numbers with complaints of respiratory tract infections and asthma attacks. Both, the private as well as the government hospitals have seen a substantial rise of patients around twenty percent. These are patients who mostly complain of viral infection, cough, sneezing, respiratory tract infection and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) say doctors.

“The number of patients has just doubled as compared to last week. It was an exceptional rise in the number of people who faced asthmatic attacks. The cases have increased in the last three days,” said Dr Karan Madaan, Associate Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, AIIMS.

Unique experiment at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital In a bid to draw attention, a pair of artificial lungs has been installed at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. It changed colour from white to black in 48 hours as air quality deteriorated in the capital.

These artificial lungs are fitted with the same HEPA filters that are used in the face mask that people use. It has inbuilt fans to pull in the air. The installation is part of ‘Help Delhi Breathe’ initiative and has been designed for that.

“The installation is mimicking the functioning of our lungs. This clearly shows how bad the air quality in Delhi is right now. A healthy pair of lungs, when exposed to dust and air pollutants, turns black. We were shocked to see the colour of the lungs change so quickly,” said Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Department of Chest Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

India is home to 13 of the 20 most polluted cities of the world and Delhi is one among them according to a report of the World Health Organisation. One can only hope that sometime in the near future, with concerted efforts this tag can be removed and we no more encounter ‘death by breath’.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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NGT fines Punjab Rs 50 crore for river pollution The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the Punjab Government to deposit the fine amount of `50 crore as environmental compensation for polluting Sutlej and Beas due to uncontrolled industrial discharge. The bench clubbed some similar cases including the case regarding the death of fishes due to untreated discharge from sugar industries in May this year.

It asked the state government to recover the fine from industries in two weeks. Nagendra Benipal, PPCB counsel said, “Earlier, a committee found that the discharge was not being treated as treatment plants were nonfunctioning.”

Kalka-Shimla railway line gets 1st Vistadome coach

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Rural Karnataka declared ODF BENGALURU: The state government of Karnataka has achieved an ‘open-defecation free’ (ODF) status across the state’s rural areas as promised to the citizens. The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, Karnataka, informed that 70.2 lakh households in the rural areas of the state have now been provided with individual toilets, thus reducing incidences of open defecation in the state.

The state government had initiated this ambitious programme to become an “Open Defecation Free’’ state by 2018, a year ahead of the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department took this massive campaign for the construction of individual toilets in all the families living in the rural areas of Karnataka. The combined efforts by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, along with the citizens of the state have added another feather in the Karnataka success story. Earlier on October 2, Dr G Parameshwara, Deputy Chief Minister, Karnataka launched Swachhameva Jayate, a rural cleanliness and sanitation campaign that aimed to boost the Swachh Survkekshan Grameen in all the districts with the help of school children.

HD Kumaraswamy, Chief Minister of Karnataka, while announcing the good news, said, “While we have seen many improvements in the lives of the citizens of Karnataka, the access to a clean, hygienic toilet was a shortfall. Earlier statistics showed only half or one-third of the rural households had individual toilets. I commend the efforts of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department which took this issue very seriously, and in a very short time, has taken the cleanliness and hygiene message to every household in our state, and has achieved ‘open defecation free’ status. Our government has taken the wishes of our beloved people seriously, and this is the proof.”

KMC to install CCTV cameras to monitor garbage dumping The Northern Railways introduced a see-through glass rooftop Vistadome coach between Kalka-Shimla section under the Ambala Division of Northern Railways. The train equipped with Vistadome coach ran its first trial trip recently. As per a release issued by Ambala Division, the coach with a seating capacity of 36 passengers has modified windows and air-conditioning system. It is equipped with designer LED lights, window blinds, and cushioned wooden interiors. The Railways said, “This special and aesthetically designed Vistadome air-conditioned coach CT-15, is a first of its kind in this Kalka-Shimla railway section.”

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KARNAL: The Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) is ready to install CCTV cameras in 20 different locations of Karnal. This step is initiated to monitor and take stringent actions against the habitual offenders who dump garbage along the roads. The process has started and the authorities claim that all points would be equipped with cameras soon.

This initiative is expected to help in the transformation of Karnal city into a garbage-free city. The authorities claim that this would stop people from dumping garbage in the open and would lead to developing the habit of handing over segregated garbage to the vehicles assigned for the work by the KMC. They are hopeful that it would help in securing the top position in the country in Swachh Survekshan 2019. Karnal city secured the first place in Haryana and 41st rank in India out of more than 4,000 cities of

the country in Swachh Survekshan 2018.

It secured 65th rank all over the country in Swachh Survekshan 2017, improving from 123rd rank in 2014. It also received a special award for being the cleanest city in North India under the category of population 2 to 10 lakh in 2017.

Rajiv Mehta, Commissioner, KMC, said, “After conducting a survey, we identified around 20 sites where people dump garbage regularly, making the area unhygienic. We have decided to install CCTV cameras at these spots. This step will help in making the city clean. To promote segregation of garbage from the source, we have already started door-todoor collection of garbage. Despite this step, several people and private garbage collectors are dumping gar-bage along the roadside. We will also impose fine on the offenders dumping garbage along the road.”

Door-to-door garbage collection begins in Bathinda BATHINDA: The Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB) started the trial run for collecting door-to-door garbage through mini-tippers in a few areas of Bathinda. Garbage collection work started in Model Town, Civil Lines and a few other areas of the city. MCB has hired four mini-tippers from JITF Company. MCB plans to collect garbage from households in mini-tippers and transport it directly to the solid waste management plant. Garbage collectors in these areas urged residents to keep dry and wet garbage separately.

The civic body plans to make Bathinda

a bin-free city by removing secondary garbage collection points. The MCB has proposed that one mini-tipper is required for 1,200 households. The civic body needs 40 mini-tippers to cover 47,000 units. Six additional standby mini-tippers are required that can be used when any of the machines are damaged.

The MCB has made an estimate of `2.94 crore for purchasing 46 minitippers. MCB has also planned to provide a material recovery facility so that plastic, wood, glass, paper and clothes can be separated and be kept in different chambers. The civic body has planned to set up its own workshop for the maintenance of these vehicles. Sandeep Gupta, Executive Engineer said, “We have planned to install global positioning system (GPS) on all these vehicles and we will also set up a monitoring room in our office, which will watch the movement of these vehicles. Apart from this, hooters will also be installed on these vehicles.

On hearing it, residents could come out and throw garbage in the vehicles.

Earlier, our workers had to wait for the people to come out.”

SPCB issues notice for reckless muck dumping SOLAN: The officials of the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) issued a show cause notice to the GR Infraprojects company on November 13, 2018, considering the unscientific and reckless dumping of muck at unauthorized sites. The company has been asked to reply in seven days. GR Infraprojects is a private company executing the four-laning of the Parwanoo-Solan stretch of National Highway (NH)-22.

The company has been issued a notice to explain their stand as this was a clear violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The board officials noted that no protection measures had been taken while dumping muck on various stretches which led to the generation of dust. Neither regular sprinkling of water nor any other effective steps were taken to control the dust generation.

Atul Parmar, Assistant Environment Engineer of the board’s Parwanoo office informed that keeping in view the various violations the company has been issued a show cause notice to explain why the penal action in the form of legal prosecution may not be initiated against it for utter disregard of the environment. The company has been directed to submit the information pertaining to the total number of authorised dumping sites allotted to it, the quantity of muck generated in the last year and disposed of in the designated sites along with a month wise breakup, total muck utilised at the site and protection measures against generation along with photographic evidence with an action plan for checking dumping of muck along the slopes in the future, besides details of water sprinkling at the sites. Dumping of muck has become an issue of concern for the board.

EDMC collects fines of `5.8 crore for violation of construction ban The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) issued 538 challans for violations of construction ban between November 1 and November 11, and collected `5.82 crore in fines. The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) called for a ban on all construction activities in the city from November 1 to November 11. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city dropped during this period, reaching hazardous levels on November 7 on the occasion of Diwali.

232 challans were issued in Shahdara (North Zone) and 306 in Shahdara (South Zone). Apart this the EDMC also issued 123 challans for burning of garbage and 122 challans for violations of NGT guidelines on pollution.

UPPCB issues notices for violation of waste management rules The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has issued notices to over 300 institutions including schools, hospitals, hotels, private colonies, government bodies and other commercial units of five districts Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur for ‘violation of solid waste management rules.’ The maximum number of violations has surfaced in Agra district. The notices were issued following a survey conducted in all the districts. The board has warned of strict action if the required improvements are not made within 15 days. Under the solid waste management rules, 2016, all premises established over 5,000 square meters of land are required to make their own arrangement for segregation and disposal of waste.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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Una begins ‘Solar Una’ project

The Una administration has started an ambitious project ‘Solar Una’ to light up all 234 panchayat bhawans in the district, besides the Zila Parishad office. The surplus power will be sold to the electricity board through powergrids. Rakesh Prajapati, Deputy Commissioner said that a 33.5 KW solar station was being set up at Zila Parishad Bhawan in the city, while 2 KW and 3 KW solar stations will be set up at Jhalera and Samoor Kalan panchayat bhawans in Kutlehar.

He said that locations for connectivity of all three solar plants with the powergrid are finalised. State government received `1.3 crore for the ‘Solar Una’ project in the first phase.

Kanpur, Lucknow most polluted cities in India Kanpur had the most toxic air with Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded as 373. It was followed

by Lucknow with AQI 349. This was the first occasion in the postmonsoon period when Lucknow was the second most polluted city in the country. According to the data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), air pollution levels jumped by 109 units in Kanpur on November 18, as compared to 264 units on November 17. Prof Dhruv Sen Singh, Director, Lucknow University, air quality and climate monitoring cell, said, “Pollution levels have remained high in Lucknow and Kanpur owing to manifold increase in construction activities and vehicular load along with shortage of green belt.”

20 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Uttarakhand cities elect new mayors DEHRADUN: The polling for 84 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Uttarakhand began at 8 am and concluded at 5 pm on November 18, 2018. Over 60 per cent of the voters casted their votes in the election to seal the fate of 4,978 candidates. The state recorded 12.86 per cent polling till 10 am. It increased to 30.78 percent by 12 am, 44.33 per cent by 2 pm and 59.97 per cent by 4 pm.

Almora district recorded 58.82 per cent polling, Champawat 72.21 per cent, Nainital 65.79 per cent, Bageshwar 70.02 per cent, Chamoli 66.01 per cent, Rudraprayag 70.04 per cent, Pithoragarh 63.86 per cent, Uttarkashi 66.84 per cent

Municipal Elected Corporations Mayors Dehradun Haldwani Rudrapur Kashipur Rishikesh Haridwar Kotdwar

Sunil Uniyal Gama Jogender Rautela Rampal Singh Usha Chaoudhry Anita Mamgai Anita Sharma Hemlata Negi

The mayors took oath along with new board councillors on December 2, 2018.

and Pauri 70.04 per cent. According to the state election commission office, the polling passed off peacefully in all 84 urban bodies, including seven municipal corporations, 39 municipal councils and 38 nagar panchayats.

Chandra Shekhar Bhatt, State Election Commissioner said, “In 2008, The ULB polls saw 61.68 per cent polling and it went up to 65.56 per cent in 2013. We were confident for setting a new record this time.” He praised the efforts of the entire staff working on poll duty for peaceful polls.

The results for Mayor/Chairman were declared for 83 seats on November 20.

As per the results, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 34 seats, Indian National Congress (INC) won 24 seats, Independents 23 seats and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 1 seat. According to the results on 1063 seats for Ward Members, Independents won 551 seats, BJP won 323 seats, INC 181, BSP 4, AAP 2, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal 1 and Samajwadi Party 1. BJP won five out of the seven mayoral seats – Dehradun, Haldwani, Rudrapur, Kashipur and Rishikesh.

$310 million from World Bank for power infrastructure in Jharkhand NEW DELHI: The Central and the State Government on November 20 signed an agreement with the World Bank to advance a loan of $310 million to improve the transmission infrastructure in order to boost the state’s power system. Itis a part of ‘Power for All’ program which was launched in 2014.

According to the Finance Ministry’s statement, this project in order to provide reliable power supply will bring in modern technology solutions such as automated sub-stations, network analysis and planning tools. The deal was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary of Union Finance Ministry, Vandana Dadel, Secretary of Jharkhand Energy Department and World Bank India Country Director Junaid Ahmad. The statement stated that presently there is more than 80 per cent of the state’s population which has access to electricity and the per capita power consumption in Jharkhand at 552 KWh at the end of financial year 201516 is roughly half of the national average. However, in recent years, the state has achieved lower supply deficits. The project also includes construction of new substations and transmission lines, smart meters, IT infrastructure. To start with, the project will sponsor smart metering for around 350,000 consumers in the capital city Ranchi, the Ministry said. The $310-million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5 year grace period, and a final maturity of 25 years, Ministry added.

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AIILSG to organize

Focus areas of ‘Urban Dialogues’

Urban

Dialogues Amazing Agra NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) along with Agra Municipal Corporation is organising a one-day roundtable conference on December 18, 2018 at Crystal Sarovar Premier, Agra.

Agra is a city well known for its rich culture and heritage. The city is among the most popular tourist destinations of India attracting thousands of tourists everyday. Agra is home to 2 million people and growing. Agra despite having rich culture and architecture including the architectural marvel Taj Mahal, struggles with its own set of problems. Congestion, pollution, inadequate solid waste management system, the poor state of Yamuna River and deficit in delivery of civic services in low-income colonies and slums are some of the harsh realities of the city.

‘Urban Dialogues - Amazing Agra’

in detail the next-gen agenda of the city and how its historic connections can pave the way for a better future.

Focusing on Agra’s heritage, culture and creative offerings, both built and intangible heritage, to place-making, the sessions during the conference will deliberate upon the viability of integrating heritage and culture in the planning and design of our cities and how governments, business, non-government organisations and community groups can work together to move culture up the urban planning agenda.

strives to focus on addressing urban problems that the city is facing without disturbing the city’s heritage and cultural ethos. The conference is expected to bring together various experts such as urban planners, politicians, academicians, business leaders and representatives of the civil society organisations from the urban sector to discuss probable solutions for the problems the city is facing. The conference will provide a platform to all the speakers that include local intelligentsia to share their insights on the improvement in the development of a smart city while preserving its culture and heritage.

‘Urban Dialogues’ will offer delegates the opportunity to debate on the smart integration of culture and heritage in urban planning strategies.

Experts on the panel will be taking up

♦♦ Seeing growth and development with heritage lens - Talks will begin with quoting significance of Agra’s cultural heritage and its contribution in weaving the glorious past of India. Following it will be the discussion on understanding the benefits of the growth and development of the city while keeping alive its rich heritage. Further discussions will involve role and benefits of the urban heritage and local community along with the dialogues on the role of municipal corporation in promoting the local art and preserving the culture and heritage of the city. Adaptive use of the heritage sites and their future prospects will lead to the end of the first half of the event. ♦♦ Smart City Development-The second half of the event will begin with the discussion on urban developmental requirements in the city. Smart City Development and the vision of the city along with the development imperatives for the rejuvenation of the River Yamuna.

Further talks will include insights on working for the development of the city towards a more touristfriendly one.

‘Urban Dialogues - Amazing Agra’ intends to draw out conclusion and probable solution to anchor a public discourse on creating an aspirational city life for all the citizens.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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NMCG approves composite sewerage projects Namami Gange projects in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh worth `1573.28 crore have been approved by the Executive Committee (EC) of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in a meeting held on November 20, 2018. In Uttar Pradesh, the projects in Agra, Kasganj, and Sultanpur have been approved at a total cost of `998.75 crore. In a meeting held at the level of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, it was decided that a comprehensive solution was needed to address River Yamuna’s pollution issues in Agra. Keeping this in mind, the project for Rehabilitation/ Renovation of Agra Sewerage Scheme has been conceived at a total cost of `857.26 crore, including operation and maintenance cost for 15 years.

EPCA seeks info on diesel cabs plying in Delhi All taxi operators in Delhi including companies like Ola and Uber have been directed by the Supreme Court-appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority on November 22, 2018 to submit an affidavit on their diesel taxis plying on the roads of Delhi-NCR. The body said it may impound vehicles violating the norms. Bhure Lal, EPCA chairman warned that diesel taxis will be penalised for plying in the capital. “No diesel taxis will have alighting or boarding point in NCR. If any are found to be operating without them being disclosed, they will straight away be impounded and their licences be cancelled. Almost 70,000 diesel taxis are still operating in Delhi NCR which is a big number, “ Lal said.

22 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

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‘Gaja’ leaves trail of destruction CHENNAI: Cyclone ‘Gaja’ made a landfall between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu on November 16, 2018.

As per the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), cyclone ‘Gaja’ claimed 35 lives. Around 82,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas and moved to 471 relief camps before the landfall. It caused severe damage to the communication and power infrastructure.

The meteorological department authorities said that the cyclone crossed the coast near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district between 12:30am and 2:30am with heavy rain combined with wind speeds of about 110-120 kmph. Atirampattinam in Thanjavur district recorded maximum wind speed of 117 kmph while Nagapattinam town witnessed 100 kmph. It caused severe damage to the communication and power infrastructure.

P ThangamaniI, Minister of Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, said that the cyclone damaged over 21,000 electric poles in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai districts,

and efforts are being made to replace them and restore power supply at the earliest. As per sources, nearly 1,27,448 trees were uprooted during the Cyclone.

As per the reports, 9,000 poles were damaged in Pudukottai district, 5,000 were damaged in Thanjavur district, 3,000 in Tiruvarur district and 4,000 in Nagapattinam district. Transmission towers and 50 transformers were also damaged in cyclone-hit districts.

Strong winds and heavy rain disrupted rail and air services.

Edappadi K Palaniswami, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu said that he had urged the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh for all assistance from the Centre.

The Union Minister asked the State Government to send a detailed report on the damages and the quantum of loss suffered. The Centre has promised the state government of all assistance to deal with the situation.

Rajnath Singh issued directions to monitor the situation in Tamil Nadu and to provide all help to the state administration.

Centre to approve 99 road projects in Odisha BHUBANESWAR: The state government approached the Centre to sanction 99 more road projects worth `900 crore in 12 Left-wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts to strengthen surface communication. According to the officials, the state works department sent a list containing 97 roads and two bridges in the LWEdistricts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nuapada, Balangir, Bargarh, Deogarh, Sambalpur and Boudh. As a part of phases I and II of the Centre’s road requirement, there were around 100 road projects under construction, said Nalini Kanta Pradhan, EIC-cum Secretary, Works Department, Government of Odisha.

She further said that the proposed roads would boost connectivity in the LWE-hit areas and accelerate development. Sources informed that out of 99 roads, 27 roads will be constructed in the most LWE affected districts Malkangiri and Koraput costing `240 crore. 10 roads will be built in Kalahandi, Nine in Kandhamal, six in Nuapada, eleven roads in Balangir, four roads in Bargarh, seven roads each in Deogarh, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Sambalpur and four in Boudh. The state government has given the highest priority to strengthening infrastructure in the LWE-hit districts and the project assumes its significance. Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, recently dedicated the 910 meter Gurupriya Bridge in Malkangiri connecting the cut-off areas. A special package of `100 crore was also announced by the Chief Minister in order to accelerate the development. The money will be spent on enhancing road connectivity, providing electricity connection, drinking water, and livelihood support and strengthening healthcare services in the area.

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AIILSG organises 5-day workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) organised a five-day training workshop on “Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Changing Climate Scenario at Local level” from November 12 to November 16, 2018, in technical partnership with the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for officials of Dhaka North City Corporation at The Royal Plaza, New Delhi. The training workshop was inaugurated by Rajiv Agarwal (IAS) Retd, Director General of AIILSG, Ravi Ranjan Guru, Deputy Director General of AIILSG; Anil ShekhawatDeputy Commandant (Training) & I/C (Admin), NIDM & Dr Anil K Gupta, Associate Professor, NIDM.

Day-1 Shashikant Chopde, Senior Research Associate from the Institute of Social and Environmental Transition – International (ISET International) delivered the introductory session on Urban Resilience.

It began with definition of various aspects of disaster and importance of resilience in urban regions in the wake of climate change. He delved on different systems, agents and institutions which govern cities and spoke on the resilience framework as a guideline to make cities resilient to disasters.

Dr Vinod K Sharma, Divya Sharma and Aditi Kapoor delivered the next session on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Infrastructure. Dr Vinod Sharma, Consultant and Senior Professor (Retd), Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), highlighted Sikkim’s efforts

in disaster management and detailed on various actions taken by the state.

The importance of capacity building and providing an alternative source of income was well highlighted by Aditi Kapoor, Climate and Resilience Advisor, International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). She reiterated the fact that communities tend to cope up with any disasters if they have a steady source of income and migrate only when their income source vanishes.

Divya Sharma, Senior Consultant & Portfolio Leader (Urban Planning and Policy), Oxford Policy Management Ltd., presented a case study of Guwahati and reiterated the importance of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction activities in all aspects such as planning, design and implementation.

Sanjeevan Joshi detailed out the Disaster Management process. He also emphasised on the importance of restoring continuity in times of disaster.

Day-2 Dr Chandan Ghosh, Professor, NIDM spoke on Developing Resilient Structures and presented case studies regarding structures and their strength during earthquake.

Dr PG Dhar Chakrabarti, Former Executive Director, NIDM elucidated the Sendai Framework for 2030 and the road map to achieve the Framework. He also explained hazard, risk, vulnerability and capacity and, other terms in disaster management.

Shashikant Chopde delivered the next session on the need and importance of

clear policy decisions. A group exercise was conducted for the Bangladesh delegates where they identified the vulnerabilities to disasters, hazards that pose vulnerability, and the reason for vulnerabilities. The delegates were asked to frame policies and take decisive measures.

The session on Community Resilience to Disasters was delivered by Dr Sushma Guleria, Assistant Professor, NIDM, who narrated the case studies of Ockhi cyclone and flooding in Rajasthan where people refused to heed to warnings on disasters due to cultural and social reasons.

Other days The third day was a joint lecture program with NIDM where delegates had the opportunity to listen to various new technologies to retrofit buildings to be earthquake resistant and also observed a demonstration for an early warning system for earthquakes which can alert the residents.

Dr Jugal Kishore, Director, Professor and Head of Vardhman Mahavir Medical College started the fourth day with his lecture on Public Health Management in Disasters.

Dr Santosh Kumar, Professor, NIDM delivered an expert talk on “Long term recovery” and detailed out a map for Dhaka City by 2030. The participants from Dhaka detailed out the current issues and Dr Santosh Kumar laid out the solutions for making the city resilient.

Sanjeevan Joshi concluded the day with his note on Emergency Response and dead body management.

Day five saw role play exercise where the delegates assumed different roles -Emergency Operations Controller, Incident Reporter, etc. and detailed out their responsibilities and probable actions in response to disasters.

Dr M Mohapatra, Scientist-G, of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) delivered a lecture on Early Warning System. He shared experiences of Cyclone Gaja which made landfall in Tamil Nadu on November 14.

The workshop concluded on November 16 with a valedictory session by Ravi Ranjan Guru in which he also presented certificates to the delegates.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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Urban Updates 2018 Kerala’s ‘Zero Waste’ Alappuzha won a spot among top 5 cities in UN list Alappuzha was recognized

by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) as one of the five model cities across the world for successful and sustainable solid waste management.

IMC introduces high-tech garbage transfer stations Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) in optimization of its garbage transfer system came up with high-tech transfer stations that helped them reduce operation and maintenance cost.

MoU signed for Twin Tower Trade Centre in Guwahati MoU was signed between Government of Assam and National Building Construction Corporation.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (i/c) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said that government has enacted a pro-active ‘Act East Policy’ to elevate and harness the strengths of North East and reduce the isolation of the region by improving all around connectivity and civic infrastructure.

Manipur gets waste management plant to preserve green cover A solid waste treatment plant had been set up at Lamdeng in Imphal west to protect the green cover of north-eastern part of Manipur. The solid waste treatment plant is an initiative by the state government and is helping the state to manage solid and industrial waste.

Eastern India’s first CNG station inaugurated in Bhubaneshwar Eastern India’s first CNG stations at Chandrasekharpur and Patiawas were inaugurated by the Union petroleum minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. He also launched CNG-run scooters and auto-rickshaws.

24 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Robots to do manual scavenging A group of students from Kerala has developed a robot named ‘Bandicoot’ for manual scavenging which is responsible for several deaths across the country every year. The Kerala Water Authority which is responsible for sewage related issues in the area placed an order for 50 robots.

Kochi to have Urban Pathways The cities of Kochi in India and Hai Pong in Vietnam began the implementation of the Urban Pathways Project which aims to support Low Carbon Plans for urban basic services. To deliver on this as well as on the New Urban Agenda various stakeholders met in various meetings in the two countries within the month of January 2018.

Ease of Living Index released: Pune ranked most livable, Rampur the worst Pune is ranked at first position and Rampur at the bottom in the ease of living index, released by the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs on August 13, 2018. 111 cities participated in this survey. The key features include the indicators such as governance, education, health, water and waste management, the quantity of data available with the cities, quality of information provided and the population group the city belongs to. Cities were marked out of 100.

India hosts World Environment Day 2018 India was announced as a host of World Environment Day on June 5, 2018. The global celebrations will be used to raise awareness of plastic waste and find ways to reduce the prevalence of singe use plastics. The news was made by UN Environment and India’s Environment Ministry in New Delhi.

Delhi to plant trees along 500 km of road to curb dust pollution Air pollution in Delhi reached at ‘very poor’ level with AQI 414, due to this Delhi government started the ‘green budget project’ in which it spruces up 500 km of roads with greenery in a bid to curb dust pollution.

Chennai is the first city to join C-40 cities

IGI Airport, most sustainable and green airport

Beaches to be differently-abled friendly at Kozhikode

Edappadi K Palaniswami signed an agreement with C-40 cities, declaring the state’s commitment to phasing in zero-emission public transport vehicles and become the first Indian city to join the C-40 cities initiative to electrify its bus transportation system.

Delhi International Airport won the Wings India Award for ‘most sustainable and green airport’ and silver medal for its sustainable waste management initiatives in the Airport Council International’s Asia-Pacific Green Airports Recognition 2018.

The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) is ready to welcome people with special abilities by introducing facilities that would ensure smooth transport and sightseeing. DTPC is planning to achieve this by building wheelchair-friendly entrances, toilet facilities, etc.

Ernakulam tops in LIFE Mission Program Ernakulam in Kochi, achieved 82 per cent progress in activities under the initiative LIFE (Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) Mission. The aim of the program was to provide houses for all. A total of 647 houses are to be built under this initiative, out of which 553 houses were constructed by various local bodies.

China to have 300 forest cities by 2025 China will build 300 forest cities by 2025 to improve environmental condition of urban areas. The forest authority of China said China’s furture urban construction planning includes adding more greenery to the cities, with 300 state level forest cities to be built as a part of countries ecosystem by 2025.

Delhi installs Anti-Pollution tower Delhi government tested Anti-Pollution tower on trial basis at the Indraprastha Marg Flyover, ITO. “The tower absorbs particulate matter from surroundings and release fresh air back into the atmosphere. The have been installed on an experimental basis for demonstrating its effectiveness in the reduction of particulate matter,” said the government.

AI to manage Delhi’s traffic Delhi is all set to have Intelligent Traffic Monitoring System which will be a radar based monitoring with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The first phase of the ITMS will be completed by April 2019. The project will be implemented in three phases which costs around `1k cr.

Maharashtra govt declares the state ODF Maharashtra declared itself an Open Defecation Free (ODF) state, by providing access to toilets residents on April 18, 2018. In a press conference, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra said, “In October 2017, the state declared its urban areas as ODF and now, rural Maharashtra has followed suit.” “In 65 years since Independence, only 45 per cent of the population could be provided access to toilets but in just three-and-half years we have covered the remaining 55 per cent,” he added. The ODF programme began under SBM with October 2, 2019 deadline.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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NEWSCAN

Diu Smart City to run on 100% renewable energy during daytime

India celebrates World Bicycle Day 2018

Diu Smart City has become the first city in India that runs on 100 per cent renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green.

A 9 MW solar park spread over 50 hectares on rocky barren land has been developed besides installing solar panels on the roof top on 79 government buildings thereby generating 1.3 MW of power annually. Diu saves 15,000 tonnes of carbon emission every year.

Gatwick airport to introduce electric car sharing service London’s Gatwick Airport has partnered with car sharing service Bluecity to provide greater zero-emission transport. A new car sharing hub at the airport contains 10 electric vehicles and charging stations, with plans underway to add more. The initiative is one of the steps Gatwick is taking to become more sustainable; it already sources 100 per cent of its electricity from renewables.

India becomes world’s sixthlargest economy: IMF India is now the sixth-largest economy at $2.6 trillion, as per the data of International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018. The five countries with largest economies ahead of India are United States, China, Japan, Germany and United Kingdom. As per the report India made progress on structural reforms in the recent past.

London to become zero-carbon city London to become the greenest city, as the ambitious plans have been released by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London. With the new environment strategy, the Khan seeks to make the capital zero-carbon by 2050 and at least 50 per cent green.

The strategy is to tackle wide range of areas including air quality, energy usage, green space and waste.

In April UN General Assembly declared June 3 as the World Bicycle Day. As of New Delhi, around 10,000 cyclists came on the streets to celebrate the day.

The city also launched its bike sharing system in the core city area, which was inaugurated by Vekaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change and Meenakshi Lekhi, MP, New Delhi. Naresh Kumar, NDMC chairman, Next Bike’s Sebastian Schlebusch, and former Miss World, Manushi Chhillar. was also present. In Banglore, The Bicycle Mayor, Sathya Sankaran, led a 10 km ride with a hundred cyclists.

Coimbatore becomes the first corporation in India to launch monitoring system for SWM Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) became the first corporation in the country to launch a monitoring system for solid waste management using information and communication technology (ICT). The CCMC commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan on launched the mobile app.

Bengaluru gets its first ‘Bicycle Mayor’

Bio-toilets in all trains by March 2019

Himachal to get 3rd Municipal Corporation

Solar panels to light up corporation buildings

Bengaluru became the third in the country to have a ‘Bicycle Mayor’ after Vadodara and Guwahati. Out of 19 applicants shortlisted for the position, a 42-year old civic activist Satya Shankaran was announced as the winner. The selection panel included civic activists Ashwin Mahesh, V Ravichander and Srinivas Alavalli, and urban transport experts Pawan Mulukutla and Prof Ashish Verma.

Indian Railways will be equipped with bio-toilets

by March 2019. For the maintenance purpose, the railway will train their staff and teach them the new technology. “We have been pondering about the introduction of bio-toilets in Indian Railways for so long and now by the next year, this will become reality. Work has already been started,” said Ravindra Gupta, member of rolling stock, Railway Board, New Delhi.

Himachal Pradesh will soon have its third Municipal Corporation in Palampur after Shimla and Dharamsala. Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of the state announced that the state government had finalized a draft plan for the proposed Palampur Municipal Corporation (PMC). With the formation of PMC more than 15 adjoining panchayats will be merged with the proposed corporation.

GCMC project of fitting solar panels on roof of corporation owned building got approved by the Chennai state government, which has enabled the civic body to reduce the electricity bills by tapping into solar power.

662 buildings owned by corporation including health centres, offices, public halls, dispensaries and schools will be fitted with solar panels as opposed to earlier proposal of fitting solar panels on 1000 corporation owned buildings.

26 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Delhi to have HCNG buses, cleaner fueled than CNG buses Delhi will get buses fueled with hydrogen enriched CNG (HCNG), which is cleaner fuel than CNG from next year. Delhi government has tied up with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a public sector undertaking, to induct 50 such buses on trial basis to help study technology and its infrastructure requirements.

IOCL has informed the Delhi government that Rajghat depot will be used for trial and work will begin later in September.

Government plans to sanction 75 lakh houses before March 2019 under PMAY-U 75 lakh houses will get approved under PMAY (Urban) till March 2019.

“Construction of around 30 lakh houses is expected to be completed by March next year,” a senior government official said. In 2017-18, the ministry had approved around 26.7 lakh houses, while the target for 2018-19 is around 30.6 lakh houses.

PM inaugurates Sikkim’s first airport Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sikkim’s first airport at Pakyong on September 24, 2018. It is spread over 201 acres and features Air Traffic Control (ATC), tower-cum-fire station, two sophisticated Crash Fire Tanker (CFT), 3,000 sq metre terminal building for passengers, high-intensity runway lights, and parking for over 50 vehicles. It is the first green-field airport in northeast India.

Mumbai will soon become India’s first city to have robots for firefighting Mumbai is ready to get its first firefighting robot at the cost of 92 lakh. The robot is built using Chinese technology and will possess the capability to go through narrow alleys and can be programmed to help during biochemical disasters. With the inbuilt thermal cameras, the robot will be able to see through both smoke and darkness. Its body is made up of aluminum sheets which can withstand the temperature up to 700 centigrade. It will help firefighters to remotely guide it to the source of fire and will protect firemen from getting harmed.

Bihar ban plastic bags Bihar government told the Patna High Court that plastic bags will be completely banned in urban areas of Bihar from October 25, 2018 and in rural areas from November 25, 2018.

India unveils world’s tallest statue

UNEP awards ‘Champions of the Earth Award’ to PM Modi

Prime Minster Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat’s Narmada district on October 31, on the occasion of 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The ‘Statue of Unity’ is 182m tall. The height was picked as 182 to match the number of constituencies in Gujarat Assembly. The Statue of Unity beats China’s ‘Spring Temple Buddha’ as the world’s tallest statue and is twice the height of the ‘Statue of Liberty’ in the US.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received ‘Champions of the Earth Award’ which is United Nations’ highest environmental honour at a special ceremony in the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra on October 3, 2018. The winners of the award were announced by the United Nations Environment Program on September 23, 2018. “United Nations Environment has recognized him for his bold environmental leadership on the global stage. PM Modi supports and champions the International Solar Alliance which is a global partnership to scale up solar energy. The champions were recognized for their achievements in the categories of Policy Leadership, Entrepreneurial Vision, Science and Innovation, Inspiration and Action, and Lifetime Achievement.”

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

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

European Union to ban plastic by 2021 The European parliament voted to ban single-use plastics across the board in an attempt to stop the plastic pollution making its way into the oceans and effecting the marine ecosystem.

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AIILSG, World Bank Organise Workshop on Capacity Building for Digital Strategies & Smart Solutions for Smart Cities in India NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) in partnership with the World Bank organized a workshop on ‘Capacity Building for Digital Strategies and Smart Solutions for Smart Cities in India’ on November 30, 2018, at the World Bank – New Delhi office.

Yaduvendra Mathur (IAS), Additional Secretary, Niti Ayog was the chief guest of the event. Talking on the theme he expressed his views on various issues such as on mobility he gave an example to build ring-roads to prevent the congestion on the city roads. He mentioned Urban Sprawl as a probable solution to decentralize city population to prevent the densifying of cities.

28 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Mathur also discussed on the need to improve GIS mapping by developing a better system and inculcating data to capture the actual addresses. Sharing his insight on the aspects of subsidies he said, “Principle of subsidiarity is – taxes should be collected closest from where it is used.” Finally, he concluded by saying, “Let’s build cities connecting to the global value chain.”

Rajiv Agarwal, Director General, AIILSG, began with the opening address for the workshop. He expressed his views saying that the AIILSG is well placed to achieve SDGs 2030. He was glad that World Bank and AIILSG have joined hands together for the workshop to help participants to draw out

conclusions on the need for capacity building in their cities.

Dr Shashak Ojha, Task Team Leader, The World Bank, in his welcome remarks addressed the gathering on capacity building and expressed his views on the Smart City Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

He said that a smart city is all about integrating infrastructure and digital development together. Dr Ojha emphasized on the development of a common digital platform for all the departments. A common digital platform which can be accessed and used by all. As an example he named South Korea and said, “In South Korea

– Smart City model, each asset like traffic lights, ambulance, etc. owned by Municipal Corporations are digitally, centrally controlled. Are we ready for such models?”

Government officials who are a part of the project need to be trained on how corporates work. Abhijit Chatterjee, Team Leader, PMC, Raipur said that there is a lack of domain expertise.

First Session

Second Session

This session was a round-table conference with the focus agenda – ‘Key challenges in urban service delivery with focus on digital strategies and smart solutions’. Vikas Kanungo, Senior Consultant, The World Bank and Pravin Bhardwaj, Subject Matter Expert, AIILSG, chaired the session.

Opening the session, Pravin Bhardwaj laid down few points to initiate the discussion such as the requirement for capacity building, need to draw out personalized conclusions for each city, etc. Emphasising on the significance of a smart city he said that a ‘Smart City’ is a lighthouse for other cities. Representatives from various cities participated in the discussion putting forward the issues they face in their cities.

Swayandipta Pal Chaudhri, CEO, Panaji Smart City, put forward the importance of training programs for leaders. Sanjay Kumar Singh, CEO, Bhopal Smart City, contributed to the discussion by raising up a concern that Bhopal is heading towards a crunch of funds. Data management is another vertical we need to work on, he added.

Dr Saswat Bandhyopadhyay, Professor at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, raised his concerns that digital platforms and smart solutions are not the only requirement but also a means to provide smart solutions. He interestingly quotes, “Urban guys are learning smart solutions and Smart guys are learning urban solutions,” there is a need to balance the two. Smart City is comprised of both the aspects – the ‘Smart’ and the ‘City’. Abhay Gupta, Additional CEO, Gwalior Smart City laying out his concerns said that there is a need of paradigm shift as the officials now have to work with the consultants and not the contractors. A K Gupta, Director, RCUES, said that PMCs have experts who are not capable enough to work in the digital framework.

This session was an activity based on World Café Format. All the participants were divided into six teams and were asked to discuss and put forward their point of views on six topics each. For the first topic – Best Practices and Exposure Visits, the teams concluded that seeing is believing. Exposure visits is the best practice one can adopt for better learning and understanding.

Other practices preferred were on the job training, need based training and learning from other SPVs. Discussion on the topic – Project Structure and Finance laid out certain points such as a need to develop policies and system to attract finance for the project. The participants discussed on the topic – Project Design and Planning and concluded that data procurement process like IoT, GIS, MIS and use of digital technology for scenario building process/ data standardization should be used for better outcomes. Operation and Maintenance was another topic for discussion where the participants summarized the topic in few points – development of better revenue generation models, monetization of WiFi facility, and development of city data exchange platform. Discussions under the topic – Municipalities vs Corporates were more focused on the need of training programs for the municipality officials. Also a need for more expert professionals for better outcomes.

Third Session This session was a panel discussion chaired by Dr Shashank Ojha.

Discussion was centred on ‘Capacity Building Initiatives and Strategies – Insights from Global and National best practices’. Dr Ojha initiated the discussion highlighting the effective use of ICT and digital solutions. He emphasized on digitizing door plates for mapping individual addresses,

usage of drones for collecting data and regular mapping to monitor changes occurring throughout the city. Database maintenance and management on a common digital platform was his major concern. Dr Saswat Bandhyopadhyay, the first speaker of the session, said that one city should learn from another city. There is a need to build capacity in how a city is learning. We need to evolve a hybrid module where part of it should be a classroom training session, part of it should be online training and part of it should be on the job training, he added.

A K Gupta, took over the discussion ahead and said that now the focus is to build digital infrastructure. There is a big need for capacity building on digital platforms. We need policy reforms to attract more training programs.

Alok Shiromany, Municipal Financial Management Expert, the third speaker of the session, supporting the need to develop centralised common digital database said that the data can be monetized to several agencies for traffic management, ambulance services, fire department, and more, on theneed to knoe basis. By innovative financing and smart analysis, project costs and operation costs can be brought down.

Supporting the argument of mapping he said that capacity building is needed for GIS layering, mapping for area wise development.

Harpal Dave, the next panelist, said that there is a need to develop better communication systems and digital platforms. He also discussed on the requirement for training programs for officials. Siddharth Pandit, Team Leader, CIDCO-NIUA, Smart City Lab, focused his discussion on training programs. He emphasized that there is a need to conduct frequent and need based or demand driven courses.

There is a need for policy reforms for the better implementation of training programs to achieve greater outcomes.

Pashim Tewari, Technical Director, AIILSG presented a report of Key findings from Interim Report on ‘Capacity Building Need Assessment on Digital Strategies and Solutions’ for selected 25 smart cities.

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COVER STORY Rear View

As we prepare to close the calendar year 2018 and ring in the New Year, it’s usually time to look back at the past 12 months for a recap of the major events in the chosen domain. Urban Update too takes a look at some such policies, announcements and developments that could have a significant bearing on urban India.

The exercise as usual ended up with a mix of feelings….some satisfying, some not so…

Team Urban Update

30 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

R

apid and relentless urbanization has marked the landscape of almost all countries and regions in the world. Urban centres have succeeded in capturing the bulk of the world’s economic output and have delivered prosperity to large numbers of dwellers resulting in a rapid influx of more humans into the cities of the world.

In order to meet the aspirations of these growing numbers, Indian policy makers have unleashed a slew of measures to make cities more efficient, responsive and livable‌while a rural component aims to improve the lot of the rural population. Urban Update takes a look at some programmes‌

Swachh Bharat

Launched in 2014, this is possibly one of the biggest interventions of independent India which has touched every single person, urban and rural. An important component of the programme is to make the country Open Defecation Free (ODF). This has resulted in huge numbers of toilets being built across the country. States have been vying with one another to declare themselves ODF. Some of the states which have achieved 100 per cent Household toilet (IHHT) provision under the Gramin component are Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal, Andhra, Chhattisgarh & Chandigarh. Odisha (73 per cent), Goa (76 per cent), Bihar (84 per cent), & Tripura (92 per cent) need to catch up. Overall achievement has been 96.61. The objective is to achieve national 100 per cent by 2nd October 2019.

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In terms of funds utilisation, a Parliamentary Committee noted that Budget Estimate for SBM (Urban) for 2017-18 was 2300 Crores and for 2018-19 it is 2500 crores. As of December 31, 2018 `2019 Cr or 88 per cent funds were utilised. The ministry informed that against target of 66.42 lakh Individual Household Toilets, 47.04 Lakhs have been completed till 31.03 2018. Against target of 5.07 Lakh Community toilets, 3.18 Lakh were built.

While the targets of building toilets will likely be achieved before the deadline, it is to be seen what level of usage takes place. There are reports that even with a toilet some people especially in rural settings are reluctant to use it, possibly because of old social habits or due to lack of adequate water. And this is the bigger challenge – getting people to use toilets.

Smart Cities Mission

The flagship programme of the government was launched in mid-2015 to be executed over 5 years from 201516 to 2019-20 in 100 mission cities with an investment of `50,000 crore by the Centre matched with equal amount by states and concerned cities. Since it involves implementation of several projects in each of the 100 cities, estimating the progress would involve measuring the progress at project level. However some data in terms of funds utilization could throw some light. As per the ministry response to the parliamentary committee, the proposed total investment under the mission is `2.03 lakh crore. Of the 99 mission cities, 86 had formed SPVs, a key step to take the projects forward.

While the last 39 cities were selected this year, the earlier 60 have completed projects worth `5625 crores; modest achievement indeed. Against the mission plan of `48,000 crores over 5 years, the total Budget Estimate so far is only `15,000 crores and Revised Estimate for three years is only `10,094 crores. The Committee recommended better convergence among various schemes and improved coordination among various agencies involved. At

32 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

this stage, one can estimate that the projects could well stretch beyond 2019-20, the original mission period.

However, ultimately the measure of success will be how cities become more efficient, inclusive and safe while reducing their environmental impact and increasing livelihood options.

Housing for All

Housing for All is another ongoing major programme of the government.

The programme looks to ensure that by 2022, 75 years after independence, every Indian has a home to live in.

The task is gigantic both in terms of funding and execution. As per MoHUA figures, a total of 44,35,663 cases have been sanctioned under the Urban component. Of these 4,00,074 have been completed and 19,30,844 are in progress; totaling 53 per cent. In terms of funding, of the 68,415.84 crores central assistance approved, 24,351.52 cr have been released. The Scheme is tailored to enable eligible citizens to buy a house through capital subsidy and interest subventions. However, the whole scheme is designed for ‘owning’ a house. This is also due to the obsession of many to live in owned premises.

Could some part of the scheme be designed for ‘renting’ a house affordably? Will this be the preferred option for young earners who would like to use the money to start a business rather than put it into an asset like an apartment? Will it give opportunity to look for better livelihood options and shift to stay closer to one’s workplace?

Will relocating across cities become more common and frequent?

NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index

In June 2018, NITI Aayog released a report which could set alarm bells ringing among policy makers, urban planners and the common man. The report highlighted the extreme water stress the country is already facing and the perilous future.

Among its findings is the fact that 600 million people in India face high to extreme water stress. It stated that about three-fourth of the households

do not have drinking water at their premises. In terms of water quality, it says that India is placed 120th among 122 countries in the water quality index and that 70 per cent of its water is contaminated. Looking into the future, the report says that by 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.

The report ranks states according to their Composite Water Index scores.

While Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh rank higher, the report notes that ‘most states have achieved a score below 50 per cent and could significantly improve their water resource management practices.’ The median score for non-Himalayan states is a poor 49.

As stated earlier, the report should raise alarms at the level of the central government and all states (water is a State subject) and indeed all stakeholders. Urgent measures will be required to better manage water resources in the agriculture, domestic and industrial sectors. The country is seeing successive droughts in several regions and rapid deterioration of its water bodies including life-supporting river systems like the Ganga. Preserving our water bodies, rationalising water use and recycling of water should all receive urgent attention with major campaigns for awareness building.

AYUSHMAN Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana PMJAY

In what is possibly the biggest government sponsored scheme anywhere in the world, the Prime Minister in September this year unveiled the Ayushman Bharat Scheme or the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). The Scheme aims to provide free healthcare in government and empanelled private hospitals for 10 crore families (8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas) from the weaker sections. “A total of 13,000 hospitals have become a part of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Our government has taken a holistic

approach to lay stress on affordable and preventive healthcare,” the Prime Minister said. The PMJAY is one significant step towards achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goal - 3 (SDG3).

Given the background of rising private healthcare costs, weak public healthcare infrastructure, and low level of health insurance penetration, most households face high degree of out-ofpocket expenses towards healthcare, pre-empting other essential requirements such as food, nutrition and education. Catastrophic health episodes can often put great financial stress even among middle-income households and drive many to unsustainable debt. An efficient and effective national public healthcare system can therefore go a long way in improving the living standards of citizens.

The scheme envisages a cover of `5 lacs per household per year on a floater basis with cashless facility requiring only an ID proof. Covering about 1300 ailments with no exclusions for pre-existing diseases, the scheme is targeted at households based on Socio-Economic & Caste Census (SECC) data. Funding will be 60 per cent by the Centre and remaining by states.

While the Scheme is indeed ambitious and on a never before attempted scale, it remains to be seen how the system works on the ground. In many cities there are a very limited number of private healthcare providers who have joined; with others stating that the pricing of services under the scheme is not remunerative and will lead to quality dilution. One hopes that initial glitches will get smoothened out over time.

PM Ujjwala Yojana

Nine out of ten households now have an LPG connection. This is against the figure of 56 per cent households in April 2015; in large part due to the PM Ujjwala Yojana. Launched in 2016, this scheme aims to address the health issues of women and children while at the same time protecting the environment. The Scheme aims to provide LPG cooking gas connections to

families below the poverty line with an initial subsidy of `1600 per connection and thereby reduce exposure of women and children to hazardous smoke from traditional cooking fuels.

As of end November 2018, over 5.80 crore connections had been given under this scheme, way ahead of the initial target. One needs to watch the pattern of refilling by poor households given that even after subsidy, the cylinder is deemed expensive, especially since firewood is almost free. This is being addressed by including 5 Kg refill cylinders under the Scheme.

MOBILITY Metro rail

During the year, metro rail projects gathered more momentum in different cities. The Metro Policy, which was announced by the centre in the latter part of 2017, has given a big push for this rail based urban mobility option.

Cities, faced with unprecedented poor air quality, growing congestion and road safety turning critical, have found a safe, green and comfortable option in metro rail. The policy has made PPP mandatory for availing central funding assistance for these capital intensive projects. States’ commitment to provide last-mile connectivity in a fivekilometer catchment area on either side of a metro station through nonmotorized options, TOD, preparation of Comprehensive Mobility Plans and setting up Urban Metropolitan Transport Authorities are other stipulations in the policy.

Supported by the policy, expansion of existing networks and commissioning of new lines is gathering pace. In addition to the already functional metros in 10 cities, several more (NOIDA, Nagpur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Navi Mumbai) are implementing their projects and many others (Patna, Kanpur, Surat, Vizag, Indore, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Varanasi, Kozhikode, etc.) are in planning stage.

Efficient first and last-mile connectivity will be necessary in order to leverage fully the potential of rail-based mobility. One hopes planners will address this too.

Efficient, safe, comfortable and above

Niti Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index, 600 million people in India face high to extreme water stress.

It stated that about threefourth of the households do not have drinking water at their premises. In terms of water quality, it says that India is placed 120th among 122 countries in the water quality index and that 70% of its water is contaminated all, affordable public transport will become a central pillar of liveability. As cities embrace new modes such as rail based ones and other green options, they will have to ensure affordability in order to take private vehicles off the roads. We have seen many instances where ridership in public transport has declined after a fare raise, defeating all purposes. Air-conditioned bus services are an option to reduce car use. These services cannot be curtailed or withdrawn quoting just revenue considerations. Public transport needs to be supported by other revenue measures while imposing more costs on private vehicle use.

As we go into the New Year and beyond, efficiency (doing more with less), use of digital technologies, inclusivity, citizen engagement, low carbon footprint, and thus greater livability will be the hallmarks of successful cities.

Alongside, issues such as art and culture, heritage, food, sporting events, healthcare (including traditional medicine) facilities and educational infrastructure will separate the winning cities from the rest, and in turn attract economic activity to generate livelihood options setting in motion a virtuous cycle of growth and prosperity.

And unlike in the past, citizens must whole heartedly participate in crafting such successful cities. For, as the Greek philosopher Plato said, “This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are”.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

33

leaderspeak Global Agenda

City leaders align local actions with global agendas, people’s aspirations As we bid farewell to 2018 and look back, we would see, like every passing year, cities have changed and so have their agendas. Cities have become the predominant living and working environment of humanity, and for this reason, improving livability or quality of life in cities has become crucial. City leaders are bracing up to align their actions with the objectives under various global agendas and citizens’ aspirations

Ranjit S Chavan President, AIILSG

W

ith the general e l e c t i o n s approaching, all the ministries of the central government are preparing their progress report to underline their achievements. A range of issues related to improving service delivery of local governments and urban infrastructure was at the centre of governments’ policy and programme-making. This resulted in creating a few new flagship schemes for cities and introducing some other running programs with renewed focus. Since the end of the term of this government is inching closer, it is time to review how good the government has performed, especially in the urban sector. The flagship scheme of Government of India, Smart Cities Mission, remained a talking point. The concept was excellent for improving livability in cities but the progress is not yet visible on the ground in any of 100 cities selected.

The progress made under the program is debatable but one thing it has undoubtedly achieved is creating an atmosphere of visionary development in cities with integration and digitization

34 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

of services, and building cities of the future for coming generations. Many schemes of the government including Smart Cities Mission focused on creating a competitive environment among cities. The most recent one was Ease of Living Index initiated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The index ranked cities based on various performance indicators. This component was also part of Swachh Bharat and Smart Cities Mission under which cities were ranked. I am sure, such policy decision will strengthen local governments and benefits citizens because, through these initiatives, cities are encouraging citizens to become more closely involved in the development process. People had actively participated to underline their priorities and give their opinion on the performance of their city governments.

Global outlook

Cities worldwide in the year 2018 focused their actions to align their programs with global agendas. The wave of smart cities has engulfed many cities including those in developing countries. The objectives under most of the global agendas have been weaved

keeping in mind the requirements of the cities. Now, leadership at the city level are improving their civic services, infrastructure and competing with their counterparts, and also contributing their bit to create a better urban future as envisaged in New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The challenges for the cities are many. Over 100 million people are homeless and 881 million people live in informal settlements and slums. Daily trips via public transport currently only account for about 16% of the daily urban movement. Up to two billion people do not have access to the solid waste collection. 91% of the urban population still breathed air that did not meet the WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines value for particulate matter (PM 2.5). The data highlight that the problems of most of the urban dwellers are common. Cities in different regions and countries need to devise their own unique ways to address them because their strengths and available resources differ.

Technological interventions City governments around the world are embedding Internet of Things

(IoT), automation, robotics and other advanced technologies to create ‘smart’ cities, which are designed to improve efficiency and quality of life through data and technology. Smart

cities integrate technology into urban infrastructure, usually to improve sustainability, maximise efficiency and minimise energy usage.

According to a news report

Global smart city spending will reach USD 34.35 billion, more than double the 2015 spending of USD 14.85 billion. With so many potential areas for improvement through advanced technological options, government leaders need to prioritize the projects that will do the most good. There are several components under smart cities program which promise better cities for citizens yet the local governments need not blindly follow the models of cities like Barcelona, Seoul and Singapore.

The review of local conditions for the suitability of programs and the priorities of cities is needed.

published in Forbes magazine, global smart city spending will reach USD 34.35 billion, more than double the 2015 spending of USD 14.85 billion.

With so many potential areas for improvement through advanced technological options, government leaders need to prioritize the projects that will do the most good. There are several components under smart cities program which promise better cities for citizens yet the local governments need not blindly follow the models of cities like Barcelona, Seoul and Singapore.

The review of local conditions for the suitability of programs and the priorities of cities is needed.

Increasing role of LGAs

The role of local governments and city leaders is becoming increasingly important to address local problems and deliver services which match the aspirations of the local citizenry. For this, the empowerment of city mayors and local governments is crucial.

Mayors are emerging as focal points in the intergovernmental context as they consistently demonstrate the capacity and willingness to solve complex problems that are shaped by local realities and have broad national implications. The increasing role of local government associations provides them with a platform to share their learnings and seek inspiration.

All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment is also trying to build a robust platform for city mayors in India and link them with its associate partners in Asia, Europe, Africa and the United States of America so that city leaders can talk about their issues and take cues from their counterparts for better city management in specific areas. AIILSG has been organizing South Asian Mayors’ Forum and also hosting Maharashtra Mayors Council for last several years. Now, we have decided to widen our horizon and build a platform for all mayors around the world through World Mayors Forum.

The official launch of the Forum will happen in January 2020 and the work on the same has already begun.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

35

Feature Urban Innovations-2018

Wuhan, Milan, Guadalajara, Mezitli and New York win Guangzhou Award

The Jinkou landfill and adjacent Zhanggong Dyke has been reclaimed as an urban park that’s now a popular wedding venue

The jury announced the five winners of the 2018 Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation after reviewing over 300 submissions from 213 cities Team Urban Update

T

he Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (the Guangzhou Award) is co-hosted by the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the World Association of the Major Metropolises (Metropolis) and the City of Guangzhou.

The award ceremony on December 7 announces the five winners of the 2018 Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation. More than 700 guests and representatives from 105 cities and local governments in 39 countries attended the opening ceremony and Wen Guohui, mayor of Guangzhou, chaired the opening ceremony.

They winners of this year include Wuhan, China; Milan, Italy; Guadalajara, Mexico; Mezitli, Turkey; and New York City, United States.

As many as 313 submissions from 213 cities/local governments of 70 countries/regions were received for

36 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

2018 Guangzhou Award. However, only 15 cities/local governments get to present before the Jury how they implement the Global Goals. Prior to the award ceremony, the 15 shortlisted cities for this cycle also presented their initiatives to an international audience during the International Seminar on Learning from Urban Innovation on December 6. The Jury made their final decision on these five cities and initiatives: ♦♦ China, Wuhan: The “Rebirth” of Urban Waste Dump – Ecological Treatment and Return of Plurality ♦♦ Milan, Italy: Milan Food Policy: An Innovative Framework for Making Urban Food System More Sustainable and Inclusive ♦♦ Guadalajara, Mexico: Citizen-Led Metropolitan Coordination of Guadalajara ♦♦ Mezitli, Turkey: Mezitli Women Producers Market ♦♦ New York City, United States: Global Vision | Urban Action:

New York City’s Voluntary Local Review (VLR) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Shows Local Progress for Global Action Aside from the five winners, the Indonesian city of Surabaya claims the “Online Popular City”, voted on by the general public. Each winning city won $20,000. The other cities in contention for the award were eThekwini (Durban), South Africa; Kazan, Russia; Repentigny, Canada; Salvador, Brazil; Santa Ana, Costa Rica; Santa Fe, Argentina; Surabaya, Indonesia; Sydney, Australia; Utrecht, Netherlands, and Yiwu, China.

The winning cities

Wuhan has restored more than 50 hectares of land from a closed landfill in less than a year, improving the living environment for residents and solving pollution challenges. According to a news report in China Daily, the closed Jinkou landfill in Wuhan caused pollution, which natural degradation

would have taken decades to remove, affecting not only the environment but also more than 100,000 residents in nearby areas. To restore this wasteland more efficiently, the city began an aerobic ecological restoration project.

Not only does it alleviate risks of longterm safety issues from pollutants and eliminates the threat of methane explosions, this project also restores more than 50 hectares of land for city landscaping.

Wuhan’s $690 million restoration of the Jinkou landfill and adjacent Zhanggong Dyke improved air and water quality for 400,000 residents.

Asia’s largest garbage dump once smoldered with trash fires and belched so much methane across Wuhan that nearby residents could not open their windows. Now, the reclaimed trash heap is a green oasis so verdant it has become a popular wedding venue; and the Chinese city of 11 million hosted an international garden expo on the site.

“Wuhan’s project gives us all hope for the future,” said Celia WadeBrown, former mayor of Wellington, New Zealand, who chaired the sevenmember jury. “They’ve taken a toxic urban environment and turned it into a flagship park.”

Another winner was Milan, Italy for introducing Milan Food Policy: An Innovative Framework for Making Urban Food System More Sustainable and Inclusive. It is a tool to support city government promoted by the Municipality of Milan and the Fondazione Cariplo to make the city more sustainable starting from foodrelated issues. It covers many aspects.

Some of these aspects are components of the food cycle, such as cultivation, distribution and consumption of food, the related waste and its treatment.

Others directly or indirectly involve or are affected by the food chain, such as environmental factors and territorial production, cultures and ways of life, welfare, economy, research, infrastructure and others.

Guadalajara’s citizen-led metropolitan coordination brings citizens to the core of the decision-

making process, recognizing their vital roles not only in the identification of main metropolitan challenges but also in the design of solutions, which is the first of its nature in the history of the city and Mexico.

Mezitli’s women producers market provides equal rights to economic resources for more than 6,000 vulnerable women who lack source of income and insurance, which contributes to greater gender equality and helps strengthen policies and legislation. New York City took the prize for Global Vision, Urban Action, an adapted sustainability plan that maps the city’s OneNYC Plan onto the goals and targets of the SDGs. In July, New York became the first city in the world to submit a report to the United Nations on its progress thus far toward the global goals.

Experts’ say

During the event, He Wei, ViceChairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, said in his speech that, in the face of such problems as unbalanced, inadequate and uncoordinated development, we need to achieve transformation and development through our reform and opening-up, promote joint development through mutual exchanges and cooperation, and facilitate the building of a community of human destiny through a mechanism based on extensive consultation, joint construction and shared benefits.

In her video remarks, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, United Nations UnderSecretary General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said that UN-Habitat strongly advocates making cities safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable and believed that the Global Mayors’ Forum would encourage in depth dialogue among cities.

Ma Xingrui, Governor of Guangdong, said that Guangdong would participate more actively in the exchanges and cooperation of global urban governance innovation, and

work together with the counterparts to discuss good governance practices, build cooperation platforms and share development achievements.

Song Jingwu, Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), said that the Global Mayors’ Forum is established with the purpose of further implementing the United Nations’ SDGs and the New Urban Agenda, and encouraging cities worldwide to participate in global governance and to contribute insights to a more fair, sound and balanced global governance mechanism.

Emilia Saiz, UCLG Secretary General, and Rudi Vervoort, Representative of the World Association of Major Metropolises (METROPOLIS), Minister President of Brussels Capital Region, Belgium, addressed the opening ceremony and expressed their hopes for cities around the world to have more mutual exchanges and cooperation and share experiences in urban governance.

The aim of the Guangzhou Award is to recognize innovation in improving social, economic and environmental sustainability in cities and regions and, in so doing, to advance the prosperity and quality of life of their citizens. Presented biennially, the award encourages innovation in public policy, projects, business models and practices. The Guangzhou Awards also emphasize how municipalities can adapt global agendas such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and New Urban Agenda for sustainable cities to the work of local government.

The Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation (“GIUI”) was established in 2012 under the framework of the Guangzhou Award. The Institute is conceived as an international network of experts and institutions dedicated to furthering urban innovation concepts, tools and methodologies.

Its members include research and academic institutions, professional associations, community based organizations, industry leaders and individual experts.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

37

ARTICLE Mumbai

‘Shanghai’ remains a far-fetched dream for mumbai Mumbai is the city of dreams. Policy makers and politicians saw a dream for the city that it will become Shanghai of India but the poor implementation of the programs and infrastructure deficit in the financial capital is the biggest bottle-neck in realising the dream Vidya Kumar Senior Journalist, Mumbai

L

ike the last few years, 2018 has been a good year for infrastructure growth in Mumbai. The metro railway which should have been available at least a decade ago will be completed only by 2025. But the speed at which it is being constructed, makes one think that unlike other projects, this might actually get completed on time.

There is already an investment of approximately of `30,000-40,000 crore in the under construction metro rail projects. Three more metro rail projects were approved this year by the authorities in and around Mumbai.

Though they face a little inconvenience now, most mumbaikars know that once these metro lines along north-south and east-west corridors are operational, it will help people travel faster to their destinations and so are putting up with issues like traffic jams.

The railways too have finally woken up to the need for capacity augmentation and are now implementing the projects that were approved more than a decade ago. Central Railway has started the Seawoods-Uran rail line which connects the suburbs of Ulwe and other areas near the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport to Mumbai. Construction of foot over bridges, escalators and lifts are being fast-tracked since the Prabhadevi (earlier called Elphinstone Road) railway station stampede case.

38 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

Passenger amenities are also being given a priority but what this system lacks is its empathy to deal with the deaths on railway tracks. Until last year there were 8 deaths a day on the railway line with most deaths occurring in the suburban areas. The number of deaths did come down in 2017. In comparison to 3,304 accidental deaths in 2015 and 3,202 in 2016, there were 3,014 deaths in 2017 and one can only hope that this year’s consolidated figures which will be released in a few months, would have some more reduction but the dream project of railways to build boundary walls along the railway tracks to prevent trespassing will take many more years to complete at the speed at which it is going. To reduce deaths, emergency medical centres and placement of ambulances at various important stations was also done after court orders.

Apart from starting to use social media to reach out to passengers in a big way, there were many cleanliness campaigns that were undertaken to clean up dirty railway stations and some of these places have actually started to show effect. Of course such projects can succeed only with public partnership so awareness campaigns too are being put in place.

Other projects like the construction of the `12000 crore coastal road project, amidst controversies, have also begun. The bullet train project

too seems to be seeing the light of the day with construction work reported starting from Gujarat.

Amidst the number of different agencies working on their projects, one problem that constantly plagues and hurts mumbaikars is the lack of coordination between different agencies. This year during monsoon, mumbaikars had the worst of roads, packed with pot holes that were not just back-breaking but even led to deaths of more than five people in Thane and Navi Mumbai areas. Not just this, when a part of the road over bridge on the Western Railway line at Andheri came crashing down in July killing and injuring people in, Mumbai was one again reminded about the crumbling infrastructure.

Immediately the authorities undertook surveys to deal with all bridges that were facing corrosion.

Total of 298 structures were inspected and the authorities realised that 125 needed repairs. Since July, the bridge outside the Lower Parel railway station has been closed for vehicles and pedestrians and this has been leading to unending traffic snarls in the heart of Central Mumbai. Sion flyover that connects Eastern and Central suburbs to South Mumbai will now be closed for some major repairs starting this year end and will go on till April next year.

These repairs are patchwork across the city but one can imagine the snail’s

pace at which the local authorities take decisions, by just looking at what is happening with the said bridge at Andheri, a part of which had collapsed in July. The immediate reason for the collapse was said to be too many utilities being loaded on to the bridge by different agencies. The surveyors have concluded that the Andheri Bridge over the railway track is beyond repairs but months have gone by and even now, the portion of the bridge that had not collapsed is being used by pedestrians as well as light motor vehicles.

Apart from transportation projects, there is one big issue that Mumbai has been grappling with and that is the issue of availability of water for the ever growing population of the city. The city residents are already facing water cuts of about 10 per cent much before the summer season even sets in. Against the demand of 4200 million litres of water per day, mumbaikars get 3,800 million litres of water and now it will reduce by 10 per cent.

This is certainly not new. Mumbai has seen water supplies being cut in 2009, 2014 as well as in 2015 and the reduction varied with the amount of rainfall that the 7 lakes that meet the water needs have received. Like solid waste management, the city authorities have failed in imposing rainwater harvesting as one conditions while granting construction permission to builders. Thus there is an ever increasing dependency on the lakes around Mumbai.

The construction of the Navi Mumbai airport which has begun is on in full swing though protest by villagers has delayed the project. By this year end the blasting of hills and levelling of the ground is scheduled to be completed.

But once the airport is ready by 2020, it will significantly ease the air traffic above Mumbai airport which is one of the busiest airports in the world.

The ailing Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Corporation (BEST) which transports passengers

across Mumbai has seen its ridership reducing by the day literally, and has finally woken up to the need of installing GPS on its buses. The installation work is set to be completed this year and from next year on passengers will be able to track the position of their buses across the city.

One of the reports released by McKinsey Global Institute on city infrastructure earlier this year had rated Mumbai much worse than even Latin American and African metros in adoption of technology for betterment of lives of its people. According to an estimate by them, Mumbai would need an investment of `14,74,000 crore or `14.74 trillion in hard infrastructure and smart technology over the next 20 years to be ready for the future. Some food for thought!

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

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

39

ARTICLE Finance

Revenue Augmentation in Jharkhand Tapaj Mishra Manager – Infrastructure & Government Services KPMG Advisory Services P Ltd Praveen Bharadwaj Solid Waste Management Expert

T

he long term goal of an ULB is to provide quality infrastructure and services to its citizens on a sustainable basis. To meet this challenge, it needs to intervene in the following areas: a. Maximize revenue from own sources; b. Effectively manage its financial resources c. Provide efficient services through financially sustainable system To reach the third level and to harness confidence of its citizens to make it financially sustainable, the ULB has to pass the first two hurdles as mentioned above. These hurdles deal with arrangement of finance and its effective management. However, the financial resources of the urban local bodies (ULBs) in Jharkhand were so scarce that ULBs were not able to meet the revenue expenditure from their own sources.

The challenge

The AS-IS situation assessment before implementation of Revenue Augmentation Initiative indicated a system that was heavier on top tier of governance with respect to provision of fund to the ULBs. According to a report on ULB status by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, ♦♦ The dependence on state government or central government grants/ loans was the primary source of survival as most of the perceived ULB revenue sources were in state control. ♦♦ The devolution of power was not complete as some financial aspects were still under state control.

40 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

♦♦ On an average 91 per cent of the revenues in the ULBs of Jharkhand was coming from transfers from either state or national government.

The ULBs with population below 25,000 were more dependent on grants (97 per cent). ♦♦ Total revenue showed a falling trend across the cities barring the cities with 75-1 Lakh population ♦♦ Bigger cities did not perform better in terms of revenue generation, their own revenues are dominated by non-tax revenue ♦♦ Gaps between own revenues and expenditures are also recorded and which were true for ULBs of all population size ♦♦ The revenues as well as expenditures in the ULBs in Jharkhand are lower than other Indian cities ♦♦ The comparison of ULBs of Jharkhand with neighboring West Bengal with similar socio-economic conditions indicated that the state ULBs are performing at least four times lower rate with respect to collection of Property Tax, Non Tax revenue and Own revenue.

The issue

The challenges as indicated above was found to be multi-faceted. The administration concluded that it needs a holistic approach to address the issue and tackle the problem from end to end. The following issues were zeroed ♦♦ The ULBs were practically negligible source of income from Non-Tax resources ♦♦ Tax income source were weak due to lack of proper management ♦♦ ULBs don’t have tax collection source mapped or mapped source

are very old. ♦♦ Most ULBs in the state were following cash based single Entry Accounting System. ♦♦ In lieu of balance sheet preparation, ULBs were mostly maintaining records of Assets & Liabilities in various forms. ♦♦ Records were not updated by ULBs on regular basis.

The intervention

These deficiency of the prevailing system had therefore; created the need of creating new avenues for revenue generation along with adoption & implementation of Accrual Based Double Entry Accounting system.

Strengthening revenue sources A special taskforce was created to research and finalize the newer avenues in which the ULBs can generate further revenues to become self-dependent.

The following interventions were implemented for revenue augmentation — Innovative and new avenues explored ♦♦ Project Management Unit (PMU) was appointed to address the professional staff shortage.

Professional were appointed under this PMU for 41 ULBs of Jharkhand for revenue augmentation ♦♦ Data of Municipal License, water

♦♦

♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

charge and building permissions are used to map with Holding Tax Resolve Limited Manpower Problem by Appointing Tax Collection agencies under PPP mode Reverse Mapping Mechanism implemented to combat problem of unassessed Households Self -assessment system based on trust and verify was introduced Amnesty Scheme was introduced whereby arrears were collected without fine Old lease agreement of Rent from municipal properties were assessed and efforts are in progress to bring it at par with at least ARV Legal amendment and provisions were made Trade License regulation 2017 were implemented Property Tax Rules were revamped after 90 years.

Old Provisions of Bihar Orissa Municipal Act 1922 was replaced

by Jharkhand Municipal Act 2011 Property Tax Rules 2013 were notified

♦♦ Recovery Rules notified with mechanism to deal with defaulters who have not paid property tax and this ensures equity in collection and enforcement of Governance. ♦♦ Legal amendment and provisions in Process ♦♦ Advertising regulation, Mobile Tower and OFC Cables Rules, Pilgrimage Tax Rules to be implemented ♦♦ Scheme for Advertising on LED Poles Prepared

Implementation of ABDEAS The Urban Development Department of Government of Jharkhand prepared the Jharkhand Municipal Accounts manual based on the principles and policies suggested by the National Municipal Accounts manual developed

by Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. The following are steps undertaken for implementation of ABDEAS ♦♦ State government prepared Jharkhand Municipal Accounting Manual (JMAM) having all the provisions and procedures for accounting of the ULBs. ♦♦ In the year 2015, the state has implemented ABDEAS in all ULBs. The work was carried out by the support of Chartered Accountant Firms having National Repute selected via open tender. ♦♦ To ensure proper implementation the work of ABDEAS was divided into small clusters having 2-3 ULBs in each cluster. ♦♦ Statutory Audit of the ULBs a. ULBs were divided into 8 clusters for Statutory Audit. b. Cluster wise CA firms appointed for statutory Audit of ULBs. c. Statutory Audit are timely completed and uploaded in the website. ♦♦ Internal Audit of the ULBs a. ULBs were divided into five clusters for Internal Audit. b. Cluster wise CA firms appointed for Internal Audit of ULBs. c. Dedicated IA team deployed at ULBs.

Resultant effect

♦♦ Number of assessed property has increased from 4.37 lakh properties in 2016-17 to 6.22 lakh properties till June 30, 2018. Thus, assessment has increased by 42.3 per cent leading to increase in tax base. ♦♦ Property/Holding Tax Collection, one of prime component of own revenue has increased from Rs. 10.35 crore in 2013-14 to Rs. 105.06 crore in 2017-18 , an increment by more than 10 times ♦♦ Per capita Property tax revenue per annum has increased from Rs. 99.23 per Household to Rs. 1006 per HH in the same tenure. ♦♦ Collection ratio has increased from 48 per cent in 2016-17 to 67.5 per cent in 2017-18, an increment by 41% ♦♦ Collection from arrear demand has decreased over the years and collection from current demand is increasing indicating increased willingness among people to pay their taxes

Role model on turnaround

The turnaround by the ULBs of Jharkhand has been encouraging and it is working as the case study for the upcoming ULBs of the state.

The upcoming ULBs in the same geographic locations are encouraged to take handholding support from the established ULBs. The following are the key takeaway from the financial augmentation experimentation done by the state that may be followed as an example: a. Effective devolution of power b. Handholding support to ULBs c. Technological Implement Adoption (web Based ABEDAS & GIS mapping) d. Innovation to tackle stubborn issues (ex. Tax Collection Management through PPP) e. Encouraging proactive citizen participation (self-assessment & Nagar Prahari Scheme on Property Tax).

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

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

41

travelogue Patna

Kingdoms and dynasties rose & fell but Patna remained tall Patna, like Delhi, had been the seat of governance for successive kingdoms since ancient times. Patna has been known by various names from ancient times as each ruler who ascended to power gave his capital a new name. In modern times, city leaders have to work hard to attain the city’s lost glory. The city has to transfer itself into a hub of innovation, industry and employment to trigger reverse migration to the State and boasts itself as a city that can give a boost to the image of Bihar

Kumar Dhananjay Consulting Editor

H

ere, Kingdom after Kingdom rose and fell, leaving their indelible mark on history. Rival kings fought legendary battles that left the land and the people devastated. Yet, by some strange alchemy, the same land saw the birth

42 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

and maturity of some of the most gentle and progressive religious teachers like the Buddha, Mahavira and Guru Gobind Singh. Then came the rule of the Moghuls for five centuries, and finally it was ruled by ever-expanding colonization of the English who ruled till the mid 20th century.

A blend of old and new

Bihar today is a quaint interface of the old and new and so is Patna. I will come back to the glorious history of this city but first, let’s talk about present-day Patna. Like any other capital city, it attracts people from across the state and the process of urbanization is

visible. According to 2011 census, Patna’s population was about 17 lakhs and a rough estimate suggests by now it must have crossed 20 lakhs. That makes Patna’s urban agglomeration India’s 18th largest.

But unlike other big cities, here the population living in slums is roughly 0.25 per cent making Patna the city with the lowest percentage of slumdwellers in India. But like other fastgrowing cities in the developing world, Patna suffers from major urbanisation problems including unemployment, poor public health and poor civic and educational standards for a large section of the population.

Pollution is another big problem.

I visited the city last month and saw big changes. There is huge construction activity taking place, a lot of new flyovers with some areas having changed so much that I could not identify them. But the city has a long way to go before it makes a mark on the livability index.

Sujeet Kumar Jha, a senior journalist and someone who has lived in the city for more than two decades says “life and landscape of the city have completely changed.

In a sense, it has become more cosmopolitan in nature but the problems of the state reflect in the city too”.

Trying to inculcate a sense of pride

When you visit the newly built and opened Bihar Museum in Patna you read the watchword “Bridge to the past; Gateway to the future”. The idea of the government is to celebrate Bihar’s ancient past and inculcate a sense of pride in the modern day ’Biharis’. But the irony is that while a museum has been built, in the process, a chapter of Bihar’s heritage has been dissolved. Author and historian Salila Kulshreshtha says ‘After all, the core collection of the new museum has been built by appropriating the most prized artefacts of the historic Patna Museum such as the Didarganjyakshini, Kurkihar bronzes and 18th century Daniell prints. The new Bihar Museum has been constructed by tearing down older heritage structures. The land for the new museum was acquired by demolishing at least five colonial-style bungalows, which were built on Bailey Road sometime in the early 1900s. Salila says “While the Lutyens bungalows in New Delhi, which were built later, have been protected by heritage laws, the bungalows in Patna which were designed by the Australian architect J.F. Munnings did not receive the same consideration. This clearly reflects the current government’s understanding of what constitutes heritage and is hence worthy of being preserved”.

Historians and architects will debate it out with the government. But there is no denying the fact that this place has great historical significance. The city is located along the bank of Ganga and the history and heritage of the city which we know as Patna today is more than two thousand years. Patna, like Delhi, had been the seat of governance for successive kingdoms since ancient times. Patna has been known by various names from ancient times as each ruler who ascended to power gave his capital a new name. Thus the ancient Kusumpura changed to Pushpapura, then Patliputra, Azimabad and lastly Patna. Its history dates back to the 6th century BC, a record very few cities created in the world can match. It is said the Magadh King Ajatashatru first

built a small fort on the bank of River Ganga in the 6th century BC and then it kept blossoming and this ancient glory can still be seen at archaeological sites of Kumrahar, Agamkuan, Bhikhnapahari, Bulandi Bagh, and Kankarbagh. Pataliputra dominated the political landscape of what we today know as North India for more than a thousand years from 6th century BC to 5th century AD. Then it fell off the political map for centuries till Sher Shah Suri came and established Patna in the 16th century. The British too, after the decline of Mughal rule, found Patna a convenient regional capital and built a modern extension called Bankipore. It was at Gandhi Maidan in this area that Mahatma Gandhi held his prayer meetings.

Literary traditions

While Bihar has produced many great authors and poets from Vidyapati, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar to Baba Nagarjuna to name a few, their writings have been mostly in Hindi and Maithili. Hindi is the language mostly spoken in the State so it’s nothing unusual. People from the state are even mocked for their English accent and there is a perception, right or wrong, that their English is poor. But you will be surprised to know that the first book in English ever written by an Indian was by a ‘Bihari’. Sake Dean Mahomed was born in 1759 in Patna. His first book ‘The Travels of Dean Mahomed’ was published in 1794. Prof of History, Michael H Fisher of Oberlin College, Ohio has written a book on Mahomed titled ‘The First Indian Author in English: Dean Mahomed (1759-1851) in India, Ireland, and England’ So don’t be taken aback; ‘Biharis’ are quite capable of throwing a surprise at you when least expected. Last but not the least, the city is well connected by air and rail network from all parts of the country. The only problem is that trains are always too crowded and air traffic has increased sharply. The airport is always cramped and you might not get a seat while waiting to board your plane because the waiting area is too small and seats are few.

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

43

ARTICLE SDGs

AIILSG’s Social Innovations for realising SDGs

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Prof Dr Mukesh Kanaskar Dy Director General, AIILSG Director, AIILSG’s International Center of EQUI-T

IILSG has consciously developed an innovations approach and its related initiatives are anchored at its ICEQUI-T. The genesis of this “Innovations Approach” lies in the fact that the deep rooted societal issues will not be sufficiently & completely addressed by run-ofthe-mill efforts and approaches. They require innovative ways of addressal.

“Designing Customized Innovations” has been developed as a scientific body of knowledge by AIILSG’s ICEQUI-T. It is heartening to mention that this innovations approach has resulted in AIILSG being felicitated with two global awards: The RISK Award 2015 (a joint initiative of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Munich Re Foundation, Germany & Global Risk Forum, Davos) & Stars in Global Health 2017 by Grand Challenges Canada by Government of Canada.

The AIILSG aligns its innovations with the global priorities (such as the SDGs) and leverages its national & international linkages to enable wider upscaling & replication. A crucial focus for developing innovations is on disadvantaged populations. AIILSG considers this as its social accountability to improve the life of the disadvantaged in India and the world. The space constraint allows few illustrations as below: ♦♦ Addressing the issues of the hitherto neglected populations ♦♦ Addressing hitherto neglected issues ♦♦ “The Constructive Movement Mode”- Building on learning from Mahatma Gandhi ♦♦ On research front, a key innovation is considering the disadvantaged community as ‘co-researchers’ & enabling this by designing research

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tools usable by the community.

The science of innovations development at AIILSG’s ICEQUI-T follows three inter-related stages: 1) Research, 2) Piloting through field actions & 3) Knowledge management.

These 3 stages are anchored respectively at the following three institutional entities of AIILSG established at ICEQUI-T: 1) research committee, 2) dedicated thematic Centers & 3) the learnings & publications node.

It is important to note that AIILSG doesn’t put forth innovations as theoretical propositions but develops them within its own ‘social innovations lab’ i.e. ICEQUI-T, pilots them through field actions, & through the learnings & publications node captures the learnings emerging through the process & then packages it as knowledge products. These knowledge products are designed in a way that they should be easily decipherable by all stakeholders.

Usually the main stakeholder the primary stakeholder- the disadvantaged community- dis missed from this consideration. AIILSG ensures that the

knowledge products are customized for dissemination and use by the disadvantaged populations too. In sync with its spirit of innovations, the AIILSG has kept two performance parameters for its International Center of EQUI-T: 1) Number of social innovations developed, 2) Number of disadvantaged populations reached.

An important feature of the AIILSG’s innovations are their global relevance.

AIILSG’s ICEQUI-T works with all types of disadvantaged populations: Urban Disadvantaged (slum dwellers, street children, etc.), Forest Dweller Tribes, Nomadic Tribes & Rural Disadvantaged. This makes AIILSG a unique organisation working in all domains of deprivation. Also AIILSG pilots its innovations in diverse socioeconomic & agro-ecological conditions.

The innovations piloted through these enhance their relevance to all kinds of similar situations in the worldespecially in the developing countries.

Through the above efforts, AIILSG is making humble contributions towards attainment of the SDGs.

ARTICLE Infrastructure

How to finance Asia’s infrastructure gap Bambang Susantono Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, ADB

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sia’s countries famously need to invest trillions of dollars a year to provide infrastructure required to keep traffic flowing, ports trading, and factories humming.

Yet most countries in the region consistently fall short.

The 2017 Asian Development Bank (ADB) report “Meeting Asia’s Infrastructure Needs” puts the infrastructure tab for 45 developing Asian countries at more than US $1.7 trillion per year. Developing Asia now invests only about $881 billion a year, or slightly more than 50 per cent of that. This is the infrastructure gap.

Less well known, however, is that the investment shortfall is frequently not for a lack of funds or technology. The money may be available, particularly in the private sector, but not enough of it is going where Asia needs it. And this is because many developing countries lack the knowledge and capacity to design and implement bankable infrastructure projects that integrate new technologies.

To encourage private sector investment in infrastructure, highquality bankable projects must adopt current levels of proven technology as well as be “future-proofed” to further advances in technology. Delegates from across the development spectrum -from government through the private sector -- will gather on October 13, in Bali for the Global Infrastructure Forum 2018 to discuss several trillion-dollar questions. How can governments and the private sector help fill the infrastructure gap? How can authorities’ better pair the world’s big investors with the many inclusive, resilient, sustainable, and technologydriven infrastructure projects this region needs to advance economic progress? And how can multilateral

development banks best help? To be sure, strong infrastructure projects are going up all over Asia. Take Indonesia, the Forum host; the country has made enormous strides under its ongoing and ambitious infrastructure program.

The country has seen progress: from the trans-Papua road project in one of the country’s most remote and underdeveloped regions to better information and communications technology under the Palapa Ring (satellite) Project. Indonesia has also launched innovative and clean energy projects such as the 72 mega watt Tolo windfarm in South Sulawesi and massive urban infrastructure to boost Jakarta’s livability and competitiveness.

This latter project includes a new modern airport terminal, rail link, and the first phase of the mass rapid transit expected to open in 2019.

Knowledge is crucial to get such projects off the ground, and this is where the multilateral development banks, including ADB, can assist.

The development banks are providing governments financial and technical support to enhance knowledge in numerous areas.

ADB is also helping strengthen government and private sector project development and governance capacity, for instance, for preparing high-quality projects able to support private finance. It also established the Asia Pacific Project Preparation Facility, a $73 million multi-donor trust fund to support project preparation, monitoring, and project restructuring, as well as capacity building and policyreform initiatives linked to specific projects.In addition, the organization is promoting public-private partnerships, catalysing regulatory reforms to make infrastructure more attractive to private investors, and encourage more bankable projects. Potential is vast, in

that pension funds alone, which hold $7.8 trillion in assets, are estimated to invest only about 1 per cent of funds under management in infrastructure.

A recent ADB report, “Closing the Financing Gap in Asian Infrastructure,” notes that the richer Asian economies, such as Japan -- where savings rates top 30 per cent -- can clearly play a stronger role if it only could. Yet, the country still invests almost $4 trillion in portfolio assets outside Asia.

Likewise, ADB is developing alternative financing structures and is backing green finance to encourage a bankable green finance project pipeline that can access funds from commercial and institutional investors.

Many major investors are now strictly subject to environmental, social, and governance requirements in their investment decisions.

Finally, as technology rapidly evolves, particularly digital, it is creating substantial opportunity. Land acquisition, for example, significantly delays infrastructure projects across the region. Digital technologies are therefore being tested in several countries and watched closely for an ability to improve land titling. Likewise, ADB is involved in Spatial Data Analysis Explorer to help in decisionmaking relevant to climate hazards and resilience across urban systems.

Multilateral development banks can play multiple roles, from assisting and advising on the creation of appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks, developing bankable projects, direct financing or providing credit enhancement tools to finance projects, to structuring innovative “blended finance” solutions in circumstances where the underlying project is incapable of supporting a financing structure priced at commercial funding rates. In all of this, multilateral development banks and other development partners can assist developing countries gain the knowledge to better develop sustainable, accessible, resilient, and quality infrastructure.

(The article was first published on ADB Website)

www.urbanupdate.in | December 2018

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Urban Agenda Urban Mobility

Our cities need fewer cars

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor

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he year 2018 witnessed a host of initiatives in the urban mobility sector.

Governments in all the states strengthened their push for cleaner and sustainable transport system. Metro network was introduced and expanded in many cities, Delhi government came up with a policy on e-vehicles, and many cities launched cycle-sharing programs and so on. Several reports were also released that suggested revisiting mobility policies for making urban mobility smoother, sustainable and convenient.

An assessment from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed that ridership of Jaipur, Lucknow and Chennai metros saw a deficit of over 1000 per cent compared with the projected ridership due to hiked fares. Similarly, Delhi metro also saw a sudden drop in ridership approximately by 4.2 lakh passengers following the fare hike. The report suggested that the metro system is not the solution for all cities. You can come to the conclusion that metro would be a success in all cities because it is doing well in Delhi. The fare prices of the metro will also need to be formalized based on local realities.

Another report released by Boston Consulting Group said that the current Indian mobility scenario shows Kolkata as the worst hit city by traffic congestion in terms of traffic speed followed

by Bengaluru. Whereas, the ‘Ease of Moving Index 2018’, by Ola Mobility Institute, showed that Kolkata offers the widest and the most affordable choice of travel modes. Delhi despite having the maximum number of registered vehicles

46 December 2018 | www.urbanupdate.in

seems to be a bit better due to its good road network. While Delhi seems to have the highest share of people using their private vehicles, Mumbai, on the other hand, tops the list when it comes to the use of public transport followed

by Bengaluru and Kolkata. These are some of the few reports which tell the tales of public transport and mobility in the country.

It is not rocket science to find out that the problem of traffic congestion can only be solved by strengthening public transport. Public transport has to be safe, affordable, comfortable, accessible and fast to become successful. The good example is the Delhi Metro as it is always working to improve its services.

Delhi Metro added 21 more metro trains in its fleet to improve frequency and facilitate more public. The recently launched Smart Card ‘ONE’ will be valid in Delhi metro rail and DTC buses, making it more convenient for the public to pay for their travel.

The similar card was also launched by West Bengal government named ‘West Bengal Transport Card’ and ‘Pathadisha’ mobile application, which can be used for various transport modes such as buses, ferries and trams.

Electric Mobility was also one of hottest topics of discussion in the sector this year. Kolkataintroduced 80 electric buses in its bus fleet and the government is working on the installation of 30 battery chargers and turbochargers at various bus terminals. And, Delhi came up with the Delhi E-vehicle Policy and said that it wants to make 25 per cent of total vehicles electric by 2023.

Internationally, there were some major decisions taken in the mobility

sector. Luxembourg is all set to shift its major chunk of the population to travel by public transport. It is the first in the world to make its public transport completely free for people under 20 years of age. The rest of the commuters only have to pay €2 for two hours of travel. The decision will probably lead to a significant decrease in the number of private vehicles on roads.

Spain,to reduce traffic congestion, has planned to make all the city centres in the countrya ‘No Emission Zone’ by banning all but zero-emission vehicles.

The ban would increase pedestrians on streets and would encourage the use of zero-emission vehicles or nonmotorised transports (NMT).

India needs to look forward to similar reforms in the mobility sector to battle traffic congestion and smoothen the traffic flow. Some of the probable solutions could be improving the public transport services by enhancing frequency, maintenance, developing a common digital platform for booking seats, viewing the route map, making digital payments, and tracking time for all types of public transport, making the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for traffic management. Building multilevel parking spaces in the densely populated areas of the city like those near major markets, city centres, tourist spots, and commercial aggregates. This could help in the generation of more open space and would reduce congestion on streets.

Another could be the building of skywalks, subways, and urban pathways with facilities like solar powered – travellators and escalators to reduce travel time and provide better convenience to pedestrians.

Organisers

Urban

Dialogues

Amazing

Agra

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

December 18, 2018 Crystal Sarovar Premiere, Fatehabad Road, Agra

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Knowledge Partners

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