Urban Update February 2022

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate Volume VII, Issue X

February 2022

JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance

Cities must tap local wisdom to solve complex issues: Rathi European Union The project is funded by the European Union.

AIILSG The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

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Energy Efficiency

AMRUT Knowledge Management

Seminars

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Sustainable Development Goals

Policy Research

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Swachh Bharat Mission

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Smart City Mission Capacity Building

Skill Development

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

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UrbanUpdate

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

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

UrbanUpdate 2021 Volume VII, Issue VIII

What 2021 taught us in ‘Urban Governance Class’?

UrbanUpdate Volume VII, Issue X

February 2022

JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance

Cities need strong local leadership

Key Trends To sTeer Urban sTory in

How ‘Pink City’ coloured lives during COVID-19 pandemic

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

European Union

AIILSG

European Union

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

The project is funded by the European Union.

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

January 2022

December 2021

Terrible, TumulTuous YeT TransformaTional Year for CiTies!

Arjun Singh Digital Marketing Associate Meenakshi Rajput Senior Graphic Designer

ISSN 2349-6266 RNI No DELENG/2014/57384

Setting The Agenda For Tomorrow’s Cities

The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

European Union The project is funded by the European Union.

AIILSG The project is implemented by the AIILSG.

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

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

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

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February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Editorial

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

Sustainable water management ar Ghar Jal is the motto of the Indian Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission. Water is indeed a crucial determinant of the quality of life on this planet - of humans, animals, plants, and all living creatures. In fact the very existence of these species depends on the availability of adequate, safe water at all times. The Jal Jeevan Mission has been launched to ensure supply of tap water to all rural households by 2024. The Vision Statement says ‘Every rural household has drinking water supply in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis at affordable service delivery charges leading to improvement in living standards of rural communities’.

The crucial importance of water management cannot be overemphasized. Over the last many decades, there has been much attention to the supply side of this issue. Efforts have been to augment water supply through building of large and small dams across our many river systems. Some of these such as the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Project are notable engineering feats while also impacting huge numbers of the population with improved water and power supply. Given the vital role of water in our lives, there has been need to regulate the handling of natural water systems such as rivers, especially when they flow across states or even nations. Thus there are legislations in India to address inter-state water disputes and ensure good governance. In recent years, rainwater harvesting, ground water recharge, reuse of water, desalination of sea water, are all receiving much attention and rightly so. All of these address the supply side and aim to shore up availability.

We believe that simultaneously, there is urgent need to look into the demand side of the equation. There must be greater focus among all categories of water consumers to use this valuable resource in a sustainable manner. Agriculture in our country is the largest consumer of freshwater; by some estimates, agriculture uses eighty percent of all surface freshwater. Further, groundwater extraction has reached unsustainable levels with many regions reporting sharp falls in the water table. Several of our cities are running dry, especially those that are dependent on groundwater (borewells). With water in mind, there is need for reforms in agriculture in terms of crop choice (less water intensive ones), irrigation practices (drip irrigation in place of flood irrigation), and so on. These will also protect our farmers from distress in years of inadequate rainfall and low water availability. Similarly in urban context, households must learn to use water more judiciously. Some standards such as the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) place the daily per capita requirement of water at 150-200 litres (12 to 15 buckets). This seems excessive. Innovation is called for, among others, in flushing systems design that can consume much less water while maintaining hygiene standards. Industrial, commercial, and construction water consumption must also be subjected to rigorous audit for savings. We have reached an inflection point. There can be no further delay in addressing this crying issue if we are to protect the future of this and the coming generations. Because ‘Jal Hai to Kal Hai’.

Urban Update, through its columns, keeps this subject in focus and will continue to bring new perspectives to its readers.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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QUOTES

BUZZ

PIN POINT

World Bank Water

@WorldBankWater

People, globally, want to see an empowered and strong India. It is imperative for us that we take our country forward at a rapid pace and strengthen it across several sectors Narendra Modi Prime Minster of India

From India to Panama to the United States, @ ImagineH2O’s Urban Water Challenge startups are transforming the future of cities by making them more healthy, efficient, equitable and resilient

Jal Jeevan Mission II #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav @ jaljeevan_

Jal Jeevan Mission is a decentralized, demanddriven, community-managed water supply scheme which aims to improve the lives of rural people by providing clean tap water supply to every home Vini Mahajan Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitaion, GoI

Out of 1.33 lakh rural households in Mizoram, about 9,000 households had tap water connections at the launch of JJM. In the last 30 months, despite COVID-19, provision of tap water connections has been made in over 53,000 HHs. 72% schools and 85% AWCs have tap water supply

US EPA Water @EPAwater

Union Budget 2022 has announced the PM Gati Shakti program as one of the priority areas of the government. Seven engines of the PM Gati Shakti initiative are roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infra Agendra Kumar MD, Esri India

Urban TRIVIA 6

February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

When people think of infrastructure, they often think of roads, bridges or buildings. But just as important is the nation’s vital water infrastructure! Investing in water infrastructure means safe tap water, climate resiliency and a better future for all

The Corporation of Madras (now Greater Chennai Corporation) is the first municipal corporation of India.

It was established on September 29, 1688. Nathaniel Higginson, American-born Englishman, was nominated as First mayor of Madras.

content

Leaderspeak

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JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance

Articles

Inside Volume 7, Issue 10

February 2022

Numerograph

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Jal Jeevan Mission progresses in spite of pandemic

One on One Gaurang Rathi, Commissioner Aligarh Municipal Corporation

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Inequalities in quality of water

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JJM gives power to the people

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Jal Jeevan Mission A women-driven campaign

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Redflags in riverfront development projects!

As we emerge from pandemic, we must prioritise water & sanitation

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Handwashing benefits are huge, but it’s tough to change people’s habits

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A global plastic treaty on cards?

Cities must tap local wisdom to solve complex issues: Rathi

E Dialogue

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Accessibility: A mere idealistic cause or a substantive one?

Regulars

6 8

Pin Point Girl Power Project

11 15

Newscan

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Urban Agenda

City Image

www.urbanupdate.in | January 2022

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GIRL POWER Project

GPP establishes District Entrepreneurs Support Center India is still striving to empower its rural women and bring them to the mainstream. For decades, women have remained engaged in household chores and ‘unpaid’ works. With growing awareness and increasing education levels, women are excelling in all fields and supporting their families financially. With support from projects like Girl Power, they are learning entrepreneurial skill that is helping us build a more egalitarian society TEAM GIRL POWER

mproving the empowerment status of rural women and girls involves personal human rights, social equality, and economic conditions. The experience of women and girls in the newly formed State, Jharkhand is no different; the women are still excluded from their basic rights. Empowering of women and girls implies making a domain in which they can make free choices for their self-awareness and for the betterment of society in all aspects. Empowerment includes enabling women to acquire basic leadership and achieve efficiency in social, economic, and political aspects.

In order to give a boost to the empowerment of women, Girl Power Project funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment (AIILSG) in Jharkhand addresses the objective to strengthen the ability of Indian civil society to

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perform its role as independent agent of change, implementing actions that bring transformative change in the lives of 5000 women and girls. The project aims for holistic development and empowerment of civil society organisations (CSOs) working on women’s support and empowerment in the State to achieve the objective of the project,and proposes training, skill building, policy dialogue, and network formation. In pursuance of this, the project team needs to establish ten Entrepreneurs Support Centres at the district level to handhold women and girls to become successful social entrepreneurs. It is expected that around 1000 women will avail the benefits of the centres over the project period. These Entrepreneur Support Centres will be attached to 10 selected CSOs/SHGs (Self Help Groups), who have the infrastructure and manpower to conduct these activities. The team has already established two district support centers with the help of CSO members. Starting with the same, first District Entrepreneurs Support Center was established in December at Khunti District with the help of Center for Entrepreneurship. The support center is located in Chalambartoli, 8 kms from Khunti district headquarters on

National Highway 75. The total area of the premises is approximately six acres.

There are three rooms available with a closed boundary wall. The organisation is currently involved in goat rearing, backyard poultry, organic farming, fishery, and vegetable cultivation.

Awareness program was organised at the Entrepreneurs Support Centre in which around 20 women participated.

A few of them are already working in poultry, goat rearing, duck rearing and in cultivation of mushroom but are unaware of the technicalities and marketing aspects of their ventures.

The women beneficiaries actively discussed with the Girl Power team about future training and capacity building opportunities.

Another district support center was established in Bero Block of Ranchi District with the help of Asia Institute for Sustainable Development. In the coming months, eight more District Entrepreneurs Support Centres will be established in distrcitslike Dumka, Deoghar, Koderma, Hazaribagh, Gumla, West Singhbum, East Singhbum, and Sariakela. As per the scope and interest of women beneficiaries, these support centres will be providing training and capacity building opportunities with appropriate resources.

Benefits of District Entrepreneurs Support Center

The purpose of these District Entrepreneurs Centres is to provide a platform where women can interact with the master trainers and other women beneficiaries who are already running their enterprise and can learn and seek entrepreneurship opportunity for themselves. Apart from this, women will also be provided with the kits which can be utilised for the further handson-trainings as well as production activities in the interested area. For example, silk production machinery will be installed at the centre where the women beneficiaries can start the production of silk thread from cocoons.

The women and girls who have received the training under the project in the same area will be provided with the kit which will contain cocoon from which they can start the production of the silk thread and further convert into cloth by working in these centres and then they can sell the finished products in the market place. The women artisans will also be trained on effective marketing strategies.

The Girl Power Project also aims to identify similar opportunities which could leverage the sales and

The future strategy of the project is to provide an online e-commerce platform through web portal and creating an Instagram store and Facebook shop for such SHGs and women artisans.

Itwill provide a wider market and will directly benefit themand enable generate a stable source of income for their better future. These centers will work under the direct supervision of Jharkhand Mahila Social Entrepreneurship Market Connect (JMSEMC) office of the Girl Power Project and these centers will be treated as nodal cells of JMSEMC

generate income towards supporting their livelihoods. The future strategy of the project is to provide an online e-commerce platform through web portal and creating an Instagram store and Facebook shop for such SHGs and women artisans. It will provide a wider market and will directly benefit them and enable generate a stable source of income for their better future. These centers will work under the direct supervision of Jharkhand Mahila Social Entrepreneurship Market Connect (JMSEMC) office of the Girl Power Project and these centers will be treated as nodal cells of JMSEMC. Regular reporting and follow up with verifiable parameters will be put in place to ensure the proper functioning of the centres.

These Entrepreneurs Support Centres will not only cater to the needs of women and girl beneficiaries of that area but will also act as a focal point of contact for the other 90 CSOs (10 primaries and 80 secondary) who have been selected for the project.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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AIILSG Diary

AIILSG celebrates 73rd Republic Day

1.

2.

All India Institute of Local Self-Government celebrated the 73rd Republic Day in its centers spread all across the country. Ravi Ranjan Guru, Deputy Director General (1); D P Tiwari, IAS (retd.), Advisor, AIILSG (2); Apoorva Shukla, Regional Director, Lucknow (3); Vishwanath Sawant, Regional Director, Goa (5) hoisted the national flag to mark the Republic Day, in presence of faculty, staff members and students. Students of the Mega Skill Centre, Deoghar, Jharkhand (4) performed a cultural show

4.

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5.

3.

NEWSCAN

AIILSG trains state officials for efficient implementation of JJM All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) organised a series of training programs for over 450 officials of Karnataka and the UT of Ladakh under the capacity building program under the Jal Jeevan Mission The training programmes were conducted in both the formats – online and physical. The training focused on various aspects of the Mission including ‘Participatory planning, implementation & operation and maintenance of rural drinking water supply project under JJM’, ‘Operation and management of water supply system to achieve sustainable, equitable, consistent, economically viable safe and low energy consuming technologies’, ‘Best practices on rural water resource management’, and ‘Sensor-based IoT systems for monitoring rural water supply’. Team AIILSG also organised field visits for the officials.

The programmes majorly focussed on the rural areas of Karnataka, Leh and Ladakh. Eminent trainers, including Waterman of Odisha Ranjan Panda, and Dr Bhakti Devi, National President, Water Resource Council, were engaged.

Commissioner Secretary, Ladakh, Ajeet Kumar Sahu, inaugurated the first training session for the officials of the Union Territory of Ladakh. Sahu said, “JJM is not a scheme but a ‘People’s Movement’ wherein community participation is the key.” He underlined that the UT had increased its water supply coverage from 3 per cent to 30 per cent in a short span. He expressed his pleasure that Ladakh strongly believes in ‘Community Participation’ and that no major complaint has been registered regarding the

Level 2 officials after JJM training programme in Ladakh

implementation of the scheme so far.

He further added that handing over the powers, functionaries, funds, and functions to the community will be the most significant achievement and ensure the scheme’s success.

The training programmes aimed to increase community participation and achieve the targets under JJM. The trainers underlined the challenges that officials could face while working with the beneficiaries. Trainers conducted interactive sessions to understand the ground realities and provide them with tailor-made solutions. The officials were trained to map maximum clusters of houses to develop an integrated and comprehensive action plan. It was also suggested to revisit the village and carry out this activity to fill gaps in existing projects. This process will ensure the investment and participation of people from all sectors of society. Participants were also trained on involving the concept of resource mapping for the smart implementation of the scheme.

The sessions had a live quiz session on Mentimeter--Intercative Presentation Software-- for engaging the trainees further. Using the platform, trainers asked the participants questions and recorded answers in real-time to gauge officials’ understanding of topics covered in the training sessions. During the training program, participants were divided into multiple groups. They were asked to present their unique ideas on increasing community involvement and using innovative technologies introduced to tackle the challenges of establishing a potable water supply at household level. Each session involved detailed discussions on queries put forward by the participants.

At the end of each session, participants were asked to submit their feedback with the help of emojis available on the platform and with a form link sent to them. This way, the trainers improved the training methodology in upcoming training sessions.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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NEWSCAN

Briefs

Jharkhand joins hands with ISB to foster forest economy HYDERABAD: The Government of Jharkhand teamed up with the Indian School of Business (ISB) to launch the one-of-a-kind programme to boost the state’s forest economy.

On December 29, the Department of Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Minorities, and Backward Classes Welfare, Government of Jharkhand, along with the Department of Forests, Government of Jharkhand, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business to develop scalable and sustainable solutions focusing on forest-based industrial value chains, marking the second anniversary of the Hemant Soren-led government.

In the presence of Governor Ramesh

Bais and Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the MoU was signed by Naman Priyesh Lakra, Welfare Commissioner, Government of Jharkhand, and Professor Ashwini Chhatre, Executive Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB. Professor Ashwini Chhatre elaborated on the collaboration, “Our strategy is to create incentives for sustainable forest management by establishing and formalising links between significant stakeholders in current value chains for forest-based industrial raw materials. We will assist communities in developing institutional and technological capabilities. This vision will help India meet its international commitments to sustainable development.”

MUDA to expand green space in Mangaluru In the next 18 months, the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) wants to increase the city’s green cover to 33 per cent. MUDA has proposed establishing tree parks in 83 locations throughout the city. According to Prashant Pai, Range Forest Officer, the agency has identified 52 unoccupied sites in the city that can be converted to green areas.

MUDA has expressed interest in developing Kadri Park, Deer Park, and the Skating Rink, which will boost foot traffic in the city’s three primary green spaces.

IMC to make rainwater harvesting mandatory Residential and commercial buildings in Indore are all set to be equipped with rainwater harvesting systems. Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) said that it is going to make roof top rainwater harvesting compulsory in all buildings that are constructed on a minimum area of 1000 square feet area.

PM launches projects in Manipur, Tripura

Govt, local bodies to buy, rent EVs: Thackrey

IMPHAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manipur and Tripura to lay the foundation stones for several development projects. PM inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 22 development projects worth over `4800 crore in Imphal. In Manipur, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for nine projects worth `2950 crore and inaugurated 13 projects with a total worth of `1850 crore. These initiatives span a variety of fields, including road infrastructure, drinking water supply, health, urban development, housing, information technology, skill development, and art and culture. PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of five national highway

The Government of Maharashtra will buy or rent electric vehicles (EVs) for the state government and municipal bodies, effective immediately, said Aaditya Thackrey, Minister of Environment, Government of Maharashtra. On January 2, Thackrey announced that the government has decided to advance the deadline of April 1, set out earlier for the adoption of EVs. The EV policy aims to achieve 25 per cent of total public transport to be constituted of EVs, in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik, by 2025.

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projects worth over `1700 crore, as part of a national initiative to strengthen connectivity. He also dedicated 2387 mobile towers erected at a cost of roughly `1100 crore to the people of Manipur. The PM laid the foundation stone of a ‘State-of-the-Art Cancer Hospital’ in Imphal, worth roughly `160 crore on a public-private partnership basis, in an effort to enhance the state’s health sector.

PM Modi visited Tripura to inaugurate the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport’s New Integrated Terminal Building and announced two significant initiatives: the Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samriddhi Yojana and Vidyajyoti Schools’ Project Mission 100.

Briefs NDMC to set up CBG-CNG fuel stations

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which a number of compressed biogas (CBG) plants and integrated CBG-CNG fuel stations will be built in north Delhi for in-situ processing of wet waste and maximising the use of biodegradable waste.

While the concessional time will be 20 years, the MoU period will be of two years, according to Sanjay Goel, Commissioner, NDMC. “Each CBG facility will have a daily conversion capacity of 100 tonnes of segregated Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).”

Odisha to upgrade 253 slums by year-end The Government of Odisha recently asked the Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha, and district collectors to complete upgradation of all identified slums by the end of this year. The decision was taken following the successful implementation of standard operating procedure (SOP) for upgradation of slums under Dhenkanal municipality under Jaga Mission. According to the urban slum household areas survey, 253 slums were discovered in urban forest land throughout 45 ULBs in 22 districts. This is causing issues with the settlement of slum inhabitants’ land rights and the construction of basic infrastructure.

NEWSCAN

RWAs and sense of ownership: Tamil Nadu’s urban solution CHENNAI: To counter the problem of urban maintenance, the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board introduced a program named ‘Nam Kudiyiruppu, Nam Poruppu (Our homes, Our responsibility) . The Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, made the decision keeping in mind the need for building a community.

Through the program, the residents would be directly involved in the process of managing the projects and handling the funding. This would bring an enhanced sense of ownership among the residents to look after their living spaces. In this regard, the Government of Odisha recently issued an order fixing the maintenance charges at either `750 or `250 (depending on the buildings). The responsibility of

collecting the funds would be handed over to Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs). The Government of Odisha will be providing a matching grant, which would be equivalent to the maintenance charges collected by a RWA. The housing board has ordered that the routine maintenance and minor repair works will be carried out by the funds collected by the associations. The major repair works related to water supply and electricity will be carried by the funding collected from the board.

Namami Gange model will be replicated to clean Indian rivers: Kumar NEW DELHI: The Namami Gange program will be replicated for other rivers in India, stated G Asok Kumar, newly appointed Direct General of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), in an interview on January 3.

He informed that the Government of India is trying to see how to replicate and include the Namami Gange working model into the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). This

move will bring the program under the purview of NMCG and build a framework for covering rest of the rivers of the country.

Kumar mentioned that the success of NMCG has increased the aspiration of people from across the country. “The in-depth research and development for cleaning the Ganges have raised the aspirations of people. There has also been an enhanced political will from all states to provide clean lakes to people.”

In the interview, Kumar also talked about the ‘Jal Shakti Kendras’. As part of the ‘Catch the Rain Campaign’, such centers have been set up in all districts.

He stated that the center also provides information regarding water planning that can be taken up at a district level.

He said that success of the NMCG has prompted the Government of India to prioritise cleaning the rivers.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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NEWSCAN

Briefs

MoHUA launches Smart cities & Academia toward Action & Research NEW DELHI: As part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations across the nation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, in collaboration with the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), launched ‘Smart cities and Academia towards Action and Research (SAAR)’. It is a joint initiative of MoHUA with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and some of the leading academic institutes of the country.

15 premiere planning and architecture institutes of the country will work together with SCM to document their best and landmark projects. The document will contain learnings from the best practices and will provide opportunities for engagement on urban development projects. Since the start of SCM, the selected 100 cities are developing 5151 projects worth Rs 2,05,018 crore.

As per the first activity under SAAR, they will prepare a compendium of 75 lighthouse projects of India under SCM.

They will be innovative and multisectoral, and the project celebrates 75 years of Indian independence. The compendium will serve as the first point of reference for future research in the field. 75 projects under the compendium are from across 47 smart cities. NIUA and MoHUA will facilitate the linkages between these institutions and SCM, regarding the documentation of specific landmark projects. Teams of students and mentors from these premiere institutions will visit 47 smart cities to understand and document these projects.

UP CM Adityanath inaugurates projects under Smart City Varanasi VARANASI: Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for numerous projects under the Varanasi Smart City. The CM inaugurated a freshly constructed e-bus charging station, according to SN Sonthalia, Spokesperson for Varanasi Smart City. The Department of Urban Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, has assigned 700 air-conditioned e-buses throughout 14 cities in the state to minimise air pollution and promote green-public transportation. Varanasi will have 50 of these buses.

The e-bus charging station also has a maintenance shed, substation building, charging point construction, restroom, lighting system, drinking water, guard room, meter and pump room, and rainwater collection tools.

CM Adityanath also announced the launch of free Wi-Fi at seven spots throughout the city. Citizens will be able to use free Wi-Fi for 30 minutes by logging in with their mobile number and a one-time password. The CM also laid the foundation for the rehabilitation and beautification of six parks and a pond.

This project will include landscaping and route work, as well as the installation of high-mast and solar lights, a kiosk, an open gym, and a children’s play area.

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UN WFP partners with Akshaya Patra to address malnutrition in India

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and The Akshaya Patra Foundation have partnered to improve the Pradhan MantriPoshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme, formerly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. BishowParajuli, Director, WFP India, signed a pact with ChanchalapthiDasa, Vice Chairman of the Bengalurubased NGO, in New Delhi.

According to Parajuli, the cooperation is a strategic force multiplier, which will bring together extensive work and experience. School meals have been a component of WFP’s work since its beginning in 1961.

The allianceintends to augment WFP’s global network of largescale feeding programmes with their expertise in addressing hunger at the grassroots level.

India among world’s largest emitters: Study According to a study, the amount of emission by five countries namely India, China, the United States, the European Union and Russia, between 1991-2030, will induce extreme hot years every second year, in double the number of countries experiencing it right now. The study was led by scientists at ETH Zurich and Climate Analytics, which analysed the emissions by the top five countries over periods of 1991-2030 and 2016-2030. Study suggested that at the end of period, these countries will contribute 52 per cent and 53 per cent of global emissions, respectively.

CITY IMAGE

Odisha: Setting example in uplifting urban poor When migrants from Odisha returned to their home state, the Government of Odisha launched the Urban Wage Employment Initiative that ensures guaranteed minimum number of workdays, annually. The initiative engages the workers in public works to mitigate the economic stress of impoverished urban labour force due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 5th Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation recognised this effort of the state government and named it one of the four outstanding initiatives for its contribution to urban innovation.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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Briefs

Rourkela among winners of Global Mayors’ Challenge

Delhi to set up sensors to combat pollution Delhi has decided to install mesh of sensors at the neighborhood level to improvise spatial grid, alerting the anti-pollution body of changes in air quality levels so as to enable intervention in places which are badly hit. These sensors will work in the same way as the automatic real-time stations in Delhi, but they will be able to pinpoint local sources of pollution, which a real-time station would not be able to detect because it covers a much greater area.

Green corridors to be set up in two phases in India ROURKELA: The 15 winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge are to be awarded $1 million each to help cities implement their breakthrough ideas. India’s city Rourkela came in the list of 15 winner cities this year. The winners of the Global Mayors’ Challenge include Amman (Jordan), Bogota (Colombia), Butuan (Philippines), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Hermosillo (Mexico), Istanbul (Turkey), Kigali (Rwanda), Kumasi (Ghana), Paterson (USA), Phoenix (USA), Rochester (USA), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Rourkela (India), Vilnius (Lithuana) and Wellington (New Zealand).

Rourkela from India has been awarded for its initiatives in economic recovery and inclusive growth. Rourkela’s project focused on empowering female food entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs in Rourkela have long struggled with a

shortage of storage facilities, reducing the shelf life of their products. The city is minimising food loss and extending the selling window for vegetables by providing cold-storage facilities to women entrepreneurs.

In a single programme, this provides several benefits including economic empowerment, food security, and mobility for women. Because the majority of the sellers are women, the storage facilities will be managed by women’s federations throughout the city.

Dibyajyoti Parida, IAS, Commissioner, Rourkela Municipal Corporation and CEO, Rourkela Smart City Limited, had said that climate change solutions, women empowerment, social inclusion have been the core themes of the project and are the driving forces toward strengthening the local economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and postCOVID scenario.

Ola, Uber must switch to EVs: Delhi Govt NEW DELHI: By March 2023, the Government of NCT of Delhi has mandated cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber, as well as delivery service providers, to ensure that 50 per cent of all two-wheelers and 25 per cent of all four-wheelers in the fleet be electric vehicles. The tailpipe emissions from two and four-wheelers operated by cab aggregators and delivery partners will be significantly reduced as a result of this approach. Once the process of reviewing objections is completed at the conclusion of the 60-day period, notification will be sent. The draft notification will be made available on the official website of the Delhi government. The authorities would even solicit residents’ thoughts for a period of 60 days.

16

February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accredited the `12,031 crore second phase of setting up transmission projects for supplying electricity from renewable energy projects. The second phase of the transmission corridors will provide 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy to the national grid from Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The move came after PM Modi pledged in November at the COP26 summit in Glasgow to fulfill half of India’s energy needs with renewables by 2030.

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NEWSCAN NEW DELHI: Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, Government of India announced the Union Budget 2022-23. The budget reflected that India is on the path of building an inclusive master plan which would revamp the growth of the nation’s urban development.

Amrit Kaal Prime Minister Narender Modi, in his Independence Day speech, addressed the central government’s vision for the next 25 years as India approaches 100 years of independence.

Sitharaman elaborated that the government

hopes t o

accomplish the vision by: ♦♦ Promoting digital economy & fintech, technologyenabled development, energy transformation, and climate action. ♦♦ Relying on a virtuous cycle that starts with private investment and ends with public capital investment assisting to crowd-in private investment. ♦♦ The Budget 2022 included a blueprint of how the works in Amrit Kaal will proceed. This futuristic and inclusive plan will be guided by PM Gati Shakti and benefit youth, women, farmers and invite public investments for advanced infrastructure.

Sitharaman elaborated on PM Gati Shakti, saying that it is a transformative method for economic growth and

sustainable development. Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transportation, Waterways, and Logistics infrastructure are the seven engines that power the strategy. All seven engines will work together to propel the economy ahead.

The complementing responsibilities of Energy Transmission, IT Communication, Bulk Water and Sewerage, and Social Infrastructure support these engines. ♦♦ The Amrit Kaal will witness the next phase of Ease of Doing Business 2.0, and Ease of Living will be launched.

In this phase, the manual processes and interventions will be digitalised and different governmental tiers will be integrated through IT bridges. Government of India will also encourage the involvement of citizens and businesses by crowdsourcing suggestions.

Enhanced connectivity urban mobility

and

♦♦ To enable the speedy flow of mobility and commodities, the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan for expressways will be developed in 2022-23. The National Highways network will be extended by 25,000 kilometres. To supplement public resources, a total of Rs 20,000 crores will be raised through innovative financing methods. ♦♦ Striving for ecologically sustainable alternatives for transportation in hilly areas, the National Ropeways Development Programme will be implemented. The objective

What Union Budget 2022 promises for India’s urban development 18

February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Up to five existing academic institutions in different regions will be designated as centres of excellence to develop India’s specific knowledge in urban planning, and design & deliver certified training in these areas.

Endowment funding of `250 crore would be allocated to each of these centres would be to enhance the convenience of commuters and promote tourism. ♦♦ She added that contracts for implementation of Multimodal Logistics Parks at four locations through PPP mode will be awarded in 2022-23.

Clean mobility options

♦♦ The use of public transportation in urban areas will be promoted.

Clean technology and governance solutions, special mobility zones with a zero-fossil-fuel policy, and electric vehicles will be added to this. ♦♦ Given the scarcity of space in cities, areas for establishing large-scale charging stations, a battery swapping strategy and interoperability standards will be developed. The commercial sector will be encouraged to build sustainable and creative ‘Battery or Energy as a Service’ business models. The EV ecosystem will be more efficient as a result of this.

Expanding city horizons Sitharaman forecasted that over half of the population would be inhabiting the urban landscape. She emphasised that an orderly urban development is critical to actualising India’s economic potential. “There is a need to reimagine the cities that centre sustainable living with equal opportunities for the demographic dividend,” she stated. ♦♦ Sitharaman announced the formation of a high-level committee

of urban planners, economists, and institutions to recommend policies for urban development, capacity building, planning, implementation, and governance, with a focus on urban planning and development. This move is reflective of the recently released NITI Aayog paper titled “Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India.”

The report criticised the country’s shortage of urban planners as well as capacity gaps. According to the report, 63 per cent of India’s 7933 urban local bodies lack master plans for their settlements, leaving them with no road map for dealing with the settlement’s future development concerns. ♦♦ States will be given assistance in improving urban capability.

Building bylaws will be updated, along with Town Planning Schemes (TPS) and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). This will make it easier for people to live and work around places with public transportation options.

Capacity building development

and

skill

♦♦ Skilling programmes and industry partnerships will be reoriented to promote ongoing skilling, sustainability, and employability.

The National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) will be updated to meet the changing needs of businesses. The DESHStack e-portal, a digital ecosystem for skilling and livelihood, will be established. Through online instruction, residents will be able to skill up, reskill or upskill. It will also offer API-based trustworthy skill certifications, payment, and discovery layers to help people locate appropriate employment and start businesses. ♦♦ Start-ups will be encouraged to help ‘Drone Shakti’ through a variety of applications and Drone-as-aService (DrAAS).

Upgraded education quality

♦♦ The pandemic forced the children,

mostly in government schools, to lose out on almost 2 years of formal education. To provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1-12, the ‘one class-one TV channel’ programme of PM eVIDYA will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. ♦♦ Sitharaman also stated that the Government of India will set up 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics, 75 skilling e-labs to promote critical thinking skills in vocational courses. ♦♦ A Digital University will be built to provide students from all across the country with access to world-class universal education and a tailored learning experience right at their doorstep. This will be offered in a variety of Indian languages as well as ICT formats. The university will be developed on a hub-and-spoke network to develop cutting-edge ICT capabilities. As a network of hub-spokes, the country’s leading public universities and institutes will collaborate.

Gender inclusivity

♦♦ Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, Saksham Anganwadi, and Poshan 2.0 are the initiatives that were introduced to give integrated benefits to women and children.

Saksham Anganwadis are a new generation of anganwadis with upgraded infrastructure and audiovisual aids, as well as being powered by renewable energy and offering a better environment for early childhood development. Under the scheme, two lakh anganwadis will be refurbished.

The Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal scheme will receive `60,000 crore in funding, with the goal of reaching 3.8 crore households by 2022-23.

Housing for all In 2022-23, 80 lakh dwellings would be built for the PM Awas Yojana’s identified eligible participants, both rural and urban. A total of `48,000 crore has been set aside for this purpose.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

19

NEWSCAN

Global City Lab releases the list of top 500 Cities in 2021 New York, London and Tokyo grabs the first three spots. 63 and 40 cities from the USA and China, respectively, make to the list NEW DELHI: The “Global Top 500 Cities” was compiled by Global City Lab and released on December 30, 2021, in New York City. According to the survey, New York is the most valuable city in the world, with a brand worth of $2.04 trillion. With a brand worth of $1.90 trillion, London has surpassed Tokyo to take second position. Tokyo’s value fell 5.37 per cent, putting it at the third place with a $1.78 trillion market capitalisation. Brand values of Paris, Singapore and Sydney, all exceeded $1 trillion. Top 10 is completed by Los Angeles, Toronto, Shanghai and Hong Kong, with the last two placed at 9th and 10th, respectively. The analysis discovered that blockchain and cryptocurrency are having an impact on the city’s future.

The brand of a city shows its overall strength. It has an impact on a city’s

20 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

development potential because it affects the flow of capital, information, goods, and talent. As a result, assessing a city’s brand value will provide you a better understanding of it. Global City Lab is the first professional organisation dedicated to assessing city brand values in the globe. It uses six metrics to determine brand value: economic growth, culture, governance, environment, talent, and reputation. The criteria for the list in 2021, is $18.06 billion, down from $18.51 billion in 2020 for the second year in a row. Six cities now have brand values above $1 trillion, compared to five in 2020.

There are 18 cities in the world with brand values ranging from $500 billion to $1 trillion. More than 60 per cent of the cities surveyed, have a brand value worth of under $100 billion. The top 500 cities’ average brand value in

2021, is $141.94 billion, up 0.5 per cent over the average of $141.22 billion in 2020. These cities are spread over six continents, with Europe, Asia and North America accounting for more than 80 per cent of the total. Europe topped the list of regions, with two more cities added to bring the total number of cities to 179. Asia and North America each lost one city, bringing their totals to 154 and 90, respectively. Each of the three remaining areas has a similar number of cities on the list.

In the post-pandemic era, major world areas are recovering economically. Due to a variety of government policies, pandemic preventive propaganda beliefs, and economic development models, recovery rates vary widely. In comparison to 2020, the average brand value of European and North American cities decreased by 1.06 per cent and 1.08 per cent, respectively, indicating a considerable deceleration. Asia was steady as a result of effective pandemic containment; average brand value only fell by 0.85 per cent. The top 500 cities are located in 125 different nations.

With 63 cities, the United States is leading, followed by China with 40.

Third to sixth place go to Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and India.

Europe has five of the top ten countries, owing to its well-preserved cultural buildings, unique landscapes, and strong economic underpinnings. Many countries that had blocked their borders to travellers are reopening them as the global COVID-19 situation improves.

The normalcy of international trade and cultural exchange is returning.

Due to free contact between countries, Europe has always reaped the benefits of globalisation, but it has also been under increased pressure to contain the pandemic.

NEWSCAN

Exhaustion of groundwater levels may cause parts of Delhi-NCR to sink NEW DELHI: The capital’s worrisome pace of groundwater depletion may be leading to a different kind of slowmoving crisis: portions of the city’s surface are sinking, a phenomenon known as land subsidence, which could damage the international airport.

Researchers have discovered that over 100 square kilometres of land in the national capital region is at risk of ground displacement, with the greatest of these, around 12.5 square km, in southwest Delhi’s Kapashera, just 800 meters from the airport, according to the satellite data.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, the German Research Centre for Geosciences, Cambridge; and the Southern Methodist University in the United States, conducted a study titled ‘Tracking hidden crisis in India’s capital from space: Implications of unsustainable groundwater use’ that was published in the peer-reviewed Natu journal. It said that the rate of “sinking of land” in the neighbourhood near the airport is accelerating and the subsidence feature is rapidly expanding towards the airport, potentially threatening it. “During the years 2014– 2016, the subsidence velocity was estimated to be around 11 centimetre (cm)/year, but it increased by nearly 50 per cent over the next two years to roughly 17 cm/year. During 2018–2019, the trend stayed nearly unchanged,” according to the report.

According to Shagun Garg, a PhD researcher from the University of Cambridge, who was part of the team that researched these land deformations, Kapashera, near the airport was the most vulnerable of all the regions under threat since the subsidence rate is exceedingly high.

“Airports require stable ground because significant ground movement can cause major disturbance,” Garg explained.

“The Kuala Lumpur airport serves as

an illustration of the consequences of land subsidence, including fissures on taxiways and water logging as a result of soil settlement. It is critical to keep an eye on the IGI (Indira Gandhi International) airport and its related highways.”

Another deformation was discovered in Mahipalpur, barely 500 metres from the airport, where deformation of 15 millimetres (mm) per year was measured in 2014-16, 30 mm per year in 2016-18, and 50 mm per year in 2018-19. Land subsidence is a global issue that occurs when substantial volumes of groundwater are drained from certain types of rocks and subsurface soil. When water is taken from aquifers, the clay between pockets of water progressively collapses, causing the ground beneath to deflate.

It’s not like a sinkhole or a cave in, when the effects are immediate, rather it happens gradually across a broad region. Water-stressed Delhi has a demand-supply mismatch of 300 million gallons (MGD) per day with a forecast demand of 1236 MGD. The demand in capital is expected to rise to 1746 MGD by 2031,

according to the draft Master Plan 2041. Groundwater extraction is used to provide a considerable portion of unfulfilled demands. The water table is available to a depth of 80 metres in some parts of southwest Delhi, and it is depleting at a pace of 3-4 metres, each year. According to the US Geological Survey, excessive groundwater extraction is responsible for more than 80 per cent of global land subsidence.

According to the study, a 100-squarekilometer area in the national capital region is at “high risk of ground displacement.” Bijwasan, Samalkha, Kapashera, Sadh Nagar, Bindapur, and Mahavir Enclave in Delhi; Dundahera, Sector 22A, and Block C in Gurgaon; and Pocket A, B, and C of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Nagar in Faridabad are among the locations that demand immediate attention. Land subsidence is known to inflict billions of dollars in damages around the world, to infrastructure, roads, pavements, and underground utilities such as drainage systems, despite its slow speed. The sinking also increases the risk of flooding and causes more frequent waterlogging.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

21

Leaderspeak | Local Self-Government & JJM

JJM will strengthen roots of local self-governance Jal Jeevan Mission is not just ensuring the piped supply of clean water to every household but also strengthening local self-governance, and empowering women in rural India. The decentralisation component in this Mission is setting a new trend in implementing government programs

Ranjit S Chavan | President, AIILSG

ccess to clean water is essential for the prosperity of a community. Historically, communities and settlements thrived mainly near water bodies. However, since independence, Indian rural households did not have adequate access to water. The present data suggests that India has over 18 per cent of global population but just 4 per cent of renewable water sources. It is a challenge for the country to provide clean water to all. The problem is more aggravating in rural areas where ground water is scarce and surface water is not available. Understanding the problems faced by rural populations in accessing clean water, the Government of India launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019. Then a majority of rural households did not have water tap connections.

Out of about 19 crore rural households in the country, only 3.2 cr had water connections. Other

22 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

families had to get water from a source outside their homes, and majorly, the responsibility to fetch water was on women. There are many cases in which girls stopped going to schools because they were engaged in fetching water at their homes. Women complained that fetching water for family needs did not allow them to engage in any economic activity. Now, the number of households with functional water tap connections has gone up to 9 crore. This is indeed an outstanding achievement for the government. The reasons for the Mission’s success could be many.

But the engagement of rural women in Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs)/Paani Samitis would be certainly at the top.

Decentralisation of water management

The philosophical premise of the JJM mission is to empower local

communities, especially women, and give them a sense of ownership of their village’s water supply and management projects. The privileged access to make plans for the village and manage its operation and maintenance is paving the way for the empowerment of local rural women and ensuring the project’s long-term sustainability. It can further percolate in other areas of rural local governance. It is also mandated that the Gram Sabha will approve the plan only when 80 per cent of community representatives present agree with the plan. After this, it will be sent to the District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) committee. Public Health and Engineering Department will grant the technical approval.

Gradually, every village is constituting Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) or ‘Paani Samitis’. One of the best things about the JJM is that local citizens are empowered to manage water supply in their villages. They also have a say, through village level water committees, how the project is planned, and implemented. The objective is that the local community should have control over quality of the works being done under the Mission. And, 50 per cent of its members are women.

The local women are also being trained for testing of water quality using field test kits. The participation of women will ensure better management of water supply in order to lead a better life.

These committees are choosing water source, deploying water conservation measures, planning laying of pipelines, etc. and also supervising the quality of works being done in their areas.

The local community, through VWSCs, is empowered to take critical decisions to ensure uninterrupted water supply. The Mission is helping achieve the critical objectives of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, increasing women participation in local governance issues, community participation, and strengthening local governance.

This approach can ensure quality of service delivery, the use of local wisdom in planning, participation of women in decision making process,

sustainability of water sources and financial sustainability and longevity of the project.

In this project, some deliverables are expected from the local community to give them a sense of ownership. Apart from making the five-year village plan for implementing the project in their village, the local communities have to contribute 5 to 10 per cent of total cost in cash, kind or labour. Their contribution will vary from villages those are in difficult terrain or have over 50 per cent SC/ST population. The government will also provide a revolving fund amounting to 10 per cent of the total project cost for operation and maintenance or for major breakage. The amount will be deposited in the bank account of the VWSC.

Increasing role of local governments

With the introduction of the 73rd CAA in 1992, Panchayats were given the responsibility to execute works relating to 29 subjects mentioned in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution.

Under the Schedule, the subject of drinking water and sanitation was allocated to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). PRIs had the right to collect tax at the appropriate level and use it for certain works. As part of their obligations, the Panchayat had to play a role in recharging of water sources, and in the planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of the village water supply schemes. Though, there were several schemes in the past to streamline rural water supply, none targeted 100 per cent functional water tap connections at household level.

Under this mission, Gram Panchayats will shoulder the responsibility in planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of in-village water supply infrastructure. Through Pani Samitis, rural local bodies can collectively decide on the charges for these connections and the money collected will be used for the operational and maintenance purposes.

There is also a provision to provide

One of the best things about the JJM is that local citizens are empowered to manage water supply in their villages. They also have a say, through village level water committees, how the project is planned, and implemented. And, fifty per cent of its members are women. The local women are also being trained for testing of water quality using field test kits. The participation of women will ensure better management of water supply in order to lead a better life. These committees are choosing water source, deploying water conservation measures, planning laying of pipelines, etc., also supervising the quality of works being done in their areas water in public institutions such as anganwadis, schools, health centres and gram panchayats. To train local officials, government of India has also identified Key Resource Centres. AIILSG is also one of them. The institute is engaged in providing training to local body and state government officials to enable them to execute the Jal Jeevan Mission efficiently in their areas. AIILSG team has already organised training programs in Laddakh and Karnataka for officials. It is to be noted that Laddakh is a difficult terrain and the difficulty of ensuring water supply in winters is a challenge as water gets frozen in pipes.

The training programs are designed in a way to provide them essential knowhow to manage water supply during all weather conditions. I am quite sure that the mission will bring prosperity in rural areas of our country.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

23

Numerograph | JJM: Reaching Every Household

Jal Jeevan Mission progresses in spite of pandemic Over 57 million households in India have received potable water supply since the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019. The Mission have subsumed various missions to ensure that not a single household or habitation is left behind, thereby moving a step further in achieving the sustainable development goal of water and sanitation by providing the basic service of access to good quality of water to everyone

100% FHTC States & UTs Goa Telangana Andaman & Nicobar Islands Puducherry Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu Haryana

Pooja Upadhyay | Trainee Reporter

Initiatives to keep water quality in check

2022

Active Laboratories

3,53,440

Total villages where lab test has been done

21,10,117

Samples tested using FTK

24 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

33,70,400

Samples tested in laboratories

9,14,350

Villagers trained for testing water samples using Field Testing Kit

88,805

Total villages where FTK test done

Households with tap water supply in priority districts 2021-2022

2,537,416

7,115,679

2020-2021

2019-2020

1,918,887

in Japanese Encephalitis-Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (JE-AES) affected priority districts

Status of quality affected habitations 70,000 57,539 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Aug 15 2019

100,000,000

54,166

90,000,000

36,054

April 1 2020

Households with tap water supply

April 1 2021

35,370

80,000,000

Feb 17 2022

70,000,00 0

15-Aug-19

60,000,000

Aug-20

50,000,000

Feb-21

40,000,000

Aug-21

30,000,000

Feb-22

20,000,000 10,000,0 00 0

Status of schools with tap water supply Jharkhand, 17.99 Meghalaya, 57.06 Assam, 65.03 Odisha, 67.52 Rajasthan, 68.08 West Bengal, 72.63 Mizoram, 72.85 Madhya Pradesh, 73.99 Tripura, 74.21 Arunachal Pradesh, 78.52 Chhattisgarh, 84.23 Uttar Pradesh, 84.4 Ladakh, 85.93 Maharashtra, 90.79 Manipur, 94.99 Punjab, 98.57 Nagaland, 99.15 Bihar, 99.25

States with 100% tap water supply - Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerela, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand

Source: Jal Jeevan Mission Dashboard

25 www.urbanupdate.in | Februay 2022 25

aRTICLE | Analysing Water Quality

Inequalities in quality of water

quality test (refer to graph 1). Since then, cities like Delhi, Chennai, and Jaipur have come out with reforms to improve the quality of water in cities. If cities are facing this at such scale, one can imagine the condition of rural areas where people do not always use filtered water for the daily household needs.

What is the present situation?

Access to clean, safe water is at the core of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 of the Agenda 2030 but around 70 per cent of the surface water in India is polluted, as per Asian Development Research Institute. It seems as if in the race to provide access to water, the concept of ‘clean’ water has gone hazy. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is leading the mission of ‘access to water’ and is gradually striving towards mission of ‘Har Ghar Jal’. However, the data looks grim on the question of quality of this water Hitesh Nigam | Reporter

t is said that ‘cities are the engines of growth’ in any country, which means they lead the way in terms of development, service delivery and the quality of service delivery. However, when it comes to cleanliness of water, the performance of cities in India is far from satisfactory. Tap water quality rankings released by Bureau of Indian Standards in 2019 showed that all the drinking water samples sent for testing from nine cities, among a total of 15 major cities, have failed in water

With its mission to bridge the gap of 2.68 crore in urban household tap water connections and providing access to water for all rural households by 2024, JJM has been instrumental in the progress of India towards SDG-6. However, a report by World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2019 suggested that 9.1 crore Indians live without access to basic water supply. On the other side, the lot which is fortunate enough to get this basic necessity has different types of challenges. As per the JJM dashboard, it has provided tap water connections in almost 47 per cent (8,99,71,134) of the total districts. However, almost 13.5 per cent of the samples have failed to comply with the parameters of cleanliness set by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Kerala (1,39,668) and West Bengal (1,71,926) are the two states with largest number of contaminated samples. As per the data, West Bengal has taken action for all the areas where contamination is found; but on the other hand, Kerala has resolved just 4.5 per cent of such cases. Shockingly, on an

14683

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171929

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3857

91453 27187

10725

16787 738

69606 7714

1802

238,606

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119506 9265

107811 1473

119336 341

20

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100000 50000

238767

221575 53243

150000

1461

200000

146655

156282

250000

16559

300000

283969

350000

302813

Water Quality in major states

0

Samples tested

26 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Samples contaminated

Graph 2

average, remedial action is taken for just 50 per cent of the total contaminated samples. (refer to graph 2)

Questionable water quality and its consequences

As per National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM), almost 90 per cent of all deaths due to Diarrhoea in India are because of the contaminated water. Low drinking water quality poses various health issues for people who use the supply water directly for the daily household needs.

Children are the worst affected in this, which is evident from the UNICEF data suggesting that globally, every year “more children die due to effects of contaminated drinking water than by

bullets.” It is an alarming situation.

Way Forward

India was ranked 120th among 122 countries on the parameters of water quality, as per the Global Water Quality Index. This has to improve if the country wants to stand out in its SDG targets.

The Government of India has to take initiatives, and promote innovations that encourage improvement in the quality of drinking water to all. On the other hand, the community also has to participate in making the cities, a clean place and maintaining the quality of water in surface sources. Through JJM, the state governments and the central government have to work in coordination with the local bodies to ensure that the basic supply of water

Innovate to save Taking the task of cleaning the contaminated underground drinking water in his own hands, Anjan Mukherjee, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) dropout, invented and developed the Taraltec Disinfectant Reactor.

The device converts the kinetic energy of the water into millions of targeted micro-bubbles, which act as tiny localised reactors. When they collapse, they generate intense heat, pressure and turbulence, converting it into a shockwave which kills microbes. The water comes out 99 per cent cleaner and safer than before.

This device can be easily fit into a water hand pump in less than 30 minutes without any scientific expertise making it easier to use. It has won various awards and prizes, along with India Innovation Growth Program 2.0 challenge

water samples tested in cities (as of 2019) 12 11 10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10 9

8 6 9

4 5

2 0

0

1

1

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

11 9

6

1

Samples failed

Samples tested

Graph 1

to households is usable and hygienic.

Leading the way towards localisation, the efforts have to be put at the grass root level so that it reaches to the masses and a truly sustainable ecosystem can be built. The inefficiency of municipal water supply has to be addressed with utmost emergency in order to achieve this feat.As per a report, 30 Indian cities will face ‘grave water risk’ by 2050, which means that municipal supply of water has to be improved so that people of the country can access safe and clean drinking water.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

27

aRTICLE | Taking JJM To Community

JJM gives power to the people Water is the foremost among necessities of life and drinking water supply is a basic and critical service delivery. Growing population and expanding economic activities in India have increased the demand for water. Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019 to fill all the gaps in previous attempts made by the government to ensure access to potable quality water Pooja Upadhyay| Trainee Reporter

illions of people in India have been using unreliable water supplies of poor quality, which are costly and are distant from their home. Lack of access to water has numerous socio economic implications. Indian cities in the last decade have witnessed sharp transformation in terms of population growth and infrastructural development. Rural areas on the other hand remained unexposed to necessary development like infrastructure for water supply. The unplanned and uneven development in the sector of

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water has led to unequal distribution of water in cities and villages of the nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Jal Jeevan Mission to enable all households in India to have functional household tap connection (FHTC) by 2024. The mission simultaneously focuses on introducing innovative technologies for the purpose and turning the water infrastructure into a public utility service. Innovations like insulation jacket have been introduced in the pipes in villages of Ladakh to address the challenge of freezing water. The mission launched an online dashboard that displays real time progress made by the mission to maintain a transparent system with the beneficiaries of the mission. In a first of its kind initiative, India had launched a dedicated toll-free helpline number for rural water supply in 2015. The aim was to receive and address citizens’ concerns in a time-bound manner. This initiative has been included in the JJM.

JJM solving the water woes

Jal Jeevan Samvad from November 2020 stated that the 5T (transparency, teamwork, technology, and time leads to transformation) mantra learnt from Odisha is being used by the JJM as a guiding framework for sectoral transformation of water governance in India. Learning from the experiences of previous initiatives, this particular mission has been designed to be different in terms of its focus on the involvement of people in its implementation. The first community-owned water supply scheme was started in May, 2013 at Dhobi tola in Mohammadpur in Bihar.

Lesson of community involvement and instilling a sense of ownership in people was learnt from successful implementation of such initiatives.

The mission involves engaging local community in the process of establishing tap water connection in form of labour and/or monetary contributions. Thousands of people had returned from cities to their villages during lockdowns imposed in 2020.

Jal Jeevan Mission, under the Gareeb Kalyan Rozgar Yojana employed skilled

local people to carry out the work of construction, retro-fitting, and repair works for which they received payment.

Community leading from front

In Samastipur and Muzaffarpur districts of Bihar, an examination revealed bacterial contamination in nearly 85 per cent of the water sources.

JJM team carried out both curative and preventive interventions including awareness creation and sensitisation among communities, construction of concrete platforms near hand pumps and establishment of mini water testing laboratories to provide clean potable drinking water in villages. The village communities paid 10 per cent of the total estimated cost upfront in form of cash and labour. The villagers also agreed to pay ` 100 per month per household to cover the cost of operation and maintenance of established water supply system.

Stok, a village in Leh is situated at an altitude of 3500 meters above the sea level. The main source of water supply for the village is a stream flowing in the middle, which gets frozen in winters.

After much detailed deliberations between team of JJM and villagers, a cost effective, decentralised water supply scheme was developed that takes the sub-surface water below the frost line. The decentralised system created 31 localised network zones with individual sources (bore wells)

catering to a cluster of households.

Household owners of individual clusters were trained to operate and maintain its network. It developed a sense of responsibility and ownership of the infrastructure among villagers.

Jal Jeevan Mission has presented itself as one of the leading initiatives that decentralises the process of development work. The plans are developed at the local level by taking the inputs of communities’ needs and suggestions. Five people, mostly women, are trained in each village on various elements of potable water and how to utilise Field Test Kits (FTKs) to test the quality of the water supplied, conduct sanitary surveys, and upload the data to the JJM portal.

The mission addresses the issue of deteriorating amount of fresh water availability, over usage and pollution have been cited as major causes.

One of the objectives of the JJM is to rejuvenate fresh water sources.

The Government of India released guidelines for springs (primary source of water in mountainous region) under the JJM on February 2020. Best practices on community involvement and technical innovations from among the previous spring shed rejuvenation and management has been shared with the stakeholders.

In villages of Luhali, Dhyali and Thanakasoga in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh, People Science Institute used hydrogeology to

introduce infrastructure to protect recharge areas of springs located in the villages. Resource and social mapping with the help of villagers helped in the process. Communities later trained to monitor the water quality and maintain the good health of springs and the spring sheds continue to manage the water supply.

Community participation: A challenge in cities

Creating awareness around water crisis, water pollution and involving community at every step is an easier task in villages due to small population. The challenge will lie in involving large population of cities in the rejuvenation of rivers and ground water. Corporations will need to create rigorous awareness programmes to make community contribution a reality in cities.

30 Indian cities are expected to face a grave water risk by 2050 due to sharp rise in population, as per World Wild Fund for Nature. Sole focus on rejuvenation of water sources might not be able to address the needs of heavily populated Indian cities. Cities can take inspiration from Indore, which is planning to make rooftop rainwater harvesting mandatory in all building constructed on a minimum of 1000 square feet of area in the city. Indore Municipal Corporation is also considering giving rebate in property tax for building owners as a promotional incentive if they install a rainwater harvesting system in their building.

The primary focus of the mission is on involving people at every stage in the development and implementation of action plans to instill a sense of responsibility in the minds of people regarding the available water sources.

People who have access to water are often careless with it. Unscientific disposal of waste by households and industries pollutes the water sources. Therefore every person, every household, and every industry needs to take active part in attaining fair water governance under the JJM.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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aRTICLE | Role of Women In JJM

Jal Jeevan Mission

A women-driven campaign Women’s water woes have been one of the major concerns across the globe. It affects women in multitude of ways, irrespective class, age, colour. The Jal Jeevan Mission attempts to address these challenges. It enables and encourages women to deal with their problems on their own. Recognising women’s social rights has been a lengthy and challenging journey; nonetheless, gender parity for basic rights like access to safe drinking water is no longer a pipe dream Radhika Matta | Editorial Assistant

ater is required for a variety of critical applications such as industry, agriculture, drinking, sanitation, and hygiene. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight “clean water and sanitation”(SDG 6.1 and 6.2) by achieving sustainable and equitable access to water for everyone, and recognises the importance of access to water. It is also well known that a family’s lack of access to resources has a negative impact on them. Women are disproportionately affected by exposure to unsafe water. Every year, women in India spend an average of 150 million workdays fetching water, time that could have been spent on education, skill development, and/or her own physical and emotional health.

Several studies conducted over more than two decades around the world have concluded that when men and women are equally involved, there is a significant improvement in leadership, transparency, and sustainability of water supplies, compared to cases where women are marginally or not involved at all. In fact, according to a

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World Bank study, simply incorporating women in water projects can enhance their efficacy by six to seven times compared to those that do not.

Vision and mission

Jal Jeevan Mission’s main goal is to start a women-led revolution that will decentralise the system and empower the community, particularly women, to deal with their own water issues. As it confronts the long-standing concerns of water security in India, the Jal Jeevan Mission aims to raise a generation of water-aware citizens. Today, rural women are taking up roles that usually rested with males such as plumbers, masons, and electricians, as well as testing water quality and updating results on the portal.

Responsibility of a woman

Collecting water is said to be a woman’s duty in India and there is no respite, even if she is menstruating, ill, or otherwise occupied. Photographs of women in lines with colourful plastic water containers in urban areas draw attention to water scarcity and the enormous lines that people face waiting for water tankers to arrive in cities.

Women in urban areas, particularly on the outskirts of towns and in slum regions, bear a disproportionate share of the burden of water scarcity. Water is occasionally delivered in the middle of the night in some locations, causing these ladies to lose sleep, affecting their productivity. Indeed, in the global south, there are women who are denied an education just because they must collect water rather than attend school. According to a study, every year about 23 per cent of Indian girls drop out of school on attaining puberty due to lack of clean water to cater to their hygiene needs.

Moreover, UNICEF figures suggest, girls and women spend an estimated 200 million hours every day collecting water. It is the females who are tasked with dragging large cargo over incredibly challenging terrains in 8 out of 10 households without running water.

Jal shakti to ‘Matra shakti’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi via Jal Jeevan Mission enumerates ways towards safe sanitation and access to water, and involving women in the process, thus empowering ‘Matra Shakti’. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, has devised a dedicated dashboard, the Jal Jeevan Mission Water Quality Management Information System (JJM WQMIS), in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and launched a mobile application for water quality management and surveillance.

It aims to empower women to lead water quality surveillance through technology. Moreover, this unique initiative has already trained nearly 1,24,988 women so far from four states namely, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. As per a report featured in the daily guardian, Haryana (32740), Punjab (37461), Himachal Pradesh (27102) account for a number of women trained so far in handling Water Quality Testing Kits/ Field Testing Kits in respective states.

Other Initiatives

♦♦ Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) presented a new participatory approach that is ‘Women Time Usage Analysis,’ which maps time use data of women by the women themselves in an open gathering. This was

followed by a group ‘Water Use Analysis/Water Budgeting’ activity.

Women should be instrumental to undertake water budgeting because arranging water for the household is typically regarded a woman’s business. It was discovered that on average, women and girls spend 5 hours a day gathering water from nearby Tankas. Piped tap water provided by the Jal Jeevan Mission will allow them to make better use of their time, particularly in exploring chances to enhance their socioeconomic status by engaging in government projects. ♦♦ According to the Jal Jeevan Samvad 2022, the Government of Manipur intends to provide tap water to all rural homes in the state by 2022.

Around 2.84 lakh (63 per cent) of the state’s 4.51 lakh rural households have access to running tap water.

Five women from every village have been schooled to use Field Testing Kits (FTK) to test water quality. A number of training programmes for water quality testing in villages has been conducted with the help of Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs) and district officials. Over 70 per cent of the villages have been served so far. The department is enlisting the help of all current Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the state, as any committee or group made up of 90 per cent to 100 per cent women always has a good outlook on things.

Jal Jeevan Mission’s main goal is to start a womenled revolution that will decentralise the system and empower the community, particularly women, to deal with their own water issues.

Today, rural women are taking up roles that rested with males, traditionally such as plumbers, masons, and electricians, as well as testing water quality and updating results on the portal Through this involvement, the designated ladies who actively participate in the identification and improvisation of the kits will gradually assume full responsibility for the mission’s advancement.

Members of various community-based organisations, such as SHGs, Village and Water Sanitation Committees, and ASHA, as well as community-level workers such as teachers, may serve as community facilitators.

Conclusion

The Jal Jeevan Mission is providing handholding support to women all over the country, particularly in rural areas. They are now involved in planning the layout of their village’s water pipeline, monitoring quality of the water, handling grey water via kitchen gardening, receiving training as plumbers and technicians, expanding their knowledge and skillset, and improving their health and cleanliness. When women gain income and articulation of their strategic and practical needs, social norms about women’s dependency and muted voice tend to diminish. Their voices are heard more in the family and the community.

When women are empowered with safe water for themselves and their families at home, they are empowered to change their world.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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aRTICLE | Riverfront Development

Redflags in riverfront development projects!

It is said that water gave birth to civilization. Humans are attracted to watersides. In today’s context, riversides provide a quaint bliss away from the man-made grey jungle and hence present a recreational hot spot. The combination of riverfronts with urban sprawls addresses two bigger problems - water health maintenance and city beautification. In the Indian context, riverfront development projects have given mixed results Shivi Sharma | Editorial Assistant

aterbodies have always been an attractive place in a city for tourists and residents alike. Hence, it has the potential of being a cultural, heritage and tourist hub for the city. When put in the context of urban planning, waterfronts can greatly monetise the emanations of the river surface. It can become a focal point for active and passive activities; business opportunities; and most importantly, a congregational public space.

Historically, riverside development has gone through an entire circle starting from the discovery of river banks as a vital base for economic activities and transportation. This led to attracting more and more people to settle near river banks with the proliferation of trading and manufacturing activities.

The sad thing about Industrialisation

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is that it highlights the extent of the greedy nature of human beings. As the use of riverside fronts increased in the economic activities, the rapid depletion of limited resources began to occur taking a direct hit on the water health and that of areas around it. This is the stage where most cities scramble to manage waterfronts. However, the increase in climate change awareness and the need for nature’s touch within urban sprawls has led to planners rediscovering waterfronts now.

Riverfront development projects

The point of the riverfront development project is to illustrate the connection between access, greenway development, and market demand. The demand for a developed riverfront has increased as more and more cities are urbanising. This is reducing the avenues for recreation and open spaces. The increased footfall in such areas will attract high end investments and motivate people to indulge in the adventurous experiences that a city provides.

The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project has been ranked amongst the ‘100 most innovative projects’ by KPMG, one of the world’s top advisory firms. The project was ranked based on its performance in making Ahmedabad city more sustainable and rejuvenating its urban spaces. The project including revamping a 10.5 km stretch, reclaiming over 202 hectares of encroached land. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation started the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) in 1997. “The

project has reconnected the city with the river and has positively transformed the neglected aspects of the riverfront,” states the corporation’s website. They have built a river side promenade, a biodiversity park, facility for water sports etc. For the implementation of phase 2 of the project, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation allocated `1050 crore. Under the next phase, multilevel parking, a pedestrian bridge, and a sports complex will be opened.

More than 250 million litres per day of sewage was diverted from the river under the project by building sound sewage infrastructure. The project has also rehabilitated over 10,000 slum dwellers in pukka houses in its first phase. Another key aspect of the project is that out of the 204 hectares of reclaimed land, 85 per cent is to be devoted to public amenities.

Only 14 per cent — 29.5 hectares — has been earmarked for commercial development.

The SRFDCL has removed encroachments from the riverfront, cleaned the river by diverting the industrial waste, and formed a healthy dynamic with the commercial units.

However, this is one case, and also the oldest riverfront project in India.

As principal these projects strive for a balance within the ecological cycle at the riverfronts while enhancing the functionality of the area as a public space. As the Government of India keeps adding more names to the list of projects in this section, most of them seem to lack in their fundamental requirements.

river health taking the plunge

Principally, Urban Waterfront Development projects have to define how they will provide a recreational and beautification plan for the river. In order to assess the legitimacy of this provision, Team Urban Update discussed it with Dr Bhakti Devi, Founder of Jal Smriti and President of Water Resources Council. She opined that even the name - ‘riverfront development project’ has several red flags. “These projects focus on how to beautify the river edges while

ignoring the river’s health”. She stated that such projects have a history of removing the river’s connection to the soil by cementing its edges. “They fail to understand that in order to sustain the natural water cycle the river has to stay connected to the soil and the ecological system it belongs to.” She added that the ambitions of municipal corporations to maintain the river sites are not feasible.

The only way to sustain its maintenance is by encouraging the community to enhance its engagement with the river body’s preservation. The current state is that the community is not attached to its city hence are not engaged in the process of preservation.

Are parks and walkways along the river edge a solution?

It is the ecological function of rivers to provide a social value to the area. On consequently, several riverfront projects incorporate walkways and parks.

The Goda Park consisted of a 2.5 km walkway along the Godavari River. Due to lack of maintenance, the area became a platform for illegal activities. Dr Devi suggested that at the designing stage, corporations can crowdsource the ideas and adopt a ‘place-making’ approach.

How these public spaces should be planned, designed, and managed, should be in line with the community belonging to the area. “Put simply, it involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover needs and aspirations,” reads she wrote in an article. Once people see their own ideas being reinforced at the policy level, their incentive to further their involvement will increase.

The Yamuna Riverfront Development Project includes three 25-km-long stretches along the riverfront of Yamuna. The stretches- Asita East, Asita West, Golden Jubilee have been completed, while Nizamuddin Bridge - DND Flyway (East) is nearing completion. Ashok Kumar, Director of Horticulture, Delhi Development Authority while commenting on the project informed that the Asita West

Over the last decade, more and more cities have started focusing on urban waterfront development (UWD) and since then several projects have been taken up. There is biological evidence that nature’s exposure to human beings has a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. This proves that a city cannot just be a network of pavements

area is open for booking and activities such as laser shows, and private events.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Master Plan 2041 dictates that a green buffer zone be created along the river. According to Kumar, the authorities will avoid the creation of another failed Goda Park by hiring security guards to protect the stretch.

Conclusion

Though these projects were conceived to protect rivers and create a healthy public space, the route they chose is highly influenced by commercial activities. The majority of funds under the project are dedicated to the construction of a promenade, boat trips, shopping, theme parks, restaurants etc.

These development projects have been reduced to mere river beautification.

The work does not reflect to the aspirations of the citizens hence it becomes even more difficult for the corporations to maintain them. While creating a commercial complex is one way to develop an area, it cannot be the course for the redevelopment of waterfronts. The programs introduced by the central government are meant to beautify the area and attract more footfalls to the location. However, their proposal does not guarantee the sustainability and protection of the delicate riverside ecosystem from increased human exposure.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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aRTICLE | Water & Sanitation: Key To Fight Pandemic

As We Emerge from Pandemic, We Must Prioritise Water & Sanitation If we hope to regain progress on the Sustainable Development Goals—and improve people’s lives— we must improve water service delivery in ways that help countries better manage future crises and improve equitable access to water Geoff Wilson | Senior Water Resources Specialist Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB

he pandemic has had a severe impact on the water industry in Asia and the Pacific but those involved in water supply, sanitation, and wastewater have been particularly hard hit, according to

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our research. The disruption that the pandemic caused altered key drivers of the water sector—water demand and wastewater discharge—resulting in an abrupt decline in commercial and industrial water demand and wastewater generation. The decline, in turn, has triggered the need for rapid operational adjustments for the hardhit service providers.

Revenue decline is the single biggest financial impact to water service providers. In our survey, two-thirds of water supply service providers saw a decrease in commercial and industrial revenues. Many utilities, particularly the smaller ones, have faced a steep decline in financial reserves mainly due to the sharp decrease in commercial and industrial water consumption which wasn’t fully offset by the increase in household consumption. Utilities that employ cross-subsidies on water tariffs are expected to be especially hit.

Many governments have intervened to ensure the continuity of critical water services during the pandemic, in some cases providing direct financial support to water service providers.

In the absence of government relief, the financial burden of the pandemic is currently borne by water service providers.

In the recovery phase, the gradual opening of commercial activity and increasing mobility has eased the emergency protocols of service providers. However, the possibility of reversion back into emergency mode puts service providers on high alert.

Even as commercial activity picks up, the recovery phase does not represent pre-pandemic economic activities and service providers are likely to operate at less than full capacity. Reduced capital and maintenance spending, as well as significant changes to operating and maintenance planning, may be achieved either through government transfers or increased customer tariffs.

To support the recovery of the water sector, the immediate priority for recovery should include ensuring public safety through the continuous provision of essential services while protecting the health of staff. Supporting the financial

recovery of water service providers will require finding a balance between the need to extend continuing financial relief to customers and ensuring the resumption of critical capital works.

Lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic should also be integrated into planning and operations to increase resilience to future crises, and measures should be taken to protect the well-being and ensure social outcomes for vulnerable sectors.

It is expected that after the pandemic, there will be a “new normal” which may include flexible working arrangements, greater use of digital technologies, flexible pricing or payment schemes, and improved/ diversified/localized supply chains.

In this new reality, we will see how the lessons and experiences from the pandemic has changed the way we live, work, and play.

Getting Asia and the Pacific back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-6, which calls for clean water and sanitation for all, will be a tall order. This is especially true in developing economies where government budgets are spread thinly across many priorities. The “SDG hattrick” of sustained economic growth, eliminating poverty, and significantly reducing inequality is looking

increasingly unlikely.

To prevent and mitigate future health crises more effectively, the water sector must consider the following solutions: ♦♦ Integrate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) into the public health strategy by accelerating universal WASH access in line with SDG-6 will require large investments. We need to explore innovative methods for water and sanitation service such as decentralization and employing nature-based solutions. ♦♦ Improve crisis preparedness and response management of water service providers by using digital innovations that are increasingly available at cost-effective pricing and adopt technologies that add value to service providers and their customers. ♦♦ Create resilience in irrigation by improving productivity and market access, as well as adopting innovations in automation, mechanization, and e-commerce. ♦♦ Employ wastewater-based epidemiology. ♦♦ Green recovery strategies, including investments in water and sanitation, can deliver accelerated economic growth while protecting people and the planet.

Survey respondents also ranked the

Getting Asia and the Pacific back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-6, which calls for clean water and sanitation for all, will be a tall order.

This is especially true in developing economies where government budgets are spread thinly across many priorities. The “SDG hat-trick” of sustained economic growth, eliminating poverty, and significantly reducing inequality is looking increasingly unlikely resumption of deferred capital works as the top priority that will support their post-pandemic and long-term recovery.

Private sector investment is another important component of financing water sector recovery and rejuvenation through public–private partnerships, however, countries with little or no prior experience with PPPs may take some time to embrace it. Financing support must be coupled with capacity building at the subsector level. Robust planning for crisis preparedness must include pandemic scenarios, through capacity building of service providers.

Water is critical to all aspects of life and livelihoods. As we emerge from the pandemic, water and sanitation must be prioritized if we hope to regain progress for the SDGs—and improve people’s lives.

The pandemic has given us an opportunity to improve service delivery in ways that help countries better manage future crises and improve equitable access to water.

[The article was first published as ADB Blog] [The views expressed are the author’s own. They do not purport to reflect the views of Urban Update.]

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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aRTICLE | Analysing The New Normal

Handwashing Benefits are Huge, But It’s Tough to Change People’s Habits To increase handwashing and address Asia and the Pacific’s hygiene and health challenges, new skills, creative thinking, and the use of behavioural change research are all needed.

One of our most powerful weapons for fighting disease is literally at our fingertips: the simple act of handwashing Christian Walder | Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB Bronwyn Powell | Water and Development Specialist

ashing hands alone could decrease the incidence of diarrheal disease by anywhere between 23 per cent and 40 per cent, by one estimate. And as we have all learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, proper hand hygiene is essential for the prevention and control of all types of infection.

Then why don’t people just wash their hands? It’s not that simple. In 2020, 30 per cent of the population in Central and Southern Asia and 64 per cent of the population in the Pacific did not have access to basic handwashing facilities—a dedicated place in the home where soap and water are available to wash their hands, according to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program.

There are also worrying gaps in basic handwashing facilities in schools and healthcare establishments in the region. In Asian primary schools, for example, less than half of the students have access to basic handwashing facilities. Improving hand hygiene in schools is not only crucial for public

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health, but is linked to other benefits, such as reduced absenteeism.

But even providing the facilities is not enough. Out of the 78 per cent of the global population with access to a handwashing facility at home, researchers found that only 19 per cent wash their hands with soap after contact with feces. In other words, even when people have access to handwashing facilities, they still do not practice proper hand hygiene at critical times.

Professionals working in water supply, sanitation, and urban development are increasingly realising that investing in water supply and sanitation systems alone is not enough to bring about health improvements.

A central question is what can be done to influence and to sustain people’s handwashing? While the COVID-19 has likely brought an increase in the practice of handwashing, will people go back to their normal practices when the fear of the pandemic is no longer a motivating factor?

Water and sanitation infrastructure must be accompanied by hygiene initiatives as well as environmental and verbal cues to promote the desired

behavior.

Why don’t people just wash their hands? It’s not that simple.

Evidence shows that changing people’s behavior to wash their hands with soap is far from simple, especially when handwashing is either not a habit or has not been learned. In other cases, studies have shown that knowledge about the health benefits of handwashing and/or the critical times to wash hands has not been enough to change people’s behavior.

Understanding local customs and social norms is also needed to tailor messages so people understand, act, and make hygiene an implicit part of their lives.

There is also a growing body of research on behavior change approaches appropriate for handwashing. Behaviorcentered design is one option to better understand the complex interactions between the environment, the human brain, and body as it impacts behavior. Central to this approach is the hypothesis that humans have three distinct mechanisms for controlling behavior: reactive or habitual behavior, motivated behavior, and rational (or executive) decision-making.

The first two mechanisms (habits and motivations) have equal or more weight as the third (rational decisionmaking). The study analyses how we can change these interactions by designing programs to influence behavior, adjust the setting, and create environmental cues that can be more effective than messaging alone.

One example is a pilot project by the Department of Education in the Philippines that uses low-cost behavioral nudges to encourage hand hygiene in schools. The project painted a bright footpath from the toilet to the wash basins. This environmental cue, or ‘nudge’, helped improve the students’ handwashing frequency. In another study in two primary schools in rural Bangladesh where nudges were used to encourage hand hygiene after toilet use, handwashing with soap among school children increased to 68 per cent the day after nudges were completed and 74 per cent after 2 weeks and 6 weeks, from 4 per cent at the beginning. Poor adherence to hand hygiene procedures

by Cambodian midwives and caregivers in maternal and neonatal healthcare contributes to neonatal mortality,

Professionals working in water supply, sanitation, and urban development are increasingly realising that investing in water supply and sanitation systems alone is not enough to bring about health improvements. A central question is what can be done to influence and to sustain people’s handwashing? While the COVID-19 has likely brought an increase in the practice of handwashing, will people go back to their normal practices when the fear of the pandemic is no longer a motivating factor? despite the availability of facilities and the high-frequency of hand hygiene opportunities. However, behavior change to improve practices depends not only on infrastructure but also caregiver risk perception, workloads, norms, and knowledge.

Ensuring handwashing facilities that work, are available, are accessible, and have running water 24 hours a day is essential. But to change people’s behavior, it is important to do more than just build the facilities and teach people about the health benefits of washing their hands.

Professionals working in the water and sanitation sector need to take a holistic view of handwashing initiatives and appreciate that new skills, creative thinking, and use of behavioral change research are needed to better address the hygiene and health challenges in Asia and the Pacific.

[The article was first published as ADB Blog] [The views expressed are the author’s own. They do not purport to reflect the views of Urban Update.]

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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aRTICLE | Plastic Woes: Need For A Global Initiative

A global plastic treaty on cards?

Working with youths on environmental issues has made me interact with many enterprising and enthusiastic ones. They speak with a sense of victory when they collect loads of wastes littered near water bodies, inside forests and many other places by people who don’t care about managing their own wastes.

The sad part of this story is: these materials, most of which is plastic wastes, are collected in huge plastic bags to be disposed of in municipal landfills which are not properly managed.

The happiness gathered in collecting pollutants at the source turns into a sad story when these wastes end up polluting the destination: our soil, air and waterbodies at a different place

Ranjan K Panda | Convenor, Combat Climate Change Network

hile these youths and others who are engaged in clean-up actions are champions beyond doubt, the fact that there are no global regulations to end plastic pollution by the manufacturers is going to make it difficult for ending this menace. Plastic needs to be controlled from the source to the point of use: locally, nationally and globally.

Out of bounds

Plastic pollution is one of the key concerns for the entire globe at the moment. Something that started as a symbol of progress a few decades ago is out in the open as a killer that the humans find very difficult to control.

It’s a menace from top to toe, from the production stage to the use through disposal – the entire lifecycle.

Since the early 1950s, it is estimated by researchers, that more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastics have been produced. About 60 per cent of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment. In fact, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) informs that the rate of plastic production has grown

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faster than any other material since the 1950s. It’s worrying as more than 99 per cent of plastics are produced from chemicals derived from dreaded climate culprits: oil, natural gas and coal.

Plastic production is expected to triple by 2050. This is concerning due to the fact that 75 per cent of all plastic ever produced has become waste. In fact, the world adds up plastic waste at an annual rate of 303 million tonnes.

The growth of single-use plastic use has been of grave concern among all.

Besides the solid plastic looking products we also have a huge load of micro plastic that gets added into the volume that’s produced, used and discharged into environment and human bodies. Only 9 per cent of all the plastic waste has so far been recycled and about 12 per cent incinerated. While both the recycled and incinerated plastic wastes also create some pollution loads, the fact that 79 per cent of the waste has been accumulated in landfills, dumps or the natural environment is a matter of big concern. Most of these go on to pollute our water bodies including the oceans.

It’s raining plastic everywhere

From the pond in your neighbourhood to the river in your city to the oceans and mountains, plastic pollution has reached everywhere on this earth.

Plastic is in the rain, in our food, in our drinking water and even in human placenta!

Every year the oceans receive at least 14 million tonnes of plastic, which may go up to 32 million tonnes by 2040.

With this speed the oceans may actually have more plastic than fish by 2050.

Plastic debris is currently the most abundant type of litter in the ocean, making up 80 per cent of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. While many of our conservationists and other activists are engaged in cleaning up shorelines and tourist places, the biodiversity inside the oceans are chocking with plastic wastes that most often originate inlands.

Due to our waste management failure at each level, starting from our homes to industries to urban governance levels,

the plastic debris end up in our water bodies including the oceans. Heartbreaking images of marine species being entangled and/or chocked by plastic debris including face masks and PPE kits – thrown out during the COVID pandemic – have made headlines all over. It is estimated that plastic pollution kills 100,000 marine mammals every year. Fishing industry, nautical activities and aquaculture are some of the sources of ocean-based plastic pollution.

So, even as we clean the shorelines and picnic spots near water bodies, our storm water drains, sewer overflows and littering almost everywhere takes these plastic loads through our rivers to the oceans killing millions of species and impacting the ocean biodiversity in many other ways besides affecting the inland environment in numerous ways. Many often we don’t even know that we are polluting our water bodies with plastic with the types of materials we use and dispose so easily. Take for example, cigarette butts. A recent global survey found that cigarette butts – whose filters contain tiny plastic fibres – were the most common type of

plastic waste found in the environment.

Rivers carry plastic pollution to the oceans

Here, in this column, we had written in 2018, about a study by researchers from the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ of Germany that had found that the mismanaged plastic wastes generated in the river catchments are finding their way to the seas. The debris of plastic waste that they studied include both micro plastic (particles less than 5 mm) and macro plastic (particles more than5 mm). In this global study of plastic wastes across a wide range of river sizes, analysis of data by the researchers found that large rivers with populationrich catchments are responsible for delivering a disproportionately higher fraction of mismanaged plastic wastes into the sea.

The study concluded that the 10 topranked rivers transport 88–95 per cent of the global load into the sea, and eight of them are in Asia. The rest two are from Africa. The study, that analysed data from 79 sampling sites along 57 rivers, found that 5 trillion pounds of plastic is floating in the seas. It claimed that targeting the most polluted rivers could halve the plastic burden of all the seas, even though that might not end the harm that micro plastic is already doing to marine life.

All eyes at Nairobi

Between February 28 and March 2 this year, at the 50th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), scheduled at Nairobi, this issue may be a major point of discussion.

There has been constant demand from across the globe, from governments as well as others, for a binding treaty – something like the Montreal Protocol – to address the plastic challenge.

It could result in a mandate for an International Negotiating Committee to work out a legally binding agreement that makes it mandatory for nations to reduce plastic pollution going into the oceans. Such a treaty could pave ways for national targets and plans for

reduction, recycling and management of plastic.

While about 100 nation states seem to have pushed for such a binding global treaty, over 740 groups belonging to all walks of the society from 113 countries have called – in December 2021 – for such a treaty during the Nairobi assembly. Such a treaty was not possible earlier because of reluctance of the USA and due to pressure from industries. However, things are starting to change and there is growing realisation that we cannot ignore the plastic menace any further.

The USA, industries and others have seemingly reversed their opposition.

In May 2021, Peru and Rwanda announced their intention to establish an intergovernmental negotiating committee to begin the process of developing the framework to attain “sustainable levels of plastic production and consumption” at UNEA 5.2. Further, more recently, 81 countries have signed a declaration saying “Guided by the long-term ambition of eliminating all discharge of plastic litter into the oceans, agreed by the United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution 3/7 and Sustainable Development Goal 14.1 “by 2025, to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution”, we believe that there is a need for a stronger global response for the effective implementation of measures to reach this goal”.

With the recent developments, the world finally sees some hope in beginning of regulations in tackling the plastic menace, that’s also responsible for a huge amount of global greenhouse gas emissions. Being able to take concrete steps to tackle plastic pollution would not only mean achieving the Sustainable Development Goals but also climate goals. Most importantly, our freshwater and marine water resources, their related biodiversity and communities would hugely benefit from such a treaty.

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

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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One on One | Gaurang Rathi, Commissioner, Aligarh Municipal Corporation

Illustrated by Arjun Singh, Digital Marketing Associate

Cities must tap local wisdom to solve complex issues: Rathi India is more than its large metropolitan cities. Developing urban India would mean tapping into the potential of over 8000 cities and towns. Aligarh, a city close to the capital of India, is known for its Aligarh Muslim University and centuries-old locks manufacturing industry. To learn about the development paradigm of Aligarh, Abhishek Pandey, Editor, Urban Update, spoke to Gaurang Rathi, Commissioner of Aligarh Municipal Corporation, as part of the magazine’s One-on-One Series. Rathiis alsothe Vice Chairman of Aligarh Development Authority and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aligarh Smart City. Excerpts from the interview...

40 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

Abhishek Pandey | Editor

Aligarh is known for its locks industry and a premier university. Like every other city, Aligarh has its challenges like waste management, stormwater management, and traffic congestion. I would like to know how you envision the city’s development.

You said it right that the city of Aligarh is widely known for its locks and education. They form an essential component of its unique identity.

Certain challenges are common among all the cities of Uttar Pradesh, including waste management, literacy rate, large population; so naturally, they are also present in Aligarh.

One of the most prominent challenges present in the city is waste management. To efficiently address the issue of waste management in any city, the layout plan needs to be multifaceted so that it includes all the components ranging from collection and transportation to processing. The launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission has pushed urban local bodies across the nations to prioritise the sector of waste management. As a result, Aligarh too has revised its waste management plans to meet all the necessary aspects in recent years.

We are on the verge of bringing a paradigm shift to the city’s waste management as we plan on introducing a door-to-door collection of waste from almost three lakh households, thereby catering to over 14 lakh residents.

We have created a seamless plan for transportation of the waste thus collected. We have also planned on establishing intermediate transport stations and processing plants to ensure that maximum waste collected is processed. In addition, we have put together a comprehensive plan to ensure the disposal of waste in

scientifically created landfills. Tenders have been released, and the project will be implemented as soon as we receive bids. We are expecting a significant shift in the reality of waste management in Aligarh city with the implementation of this plan.

Similarly, the city faces major challenges in drainage management and waterlogging. It is mainly because of the city’s geography, which is in the shape of a bowl, which exacerbates the problem. This raises the need for a wellstructured, integrated, 360 degrees comprehensive plan, which was never developed before. We are currently developing such a comprehensive and integrated plan with the help of various institutions like Jal Nigam and Aligarh Smart City. A topography and Geographic Information System (GIS) study of the city has been scheduled in the coming months for the accurate development of the plan. The goal is to develop a plan that will create solutions for all the related challenges in the long run.

There is a concept of Master Plan for cities to chart out their development course. You have worked in other cities as well, so not only in terms of Aligarh, how important do you think a master plan is for the development of a city? How is the plan implemented in the time frame of 20 years?

Whatever work is done or initiatives are introduced in a city, they all are based on the city’s vision in the master plan.

Master plans lay out the vision of over the land development of the city in the coming years. They define the direction and aspects of the development of a particular city. However, the services aspect of city development is a different topic altogether. Let’s take an example of a residential colonies spanning 10 hectares, which was developed as per a master plan. The master plan defined the boundaries of the residential settlement, commercial complexes, dwelling units, etc. But, after this, the services have to be provided by the urban local body in the colony, including sewerage, footpath, and waste

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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One on One | Gaurang Rathi, Commissioner, Aligarh Municipal Corporation management. Therefore, I believe that with the introduction of every master plan, the municipal corporations should ideally create a five-year or a ten-year plan which lays out the expected rate and area of development, thereby listing the list of services and challenges that will need to be catered for the efficient development.

The municipal corporation’s parallel formation of a service master plan will bring to reality the vision of ease of living in the cities. I believe it will smoothen the implementation process of the city master plan and thereby its development.

People visit a city for various reasons, sometimes for a short duration. Therefore, the floating population at times adds to the service delivery issues.

Does Aligarh have a floating population?

The floating population of Aligarh is average. That is so because it is not a regional centre, not an industrial centre, neither a religious centre nor service or medical centre, unlike the city of Varanasi, which has a big percentage of the floating population which it offers employment opportunities and serves as a religious centre as well. you were born in meerut, completed your education at the indian institute of technology,

delhi, worked in gurugram and sered in various cities of uttar pradesh after getting selected for the civil services. YOU HAVE VISITED FOREIGN CITIES AS WELL. What difference did you notice between these cities, especially between Indian and foreign cities?

The fundamental difference between Indian cities and foreign cities, especially those of the United States, is that the cities and their facilities were planned first and then citizens started residing in them. In India, we have not yet been able to afford such planned inhabitation of cities because of the population load. This, in turn, puts a burden on urban services. But at the same time, the commonality between all cities is that each has its own unique identity. Cities flourish when the development plan and work synchronise with its unique features, and cities die when they are ignored.

For example, Gurugram’s identity is the abundant job opportunities it offers. But the city has its own set of challenges like drainage and lack of groundwater. Similarly, every city has its unique set of challenges, and so does Aligarh. I believe that every city has full potential to deal with those challenges if the solutions are developed comprehensively, taking into account the experiences, understandings and suggestions of its

Aligarh Muslim University

42 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

residents. Challenges can be smoothly dealt with if the solution plans receive the proper handholding and channel resources appropriately.

There are multiple examples where cities have dealt with their challenges on their own. For example, cities of the Netherlands did with some help from the government. Every city similarly has a resilient mechanism through which it can create solutions to any challenges. I believe that if local bodies tap into this, the work will be a lot easier.

You mentionED the importance of using local wisdom to deal with challenges. Currently, climate change and sustainable development have emerged as critical topics worldwide.

Several development goals are up and coming, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, New Urban Agenda, Paris Accord, and COP 26 to reach net-zero emissions.

However, our local bodies are not well versed with the impacts of climate change on local urban services. How well do you think the urban local bodies, especially in Uttar Pradesh, are prepared to deal with the challenges of attaining such goals? How do you think local bodies can work in the localisation of sustainable development goals?

The sustainable development goals list all those things that a nation’s resident expects its government, city, and village to provide them with. The large population growth of India naturally results in a resource crunch. Therefore, the equal distribution of resources poses the biggest challenge in our nation. To attain SDGs by 2030, the Government of India has created a separate platform whereby the progress is monitored regularly. Different mission and development projects implemented by urban local bodies, I believe, always keeps in check the sustainable aspect of it. There’s always an assessment of how a project addresses the SDGs. Let us take the example of establishing the

Aligarh Habitat Centre in the city. The project is in the final stages and will be completed in the next six months.

The ACC bricks have been used for the construction of the centre. Unlike the conventional bricks, these bricks are Confedration of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREHAI) approved and are made out of fly ash.

It is a small initiative, but it reflects the importance of sustainable practices and SDGs in the sphere of a Smart City. We also try to bring sustainable practices into our everyday activities such as building, travel, and usage of water.

Cities suffered the most during the pandemic as 70-80 per cent of cases in the early phases of the pandemic were reported from cities. You were the municipal commissioner of Varanasi at the time. How was your experience in handling the pandemic?

A pandemic like COVID-19 is the kind of challenge that presents itself once in a century. For unforeseeable events like the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes essential for cities to remain prepared. During the first and second pandemic waves, the primary focus was on information dissemination in the city. With the help of speaker systems in waste collecting vehicles, apps, and digital and print media, we tried to disseminate as much correct information as possible to the people. The focus was on the accurate information dissemination regarding the lockdown measures, medicines, hospitals, helpline numbers, etc. This was essential for the information about the disease kept changing and evolving through the waves. In the second wave, the focus was on providing services to the people during the pandemic.

We tried to create a system where a COVID-19 patient could access help in the fastest possible time. That chain was managed 24*7. Special care was given to ensure the safety and mental health of personnel or stakeholders working in the service area. We did this with the help of centralised process management set up at Kashi COVID and Control Centre. This ensured

seamless transactions between police personnel, ambulances and hospitals.

The third aspect of the COVID-19 control and management was the proper cremation of dead bodies in the city. Even though it is not important numerically, it forms an important aspect emotionally in people’s lives.

Maintaining seamless service of waste collection, management, and sanitation was also an important part of dealing with the pandemic while simultaneously ensuring sanitation workers’ safety. I believe that the local body of Varanasi did satisfactory work managing the pandemic, and the same was the opinion of the residents.

Do you think our cities are resilient?

Cities, as I mentioned before, are always resilient. I believe resilience to be an essential attribute of a city. Can our cities overcome challenges and tragedies like the COVID-19 pandemic?

I believe yes. Our cities can face and overcome even bigger challenges than this. The more the cities are prepared at the governance level to face such challenges, the fewer causalities or collateral damage will be reported.

Cities have been surviving on their own and will continue to do so.

I mean resilient to challenges like major disasters or pandemicsfor administering and managing health services. For example, we saw the collapse of the health infrastructure of multiple cities across the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. How do you think cities can prepare their systems for such disasters?

Developing such resilience is an everevolving developmental aspiration.

Things like having one medical practitioner and one paramedic facility to ten people are aspirations that each nation tries to achieve. An appropriate budget is allocated, or an adequate workforce is trained. Saying that the pandemic crumbled our health infrastructure will be a little too harsh on our cities. We saw that virus remained one step ahead of our dealing

I believe resilience to be an essential attribute of a city. Can our cities overcome challenges and tragedies like the COVID-19 pandemic? I believe yes. Our cities can, in fact, face and overcome even bigger challenges than this. The more the cities are prepared at the governance level to face such challenges, the fewer causalities or collateral damage will be reported methods and treatments. This led to the creation of a no specific treatment path for the virus. I believe that our health infrastructure was resilient despite all that. There were certain instances like oxygen cylinder crunch in the second wave where the system failed to rise, but that only highlighted specific gaps in the system to fill. This helped the cities’ health infrastructure to find ways to manage the supply chain of such things. The other issues that came to light during the pandemic will be incorporated into the system by taking a cue from the experiences preparing them for future challenges.

Here’s hoping that no new mutations come in the new year of 2022. So what will be your aspiration for Aligarh for the year 2022?

As I mentioned before, waste and drainage management in Aligarh are major challenges right now because of its geography. The gestation period of both issues is long. I will aim to lay a strong foundation for drainage and waste management in the city this year.

This way, 2022 will become a landmark year as it will pave the way for the smooth and rapid development of the city.

[Transcribed by Pooja Upadhyay, Trainee Reporter]

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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E-Dialogues

Accessibility: A mere idealistic cause or a substantive one?

All India Institute of Local Self-Government, in association with the Building Accessible Safe Inclusive Indian Cities(BASIIC) Program implemented by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and supported by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office(FCDO), organised an E-Dialogue titled “Building Cities for All – A perspective on disability inclusion in urban development” on 31st January, 2022 he eminent panel was comprised of Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA; Harpreet Arora, FCDO; Dr Vasudevan, Chief General Manager, Varanasi Smart City; Divya Pillai, Consultant, Bhopal Smart City; Prateek Khandelwal, Founder, RampMyCity; Subhash Chandra Vashishth, Co-founder and Director, Centre for Accessibility in Built Environment Foundation; Utsav Chaudhary, Team Leader (BASIIC), NIUA; and Ravi Ranjan Guru, Deputy Director General, AIILSG. The e-dialogue commenced with the

44 February 2022 | www.urbanupdate.in

address from Abhishek Pandey. The main objective of the webinar circled around the differently abled people and that our cities are not inclusive in their context. Stating facts, Pandey mentioned that with 6.5 billion estimated to be urban dwellers by 2050 globally and 900 million in India, inclusivity will be a huge task to cater to. Approximately 15 per cent people living in the cities are differently abled.

Leading to the urgency to the UN’s declaration, a poor accessibility presents a major challenge. “We aspire to have a better lifestyle, better economic conditions, and our aspirations leads us to migrate from villages to towns and then towns to cities,” Pandey added.

The population hike in the coming years is a given and so are the problems for the differently abled. Be it access to public servicesor access to public infrastructure the battle remains the same. So as we celebrate 75 years of independence, we need to be more focused towards catering to the demands of the differently abled and make cities more inclusive for them and not just for the people who can navigate and who are capable.

Hitesh Vaidya, who was present for an inaugural address said that cities are engines of economic growth, if they are being supported by the pillars of inclusion and sustainability. “Moving ahead in time, we are not left with just one engine, we have triple engine strategies for progress. There is no point of having the solutions written unless we start talking about them in the air,” he said. NIUA has developed policy briefs, tools, and also come out with harmonised guidelines that are the draft guidelines which will be now notified soon after the stakeholder discussion and they will entail information on how to capacitate the states and cities and how to bring inclusion in drafting the cities, he added.

The next speaker, Harpreet Arora spoke on Improving diversity and Inclusion in Indian cities and role of FCDO. Becoming inclusive is to include people from all ages and categories. FCDO’s perspective lies in localising all the efforts. “Aspects

of urban development have to be more spread out and more local,” he said. In 2018, the first summit was held in the set for these activities with list of commitments, delimiting discrimination, building leadership and economic empowerment. The Government of India should be given much appreciation for the same.India has already taken huge steps in drafting the most comprehensive legislation that the world has to know, the departments and ministries, their positive action and waving off discrimination is something to be appreciated so far, he said.

Dr Vasudevan presented his ideas next on Strategies for Building Universally Accessible and Inclusive Cities, the activities launched through BASIIC partnership which was materialised by NIUA in April 2020.

Varanasi, as a smart city, has been consistent with its work even during the period of the pandemic. There were series of webinars and lectures and consultation concerning disability inclusion. To name a few activities out of many in Varanasi, which were carried out to make it easier for people with disability to navigate with ease includes, construction of accessible ghat area, accessible walkways, well designed traffic intersection, ramp to access the river, accessible mode of transport, accessible ATM, etc., he added.

Divya Pillai continued the discussion and informed about the activities of Bhopal Smart City. Bhopal has been proactive in designing projects keeping in mind the livability index of the city.

In Bhopal city, a separate team has been dedicated to this cause, which purely works on a data driven approach, where the projects are designed in such a way that disability inclusion holds a major spot. In the place making projects which started in 2018, they developed vertical project which was totally inclined towards maintaining a happy and inclusive index in the cities for the disabled people, she added.

Prateek Khandelwal discussed about India’s problem of inaccessibility for the disabled. There have been plethora of campaigns and policy framework

leveraged by the Government of India but where do they seem to be working?

“Retrofitting of the buildings is a huge challenge in India because of how fast we are growing as a nation. If we try to have a bird’s eye view of the situation there are certain aspects that make a city inclusive. The cities are divided in public and private sector and all the services entailed in both the sectors should be accessible for not just an able bodied individual but for the disabled population as well because that’s what equality is” he added.

There are spaces which leave no room for the disabled community to navigate as the disability factor has not been considered. For instance, Brigade Road in Bengaluru has insufficient width between bollards for wheelchairs /prams to pass through. “Accessibility is seen just an idealistic cause as nothing has been done substantially on the ground,” he added. RampMyCity is changing the current phenomenon that accessibility is a big bang idea, no, it is not. Because if the structural changes are made with accessibility for the disabled and other vulnerable communities in mind then the scenario can be a lot different. The way to do it is make accessibility a mainstream, a popular concept, he added.

Subash Chandra Vashishth expressed his thoughts and said that the policy centering around housing is what needs reconsideration. “Disability inclusion cannot be achieved by working in just one sphere, much more needs to be done,” he mentioned. The policy frameworks have to be audited and assessed and create a mechanism to receive feedback on them. According to him, our standards are very West driven and integrated without considering their adaptability. He said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility is mostly left out in many areas, which normally considers smartness of cities and not the accessibility; this requires harmonised ICT guidelines.

Utsav Chaudhary, while taking the discussion ahead, highlighted what Pandey also mentioned about the joy and gratitude of disability inclusion.

Retrofitting of the buildings is a huge challenge in India because of how fast we are growing as a nation. If we try to have a bird’s eye view of the situation there are certain aspects that make a city inclusive. The cities are divided in public and private sector and all the services entailed in both the sectors should be accessible for not just an abled bodied individual but for the disabled population as well because that is what equality is He expressed that cities we live in have an intrinsic value for everyone.

But the freedom that we get in our respective cities is what matters the most. The core of inclusion should prevail in all spheres. Building safe and inclusive city is based on the pillars that are streamlining of the legislative framework and guidelines of disability.

Besides this a body of knowledge, BASIIC was needed to implement critical enablers for the larger aim, i.e., disability inclusion. The established body works towards ‘changing perception through awareness and a robust evaluation system’, he added.

In the concluding session, Ravi Ranjan Guru summed up the proceedings.

He provided the key takeaways from the webinar, mentioning that the crux of this effort is building sensitive and responsive cities. It is necessary to collect evidence on city’s perception towards universal design and inclusive practices through process of Training Needs Assessment (TNA). Emphasising on the e-course on “Fundamentals of Disability Inclusion” AIILSG initiatives were directed towards producing rich knowledge products and reports on Citizen’s Perception on Disability Inclusion, providing training to officials.

www.urbanupdate.in | February 2022

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URBAN AGENDA

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor

Water management is key to water security ater scarcity is a global issue. Since urban local bodies are tasked with the responsibility of providing adequate supply to citizens, it becomes imperative that they take initiatives to ensure availability of water, strengthen water management, make their supply systems efficient, reduce the share of non-revenue water and more importantly, make citizens aware of its value and promote water conservation. Cities are facing water scarcity due to the increasing burden on available water resources. With more people moving to cities, cities need to manage the demand and supply of water efficiently. The success of various urban missions, whether it is Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities Mission or any project for accelerating development, availability of water is of critical importance. Jal Jeevan Mission – Urban was launched in 2019 to fill the gap of an estimated 2.68 crore urban household tap connections. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has suggested 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd) urban water supply. For rural areas, Jal Jeevan Mission has fixed a minimum supply of 55 lpcd, which may be enhanced to a higher level by states. However, water availability is reducing in the country. Government data says that the average annual per capita water availability in 2001 and 2011 was assessed as 1816 cubic meters and 1545 cubic meters respectively, which may further reduce to 1486 cubic meters and 1367 cubic meters in 2021 and 2031 respectively. Cities in India are exhausting fresh, clean water sources. A recent study found that around 100 square km of area in Delhi is at high risk of ground displacement due to overuse of groundwater. It exposes a serious loophole in the vision of developing a country with 100 per cent access to water. Rainwater harvesting needs a similar push as solar energy in cities.

The thriving market of water purifiers in urban India reflects the reality of the quality of water supplied to households, farms, and complexes. Bad water quality exposes people to a number of diseases. Moreover, industrialisation and unscientific waste disposal in the cities have polluted water sources, including groundwater. The Mission involves promoting the circular economy of water and has set the target of 20 per cent of water demand to be met by reused water with the development of institutional mechanism. The Mission also aims to address the gap in the sewer connections/septage in 500 AMRUT cities and rejuvenate water bodies to expand the freshwater supply in India. However, there has been no noticeable work in rejuvenating water bodies to augment sustainable freshwater supply in cities. Lessons learnt from attempts to clean the Ganga River can be incorporated into the comprehensive model required to rejuvenate water bodies.

The road to sustainable development involves cities focusing on inclusive and sustainable development of infrastructure and services. The Jal Jeevan Mission has been developed in an integrated and comprehensive manner. It is in full swing in the rural areas, as is evident through its digital portal. However, a similar pace is required for work in the urban areas. The coming few years are expected to be full of trials for urban India as the fear of water scarcity is looming large over cities. Building adequate infrastructure, bringing innovative solutions, raising awareness, and involving people in the movement will be essential in creating water security in urban India. The movement will help the cities by handholding so that they can escape what looks like a certain calamity.

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