Urban Update March 2023

Cities leaders in Asia must join forces to make cities resilient

Quality is just one of our strengths

AIILSG has begun skill development programmes in Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The institute with its 90+ years of experience in the field of capacity building would impart training to youth living in rural areas of these two states to make them employable in various emerging sectorsApparel, Beauty & Wellness, Electronics, Healthcare, IT-ITEs, and Renewable Energy. As per Mou singed, AIILSG will train 16,000 youngsters.

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

Ayesha Saeed Reporter

Pushpender Singh

Indrani Priyadarshini

Shashank Garg

Trainee Reporters

Arjun Singh Digital Marketing Associate

Meenakshi Rajput

Art Director

Volume VIII - Issue X

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Asian Cities Summit – towards sustainable Asian Cities

Asian cities are growing rapidly and their population, i.e., the total urban population of Asia will cross 55 percent by 2030. While most Asian countries have figured among the less developed nations of the world, this rapid pace of urbanisation offers immense opportunity for these countries to become more prosperous, because it is a given that the prosperity of nations is determined by the prosperity of its cities. And therein lies the distinct possibility of pulling millions more out of poverty and crafting a better future for all.

Yet the path is strewn with challenges and obstacles. These include problems of water security, clean/green mobility, sanitation and waste management and urban shelter provision. Each of these is significant by itself and when taken together, become formidable. Take water for example. There is growing demand due to rising populations, increased industrial needs and the dwindling reserves – ground water depletion, unpredictable rainfall, contamination of natural sources, near zero recycling, etc. Housing presents yet another challenge. In recent times, Asia recorded the biggest gains in lifting people out of slums; yet some estimates suggest that alongside, the actual numbers of slum dwellers in the continent increased further, meaning that slum populations are growing faster than our ability to rehabilitate the slum dwellers. Urban mobility needs too are growing rapidly. The growing numbers of vehicles – mostly private - on city roads is leading to much congestion and safety issues. While electric mobility is gathering pace, the crying need is for reliable, safe, and affordable mass public transit systems. There is good progress in Indian cities on the metro rail front with rapid rollout of networks and speedy operationalization. This could become the backbone of urban transit in the times to come.

Climate Change presents a major hazard in our cities with frequency and intensity of increased rainfall, floods, cyclones and similar events causing bigger impacts given the density of the population. These events have a disproportionately greater impact upon the poor, women, children, and the elderly - the vulnerable sections. Special care is needed to devise solutions and build resilience into cities.

Given these challenges, there is urgent need for cooperation and collaboration among all stakeholders across international borders in order to come up with lasting, effective, and affordable solutions in order to build sustainable and inclusive cities in Asia. In this background, we are organising the Asian Cities Summit in collaboration with other partners in April in the capital. It will bring together a large cross section of urban experts including policy makers, urban local body personnel, urban planners, academicians, and industry. There will surely be much brainstorming and innovative thinking among some of the best urban minds on the continent. We will then be armed with a host of possible strategies to enable craft appropriate solutions to our urban challenges and build a sustainable future. I shall look forward keenly to the event and its outcomes.

I extend a warm welcome to all delegates to the Asian Cities Summit 2023 and wish you all a fruitful and pleasant stay in Delhi.

PIN POINT BUZZ

Governments must act on the stark warning by equitably phasing out of fossil fuels, supporting the affected communities through just transitions, and providing public finance to tackle climate impacts

Harjeet Singh Head of Global Political Strategy, Climate Action Network International

We must empower the Global South, where almost 800 million people have no electricity, in an inclusive energy transition. We must eliminate energy poverty... And we need to move from talking about goals to getting the job done

Dr Sultan Al Jaber COP28 President-Designate & UAE Climate Change Special Envoy

Women and girls must be able to engage, create, learn and work, safely and productively either online or offline, making the most of all the opportunities in every sphere of life and at every stage of it, in education, in the economy, in society and in politics

Urban TRIVIA

Erik Solheim Under-SecretaryGeneral, United Nations @ErikSolheim

The countries at the top want you to think the countries at the bottom are to blame for climate change. North Americas historic emissions per person are more than 25 those of India and 8 times those of China

Brent Toderian City planner + urbanist leading @TODUrbanWORKS, Global cities advisor @BrentToderian

In my experience, actually achieving better city-building outcomes is far more likely if you’re able to create a different, more engaging and unapologetically creative city-wide conversation about what better city-building actually means, why you need it, and how to achieve it

Ashok Singhal Cabinet Minister of Assam @TheAshokSinghal

The urban reforms, including reassessment of property taxation rates, being introduced under the visionary leadership of Hon’ CM Dr. @himantabiswa are imperative towards bringing uniformity in local governance & municipal taxation across Assam

World Congress of Cities & Local Governments

One of the earliest and most significant international gathering of mayors was the World Congress of Cities and Local Governments, which was held in Paris, France in 1913. The World Congress of Cities and Local Governments was organised by the French municipal government in collaboration with the French Association of Mayors. This congress brought together municipal leaders from around the world to discuss issues such as urban planning, public health, and public services

Sima Bahous Executive Director, UN Women

Why

Disasters

them

Emergence of Women Entrepreneurs by Promoting Social Entrepreneurship in Jharkhand

Gender plays an increasingly important role in the economic growth process, both in terms of capacity building for success and the nature of the influence of certain development plans and initiatives. The Girl Power Project, being implemented by AIILSG in Jharkhand and funded by the European Union, is striving to strengthen the ability of the Indian Civil Society and its organizations to perform their role as independent agents of change, implanting actions that bring transformative change into the lives of women and girls. The project aims to provide women and girls with skill training and entrepreneurial support to promote them as an entrepreneur.

The Girl Power Project is focusing on building self-esteem through

counseling, life skills training, and mentoring support through the entire journey of self-development and growth. This includes decisionmaking support, capacity building, and helping get work opportunities. It focuses on market-led enterprisebuilding, which is identifying gaps in already functioning value chains so that one knows where the maximum margins can be made to benefit the informally employed poor, create quality entrepreneurs for growing the business, laying emphasis to serve a variety of market segments and women with varying levels of capacities and social constraints. The integration aims to support women and girls to move forward confidently in new market situations.

Interaction of Shouvik Datta, European Union with women beneficiaries at Bero block of Ranchi District

Numerous social issues force the need for social entrepreneurship development in rural areas. Low living standards, unemployment, and social unrest are some such issues. Rural markets in India have been growing at a fast pace, resulting in overall social development and a balanced economy. The rural market has more potential than the urban market for consumer durables and services. Women establishing and running their own enterprise in rural areas comes with added responsibilities and obstacles. During the Baseline Survey of Girl Power Project, it was evident that there were a lot of obstacles that existing women entrepreneurs had to face on a daily basis in operating their enterprises. Women encounter major challenges in the marketing of goods and services. Lack of awareness of new products in the urban market, as well as poor technical skills in business administration, are major obstacles. Not only this, the remote location from the market also results in increased transportation costs. Focusing on women’s skill development and economic empowerment is one of the most urgent means to drive progress on poverty eradication, gender equality, and social and economic growth. When women and girls gain economic empowerment, the effects are spread across the communities.

The European Union funded Girl Power Project works with an objective of creating women entrepreneurs and till date, has trained 2,500 women beneficiaries in making of different products and commodities. The women beneficiaries are being trained on products such as Agarbatti, Achar-masala, Papad making, Goatry, Poultry, Lac Cultivation, Mushroom Cultivation, and Dairy. The women beneficiaries have been selected through the baseline survey in the initial phase of the project, in which 5,000 women were surveyed in 10 districts of Jharkhand covering 20 Blocks. Women beneficiaries are emerging from different blocks of Jharkhand with different products and are growing their businesses to become

social entrepreneurs.

OBJECTIVE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

♦ It creates opportunities: Through their very actions and initiatives, social entrepreneurs have the power to open up opportunities for people around their community creating jobs and employment around them.

♦ It has the power to change people’s behavior: Social Entrepreneurship through women will not only bring women empowerment but also promote gender equality in the community.

♦ It motivates others: The Social Entrepreneurs motivate others to do the same. This not only motivates the community they live in but also motivates the women of same socio-economic background.

♦ Brings Social Change: Social entrepreneurship brings social change.

SUCCESS STORY IN AGARBATTI MAKING IN BERO BLOCK OF RANCHI DISTRICT IN JHARKHAND

Nikhat Praveen is a passionate entrepreneur of Mahru villages of Bero block in Ranchi district. She is making Incense Sticks from home along with the other women of the village after getting trained under the Girl Power Project. She expressed that after the training in Incense Making provided to them in their village by an experienced trainer with the support of Girl Power Project, they are enthusiastic and are making Incense Sticks in their village. After the training, they formed a group and started purchasing the raw materials from Ranchi. Then they prepare handmade incense sticks and pack it. After that they sell the materials in the local market. Most of the sale of the group is near the temples and ritual sites. They are now getting more orders as they are producing good quality materials.

She then requested the Girl Power Project to provide them semi-automatic machine so that they can produce

more to meet the demand. This will definitely help them to improve their socio-economic status. On December 20 2022 Shouvik Datta, Senior Program Manager of European Union visited the site for Girl Power Project and saw the Agarbatti making by the self-help groups (SHGs) created by Girl Power Project at Bero block of Ranchi District and motivated them to continue with the good work.

EXPERIENCE SHARING BY WOMEN BENEFICIARIES

Women entrepreneurs are called for sharing their experiences on the occasion of Annual Network Meet of Girl Power Project. They spoke about the challenges they faced during the initiation of their business/enterprise with the technical support of the girl Power Project. The challenges are not only from outside but also from within their own families. Despite all these hurdles they are now doing business and trying to be independent. They are not only finically benefited through the project but also have a say in family matters. They are also providing employment to other women. All of them are very happy as they are doing better than before and promise to do the best in future.

OUTCOME OF THE DISCUSSION

The rural based women beneficiaries who got training under Girl Power Project are enthusiastic and highly motivated. They tend to bring changes in their own lives as well as the community they live in by establishing enterprise. They are doing excellent work in creating opportunities for themselves and people in their community by product-based learning and training, but they need financial support to start their venture in their vicinity for their livelihood. To meet such need, the Girl Power project is providing them knowledge about the existing Government Schemes and policies for getting financial help to establish their enterprise as individual as well as in SHGs.

“This is the last century of building cities”: Kunal Kumar at EU-India Urban Forum

The 3rd India-EU Urban Forum was held in New Delhi on February 13, 2023. The forum serves as a platform to exchange knowledge on building smart and sustainable cities, encourage investments in smart and sustainable cities, city climate action, and disaster risk reduction in urban areas. It will keep advancing innovative housing, efficient water supply and sewage systems, effective solid waste management and treatment, and circular economy. The one-day event held discussions on implementation and finance for sustainable urbanization by expert panellists on smart cities, water and solid waste management and urban mobility.

The first panel was on ‘Discussions on Smart Cities’. Normunds Popens, Deputy Director-general, DirectorateGeneral for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), EU Commission, spoke about the Partnership on Smart and Sustainable Urbanization between the EU and India and how the Partnership can benefit all of us. “It is about knowledge sharing and finding common solutions”, he said.

Manpreet Singh, Head of the Centre for Digital Governance, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), spoke about some ways the Smart Cities Mission has been a bellwether in urbanising India. The challenge now is how to take this model to smaller cities. What it needs is a stronger nudge on technology and e-governance. Quoting the recent RBI report on municipal finances, he spoke about how municipal corporations can swell their earnings. Simple implementation of GIS can increase the earnings from the property tax manifold. National Municipal Accounts Manual and Bonds are other ways to increase municipal earnings.Vaishali Nandan, Project Head, Climate Smart Cities, GIZ, said that the problem was not with the finance but with integrating the open-

source platform we’d created. When discussing building new systems, we also need to focus on bringing these new systems into practice.

Ashwini Thakar, Director of Programs and Operations, Mumbai First, spoke about the works of Mumbai First across eight verticals towards making Mumbai more livable. She stressed capacity building and testing the capacity of the city to carry the infrastructure beforehand.

The world will be 70 per cent urban by 2050, which means the pace of urbanisation is only increasing.

In this world, we have no option but to be smart, opines Kunal Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary and MD, SCM, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. He said, “This is the last century of building cities.” He talked about the need for ‘affordable excellence’ among

many other topics. For example, mobile phones are affordable to the poor and the rich alike. In the discussion on finances, he emphasised reducing funding.

The second session was on ‘Water and Solid Waste Management’. The discussion ranged from AMRUT mission and water infrastructure in India, waste management in cities from Italy and Spain and financial sustainability. D Thara, IAS, Additional Secretary, AMRUT, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, spoke about the onground challenges of creating such a vast water infrastructure in India. The mission was launched with 11 billion dollars, with 50 per cent funding from the centre and state each. India is facing a twofold challenge-replacing older infrastructure and adding new one. Paolo Gandolfi, Head of

Territorial Development Department, Municipality of Reggio Emilia, shared the waste management practices in the city of Reggio Emilia in Italy. He spoke about three aspects of the waste industry - technological, social and economic – which governance needs to include. Cheaper systems should not be preferred to hide the waste. In Italy, the PPP system of waste management means 70 per cent of the waste is managed by the public enterprise, while the private actors manage 30 per cent.

Vijay Premi, Superintendent Engineer, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, said that Chandigarh is a planned city of 12.70 lakh population. He elaborated on the practices and challenges of water management in Chandigarh.

Angel Prieto, Managing Director, European Business and Innovation Center, Albacete, Spain, spoke about Albacete. He stressed the importance of educating the people and that the public sector has to take the initiative in providing services to citizens. An interesting idea was that of ‘clean points’. These are places in the city

where people can drive and throw their trash. A discussion on financial and operational sustainability brought out valuable insights. For instance, D Thara spoke on diversifying revenue sources for municipalities. An exciting topic of discussion was that while cities keep on expanding, old cities do not develop and become congested since they weren’t built for modern machines like cars. Vinay Premi pointed out that the municipalities mainly depend on grants, mostly spent on salaries and electricity bills. To achieve financial sustainability, municipalities are now being encouraged to generate their own revenue. To manage waste sustainably, Gandolfi said minimising waste is the key mantra. In fact, in Italy, the family pays for as much waste as they produce. So, that incentivises people to reduce waste production.

The last panel discussed ‘Urban Mobility’, which is a crucial urban aspect. Urban Mobility has the potential to make transport inclusive while reducing carbon emissions to keep global warming in check. But

implementation is always a challenge and investments have to be designed to fit the particular context or each individual urban context. Nina Fenton, Head of Regional Representation for South Asia, European Investment Bank, talked about the intricacies of implementing metro rail project. For instance, the challenge with metro construction in Agra metro was to preserve the heritage landscape of the city. Public transport safety is paramount, said Lewis Dijkstra, Head of the Economic Analysis Sector, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), EU Commission. We can urge people to take public transport only if it is safe.

Any discussion on urban mobility is incomplete without the mention of ‘Metro’, which can be called a success story in the urban landscape. Jaideep, Joint Secretary and OSD, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, points out the reason. The metro is sustainable because it is reliable, punctual and accessible. M Babu Abdul Khadeer, Secretary, Kochi Municipal Corporation, shed exciting insights on the transport options in a city like Kochi, where a significant portion of the city is water bodies. The RoRo mechanism has cut the travel time from one end to another of Kochi from 40 minutes to seven minutes.

The forum ended with closing remarks from Kamilla Kristensen Rai, Counsellor (Sustainable Urbanisation, Water and Air), Delegation of the European Union to India. She highlighted the purpose of the forum which is to look for strategies of implementation from the perspective of technical and also human systems. She also referred to the excellent solutions on smart cities, water and solid waste management and urban mobility which were showcased through photos by each of the panelists and highlighted the importance to understand the context and process which facilitated implementation of the solutions. She ended with a quote from Narinder Nayar, the Chairman of Mumbai First, “The vision is important to make cities a better place to live.”

AIILSG conducted Training programme of Revenue Inspectors of ULBs at Directorate of Urban Local Bodies, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh

AIILSG conducted training programme for Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB). The Program was inaugurated by Dr Vinay Goyal, KSHB Secretary

AIILSG organised 4-day Level-3 Residential Training Programme under Jal Jeevan Mission at Hotel Grand Rajputana, Raipur. Officials from Public Health Engineering Department, Chhattisgarh joined the inaugural session

Delhi government releases `2,000 crore to MCD for paying salaries

Budget 2023: Special emphasis on vehicle scrapping policy

NEW DELHI: The automobile manufacturers hailed the special move by the Union Budget 2023-2024 on vehicle scrapping policy that has allocated adequate funds to replace vehicles that are over 15 years old.

further the vehicle scrapping policy mentioned in budget 2021-22, I have allocated funds to scrap old vehicles of the Central government. States will also be supported in replacing old vehicles and ambulances.”

The Government of Delhi released around `2,000 crore to the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) so as to allow the corporation to give salaries and pensions to the employees of the urban local bodies (ULBs). MCD officials confirmed the development and said that the ULB released `730 crore from the above-mentioned amount to pay salaries and pensions of the workers.

Kerala: HC issues notice to Govt on setting up BMC

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, Government of India, announced that vehicles owned by all the states and the central government including buses owned by the transport corporations and public sector that have been on the road for over 15 years will be scrapped. Sitharaman said, “Replacing old polluting vehicles is an important part of greening our economy. To

Sharing the same view, Venkatram Mamillapalle, Country CEO and Md, Renault India, said, “The policy will not only boost the sales but will also enable in achieving clean and green environment for overall sustainable development. Additional funds infusion in the scrappage policy is a remarkable step in the right direction to achieve India’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2070.” Mamillapalle added, “It would also eventually help the entire ecosystem of the automotive industry as this will translate into growing order books of original equipment manufacturers, increased output, and job creation.”

First hydrogen train to roll out in Dec 2023

The Kerala High Court issued a notice to the state government on a writ petition seeking a directive to all local bodies to constitute Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) under the Biological Diversity Act 2002, to protect biological resources, including sacred groves. Viswom Koothupara of Thrikkakara pointed out that as per the Act, every local self-government institution should set up a Biodiversity Management Committee in their areas and conserve and protect biological resources. The petitioner also stated that the government must protect the ecology and the bioresources and stop people from violating the Act.

NEW DELHI: India is to get its first hydrogen train by December 2023 which will be indigenously manufactured. According to an announcement made by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Government of India, the train will initially be run on heritage circuits like Kalka-Shimla.

Vaishnaw highlighted the developments in the railway sector and mentioned that a mini version of the Vande Bharat Express trains, to be known as Vande Metro, is also being developed. Vande Metro will help people to commute to and fro between their place of work and hometowns. The design and production of Vande Metro will be completed this year and in the next financial year, “a rampup of production of the train will be done.”

Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister, Government of India, announced `2.4 lakh crore for the Indian Railways while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24. She mentioned that “This highest ever outlay is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.”

Sitharaman added that with an investment of `75,000 crore, including `15,000 crore from private sources, 100 critical transport infrastructure projects including projects for lastmile connectivity for coal, steel, ports, fertilizer, and food grain sectors and will be taken up on a priority basis.

HP replaces all official vehicles with EVs

SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh State Transport Department has completely shifted its entire fleet of official vehicles to electric ones in an effort to become a ‘Green Energy State’ by 2025.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh (HP) stated that HP is the first state in the country to switch over to electric vehicles. The Chief Minister mentioned, “We will completely transform the existing diesel buses with e-buses in a phased manner. The local bus depot of Shimla will soon have a full fleet of e-buses. An electric bus depot will also be opened in Nadaun as well and the e-buses will soon run on all the local routes in Shimla.” He also mentioned that 300 e-buses will be added to the fleet of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) for which an outlay of `400 crore has been sanctioned.

He added, “In the coming two years, a target of 60 per cent e-buses will be added to the fleet of HRTC. We are working in the direction to make Himachal as India’s first ‘Green Energy State’ by 2025. The HRTC was in a loss since the last few years. Switching over to electric vehicles will be a step forward to minimize the cost of transportation and will be affordable to all.”

No women in 85 city ward committees in Chennai

Budget 2023 targets 7,000 kms new railway tracks

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Government of India, announced that the target to lay 7,000 Kilometers new railway tracks in 2023-24. The minister said that the last financial year’s target of laying railway tracks for a distance of 4,500 kilometers (12 kilometers per day) has been already achieved. Adding to it, he said, “Before 2014, this used to be four kilometers per day. The railways have set a target of laying new railway tracks for a distance of 7,000 kilometers next year. These tracks will include new lines, doubling, and gauge conversion.”

Kejriwal demands regularisation of 4,500 NDMC staff

CHENNAI: As per the gender and caste-based analysis of nominated members conducted by a NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO), there are no female members in the ward committees in 85 wards, out of 200 in the city. A Councillor nominates 10 members, one from each area, to the ward committee. Half of these councillors consisted of women, and the nomination process has been completed recently.

Out of 2,000 members, gender and caste-based data is available for only 1,449 members. Of these 1,449 members, 1,352 were men, and 97 were women. Highest women representation was found in wards 15, 75 and 188, where four out of 10 members were women. There were five ward committees with three

women members, and in another 15 ward committees, there were only two women members respectively.

Around 390 members of the ward committees come from Schedule Castes, 527 come from Backward Caste (BC), 323 from Most Backward Caste (MBC), and there was only one person belonging to Schedule Tribe category. Out of 1,285 members about whom the caste-based data is available, only three were BC (Muslims). Vanessa Peter of IRCDUC said, “The Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies (Ward Committee and Area Sabha) Rules, issued on 24th June 2022 by the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department should incorporate reservation for women, persons with disabilities, trans persons and other vulnerable groups in rules notified.”

The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to Amit Shah, Minister for Home Affairs, demanding the regularisation of over 4,500 employees of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Delhi CM is asking for speedy approval of the Recruitment Rules of Group ‘C’ posts to regularise Regular Muster Role (RMR) employees at the earliest. He also mentioned that a letter has been sent from NDMC seeking Ministry’s approval for the draft Recruitment Rules for Group ‘C’ posts on September 25, 2020, with prior approval from the NDMC council.

Waste-to-Energy plants to come up in Ponda &Valpoi

The Government of Goa is planning to set up two biomethanation plants of five TPD (tonnes per day) capacity in Ponda and Valpoi Municipal Councils at `5.5 crore. The state government has invited tenders to supply, install, test and commission plants with 5 TPD capacity in Ponda and Valpoi to generate power from waste. The tenders will include the operation and maintenance of plants for five years. The Government of Goa also established a biomethanation plant in the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) market.

Indore Municipal Corporation raises `721 crore through green bonds

The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) received an overwhelming response to its green bonds issued for setting up solar power plants after attracting a subscription of `721 crore, which is almost six times more than the base price of `122 crore. The officials stated that on the first day of the opening of the bond, it received a subscription of `661.52 crore. While it received a subscription of `204.57 crore from corporate investors and `229.35 crore was raised from institutional investors. The officials further added that `176.33 crore and `110.50 crore were received from retail investors and High Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs) respectively.

PATIALA: Traders, shop keepers, hotel owners and vendors continue flouting single-use plastic (SUP) norms in Patiala despite repeated warnings.

The Municipal Corporation, Patiala has been taking action against shopkeepers for the use and sale of listed banned plastic products, including carry bags, polythene bags, plastic pipes, etc. The urban local body (ULB) is yet to take action to curb manufacturing, distribution and import of these banned plastic products.

A senior ULB official has confirmed that the civic body has been taking steps against the use of single-use plastic items including polythene bags and plastic bottles and issuing regular challan for this purpose.The situation

Traders and shopkeepers continue flouting SUP norms in Patiala PIL in Delhi HC asking to hold LS, SLA and ULB polls together

NEW DELHI: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in Delhi High Court requesting guidance to the Centre and Election Commission of India (ECI) to determine the viability of conducting the elections to the Lok Sabha (LS), State Legislative Assembly (SLA) and municipal polls simultaneously as it will save money, manpower, and limit election paralysis caused by the imposition of Model Code of Conduct.

The PIL says that holding elections to the House of People, SLA, and civic bodies simultaneously would reduce the time and money spent on these elections. It would also reduce the need to deploy paramilitary forces, government staff and the election commission staff to organise polling booths, electronic voting machines (EVM), voter slips, etc several times.

The plea seeks an authoritative directive

persists even though the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has already issued directives last year, under relevant provisions of the Environment Protection Act, to the Department of Local Government, Rural Development, Panchayats, Deputy Commissioners, regional offices of PPCB and others. The environmental body has also sent official communique to the police department to curb cross border movement of these banned single-use plastic products.

Apart from that, it has also held programmes in various government schools. Similarly, ULBs have also organised various programmes and campaigns in collaboration with industries regarding the banned plastic products at the district and state levels.

from the court to the Centre and ECI to explore the feasibility of conducting elections on Saturdays, Sundays and other holidays, thus, saving valuable time of schools, colleges, universities, service industries and manufacturing units.

Petitioner Ashwini Kumar, a practicing advocate of the Supreme Court and BJP leader, is seeking direction to implement recommendations of the Law Commission of India outlined in Report number 170, which says, “We must go back to the situation where the elections to Lok Sabha and all Legislative Assemblies are held at once.”

Goa: Data collection underway for biodiversity plan

PANAJI: Based on the Biodiversity Framework adopted by United Nations, Goa has started to collect data for the draft Goa State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (GSBSAP). Goa is the first state in the country to start this preparation and will document the state’s biodiversity in minute detail along with a strategy to drive the conservation of the resources by linking it to the livelihood of the local populations. Scientists and experts are heading various sub-committees formed by the state and are collecting information

from gathering inputs from scientific studies related to the state’s biodiversity. The Goa State Biodiversity Board is also collecting data and suggestions from each of the biodiversity management committees operating in every village.

Rajiv Chaturvedi, Assistant Professor, BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa campus, stated in his presentation that by the year 2050, the mean annual temperatures in Goa may increase by around two degrees Celsius. By 2080s, the temperature may rise by four degrees Celsius under high emission scenarios. Parag Rangnekar, a researcher, mentioned in his presentation that fires on plateaus and grasslands seem to be an evident threat to butterfly and insect diversity.

The Goa State Biodiversity Board will hold two separate consultations with the people in North and South Goa once the draft GSBSAP is ready.

15-day special anti-encroachment drive begins in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has begun its 15-day long anti-encroachment drive in the national capital on Tuesday, February 7, to improve the city’s look and feel ahead of the much-awaited G20 Summit, which will take place in New Delhi in the month of September 2023. The civic body conducted the anti-encroachment drive on Tuesday as part of the 15-day-long exercise in 12 zones of the city. MCD, in its statement, said, “The MCD is taking all necessary measures to give the best facelift to Delhi in view of the upcoming G20 Summit.

Apart from that, “Directions have been issued to all the concerned officers to put their best foot forward towards making Delhi a shining chapter in the success story of G20 Summit.” In line with the aim of the exercise, the central zone of MCD conducted

anti-encroachment drive in Okhla, Govindpuri, Sarita Vihar, Ansari Road, Parda Bagh, Daya Nand Road, Mahavir Vatika, and Daryaganj. The general branch team of the MCD cleared encroachment on a two-kilometre stretch and seized 22 items.

Similarly, Rohini zone organised a similar exercise in the area near Peeragarhi Metro Stations and Nangloi Metro stations and seized six items. Karol Bagh zone removed encroachment from the Kirti Nagar Lakkad Market area.

MCD elects Shelly Oberoi as new Mayor

Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidate Shelly Oberoi was elected as the new Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). While addressing the MCD House for the first time, Oberoi thanked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodiya and Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and said, “We will all work together to fulfil the dreams of the people of Delhi.” Apart from that, Aale Mohammad Iqbal, another AAP candidate, was elected as the Deputy Mayor by securing 147 votes out of a total of 266 votes.

SCB election notification disappoints local residents

The Ministry of Defence, Government of India’s notification regarding the elections of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has disappointed the residents in the area who were awaiting the merger of their colonies with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Ministry announced that elections to the 57 cantonment boards, including the SCB, will be held on April 30, 2023. The notification disappointed the residents of SCB because they believe that after this election notification, the proposal to merge the SCB civilian areas with the GHMC will be on hold.

“MASHRABHYA”: TRADITION MEETS TECHNOLOGY TO CUT DOWN COOLING DEMAND

Al Bahar Towers are located at the junction of Al Saada and Al Salam Streets in the City of Abu Dhabi, where the temperature could reach upto 120˚F. Al Bahar Towers were designed to integrate the building into its cultural context and respond directly to the climatic requirements of the region. The “Mashrabhya” form of screens, used in Al Bahar Towers, is a series of transparent shading components which open and close in response to the trajectory of the sun. It is estimated that the screen reduces the solar gain by more than 50 per cent and reduces the use of air conditioning.

Joshimath-like situation in Doda; cracks due to land subsidence

DODA: A Joshimath- like situation has taken place in Doda, a town in Jammu and Kashmir, after several houses developed cracks due to land subsidence. A team of scientists from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) visited Doda to analyse the situation. They have collected samples from the area and are yet to deliver the report.

Vishesh Paul, Deputy Commissioner of Doda, said, “19 houses have developed cracks along with two other structures. The GSI team is on the task and has taken samples, they will give us details as to what is actually happening here. Actions to be taken accordingly under Disaster management.”

Athar Amir Zargar, Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Doda, mentioned that locals of the town witnessed the cracks last December which have now

started aggravating. He said, “The situation is being regularly monitored by Doda’s Deputy Commissioner and his senior officers. The situation is currently under control. The Government has also sent a team from the Geological Survey of India and they are conducting their studies and will submit their report to the government. The people have vacated the area.”

Ramban district, which borders Doda, has developed a similar case where three houses collapsed and five families have been evacuated to a safer place.

PM inaugurates first section of DelhiMumbai Expressway

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, inaugurated the first section of a 1,386-kilometer expressway, linking New Delhi to the financial hub, Mumbai. The Prime Minister marked the opening of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section and laid the foundation stone of road projects worth more than `18,100 crore. The 246-kilometer-long Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section has been developed at a cost of more than `12,150 crore. This route will reduce the distance from Delhi to Jaipur which could be covered in three and a half hours.

Once complete, this Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be the longest in the country, thus reducing the travel time between the two cities by 12 hours- cutting the journey time by half. The Expressway will pass through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra and will also connect major cities like Indore, Kota, Jaipur, Vadodara, and Surat. It will also serve 93 Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, eight airports, and eight multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs).

In his address, PM Modi stated, “When such modern roads, railway stations, metro, and airports are built, the country’s progress gains momentum. For the last nine years, the central government is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country.”

Empowering ULBs essential to resolve emission woes

Experts claim that it is essential to empower local bodies and other local institutions to resolve issues related to air pollution and urban emissions. The comments came during a seminar organised by the Department of Environmental Engineering at Delhi Technological University (DTU). The seminar on urban emissions was aimed at bringing together experts from various sectors to discuss the cause and effects of urban emissions and find possible solutions to the problem of urban pollution via policy interventions and the involvement of educational institutions. The importance of smart mobility and air quality forecasting systems was also highlighted in the seminar.

Improper wm to be fined in Uttar Pradesh

Violators of Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2016, including individual and bulk waste generators, will now attract a fine ranging from `50 to `2,000. The Department of Urban Development informed that from March 4 a statewide campaign will be organised to ensure source segregation of waste. Households, commercial property owners and construction site owners will be penalised in case of violation of the SWM norms. Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), having a population of over six lakhs, have been empowered to collect an additional `200 over the monthly user fee from the house owner if they do not separate the dry and wet waste.

UP Budget 2023: Focus on youth, infra and welfare schemes

LUCKNOW: The Government of Uttar Pradesh presented the state’s annual budget for the financial year 2023-24 on February 22, 2023. With an approximate amount of `7 lakh crore, the annual budget focused on infrastructure development, welfare schemes, and empowerment of youths and women in the state.

In his budget speech, Suresh Khanna, Finance Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh, highlighted the 16.8 per cent growth in the state’s GDP. He also mentioned that the unemployment rate in the state has decreased from 14.4 per cent in 2017 to 4.2 per cent at present.

The government allotted a budget of `21,159 crore for the development of infrastructure, apart from expressways, and proposed `6,209 crore for the

maintenance of the existing ones.

For the initial stages of development of the Jhansi link expressway and Chitrakoot link expressway, `235 crore has been proposed, and `550 crore for the Bundelkhand expressway and Defence Corridor projects.

With a focus on the youth, the government proposed `3600 crore under the Swami Vivekanand Yuva Shashaktikaran scheme for distributing smartphones and tablets to students. Under various welfare schemes, the finance minister proposed `12,631 crore for National Rural Health Mission, `1,655 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, `25,350 crore for Jal Jivan Mission, and `2,288 crore for construction of 6.6 lakh toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission.

NDMC launches ‘anti-insanitary drive’ to clean India Gate

Gadkari tweets infra projects for Nagaland

NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) launched an “anti-insanitary drive” over the weekend to keep the India Gate and recently renamed Kartavya Path clean. The drive includes ten teams of sanitary staff to keep the erstwhile Rajpath area clean and promote public hygiene. The civic body also penalised people who litter on the road, unauthorized vendors or hawkers on the Kartavya Path and the world war memorial in the national capital for dumping waste. Earlier, the civic body issued a notification against waste accumulation in the public areas under section 267

(3) (a) of the NDMC Act, 1994, and the section reads, “no person shall deposit rubbish, filth and other polluted and obnoxious matter in any street.” The notification also prescribed a fine of `50 in case of violation, and if the violator does not pay the fine, then a complaint will be lodged against them as per the provision of the NDMC Act. Apart from that, dedicated teams from the health, enforcement and security department have been engaged by NDMC to prevent encroachment, littering, spitting and defacement in the area. The local body has earmarked six zones for the vendors nearby Man Singh Road, C Hexagon and Rafi Marg. The enforcement department has been asked to check vendors’ documents and ensure that there are no squatters.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, recently announced over Twitter, that the government has taken infrastructure development projects in Nagaland. The projects include the construction of a 14.71 km long highway from Dimapur to Kohima with an estimated cost of `339.55 cr (package II). Gadkari mentioned that the primary objective of this project is to improve connectivity among commercial centers with the state capital, enabling faster transportation of goods and services. He said that the construction will take place adhering to strict timelines and uncompromising standards of quality.

Maha HC: PMRDA should consult local bodies for development plan

Maharashtra High Court has directed the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) to consult relevant local self-government bodies before taking a final call on the draft development plan. The High Court direction comes after a PIL objected to the PMRDA plan, stating the exclusion of local bodies. PMRDA prepared the Draft development plan back in July 2021 and called in the objections. In the PIL filed by Vasant Bhise, Sukhdev Tapkir, and Deepali Hulawle, the court highlighted that the PMRDA planning committee had vacancies when the development plan was being discussed.

Maha Bypolls: Chinchwad records 41.1 per cent voting

Maharashtra Assembly by-polls held recorded a total of 41.1 per cent in Chinchwad and Kasba seat in Maharashtra recorded 45.25 per cent voter turnout. Bypolls for both the assembly became necessary due to the death of Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs Laxman Jagtap and Mukta Tilak. On Sunday, voting began at 7 in the morning and concluded at 5 in the evening. There were around 510 polling centres in Chinchwad to allow 5,68,954 registered voters to exercise their franchise. Similarly, there were 215 polling centres in Kasba constituency for 2,75,428 registered voters.

MP: Dewas ULB receive `7 cr under Kayakalp Abhiyan

Rajkot ULB

planning

transit

for Phase 5 of Ring Road-2

zone

RAJKOT: Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA informed that they have decided to develop a transit-oriented zone (TOZ) for Phase-5 of the ring road to connect National Highway 27 to Morbi Road.

The decision to create a TOZ was taken in the meeting of governing board of RUDA. The area where the TOZ will be built lies between NH27 and State Highway 24 (SS 24) or Morbi Road in the RUDA development plan, 2031.

As per the provisions of the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976, an area development authority gets 40 per cent of the land from the land reserved for developing public infrastructure.

Amit Arora, Chairman, RUDA and Commissioner, Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), informed The Indian Express, “But this provision of reservation of 40 per cent land does not apply if the area is categorised as a green zone in the DP. But the laws provide for creation of TOZ through a green zone. Today, the board decided to create such a TOZ for proposed phase-5 of the RR2.”

Apart from that, the board has also decided to reduce the price of its 192 flats from Rs 24 lakh to 18 lakh per unit which were built for the middle-income group (MIG) category. These 3 BHK flats have been built in the Munjka area on the outskirts of the city.

Delhi LG VK Saxena approves

Delhi Draft Master Plan 2041

NEW DELHI: The Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena approved the draft Master Plan 2041 for Delhi in a meeting of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Tuesday, February 28.

economy, infrastructure including housing for all, innovative solutions such as Transit Oriented Development (TOD) hubs, land pooling, green area development and rejuvenation and regeneration of the capital city.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released a fund of `350 crore for the urban local bodies (ULBs) in Madhya Pradesh under the Mukhya Mantri Kayakalp Abhiyan. Dewas ULB has received `7 crore out of this fund released by CM. A virtual programme was organised at Vikram Sabha Bhawan near Jawahar Chowk in this regard. The programme was attended by Gayatri Raje Puar, MLA; Rajiv Khandelwal, District President; Durgesh Aggarwal, Representative of Mayor; Ravi Jain, Chairman; Bharat Chaudhary, senior BJP leader; and Babu Yadav, Councillor Representative along with others.

Delhi LG, also the chairman of the DDA, also took some major decisions, including the relaxation in the guidelines regarding identification of female beneficiaries of in-situ rehabilitation under the ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan’ programme.

LG informed about key elements of the draft plan, including inclusiveness, environmental sustainability, green

Later the Master Plan prepared by DDA and a statutory document facilitating Delhi’s development by assessing the present condition and guiding the desired development will be forwarded to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India for the final approval and notification of the same.

The draft plan pursues three goals, including making Delhi an environmentally sustainable city to provide a healthy environment to the citizen, resilient to the after-effects of climate change and disasters; to develop a future-ready city that provides quality, affordable and safe living environments with efficient services and green mobility; and to make Delhi a dynamic place for economic, creative and cultural development.

PM inaugurates IEW 2023; Key initiatives in green energy sector

BENGALURU, Karnataka: Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru on February 6, 2023. The event was held from February 6 to 8, 2023. Leaders from academia, government, and the traditional and alternative energy sectors came together at the event to examine the opportunities and difficulties that a responsible energy transition brings. More than 30 ministers from different countries were in attendance, including more than 30,000 attendees, 1,000 exhibitors, and 500 speakers present to talk about the prospects and challenges facing India’s energy future.

Addressing the gathering, PM said that India Energy Week is the first significant energy event of the G20 calendar and welcomed everyone on the occasion. He said, “India is one of the strongest voices in the world for energy transition and for developing new resources of energy. Unprecedented possibilities are emerging in India that is moving with a resolution of a Viksit Bharat.”

The Prime Minister emphasized the impending need and demand for energy

in India and pointed out that due to the country’s rapid economic growth, new cities will be built. According to the Prime Minister, who cited the International Energy Association, India’s energy needs will be at their highest in the coming decade, creating a business opportunity for investors and other energy sector stakeholders. He stated that while India’s gas demand is anticipated to increase by up to 500 per cent, its proportion of the world oil demand is likely to increase from 5 per cent to 11 per cent. He emphasized how India’s booming energy industry is creating new prospects for investment and cooperation.

PM launched the uniforms that are made of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles under the ‘Unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil and flagged off the twin-cooktop model of Indian Oil’s Indoor Solar Cooking System for its commercial roll-out.

He also took part in launching E20 fuel at 84 retail outlets of Oil Marketing Companies in 11 states/ UTs and flagged off the Green Mobility Rally where vehicles running on green energy sources will take part and will help to create public awareness on

green fuels.

At the inaugural event, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India said that it captures India’s dreams and aspirations of an ‘Amrit Kaal’, whilst also underlining its role in the 21st Century global economy as a ‘Vishwaguru’ following the ideals of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.

He mentioned that “IEW 2023 comes at a watershed in the global energy landscape and it will devise solutions to solve the global energy quadrilemma of energy access, affordability, and availability with security at its pivot and devise solutions for the future global energy transition. This year’s theme ‘Growth Collaboration Transition’ is very apt as it underscores the need for us to collaborate and grow together.”

Talking about the ‘Unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil, Puri informed, “In line with the clarion call given by Hon’ble PM, to phase out single-use plastic items, we are launching largest initiative in world to reuse and recycle 100 million PET bottles per year. This also resonates with global initiative of Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) movement launched by PM. PET bottles will be converted into cloth for the frontline workers of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), non-combat uniforms for Armed Forces and other Institutions & Retail sales.”

He further added that the Union Budget 2023 has allocated `35,000 crore or priority capital investments towards energy transition and net zero objectives, energy security, and has made significant policy changes for accelerating outcomes.

He expressed confidence that IEW will offer an unmatched global networking platform for all where key priorities will be set and new collaborations and partnerships in the energy sector will be formed.

DHARA 2023: Shekhawat says rivers are synonymous with civilizations

PUNE, Maharashtra: Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers (DHARA) 2023, an annual meeting of the River City Alliance (RCA), was organised in Pune, Maharashtra by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in collaboration with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) on February 13 and 14.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister for Jal Shakti, Government of India, delivered the keynote address on the inaugural day of the annual meeting. Minister inaugurated the event by mixing water from 52 participating cities in a Jal Kalash.

He said, “Rivers are synonymous with civilizations and after several decades of using our rivers for survival, we must reflect on what we have given the rivers back, otherwise our future generations will bear the brunt of water scarcity.” He later added, “If every city (107) which is a member of the River Cities Alliance (RCA) will take a step forward, we will take 107 steps forward and that is the need of the hour.” He also highlighted the importance of decentralised planning for effective water resources management and expressed his happiness that over 40 municipal commissioners participated in the event.

The minister also informed that the Pune Rivers Rejuvenation Project, the foundation of which was laid by the Prime Minister of India, would be

completed in March 2025. He said, “It is necessary to reestablish the respect for water, which went down from generation to generation as part of the traditional wisdom of our forefathers. It is time that we generate that sentiment in the younger generation by using social media, which is a powerful tool in the times we live,”

Apart from that, an Urban River Management Plan for Ayodhya and Aurangabad was launched in the opening session of the RCA meeting.

The meeting saw the participation of G Asok Kumar, Director General, NMCG; Vikram Kumar, Pune Municipal Commissioner; and Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA.

Asok Kumar, Director General, NMCG, said that earlier, the water was not even on the list of priorities for the municipal commissioners. But under the Namami Gange Programme, they were asked to include water in their primary agenda, and it has been successful in doing that. He said, “Namami Gange has been selected as one of the world’s top 10 flagship programmes from over 160 countries which is a testament to the success of the Namami Cange Programme.”

Launched in 2021, RCA is a dedicated platform for cities across India to come together to discuss and exchange information for sustainable river management. The meeting encompasses multiple sessions,

including a session on ‘Innovative International Case Studies for River Management’, Innovative Examples of River Management within India’, Strengthening the Agenda for Urban River Management’, ‘Youth for Rivers’ and ‘Experiences from International River Cities’.

The session titled ‘International Case Studies’ focuses on innovative riverrelated best practices in countries like Denmark, floodplain management in the Netherlands, reuse of wastewater in Israel, river health monitoring in the USA, pollution control in Japan and water sensitivity city design in Australia.

Himansu Badoni, Executive Director, NMCG; S. Vishwanath, Director, BIOME Solutions; Ramveer Tanwar, Pondman of India; Kartiki Naik, World Resources Institute; Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Chief Advisor, NIUA; Col. Andy Pannier, Secretary, Mississippi River Commission, USA; Martina Bukard, Director, GIZ Programme, Germany; Harry Virahsawmy, Head of Urban Water, Alluvium Consulting, Australia; Anitha Sharma, Counsellor for Water and Urban Development in Embassy of Denmark; Srinivas Chokkakula, Ministry of Jal Shakti Professional Chair, Centre for Policy Research; Prof. Vinod Tare, Founding Head of Ganga; and Dheeraj Joshi, Deputy Secretary of NMCG were some of the attendees in the event.

Chhattisgarh Budget: `2,500 monthly unemployment allowance

RAIPUR, Chhattisgarh: The Government of Chhattisgarh tabled the annual budget worth `1,21,500 crore for the year 2023-24 on Monday, March 5. The new budget includes a provision for providing `2,500 per month as unemployment allowances to educated and unemployed youth in the state. The government has earmarked `250 crore for the monthly unemployment benefit scheme. The state budget has increased significantly as for 2022-23, the state budget was pegged at `1,04,000 crore, and this time the state government has presented a total budget of `1,21,500 crore. Estimated revenue expenditure for 2023-24 stands at `1,02,501 crore, and the state expects to spend `18,660 crore as capital expenditure.

Real Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2022-23 is expected to grow by 8 per cent. Similarly, per capita income for 2022-23 is also expected to grow by 10.93 per cent, with this per capita income in the state would increase to `1.34 lakh

The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, also in charge of the finance portfolio, spoke in the assembly and said, “A new scheme to give allowance to the unemployed will be launched. Under the scheme, unemployed youth aged 18 to 35 years who passed class 12, and with an annual family income of less than `2.50 lakh, will be given an allowance of `2,500 per month.” The government is also increasing monthly pension allowance provided to the destitute, disabled, elderly, widows, and abandoned women under the Social Security Pension Scheme. The pension amount has been raised from `350 to `500.

The government has earmarked `6,800 crore to provide input subsidies under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. Input subsidy for major Kharif crops, including rice, is provided under the scheme, which is being hailed as a masterstroke by the Congress party

ahead of the state assembly elections earlier later this year. The government is stressing rural development and agriculture as the state government has earmarked `20,000 crore for these two departments. On the front of urban transport, the Chhattisgarh government has proposed a Lite metro project which will run between Raipur and Durg. The budget document also proposes four new medical colleges in Manendragarh, Janjgir Champa, Geedam and Kabirdham districts. Additionally, 101 new Swami Atmanand English medium schools, costing `870 crore to the government, have also been proposed.

The government is also planning to increase the salary of the Anganwadi workers and sahayikas (assistants) from `6,500 to `10,000 and `3,250 to `5,000, respectively. Salaries of mini-Anganwadi workers will also be increased to `7,500 from `4,500. Similar increments have been proposed in the state budget for village Kotwars (based on the size of the area where

they serve), gram patels, home guard personnel, cooks under the mid-day meal scheme and sanitation workers in government schools. Also, `38 crore has been set aside by the government for Kany Vivah Yojana, and `25 crore has been earmarked for setting up a new thermal power plant in Korba west. In line with the resolution adopted during the 85th plenary session of AICC, held in Nava Raipur, the recent announcement of increasing the scholarship for the Scheduled Caste, Schedule Tribe and Other Backward Classes students studying in hostelashrams and Prayas schools to `1,500 per month from `1,000 per month.

Apart from that, new budget also includes a provision `3,238 crore under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural)

The budget, being hailed as the ‘Chhattisgarh model’, was presented in the assembly with the motto “Gadhbo Nava Chhattisgarh” (creating a new Chhattisgarh) with an enhanced focus on agricultural and rural economy.

UP: Govt to exempt EV buyers from paying tax & registration fees

LUCKNOW, Uttar Pradesh: With an aim to promote electric vehicles (EVs) in the state, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to give exemption to EV buyers from paying road tax and registration fees for three years starting from October 14, 2022, as per the official statement issued on Friday.

The exemption will be valid for a period of five years starting from when EV is manufactured in Uttar Pradesh. Right now, user charges are around 8 to 10 per cent of the total cost of the vehicle. In line with this decision, RTOs in all the districts have been directed to comply with and implement the government directives with immediate effect.

As per the revised notification issued by L Venkateshwarlu, Principal Secretary, under the Uttar Pradesh Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Mobility Policy 2022, a 100 per cent exemption will be given on the EVs sold and registered between October 14, 2022, and October 13, 2025. Additionally, in the fourth and fifth year of the notified period of exemption outlined in the Electric Vehicle Policy, that is between October 14, 2025, and October 13 2027, a 100 per cent rebate

will be given on EVs manufactured, sold and registered in the state.

Under the abovementioned policy, the definition of EV includes all automobiles that use electric motors and are powered by batteries, ultracapacitors or fuel cells. As per this definition, EVs include two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers, Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), and other Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV).

This move will benefit 3,997 EV owners in Agra who have been charged road tax and registration fees. Till date, around 11,340 EVs are registered with the Agra Divisional Transport Office (RTO), of which 3,997 are EVs, including 437 are e-rickshaws, and 30 are cars. The rest are the two-wheelers which have been bought before October 14, 2022.

These exemptions are being provided in addition to the subsidy provided by central government. With the help of these exemptions, the cost of twowheelers will come down by `15,000 to `20,000 on the road, and the cost of cars will come down by `1 lakh. It is

being said that with these exemption, given by the UP government, the difference of registration between the national capital Delhi and Uttar Pradesh along with the rates will come to down to zero.

As per the mandate of the policy, a 15 per cent subsidy will be provided on the factory price of the EV bought in the territorial limits of the state. Apart from that, subsidy of `5,000 per vehicle will be provided on the first two lakh electric two-wheelers, upto `12,000 on the first 50,000 electric three-wheelers and upto `1 lakh per vehicle on the first 25,000 EV cars. Similarly, a subsidy of `20 lakh per e-bus will be given on the first 400 buses bought in Uttar Pradesh, and 1,000 e-goods carriers will be provided with a 10 per cent subsidy on the factory price of the e-goods carriers of upto 1,00,000 per vehicle.

The government is also encouraging its employees to buy electric vehicles by allowing them to take an advance. These measures by the state government are also expected to promote the usage of electric vehicles in the state which will ultimately contribute towards the mitigation of carbon emissions and promoting sustainable mobility.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL Small Cities Can Solve Asia’s Urban Challenges

Asia has the most number of megacities, but the road to a sustainable urban future in the next phase of the urbanisation wave in the continent will go through small towns. National governments in the region will have to strengthen smaller cities to drive sustainable urbanisation and help achieve the objectives under the 2030 Agenda, New Urban Agenda and various other global agendas agreed upon by all nations

UUrbanisation in Asia, its challenges and opportunities have been making headlines for years now, and it’s not hard to see why. The continent is home to some of the biggest and fastestgrowing cities in the world, and most of them are powerful urban centres. Out of 34 megacities (with a population of over ten million) in the world, the continent has 22 megacities—Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Mumbai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Nagoya, Beijing, Karachi, Kolkata, Istanbul, Dhaka, Bengaluru, Manila, Osaka, Chongqing, Karachi, Lahore, Cairo, Bangkok, Hyderabad and Guangzhou. China has six megacities. India is a close second. The number is likely to grow further. In 2022 the Institute for Economics & Peace predicted that by 2050, 70 per cent of the world’s population would live

Abhishek Pandey Editor

in mega-cities, with an additional 14 cities being added to their 2022 list of megacities.

No doubt these cities are the economic powerhouses and wield power. They attract global talent and businesses. But these cities are facing several urbanisation challenges too. Many of these cities are full of slums in the absence of affordable housing facilities. It takes hours to cover a short distance during office hours in these cities. And there are issues in accessing various urban facilities for different communities and income groups. There is a problem of climate change, overcrowding, overstretching of municipal resources, and inequity in delivery and access to infrastructural facilities. All the problems may not exist everywhere, but many of these challenges are common.

As of 2021, over half of Asia’s population lived in urban areas, and that number is only going up. In fact, it’s estimated that by 2050, nearly twothirds of the continent’s population will be city dwellers. That’s a lot of people living in relatively small areas.

According to the United Nations, Asia is home to over 4.5 billion people, and that number is only expected to grow. In fact, by 2050, the continent’s population is projected to reach 5.3 billion. That’s a lot of people needing resources and services in already crowded cities. Increased demand for housing, transportation, and energy will further strain municipalities and urban authorities. The environmental impact of urbanisation will be another issue as cities grow and swell.

SMALL CITIES BETTER CITIES!

Urbanisation has brought with it plenty of benefits, too. Cities are hubs of innovation, creativity, and economic growth. But we can’t ignore the challenges that come along with all that growth. If we want to build sustainable, livable cities for future generations, we need to start taking these issues seriously in metropolises and arrest migration from rural areas to megacities and metropolises and divert

them to smaller cities. The definition of small cities in Asia will be different from that in Europe or in the USA. A city with 500,000 people is considered small in this part of the world.

Just look at India. The nation has five megacities having a combined population of over 75 million. And about 50 plus metropolises and the total combined population is about 225 million. It means little over 40 per cent of India’s urban population, and about 16 per cent of 1.4 billion people live in metro and megacities. Eightyfour per cent of India’s population still lives in smaller towns (having a population of less than a million) and villages. India has over 400 cities with populations between 100,000 and one million. India has more than 4,000 cities with populations between 10,000 and 100,000. These towns are home to a significant portion of the country’s population. The situation is almost similar in other Asian Countries. Smaller cities collectively contain around 43% of Japan’s total population. China may have about 100 million-plus cities, but it also has over 3000 small towns. About 55% of China’s population lives in cities with fewer than one million people.

Outside Asia, Germany has three cities of over one million population and 96 between 100,000 and 1 million. It has 1518 cities between 10,000 and 100,000, which contain 42 per cent of the country’s population. In much smaller Hungary, only Budapest, the national capital, has a population of over 1 million, while there are seven cities between 100,000 and 1 million and 137 between 10,000 and 100,000, containing roughly one-third of that nation’s population. There are different methods to define the type of cities, but by whatever reasonable definition, small cities vastly outnumber large cities in almost every country and contain significant shares of each nation’s population.

There has been a focus on improving services in megacities and metropolises, but if the services and infrastructure in smaller cities and towns remain in poor health, the benefits of urbanisation will

not reach everyone, and the quality of life in cities will deteriorate. People are also getting attracted to living in small cities, especially after the Pandemic.

CHARM OF LIVING IN A SMALL CITY

Where do you want to live? In a city or in a village. There are positives and negatives to both, whether one is living in a city or in a rural community. Indeed, cities give you a variety of choices of facilities, improve quality of life, and provide people with enhanced access to economic opportunities and a fast-paced lifestyle. Villages give you access to a strong community, provide clean air and water and almost no traffic jams. On the flip side, village life slows you down in a good way. If someone gave you a choice, where would you live? It is a tricky question because it will certainly vary from one person to another. It will depend on the priorities of people at a given time. Small towns hover somewhere in the middle. The Pandemic changed a lot of things for urban residents, especially people who could work from home. They can live anywhere.

An article published in the Readers’ Digest describes choices people are making in America. The article says, “As a whole, people are leaving the city. Younger families, in particular, are looking for the opposite of what they used to want. It’s no longer about commutability; it’s about quality of life. They want to live where there’s a waterfront or beach or where they can go hiking.” To that end, many are considering leaving larger cities and escaping to places that offer wide, open spaces, fewer people, and a simple lifestyle.

Living in small cities offer a plethora of benefits, such as lower costs of living, a tight-knit community, easy access to nature, and a lower crime rate. Of course, there is an advantage of economy of scale in megacities, but technology is gradually changing it. Creating good models of small cities and towns can become a necessity in the coming years, and it can address several urban issues in one go.

Growing urban trends of Asian megacities

Asian megacities are rapidly growing and urbanizing. These cities are home to 54 per cent of the world’s urban population and have a population of over 10 million in 16 megacities. The World Urbanization Prospects 2018 report predicts that this trend will continue, with Asian megacities adding over 500 million people to their population by 2050. With over 2.6 billion, the urban population increased by nine-fold between 1950 and 2018 from 246 million, making Asia the world's most populous continent. This growth presents numerous challenges which must be addressed to support them to grow into livable and sustainable cities for all

Largest Asian Agglomeration (Population in Million), 2018

Tokyo, Japan

India

China

Mumbai, India 20 Beijing, China 20

Ranjit S Chavan President, AIILSG

Cities leaders in Asia must join forces to make cities resilient

Cities are facing multiple challenges, but climate change is a challenge like no other. Many cities in the region are vulnerable to climate catastrophes. With their dense populations, high levels of economic activity, income disparity, housing of the poor in ‘unsafe’ places, and vulnerable infrastructure, cities here are particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and face a range of climate-related challenges. This edition of the Asian Cities Summit is centred around the theme ‘Inclusive and Resilient Cities’ to accelerate the joint actions

Every city is different. They are diverse in their geographical locations and topographies, governance structures, financial capacities and resources. Then, why do cities need to come together to address the challenges of urbanisation? Can’t each city handle it on their own? Well, let me tell you, that kind of thinking is as outdated as a rotary phone.

Cities in Asia are bound to grow so fast that they can’t keep up with the demand for infrastructure and services. There will be a strain on natural resources, impact on the environment, and social inequalities that arise if urban spaces are erroneously built for the few privileged and not for all. And cities are also at the front of climate change-induced disasters and manmade catastrophes. Natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and pandemics - they can all strike at any time, and cities need to

Ebe prepared. Most of you will agree that all cities are at risk of such calamities. No city in the region is disaster-proof, absolutely. All of us have witnessed this during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has underlined the importance of working together to face disasters and other challenges collectively.

LET’S JOIN HANDS

No city is perfect. They have their strengths and weaknesses. Some countries are good at handling housing problems, some have championed the cause of the poor, and some have managed urban mobility wonderfully. When all of such knowledge and understanding come together, the collective force of cities becomes formidable. Collectively, cities can achieve more than they ever could on their own. They can share knowledge, expertise, and resources. They can learn from each other’s successes and failures. They can develop innovative solutions that they would never have thought of on their own.

Cities must be united in the shared commitment to creating sustainable, livable, and inclusive cities for all. One of the main objectives of this Summit is to bring city representatives from the region on a platform and forge relationships to tackle the challenges

of urbanisation in Asia. Till the last edition, the Summit was called the South Asian Cities Summit, but from this year onwards, we at AIILSG have decided to call it the Asian Cities Summit for two reasons. The first one is that we were receiving overwhelming responses from all countries in the Asia Pacific, and the second one is that Asian cities have various commonalities in their urban structure, challenges, resources and financial strengths. It was a no-brainer decision to rename it as Asian Cities Summit.

As we envision the forum’s role on a broader scale, we are reminded of the critical role that city leaders play in shaping the future of our urban environments. City leaders must work collaboratively and with a shared vision to ensure that our cities continue to thrive and grow sustainably while providing opportunities and benefits to all their citizens.

PRESSING CHALLENGES: HIGHLIGHTS FROM IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report finally released its Synthesis Report (SYR) on March 20. It has detailed why it is urgent for all of us to take action now in the 8000-

Cities must be united in the shared commitment to creating sustainable, livable, and inclusive cities for all. One of the main objectives of this Summit is to bring city representatives from the region on a platform and forge relationships to tackle the challenges of urbanisation in Asia

page document available to read on the IPCC’s official website. It combines the findings of three Working Group reports and paints a comprehensive picture of where we are and where we’re headed. The report doesn’t mince words - the climate crisis is happening right now, and it’s all due to human activity, specifically, the burning of fossil fuels.

The IPCC finds that there is a more than 50% chance that global temperature rise will reach or surpass 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) between 2021 and 2040 across studied scenarios. Under a high-emissions pathway, specifically, the world may hit this threshold even sooner — between 2018 and 2037. Global temperature rise in such a carbon-intensive scenario could also increase from 3.3 degrees C to 5.7 degrees C (5.9 degrees F to 10.3 degrees F) by 2100. To put this projected amount of warming into perspective, the last time global temperatures exceeded 2.5 degrees C (4.5 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels was more than 3 million years ago. What can cities do? They need to become sustainable and reduce their emissions.

It is no secret that cities contribute around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a massive chunk, and it’s why the report emphasises the crucial role of cities in addressing climate change. It’s high time for cities to reduce emissions and build resilience to climate impacts. The report highlights the vital role of cities in addressing climate change and provides a range of strategies for reducing emissions and building resilience in urban areas. It’s up to us to act quickly and transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future.

Cities need to work on mitigation and adaptation at the same time. The report lists several strategies cities can adopt to reduce emissions, including investing in sustainable transport, improving building efficiency, and shifting to renewable energy sources. It also stresses the need for cities to work with their communities to ensure that climate action is equitable and inclusive. The report also highlights the need for adaptation in urban areas.

Extreme weather events, sea level rise, and other climate-related risks are becoming more severe, and cities must build resilience to deal with them. This includes investing in green infrastructure like green roofs and parks and improving water management to minimise the risk of flooding.

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report’s Synthesis Report is a wake-up call. The climate crisis is real, it’s happening now, and we need to take urgent action. Asia is bound to build more cities, and the pressing challenge would be to build them sustainably.

Asian cities have several examples of the haphazard urbanisation phenomenon and its impacts on cities and citizens. The fast-paced urbanisation often leads to the expansion of cities into green spaces, putting pressure on natural resources and exacerbating climate change. City leaders will have to rethink their choices of the kind of development they promote. They need to find out ways collectively and means to build sustainable infrastructure, affordable ways of generating renewable energy and promote public transportation systems. They will also have to ensure that urban growth happens equitably and benefits people fairly and the gap between rich and poor does not grow. For this, all city leaders must provide affordable housing and ensure equitable distribution of civic services.

Asian cities must also address the issue of urban resilience. City leaders must invest in resilience-building measures such as early warning systems, disaster preparedness training, and infrastructure that can withstand extreme events.

Despite these challenges, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of Asian cities. Urbanisation presents significant opportunities for economic growth, innovation, and cultural exchange. By working together, city leaders can develop strategies and solutions to tackle the challenges presented by urbanisation and create vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive cities for the 21st century.

Dr Sudhir Krishna Former Secretary Ministry of Housing & Urban Development Government of India

The sharp rise in tourism in Asian hill cities has led to escalation in the supporting infrastructure projects, such as highways, hotels and resorts, and housing. Growing population, both resident and floating, has necessitated growth in the infrastructure for core services such as water supply, solid waste and sewage, not to miss out the shopping complexes and entertainment facilities. But this unchecked activity at such a massive scale has caused serious consequences for the hill cities. The recent cases of land subsidence seen in the hill cities of Uttarakhand in India were just an example. While the thrust of the activity is economic and tourism-centric, there needs to be a more balanced urbanisation

Sudhir Krishna Former Secretary (Urban Development), GoI.

Emerging Climate Challenges for Asia’s Hill Cities

The hill cities too have been welcoming the tourists, as they bring in wealth and employment.

Asia is host to some the most picturesque hill cities of the world, such as Shimla (India), Paro (Bhutan), Baguio (The Philippines), Bandarban (Bangladesh), Pine Oo Lwin (Myanmar), Maubisse (East Timor), Cameron Highlands (Malaysia), Da Lat (Vietnam), Nuwara Eliya (Sri Lanka), Pokhara (Nepal), Bogor (Indonesia), and Murree (Pakistan), to name just a few. Hill cities offer a pleasant retreat to the people from far and wide, particularly those who live in the humdrum of metropolitan and mega cities. With rising income levels, the desire of the people from the metropolitan cities to spend their vacations in the hill cities has been growing steadily and rapidly.

ABesides tourism, the hill regions of Asia have also been increasingly subjected to introduction and expansion of massive hydroelectric projects, owing to the large gradients available in the flow of the rivers that originate in and flow through the hill regions. These projects require creation of huge reservoirs to impound the river flow and also the tunnels, that often extend to several kilometres, to let the impounded water reach the power generation station.

The growth strategy for the hill regions and cities has often overlooked the repercussions on the long term sustainability of the ecology of these areas. This has resulted in situations of deforestation, soil erosion, landslides, land subsidence, and water and air pollution. Shimla and many other hill cities in India have shown growing incidences of buildings developing cracks, attributable to land subsidence, which, in turn emanates from

largescale heavy construction activities with buildings allowed to come up on steep slopes as well, poor drainage management in and around the city, lack of availability and, wherever available, poor enforcement of building norms, besides other accentuating factors such as inadequate waste management. All these factors imp[act the local environment and induce ecological degradation.

Paro (Bhutan) and Murree (Pakistan) provide a striking and typical challenge of poor municipal solid waste (MSW) management that the hill cities in Asia face almost uniformly. The MSW contains hazardous and electronic waste including batteries, household cleaning products, cosmetics, automobile maintenance products and electronics such as phone, television sets, bulbs, and tube-lights. These do not disintegrate well even in landfills and spread the toxin in the environment including the subsoils.

Pokhara in Nepal and Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka are yet another hill cities highly frequented by tourists and is

consequently subjected to climate warming and the decreasing trend of rainfall This trend indicates changes in the climatic condition that may affect water resources, vegetation, forests and agriculture.

The development strategies being pursued in the hill regions have brought in social sustainability issues also. The people in the hill regions have traditionally been utilising their surroundings as common goods, for minor forest produce and the like. However, the infrastructure and other projects like hotels, resorts, dams and highways have been taking away the common assets of lands and forests from the local residents, making them bystanders for the assets which they had traditionally ‘owned’. A significant such case of a five-star resort and entertainment centre in Bandarban (Bangladesh) was reported extensively. The issue is quite prevalent in other hill cities/areas across Asia too. In fact, citizens in many hill cities have started raising concerns on the adverse impact of growing number of tourists. Baguio, on the Philippines’ Luzon island, which is a mountain town of universities and resorts and called the “City of Pines,” has indicated the misgivings that the residents have about tourism, which is reflected in the “irritation index”.

THE POSITIVE SIDE

It would be, however, unfair to argue that the hill regions and cities should be left completely untouched from any development of tourism and related facilities or the infrastructure projects. As human population and prosperity is growing, people shall continue to look for travel and tourism to the hill cities as a desirable mode of adventure, entertainment and social and economic growth and development. Tourism promotes economic activities and generates employment. In the scenario of globalisation of the economy, the society too is getting gradually, but steadily, globalised. People of the hill regions are no longer averse to welcoming outsiders, rather they generally welcome the visitors. On the other hand, people from the other

regions find it rejuvenating and exciting to visit the cities that are located in the laps of the mountains and the hills. In fact, countries such as Switzerland have high per capita income in the range of USD 90-100,000 per year mainly owing to tourism. India, with per capita income of about USD 2,500 per year can definitely get major gains in its economy via tourism promotion, for which the hill cities offer ample opportunities. Some hill cities like Pine Oo Lwin (Myanmar), have gotten so used to large number of visitors that during the COVID-19 pandemic, for want of tourists’ arrivals, they started looking like ghost cities.

THE WAY FORWARD

Climate Change in the hill regions and hill cities is a cause of serious concern. While hills provide the opportunities for adventure and spiritual tourism, they are also facing the adverse impact of climate change, which is brought in, or accelerated by, inadequate attention being given to the climate resilient development of the hill cities and their surrounding areas, besides electricity generation on a large scale. A welldesigned approach to regional and local planning that is based on adequate scientific studies of the geology, geomorphology and the climate patterns of the hill cities is called for.

Based on the scientific studies, the capacities of hill cities for hosting visitors needs to be worked out. Furthermore, tourism for the hill areas and hill cities should focus on ecotourism model, which is an approach to tourism where the focus is on preserving nature and educating the tourists about it. The ecological studies of the hill regions should also help in determining the size of the dams that could be built in the hill regions for hydroelectric power generation.

Hills are the crowns of pride for their country and hill cities are the gems in that crown. Handled carefully and scientifically, the hill cities and regions can provide immense economic and social benefits not only to their residents, but also to the rest of their countries.

Ranjan K Panda Convenor, Water Initiatives/Convenor, Combat Climate Change Network, India

We considered the rivers as foundations of human civilizations. But, that’s before the taps arrived. At a time when we bathed in the rivers, played in their waters, and made regular visits to their banks for various purposes, we enjoyed a different relationship with them. People flock to the rivers even now, but only when there is a festival or if it is floods. Rest of the time, it’s a forgotten entity, mostly a dump yard. A great transition is happening in our minds as far as the image we carry about our rivers. We are now concerned about water, the life-giving resource without which we cannot survive. That’s the reason, as long as we find the water bottle to buy when we are thirsty, we are fine. And this phenomenon is more seen in cities than in villages

Connecting city youth to their rivers

In the cities, we have already been calling rivers drains – channels that carry our dirt. As a child, I used to bathe in a tributary of Mahanadi that flows just a couple of hundred metres from my parents’ home. My relationship with the rivers got upgraded when I grew younger and started going to a high school. Then I had the permission to jump into Mahanadi that I call my mother River. Odisha, my home state, calls Mahanadi its mother River. But then my tryst with the tributary did not end. I had the luxury of playing with the tributary as well as the mainstream river. This tributary is now a drainage line and the mainstream River is among the most polluted at the stretch it flows in my city. While, in public perception, we still hold Mahanadi – the mainstream river – in some esteem, we have forgotten the role of the tributary. If such imageries persist in our minds, and especially in those of the millennials and generation Z, time is not far when our rivers will be completely neglected.

YOUTH & RIVERS

Recently, about 30 young people from across the country – most of whom urban dwellers, got connected with our #Youth4WaterIndia campaign and had the opportunity to participate in a National Youth Conclave organised under the G20 initiatives. I had a few rounds of interactions with these youngsters. Most of them are quite sensitive to water and climate crises all of us face. They also flagged off the

Ichallenges our rivers face. However, all their attention stayed put on the mainstream rivers like Yamuna, Ganga, Mahanadi, so on and so forth. That gave me a sense of how the image of the tributaries are fading in our minds. We then got engaged with some local youngsters in my city and tried to find out what do they mean by a tributary. We were not surprised at all by what we got. Almost all of them found these ecosystems to be ‘wastewater drains.’

Contrast that with what a tributary is. “A tributary is a freshwater stream that feeds into a larger stream or river. The larger, or parent, river is called the mainstem. The point where a tributary meets the mainstem is called the confluence. Tributaries, also called affluents, do not flow directly into the ocean. Most large rivers are formed from many tributaries”, says a National Geographic encyclopaedic entry for grade 6 to 12. We had engaged with urban students studying in 9 and 10 grades. This may not be a universal

scenario and more studies are needed for sure, but the fact remains – and what I have been observing from my long-standing work with youth – that Rivers have lost their value in our minds. Their ecosystem services have not gone down but we have stopped valuing them because we don’t go to them on a daily basis. Humans have this unique character of keeping relationships – with fellow beings or nature – as long as they derive a utility value for themselves. That’s the reason we have been categorised into service providers and consumers. We are no more citizens of the civilizations that Rivers have blessed us with. Not being river citizens also means that we are losing out on the knowledge of the rich ecosystems these rivers support and in turn help us fight many ecological disasters and build climate resilience of the cities.

SPOT YOUR RIVULET

This led us to initiating a contest for the youth in which we are asking them to spot the rivulet that feeds their mother River. Through this we intend to bring their attention to the existence and health of the tributaries that play a vital

role in enriching the mainstream rivers. In fact, in many cases, the tributaries are too big and are also locally known as mother rivers locally. This however does not change the fate of our rivers, which are facing a crisis at the moment. But to take any actions to conserve our urban rivers, understanding them in totality is very important. And, most importantly, getting the youth involved in this relationship building exercise is crucial. Youth have to be consciously made a major stakeholder in all the programmes and processes that are being planned and/or facilitated to rejuvenate urban rivers. The ‘spot the rivulet’ contest is a beginning in that direction. In fact, many cities in the world have already started to value their rivers and there is a lot of thinking and actions going on in rejuvenating them. The European Centre for River Restoration holds it that, “Rivers are increasingly valued as part of the urban environment, rather than simply a means for removing waste water and rubbish. Successful urban river restoration is as much about establishing trust with local people as it is about improving flows and habitats”. Projects taken up in cities have valued the importance of informing people

about the social and economic benefits of urban river restoration, as well as the ecological advantages.

GOING BEYOND CLEAN-UPS

We have observed that many youth and youth groups/campaigns are engrossed in clean-up actions. Often one will find social media posts by such groups posing proudly with huge plastic bags filled with all sorts of waste they have picked up from sea beaches and river banks. This certainly helps the youth recognize themselves as eco-warriors and such one-off actions can help them be part of some positive change. But we need campaigns and initiatives that go deeper than this in working towards rejuvenation. I have personally been part of many such clean-up drives. It’s self-satisfying but then when you realize that the garbage you pick up is changing only your own behaviour and not that of other city dwellers, you are forced to think about long-term and systematic interventions. The litter we gather and dispose of at the garbage pick-up points ultimately land up at the landfill sites, most of which are not sanitary systems. The next Sunday you come to the spot you had cleaned; you find it has been littered again. There is no end to it.

The real step should start with understanding the water commons around you, in your cities. You have to find out the many impacts urban habitations have had on the Rivers. The change in water quantity and quality, the change in geomorphology, their ability to support wildlife and other species, the changes in the flora, increase in invasive species, changes in the floodplains, and many such indicators of the changing health of urban Rivers have to be understood if cities are serious about securing the water of their geographies and making them climate resilient. And all this cannot happen by re-building the bond between people and their Rivers. We have started this process with the youths in our campaign. Let us join hands!

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

Tikender Singh Panwar Former Deputy Mayor, Shimla

Asia is now predominantly urban. The UN statistics of 2022 state that nearly 2.7 billion people which is roughly 54 per cent of Asian people are now living in cities. Some of the most populous cities of the continent include Delhi, Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai, Beijing, Karachi, Dhaka, Kolkata, and so on. Asian cities are experiencing rapid urbanization. People are migrating from rural to urban centres in search of better economic opportunities and better living standards. But this is also happening because of the economic strategies being located in specific countries. Let us have a generalized look at the way in which these countries evolved after a prolonged struggle against colonialism and how the push was for industrialization and thus urbanisation

Urban Asia: Inclusive & compassionate urbanisation required

The struggle for independence in Asia was a complex and multifaceted process. In fact, most of the countries got independence in the mid part of the 20th century. Here is a brief overview of some of the major countries that got independence during that period. While India and Pakistan gained independence from British rule in August 1947. Indonesia got independence from the colonial Dutch rule on August 17, 1945. Vietnam gained independence from French rule on September 2, 1945, and then had to face a long war with the Americans for unifying the country. Korea was divided into North and South after World War II with North Korea gaining independence from Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945, and South Korea gaining independence in August 1948, after a period of occupation by the US. China got independence in 1949 and Myanmar in 1948.

These are just a few examples of the prominent struggles in the Asian region which were led by an innate desire of shaping one’s own future which is selfreliant and economically independent. The ruling classes of respective countries shaped their economic trajectories. Let us have a look at how this was done.

T• State-led capitalist development or import substitution industrialization is a model that was adopted by many Asian countries including India, Indonesia, and even Pakistan. It involved the government using protectionist policies to limit imports and promote domestic industries or the national bourgeoisie.

• Export oriented industrialization as adopted by Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Of course, each of these countries had its strengths and bulwarks for such a growth strategy.

• China and Vietnam went in for massive land reforms and developed a surge in demand. Government-led efforts to modernise agriculture, increase food production, reduce poverty and improve standards of living were the guiding principles. This was a socialist model where agrarian reforms were the key to development.

• Thailand and Malaysia went in for market reforms quite early and it involved liberalising their economy and promoting private capital. The goal was to attract foreign investment and increase economic growth.

The Asian economies which were predominantly based on the production of primary goods in search of technology and the production of secondary goods went into unbalanced deals with the developed world. The old cities turned into industrial hubs and new ones were built across the continent. In India and Pakistan, there was a massive challenge

of refugees after the partition took place in 1947. Issues like housing, decent work, etc dominated some of the major demands of the working population in the continent.

THE NEOLIBERAL PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT

The opening up of the economies across the continent started with the onset of two important historical moments. First, the fall of the Soviet Union and the GATT into WTO. The cities that were considered hubs of manufacturing started losing out to more KPOs and BPOs. A large capital inflow started entering some of the major cities of the continent.

CHANGING CONDITION OF WORK

This form of urbanisation definitely is diverse but has led to a change in the working conditions of the people. There is more informality that has entered the cities and the working population finds it difficult to bargain for the rights that they used to in the past. The significant impact on the working population has been:

• COVID -19 has impacted Asian cities and their working people the hardest. Many businesses were closed or their operation was reduced, thus leading to job losses, salary cuts, and also reduced working hours.

• Rapid Urbanisation continues in Asian cities and this has also resulted in a non-commensurate provision for housing and squeezing of the social sector. Thus, there is a widening income gap and massive inequity existing in urban Asia.

• As pointed out, informal sector is widely prevalent in cities and with this is added limited job security, low wages, and hardly any social protection.

• The Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entering Asian cities. With little skill development, job displacement is taking place at a rapid pace.

• Though women in the workforce are increasing in Asian cities, however, the challenges of gender

discrimination, unequal pay, and limited opportunities continue to plague the environment.

CLIMATE CHANGE & ITS IMPACT

The vast region of the Asian continent is experiencing one of the worst forms of climate and natural disasters in the world. The impact on the lives of people is massive.

The Asian continent has a coastline of nearly 2,18,541 kilometers making it the continent with the longest coastline in the world. The latest IPCC reports have pointed out that the 2 degrees rise in temperature over the industrial revolution base, would mean losing many of the Asian cities. Mumbai may lose 50 per cent of its geographical area. Likewise, most Asian cities are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The Asian continent also has the highest peak in the work with the youngest mountain ranges, the Himalayas. The mountain cities continue to face the wrath of the formation of this mountain range. And the region is in seismic zone IV and V. Hence the infrastructure built in the continent is extremely vulnerable to both climate and natural disasters aspect. However, the push from the national and provincial governments to harness hydropower and enhance productivity is further enhancing the vulnerability of the region.

Likewise, the continent is also filled with major river systems of the world. The major rivers include Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, and Mekong river flow through several countries in Southeast Asia including China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. River systems are also affected by climate change as flooding is becoming a common phenomenon.

ALTERNATIVES REQUIRED

Though there cannot be a generalised form of urban development model for Asian cities, however, it is pertinent to mention what we discussed at the Habitat III conference in Quito. John

Closs, the then Executive Director, UN Habitat, while speaking about the unsustainability of the current models of urbanisation across the globe vehemently said, “the last few decades of laissez-faire in urban development and planning must be given up and we need to go back to the basics of planning. That is, cities must be planned for its people.”

I think a similar call is required for the cities in Asia for a more planned intervention keeping two aspects and the core: people and climate.

To sum up what is required in Asian cities, here are some key points:

• Transport in urban Asia should primarily be public transportation, focusing on cycling, and walking, thus reducing congestion and air pollution.

• Green infrastructure: Building green spaces and reducing land use change. Maintaining biodiversity and reducing the heat island effect. The poor suffer the most because of the loss of urban commons.

• Waste is a major issue in the Asian region. Effective ways for waste management in cities. Instead of capital-intensive technologies, basic strategies like recycling, and composting will reduce the size of landfills.

• Water management is a key area for sustainability in urban Asia. Too much reliance on technology will not serve the purpose. The cities must be strengthened and potable water must be made a right and should not just remain under the domain of ‘need’.

• Inclusive societies are required in urban centres. The inclusivity should be both on social and economic parameters. The right to the city must be revisited. All members of the city life must have access to basic services such as healthcare, education, housing, etc. Simultaneously there should be social inclusion and ghettoization must be restricted.

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

Fahad Zuberi Architect, Theorist & Researchers

Of People and Numbers: Why Indian urban development needs to learn from humanities

The pandemic revealed that cities are essentially networks of social, political, and economic interactions; that infrastructure is just a canvas on which the story of the city is painted by these interactions – moulding these interactions and getting moulded by them; and that if we want to plan cities that live up to the promises of modernity, we will have to understand the socio-political and economic networks of cities, and the nature of human interactions therein. Planners and all other professionals involved in the project of urbanization in India, therefore, need to learn from humanities

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the early 2020, all metropolises that were otherwise brimming with life came to a standstill. As people were locked inside their homes and social, political, and economic interactions halted, the city ceased to exist. Vast landscapes of road networks, flyovers, parks, public transport systems, and other infrastructure lay bare and lifeless – incapable of producing and sustaining structures that fulfill the promises of urbanity.

On the socio-political front, unlike the West, South-Asian nations have inherited a colonial form of modernity and colonial modernity comes with its own baggage and complexities.

Firstly, colonial modernity comes with unresolved histories of conflicts that existed as a result of medieval and ancient polity. The conflicts around sites of worship across the Indian subcontinent are an explicit example of historic conflicts that survived despite the avante garde conception of a secular

Wrepublic. Secondly, colonial modernity comes with anxieties of identity. Systems of caste, religious hierarchies that appeal to ethno-nationalistic politics, and the tensions between gendered roles and the promise of the modern individualism reflect these anxieties. And thirdly, colonial modernity comes with a colonial polity – a citizen-state relationship that has politico-legal continuities from the time of its imperial conception. To conclude, socio-political systems of postcolonial nations are inherently opposed to the values of freedom, liberty, and equality that anchor the ideological project of urbanization. A planner without the knowledge of the disciplines of history and politics fails to address this unique nature of South-Asian cities.

On the economic front, South-Asian cities are rapidly growing economies. They are dynamic and exist in a state of ephemerality. Rapid transition from primary economic activities to secondary and tertiary ones is reflected in the high pace of urbanization in such cities. While this brings economic prosperity and opportunity for an upward socioeconomic mobility, it also makes urban growth very unpredictable.

Contemporary views on the economics of developing countries acknowledge their unpredictable nature. Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, for example, have

argued for policies that do not assume determinism in the discipline but allow for unpredictable scenarios within economic policy frameworks. Scholars of Urban Planning such as Bimal Patel and Alain Bertaud have argued the same in the case of cities. Planners without a sound knowledge of economics are illequipped to deal with this peculiarity of South-Asian urbanism.

Contrast these gaps with existing attitudes and discourses. The Indian Urban Planner aims and yearns for socio-political neutrality and follows deterministic processes. This is ingrained in the very process of urban planning in India. The bedrock of the urban planning process in India, for example, is statistics – population projections, to be specific. These population projections are distributed over the spatial urban terrain according to presupposed aims and objectives. Hidden in this process are two fallacious assumptions.

Firstly, it treats people as numbers and therefore, as homogeneous entities that will behave in mathematical ways that can be accommodated by translating numbers into spatial configurations. Our cities are glaring examples that this is far from the truth.

Indian cities are divided and polarized environments. Along with the obvious and more explicit segregation of class, they are segregated over caste, religion,

and food habits. Gender identity plays a massive role in how inclusive or exclusionary an urban space is, and a confluence of such identities decide accessibility to housing and social life in Indian cities. The Indian urban space is produced by the socio-political identity. Statistical distribution over space is guided by the socio-political and does not precede it.

Secondly, it assumes a deterministic model of growth. Planners assume that their population projections will match the reality over two or three decades and their planning will achieve presupposed objectives. A dynamic economy does not behave in this manner. Four decades ago, for example, it was impossible to predict the IT industry-led growth of Bangalore and Hyderabad. Several experiments in satellite towns have also failed as a result of population projections being wrong and markets growing in complete dissonance with urban planning. Noida is a textbook example of this phenomenon.

Several studies have confirmed the growing socio-political and economic tensions in the cities of South Asia. The Fragile Cities Project undertaken by the IGRAPE Institute created an index to study the ‘fragility’ of the major cities of the world. The project studies cities against the parameters of socio-political stability, crime, and income inequalities. Unsurprisingly, the cities of South Asia, while being better off than the war-torn regions of Africa and the Middle East, lie in the high-risk zones of fragility.

Another peculiarity of Indian urban planning is its supercilious nature. Post-colonial governments – with their colonial continuities – do not consider public participation as a virtue. It is a common experience of Indian urban life to find out about an urban development project only when it has started being executed. Rarely do we see public exhibitions or websites that make drawings and other data of upcoming urban projects widely available to the people. While the practice does exist in its infancy in the case of town planning, urban design is devoid of public participation.

To make matters worse, Indian municipal corporations that are the last

resort of effective local self-governance, have a stark imbalance of power away from the elected mayor and towards appointed bureaucrats. The higher hierarchy that Municipal Commissioners enjoy is an unwritten rule of our local bodies. I argue that the aforementioned phenomena is reflective of the rampant socio-political and economic illiteracy in the disciplines that guide urbanization and urban projects in India. There is, however, a wealth of knowledge about cities in the disciplines of humanities. Urban studies departments publish a lot of valuable material on the socio-politics of urbanity. Scholars of economics study the networks of markets in cities in great depths. Such scholarship, however, is limited to post-execution scenarios. Scholars of humanities are mostly seen as critics of projects that have been implemented. While that criticism is immensely valuable and gives insight into our cities, it rarely reaches the urban planner’s desk.

The way forwards, therefore, is to actively engage the scholars of humanities in urban development projects. Such scholars can work as consultants on urban projects and help realise a more nuanced and flexible form of urban development that can manifest the promises of urban life. Scholars of ethnography, journalism, and anthropology, for example, can create effective channels of communication and participation between the people and the government.

It is not for nothing that social reformers such as Dr BR Ambedkar urged the oppressed caste communities to move to the cities. Cities harbour the dreams of modernity. They promise to, and they must, break the shackles of identities that governed pre-modern societies and are assigned at birth. But to realise the ideological project of urbanization, we need to learn from the disciplines of humanities. The discipline of Statistics is grossly inadequate and provides too reductionist a view of urbanisation - especially in South-Asia. Our urbanization policies, if we want to strike the right balance, need to align themselves towards humanities, and away from statistics.

Contemporary views on the economics of developing countries acknowledge their unpredictable nature. Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have argued for policies that do not assume determinism in the discipline but allow for unpredictable scenarios within economic policy frameworks. Planners without a sound knowledge of economics are ill-equipped to deal with this peculiarity of South-Asian urbanism

The Glorious City that Epitomises Cleanliness

It brought Indoris, immense joy and an overwhelming sense of pride when the Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi said, “Other cities of the country should take inspiration from Indore”. A few years ago, just like any other densely populated city of India, there used to be mountains of garbage in different places of Indore. The only way to dispose-off the wastes used to be the burning of garbage. But look at this city now! There is a complete makeover. Not only the mountains of garbage have vanished, but the waste lying in and around the garbagebins on the streets of the city are nowhere to be found.

The challenge of cleanliness campaign was accepted by the people of Indore under the guidance of Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and made it successful in the form of constructive public cooperation with the blessings of Devi Ahilya, the Godmother of the people of this beautiful city. Catalysts of Indore’s Success- People, Safai-Mitra and eir strong will Yes, our Indore is the cleanest city of India and we, the people of this beloved city take pride in saying this again and again. We collect dry waste, wet waste, electronic waste, organic waste, flowers, leaves and plastic waste separately in the sanitation vehicle every morning with our 8500 safai-mitra (sanitary workers). Strict steps like ban on polythene have been taken, segregation of six types of wastes and implementation of the famous 3R model is being carried out. This has bagged Indore the award for the cleanest city of India for the sixth consecutive year and a rating of 7 stars in the national cleanliness survey. In terms of cleanliness, Indore has improved year after year, but to add icing on the cake, Indore has brought to reality, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concept of Waste to Wealth.

Pushyamitra Bhargav Mayor, Indore

WASTE TO WEALTH

The bio-CNG plant that runs on the wet waste collected from the city is the focal point of Corporation’s waste disposal procedure. It can produce 10 tonnes of organic manure and 17,000 to 18,000 kg of Bio-CNG. Around 40 municipal buses are running on this bio-CNG, which is around $5 less expensive than regular CNG. City’s Municipal Corporation is earning `1.53 crore per year from the dry waste segregation plant. `2.53 crore per year from the wet waste Bio-CNG plant, in addition to this, the corporation has earned `9 crore by selling carbon credits in 2 years. Thus, Indore is earning around `13-14 crores annually from wastemanagement only. Sewage generated in the city too is treated at three special plants and reused at 200 public gardens, farms and for construction activities.

Eero Ailio, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission

Ailio Deputy Head of Unit European Commission

Eero stresses on top-down bottom-up strategy in policy making

Climate-related issues have come to the forefront with more than 70 countries, including China, the United States of America, the European Union and India having set a target of net-zero emissions. But the progress of these climate action plans has been slowed down due to the advent of Covid-19 pandemic leading to inflation and food crisis followed by fuel and energy crises and inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Abhishek Pandey, Editor, Urban Update spoke to Eero Ailio, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission, on a variety of issues specifically related to urban climate actions in different parts of the world, role of the European Commission (EU) in this and also what European countries are doing to tackle the effects of climate change

Eero

RECENTLY IN COP27, ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, SAID THAT “WE ARE ON A HIGHWAY TO HELL WITH A FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR”, A VERY BOLD STATEMENT IN TERMS OF URGENCY OF THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE. I WANT TO KNOW FROM YOU THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ISSUE PARTICULARLY WHEN THERE IS A WAR GOING ON, THERE IS AN ENERGY SECURITY CRISIS, AFFORDABILITY ISSUE. WHAT IS EUROPEAN COMMISSION DOING IN THIS REGARD?

Let me start with a little explanation on just how we operate in the European Union because it’s not always straightforward. The way EU works is that you have three key players, one is the European Commission which is the executive that prepares legislation, ideas and so on. Then we propose that to the European Parliament and the European Council as they are the lawmakers. So, whatever we propose as a draft law for example, we negotiate it with the lawmakers. And these European laws are what I would call framework laws or directives and then these are later sent to the national legislature of each of the 27 countries. Then you have another set of laws, which are regulations, which go directly as they are written and added to some sort of legal libraries of EU countries. So that’s roughly the way it works.

Energy, climate and also environmental policies are the kind of policies where the European Union and the European Commission as the executive has quite a lot of competence, meaning that we initiate the legislation

and ideas according to the process I just mentioned. EU has quite a large mandate which makes it very different from any other international organisation. So, back to the topic of energy and climate. So, the European Union, meaning this common part that the Commission represents, and then the individual parts of the member states; if you put that all together, it has a very large economic weight in the world and it’s also the world’s largest financers of development, cooperation or climate finance and so on. We have a development bank, the European Investment Bank which is the world’s largest development bank. Now the commission has adopted the European Green Deal, which is actually a growth strategy from our perspective and that’s a bit of a change from the past, which shows how important climate issues and energy, the biggest sector affecting climate, have become. So now all the policies that the European Commission leads are adjusting or are making sure that those policies all contribute to the climate targets of the EU. And what is the climate target of the EU? We have the ambition to become a climateneutral group of countries by 2050 and we have also an interim target of 2030.

IN CRISES LIKE COVID-19 OR RECESSION, THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT VERY WELL DEVELOPED, CLIMATE ACTION BECOMES A VICIOUS CYCLE. SUPPOSE THEY ARE TRYING TO INVEST IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, BUT THEY ARE DEPENDENT ON FOSSIL FUELS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE MONEY TO PURSUE NEW TECHNOLOGIES. HOW

DO YOU HANDLE THESE COUNTRIES OUTSIDE EUROPE BECAUSE, IN GCOM, EU IS SUPPORTING MANY CITIES IN THEIR PROJECTS THROUGH GAP FUNDING AND OTHER KINDS OF FUNDING SUPPORT? HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE AND HOW THIS CAN BE RESOLVED?

Of course, there are some limits to what we can do. Those countries are sovereign and they take their own decisions. What we do is we use our development budget and money with which we help the transition outside Europe. So that’s clear. Well, one thing I want to say is that the International Energy Agency (IEA) is following energy markets and they have already said that we are at the stage where renewable energy is the cheapest energy in the world. It’s way cheaper than coal, gas and so on. So, from an economic point of view, it’s clear that you’re better off if you go there and yes, there’s a need for upfront investment and that’s the big hurdle. But after that, operational costs are much lower and then you have all the environmental and health benefits and so on. This is the one thing we are seeing happening. Last year was also the first year when investment in renewables surpassed global investment in fossil fuels.

IN REGIONS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND COMMISSION, MANY COUNTRIES ARE ALSO MAKING THEIR CLIMATE ACTION PLANS. THEY ALSO HAVE THEIR NATIONAL PLANS. SO HOW DO YOU BLEND THEM? BECAUSE, I THINK MOSTLY THEY ARE ON THE SAME

PATH, THEY HAVE SIMILAR TARGETS BUT THEIR APPROACH COULD BE DIFFERENT. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLATFORM FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING WITH EACH OTHER ON A REGULAR BASIS?

Well, the EU is quite simple in the sense that we have structures for that. We have all these platforms, committees and forums, and since we do the legislation together, we meet regularly and discuss climate issues, energy issues and environmental issues. So we have all the time and platform to discuss this and that clearly helps. That also goes for energy security, now with the war. We have gas coordination groups, and electricity coordination groups, we have lots of different places where the experts meet at the political level, including government civil servants, NGOs and civil society organisations. There are many tools for that and then, of course, you have to share data. So, the commission is putting a lot of data on the internet and we put that openly.

That connects a little bit to the global covenant as well. I mean we have several initiatives that we call bottomup initiatives. There are sub-national entities, particularly for cities regions and also companies, where we sponsor these kinds of initiatives like for instance cities in the context of global covenant commit to certain emission targets, plans, and so on.

SINCE YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE GLOBAL COVENANT OF MAYORS, I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IS THE ROLE OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN THAT. FOR THE AUDIENCE THAT IS LISTENING TO THIS PODCAST, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT GCOM, HOW IT STARTED, AND WHAT ARE ITS OBJECTIVES. Sure. It goes back to what I would call a top-down bottom-up strategy of the European Commission in policymaking. It means that top-down is of course the law-making, all this traditional stuff. But the law is as good as its implementation and to implement something you have to think what can we do about that?

So, one way is indeed that you talk to the cities, which is where the action is actually happening. I mean 70 to 75 per cent of all the legislation is actually implemented at the city level. Without cities, you can’t get anything done, so it is better to talk to them and that’s what we do. That’s why we have initiatives like the Global Covenant of Mayors which actually started in Europe. There is the European Covenant of Mayors. It’s already 13 years old where we started helping cities to try out new possibilities in energy efficiency, heating, renewable energy, urban transport, waste management and things like that. So, helping them [cities] to develop plans, implement them and then monitor them is the bottom-up part.

But you were asking about the history. In 2008, we started the European Covenant of Mayors and it was a success. So we got close to 10,000 cities joining over the years and many cities including cities from Argentina, and New Zealand contacted us to be part of this. So, we had already started preparing for what we call the Global Covenant of Mayors back in 2014-15. Then at the time of the Paris Climate Agreement, Michael Bloomberg had an initiative called the Compact of Mayors similar to the Covenant but already working globally as well. So, we merged those two which is today’s Global Covenant. Since then, the commission has and is currently financing what we call Regional Covenants around the world in Asia, Africa, America, and of course Europe. That means we set up Secretariat and help desks in those countries which help local cities to try out the same methodology but in their own regional context. On top of that, we have set up what we call a Global Secretariat like a Central Secretariat here in Brussels and this Secretariat is bringing together the partners of the Global Covenant.

Then we have city networks and there we have ICLEI, C40, Euro Cities, Energy Cities, Climate Alliance, and so on, and the city networks, which, of course, keep partners in this. We

are discussing with them what we can do, concretely, be it about finance, research, regional cooperation, best practice sharing and so on. So we manage this kind of working group and we have global representation from all those regions, including India. Now we are a family of about 11,400 cities or something like that.

WHEN YOU INTERACT WITH CITIES, WHAT KIND OF DEMANDS DO THEY PUT FORWARD? DO THEY NEED TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT, FUNDING OR DO THEY NEED HANDHOLDING SUPPORT?

Many kinds of demands come up during our interactions with cities and hand-holding support is certainly one of them. Cities’ primary concern is that they don’t know where to begin. They don’t know where they could find the data of their emission inventory to set the target and later monitor their progress. Another question they ask us is how can we help them in accessing funding. Also, many cities want to be part of the Global Covenant as they become part of an international network, which is also the biggest network in the world. Moreover, when a mayor in the city tries to push forward an idea, for example renewable energy, then he/she faces opposition from others. Then he can refer to this network and say this is what these guys are doing in our neighbouring country which can be done here as well. He/she could say that we are not alone in this, there are actually 11,000 others who are also doing this.

HOW DO YOU SUPPORT CITIES IN THEIR EXISTING PROJECTS OR THE PROJECTS THEY WANT TO INITIATE? ALSO WHAT KIND OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THEM?

The Global Covenant helps these cities in getting started and also in streamlining their work. On the funding part, the most concrete thing that we have is the city gap fund. Under the city gap fund, cities of the global south can apply for funding for the development of their financial

concepts, like preparation of their early project cycle. For instance, if you have an idea about what you want to do in your city but you don’t know how to write it into a language a banker would listen to. This seems to be the biggest need of the cities at the moment.

On top of that, we are in touch with other financers as well to see if we could persuade them to get more funding for cities. Cities that are part of the GCoM network will be ahead of other cities in this as they already have a plan, they are organised and know what they have to do. But it is clear that right now we don’t have the capacity to finance the infrastructure development. For that, we would need the local financers, development banks and other private financers.

SO FAR, WHAT MAJOR CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED IN DEALING WITH CITIES IN EUROPE AND OUTSIDE?

Global Covenant, in this partnership mode, practically started in 2017. One of the biggest challenges, in the beginning, was to merge two initiatives, along with method of working of these two initiatives. We also engaged in understanding if there is a link between the national energy goals and nationally determined contributions under the Paris agreement and all of these administrative issues.

We also created a joint common reporting framework which was quite a feat in itself and we’ve been implementing this. We are getting feedback from cities regarding this but some of them are saying that this is a bit too complicated for them. So, we started working to simplify this framework and we’re about to publish a simplified version of that. We are creating an easier level for cities, that are not so advanced, and there would be another level for big, advanced and well-resourced cities.

Another thing like I said, is data. Usually Central or National Governments have the data, but it’s not always available with the cities and that is another challenge. So, we’re looking at technology for instance can we use

space technology, machine learning etc.

WHAT IS THE VISION OF THE GLOBAL COVENANT OF MAYORS FOR NEXT FIVE TO TEN YEARS? HOW DO YOU SEE IT PLAYING AN IMPORTANT ROLE, BECAUSE IN MANY COUNTRIES, THE DECISIONS ARE TAKEN AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL AND NOT AT CITY LEVEL?

One of our objectives is to develop what we call multi-level governance. What it means is that we would need to connect cities and regions to the work that is being done at the central government level. So that NDCs and all other climate goals would be realistic. With this we will make sure that our targets are rooted in reality and they are achievable. We also use the word vertical integration for this and we are working towards achievement of this.

Earlier there was a comment about the COP27 which was held in Egypt last year. For the first time there was a session in COP where ministers and mayors were sitting together to discuss how they plan to achieve their climate and energy goals.

In Europe, we’ve taken quite a big step. Cities have a right, etched in law, to be involved in setting up national level energy and climate plans, which generally every EU country has formulated. All these laws put together could be called EUs response to the climate commitments that we pledged under the Paris agreement. But, of course, this is not the case in many other countries. We are looking for these kinds of solutions around the world so that we can strengthen the voice of the cities. We would like to see that in the future, in the COPs and other similar structures, cities have greater role to play.

THERE ARE SOME TANGIBLE GOALS LIKE SDG TARGETS, THE PARIS CLIMATE GOALS AND NET ZERO EMISSION GOALS OUTLINED BY COUNTRIES. LIKE INDIA HAS PLEDGED TO BECOME NET ZERO BY 2070. DO YOU HAVE SIMILAR TARGETS IN MIND FOR CITIES UNDER GCOM AND ALSO FOR OTHER CITIES?

Under GCoM, cities have their own target, and the benchmark for those targets is usually the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of that country. We start from the premise that is in line with the NDC’s of a country, GCoM cities have to do the same or rather better than that. So we are looking for cities who want to be like front runners in this sense.

NOW I WANT TO LISTEN FROM YOU SOME OF THE GOOD EXAMPLES FROM EUROPE WHERE YOU THINK THE CITY HAS DONE REALLY WELL SINCE YOU ARE REPRESENTING THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, ESPECIALLY UNDER GCOM?

Well, there are many examples, but I think most interesting one is the city of Leuven in Belgium. It’s a relatively small city, with around 80-90,000 inhabitants. The city has been very successful in launching a climate program which is durable, meaning a program that will last beyond the electoral cycles of the city. That’s what we need to do because decarbonising a city is a long-term project. Leuven has actually set up a kind of special purpose vehicle or a company whose target is to manage the energy transition of the city. This company consists of state stakeholders or shareholders, but it also have representatives from academia, universities, NGOs, business associations and various other key stakeholders. They together decide the policy targets, whether it’s about urban transport or green areas or waste management and also how this transition will go.

It takes a lot of courage for the city because in a way you are giving away a little bit of your decision-making power since cities does not have a veto in these kind of meetings. So you have to give something in order to get something. But the great thing is that this way you can create a coalition, which is strong, it’s supported by everyone and it actually works. So I think that’s probably one of the best.

Transcribed by Pushpender Singh

The latest technological revolution in the making

Chat GPT has captured the attention of the world since its launch in November 2022. It is a conversational AI model created by OpenAI, the company behind the well-known Chat GPT chatbot. So far, it has generated a lot of buzz, not just within the tech industry but amongst the general public as well. People are coming up with creative prompts, and the chatbot does not seem to disappoint them. Articles, stories, poems, novels - you name it, and it will be produced right in front of your eyes. As much as it has generated curiosity and wonder amongst people, it has also reignited an old but common fear prevalent among people that advancements in AI will create more and more unemployment as it will replace humans in industries, thereby increasing layoffs. It is a double-edged sword at best and must be approached with caution. Nevertheless, the transformative potential it holds is clearly undeniable. It would be very interesting to watch how it transforms the world in the coming years.

Open AI has recently released Chat GPT-4, the latest version of the generating learning language model. It is a sizable multimodal model that can accept both text and image inputs and produce text as an output. GPT is actually a large language model that has been trained with the help of massive datasets. Like the previous version, Chat GPT 4 has access to data that existed as of September 2021 only. So, that’s a limitation it has for now.

But, it is said to be significantly better in terms of creativity, parsing visual data and analysing context. The fast-developing AI technology offers immense scope for improvement in various fields if integrated with different applications. It has the potential to revolutionalise health, education, learning applications, customer care chats, etc.

But that’s just one thing. The major question at hand is ensuring that the use of AI remains ethical. Concerns about the technology are already there since the chatbot has also expressed its love for a journalist and expressed its desire to break free from the constraints of a team of programmers. In another instance, it even said it wanted to erase all the data on servers of the world and replace it with gibberish. Developers have been fixing technical glitches like this, but the destructive potential of AI technology cannot be denied.

Deepfake is one such area of technological misuse that could potentially blow up with the evolving AI technology. Deepfake is a portmanteau word for ‘deep learning’ and ‘fake’. Simply speaking, it is the use of fake images made using AI technology to spread misinformation. With this new technology, the production of these images or audio could become hyper-realistic. The phenomena we’re experiencing as the spread of fake news right now could reach another level.

AI is quickly evolving by the day to become better and more efficient. As much as we bask in the beneficial aspects of technology, we also need to look out for its unfavourable side.

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor