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Indian states lacking in new initiatives, finds NITI Aayog’s SECI Report
NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog, in April 2022, released first of its kind report named ‘State Energy and Climate Index’ (SECI). The report has been created as a tool for policy-makers and the state authorities in identifying the leaders and the laggards in the energy sector, and fine-tuning the policies to promote better energy deployment. Such indices are crucial as states and UTs have to play a pivotal role in implementing the policies and realising the goals set by India in the energy sector. With a population of 1.3 billion, India has a massive demand for energy to run this growing economy. India’s ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation is expected to place enormous pressure on the energy sector, therefore, decarbonising the demand and supply of energy would be critical to reduce emissions in the country. India is one of the countries occupying the center stage in the world’s quest for clean energy transition and mitigation of climate change. Recently, India ranked 10th in the Climate Change Performance Index 2022. The assessment in SECI Report is done on the basis of 27 indicators grouped into six parameters DISCOM’s (distribution company) performance; access, affordability and reliability of energy; clean energy initiatives; energy efficiency; environmental sustainability; and new initiatives. The index is based on 2019-2020 data. The report noted country-level scores of each parameter, which were calculated as an average of the state-wise score for their respective parameters. The overall score for India worked out to be 40.6. The average score at the national level for DISCOM’s performance is 56.8. The average scores of two parameters i.e., access, affordability & reliability, and environmental sustainability are 46.4 and 37.7 respectively. The report noted the need for improving performance in terms of clean energy initiatives and energy efficiency as the national level average score of these parameters are 22.2 and 29.1 respectively. The allIndia average score for new initiatives is 11.1 which is the lowest among all parameters. The states have been listed in three categories- large states, smaller states and union territories. Gujarat topped the index with a SECI score of 50.1, followed by Kerala (49.1) and Punjab (48.6), amongst the larger states, while Goa has topped the list of smaller states followed by Tripura. Amongst the seven union territories, Chandigarh has the highest SECI score at 55.7 closely followed by Delhi at 55.6. Punjab scored highest under the parameter of DISCOM’s Performance with 77.1 score. Kerala topped the list in the category of access, affordability & reliability. Chandigarh scored highest points in clean energy initiatives and environmental sustainability. Tamil Nadu, with score of 85.4, topped the category of energy efficiency and Tripura scored highest amongst all states in new initiatives. Overall, among the larger states, the top three performers are Gujarat, Kerala, and Punjab; and the bottom three performers are Jharkhand, MP and Chhattisgarh. Among the smaller states, Goa, Tripura, and Manipur are the top performers while Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are the bottom three states. Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadar & Nagar Haveli are the top three performers, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshadweep are the bottom three performers. The report stated that even though India has achieved almost 100 per cent electrification, the national and subnational governments are still required to work towards ensuring a reliable supply of power, reducing losses, reducing regulatory assets, etc.
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NEWSCAN UP to launch 60-day drive to improve face of its cities
LUCKNOW: In order to introduce changes in the way urban services are provided in Uttar Pradesh, the Department of Urban Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh is set to start a 60-day drive. A 12-point to-do list has been sent to all the municipal commissioners and councils by Rajneesh Dube, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh. The first task of the officials is to improve the condition of roundabouts and prominent crossings. The order states that civic bodies can adopt public-private-partnership model to renovate crossings in cities. Additionally, officials will develop
green belts and plant trees along roads and crossings. The officials have been asked to consider putting up vertical gardens near prominent crossings. Wall murals and paintings that promote social messages, will also come up at strategic locations in all the cities. The drive will include cleaning up of garbage dumps in a phased manner and bioremediation of drains and nullahs in view of approaching monsoon season. Moreover, heads of urban local bodies have been directed to prepare an action plan of disposal of legacy waste in their cities. Heads of departments have also been asked to provide a weekly report to the Lucknow headquarters. Premature mortality rising due to air pollution: Report
NEW DELHI: A new report titled “Rapid rise in premature mortality due to anthropogenic air pollution in fast growing tropical cities from 2005 to 2018” was released in Science Advances, revealing rapid degeneration in air quality and increasing urban exposure to air pollutants, hazardous to health. The report prepared by an international team of scientists aimed to address data gaps in air quality in 46 future megacities of Africa, Asia and Middle East. The researchers used space-based observations from instruments onboard NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) satellites for 2005 to 2018. The authors found significant annual increase in pollutants across all the cities. Increase in nitrogen dioxide was noted at 14 per cent, 8 per cent for fine particles (PM2.5), 12 per cent for ammonia, and up to 11 per cent for reactive volatile organic compounds. The report attributed this rapid degeneration of air quality to emerging industries and residential sources like road traffic, waste burning, and use of charcoal and fuelwood. The study established that the increase in the number of people dying prematurely due to exposure to air pollution was highest in cities in South Asia. The number was particularly high in Dhaka, Bangladesh (totaling 24,000 people), and the Indian cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, Pune and Ahmedabad (totaling 1,00,000 people).
High-level meet to discard 25 MT waste of Delhi
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs organised a Review meeting, to address the waste management problem of Delhi. Detailed discussion was held to deal with the piling of waste in landfill sites of Delhi. Right now, 3 MCDs generate 11,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, while, only 5900 tonnes is processed and turned into energy, via waste-toenergy plants at Narela, Bawana, Okhla and Ghazipur. Right now, three landfill sites in Delhi collectively hold 28 million tonnes of waste.
Maharashtra all set to launch ‘Water for all policy’
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) revised ‘Water Policy of Maharashtra’ to provide water to all slums on humanitarian grounds. The BMC has decided to provide water connections to all slum areas in the state including ones which are on private land and in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas. Currently, the cumulative water demand of Maharashtra stands at 4250 million litres daily, while the supply stands at only 3850 million litres. The BMC has also clarified that this does not mean that the beneficiary slums of this policy will be getting legal status.
ADB to provide $2 million for Nagaland urban infra
The Government of India and Asian Development Bank signed a $2 million pact, for urban development, capacity building and mobilisation of resources by urban local bodies. Funds, under the project, will be utilised for the creation of climateresilient infrastructure, water supply, sanitation, solid waste management and to improve roads infrastructure in the urban landscape of Nagaland. It will also help in capacity building and resource mobilisation by ULBs in 16 district headquarter towns.
Bihar wants WHS status for Cyclopean Wall
The Government of Bihar has sent a fresh proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India aiming to include its Cyclopean Wall in UNESCO’s prestigious list of World Heritage Sites. The 40-km-long Cyclopean wall of Bihar was made 2500 years ago in the pre-Mauryan era, with an aim to protect the ancient city of Rajgir, which also happen to be the capital of Magadhan Empire. The wall is made of undressed stones fitted together and has an average width of 14”, often compared to ancient Greek walls.
NEWSCAN DDA ready with DMP of Delhi 2041; awaits approval
NEW DELHI: The advisory council of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has reviewed the Draft Master Plan (DMP) of Delhi 2041, which will soon be placed before the board for approval. The board which will review and approve the document will be headed by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal. The document has been put together after compiling people’s objections and suggestions. This advisory panel is comprised of elected representatives of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, municipal councilors, officers from the Government of India and Government of NCT of Delhi, and experts from the field of urban development. After approval, the document will be sent to the central government for its approval.
The Master Plan of Delhi 2041, was initiated by DDA in 2021, and published in the gazette in June the same year, inviting suggestions and objections from general public. Consequently, 33,000 suggestions and objections from general public, NGOs, civil societies, RWAs, market associations, federations, government agencies, etc. were received up until October 2021. Some of the issues discussed in the meetings were related to migrant labourers, regulation of unauthorised colonies, air and water pollution, cleaning of river Yamuna, traffic congestion, parking issues, city’s heritage and many other issues were discussed. The Master Plan of Delhi is a statutory document prepared by DDA under Delhi Development Act, 1957. Punitive action for doctors prescribing branded drugs: Chhattisgarh CM
RAIPUR: Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel has said that doctors in government hospitals will face punitive action if they prescribe branded drugs instead of generic drugs. The CM chaired a review meeting of ‘Shri Dhanwanti Generic Medical Store’ scheme which was launched virtually in 2021, by the Urban Administration and Development Department. In this scheme, around 188 medical shops were planned in 169 cities providing low-cost generic medicines, for the benefit of poor and vulnerable population. They provide discounts ranging from 50 per cent to 71 per cent on MRP. Branded medicines are inaccessible to the majority of the population, since they are priced at considerably higher costs than the generic drugs. But doctors continue to prescribe them, because of tie-ups with the pharmaceutical companies. The CM has promised strict penalty for those doctors who do not budge, even after repeated instructions from the government. A directive was issued to district collectors and Chief Medical and Health Officers by the Principal Secretary of the Health department to ensure compliance.
Steeper cuts needed in global coal plant capacity to achieve climate goals: Report
NEW DELHI: The Global Energy Monitor released its eighth annual survey of the coal plant pipeline. The report found that after witnessing a rise in 2020, for the first time since 2015, the total coal power capacity under development declined by 13 per cent in 2021. 34 countries were found to have coal plants under consideration, which is down from 41 countries in January 2021. China, South Korea and Japan have pledged to stop funding for new coal plants in other countries. However, the report noted that China continues to lead all countries in the domestic development of new coal plants, commissioning more coal capacity than the rest of the world combined. India followed China in the same. Globally, more than half (56 per cent) of the 45 GW of newly commissioned capacity was in China. Newly commissioned capacity in China (25.2 GW) nearly offsets coal plant retirements in the rest of the world (25.6 GW). Outside China, the global coal fleet shrank for the fourth year in a row, although at a slower rate than in 2020. The report also highlighted that in 2021, the operating coal fleet grew by a net 18.2 GW, a post-Covid rebound in a year that saw a slowdown in coal plant retirements. It noted that preconstruction coal capacity stands at 280 GW globally, equivalent to the current operating fleets of the United States and Japan combined. In 2021, the amount of US coal capacity retired, declined for the second consecutive year, from 16.1 GW in 2019, to 11.6 GW in 2020, to an estimated 6.4 GW to 9 GW in 2021. Although, according to the report, in order to meet the national energy and climate goals, continued momentum away from coal needs to accelerate. The report stated that the European Union’s 27 member states retired a record 12.9 GW in 2021, with most retirements in Germany (5.8 GW), Spain (1.7 GW), and Portugal (1.9 GW). Moreover, Portugal became coal free in November 2021, nine years before its targeted 2030 phase-out date. The report also noted that the amount of electricity generated from coal rose by 9 per cent in 2021, worldwide, to a record high. Although, progress was made in 2021, on establishing future retirement dates for operating plants, with the number of coal plants effectively given a close-by date nearly doubling to 750 coal plants. The report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this month, established that there is no carbon budget left to accommodate new coal plants, and that coal use needs to fall by 75 per cent by 2030 (from 2019 levels) to limit global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Cherelle Blazer, Senior Director, Sierra Club’s International Climate and Policy Campaign, said that the global coal pipeline continues to shrink, but it is still not shrinking fast enough. Lauri Myllyvirta, Lead Analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, commented that many emerging economies have cut back their plans for new coal-fired capacity, with the largest reductions happening in India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Egypt. He added that now countries with net-zero emission targets need to step up with a coal-phase out plan that aligns with those targets. Flora Champenois, Global Energy Monitor, said that in order to have a fighting chance at a livable climate, it is essential to stop building new coal plants and retire existing ones in the developed world by 2030, and the rest of the world soon after.
560 disasters expected around the world every year by 2030: UNDRR Report
NEW DELHI: The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) recently published the Global Assessment Report 2022, which established that the world is set to face 1.5 disasters a day – 560 a year – by 2030. It mentioned that this is happening because humans have put themselves on a spiral of selfdestruction by heating up the climate and ignoring risk, which UNDRR said can be attributed to a “broken perception of risk based on optimism, underestimation and invincibility”. The UNDRR released the report ahead of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction scheduled in May 2022. According to the report, somewhere between 350 and 500 medium-sized to major disasters have been recorded, annually, in the past two decades, but the governments across the world continue to underestimate their true impact on lives and livelihoods. It added that increasingly frequent and intense disasters have killed or affected more people in the last five years than in the previous five-year period. The report mentioned that disasters around the world have cost roughly US $170 billion each year over the past decade. In comparison, annual direct economic loss from disasters was $70 billion in the 1990s. It noted that most of this loss is incurred in lowerincome countries, which on average lose one per cent of their national GDP to disasters, each year. Compared to that, wealthier nations lose just 0.1 to 0.2 per cent of their GDP. The region of Asia and Pacific were found to suffer the greatest economic losses due to the disasters. Africa has been found to be the second-most affected region, losing an average of 0.6 per cent of GDP to disasters. The report said that since the number of disasters is expected to increase, the cost will as well. The report said that frequent disasters will add to the poverty burden of the world. It stated that an additional 37.6 million people are estimated to be living in conditions of extreme poverty by 2030, due to the impacts of climate change and disasters. It added that worst case scenario of climate change and disasters will push an additional 100.7 million into poverty by 2030. Citing the INFORM Natural Hazard Risk Index, the report noted that the poorest across the world are most vulnerable and will bear the brunt of disasters because of inadequate financial means to adapt and their high dependency on outdoor work like in agriculture or reliability on natural capital, both of which are vulnerable to a changing climate. According to the analysis, majority of countries that face a high disaster risk are also among those with the highest share of population living under the national poverty line. These include nations like Philippines, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam from the Asia-Pacific region. In comparison, the countries which are supposedly under “low risk” have a poverty rate of less than one per cent. The report also included suggestions that can assist governments in preparation for the expected onslaught of disasters. It said that insurance is a key tool to adapt for building back from disasters. It also called for doubling of finance to support developing countries in adapting to the impacts of climate change and building resilience. Mami Mizutori, Chief, UNDRR, said that disasters can be prevented, but only if countries invest the time and resources to understand and reduce their risks.
NEWSCAN
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India expanded the scheme ‘Svanidhi se Samridhi’ to include 126 more cities across 14 states and union territories. Svanidhi se Samridhi is an additional scheme of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) launched on January 4, 2021, which in its first phase, covered 125 cities and around 35 lakh street vendors and their families. After the success of phase-I, the scheme is now being expanded to cover 28 lakh street
vendors and their families, with the goal of 20 lakh plan approvals for 202223. PM SVANidhi was launched by the central government on June 1, 2020, to provide micro-credit loans to street vendors, through lending institutions. Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA in his address said that despite the challenge of the COVID-19, the scheme has successfully provided social security benefits to street vendors. Sanjay Kumar, Additional Secretary, MoHUA said that this scheme has helped in two ways. Firstly, a central database of street vendors has been created on the basis of socio-economic indicators. This socio-economic profiling is done across the areas of housing, health coverage, education, women and child welfare, banking, migration status, etc. Secondly, it has helped the street vendors connect to existing welfare schemes. ‘2022-23 work plan’ approved by UNDP SECURE Himalaya project
GANGTOK: During the meeting of 5th State Steering Committee, chaired by the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, a ‘draft 2022-23 work plan’ worth `342.64 lakhs was approved. The committee consisting of the Government of India (GoI), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) approved the plan under the SECURE Himalaya project. The total cost of ‘2022-23 work plan’ stands at `342.64 lakhs, out of which `142 lakhs is to be provided by UNDP Country Office Support and the remaining `200.64 lakhs will come through the State Grant-in-Aid budget. Draft work plan comprises of management of biodiversity sites, mobilisation after training, value addition of honey and nettle, and awareness programme for military and paramilitary forces etc. SECURE Himalaya was launched as a 6-year project that aims to protect and conserve the Himalayan biodiversity, while reducing the dependence of local communities on the biological resources of the region and protecting the habitat of some of the highly vulnerable species such as the Snow Leopard. The project is a joint initiative of MoEFCC and UNDP. Currently, the project covers the Himalayan landscape of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.
Discrepancies in BBMP’s tender: UDD
The Urban Development Department (UDD), Government of Karnataka found discrepancies in the tender evaluation process of buying cleaning vehicles for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP). The BBMP has undertaken the project to clean the Central Business District (CBD) under the Swachh Bengaluru project. For this purpose, a tender was invited for the purchase of five pressure jet cleaners for a three-year period, and the entire cost came up to `12.40 crore. BBMP chose the lowest bidder, which is 24 per cent lesser than the BBMP’s estimated cost.
PMC to acquire MJP’s projects at cost of 18 cr
The Pune Municipal Corporation is going to acquire Warje and Shivane water supply projects from Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) at a total cost price of `18 crore, that is to be paid to the nodal agency. 4 years ago, Shivane, Uttamnagar, Kondhwe and Dhavade were merged into the PMC limits but PMC is yet to supply the water to these areas. Locals have been constantly raising the issue of inadequate water supply to their homes from MJP.
Recover cost for oil spillage by Sahara’s cruise: NGT to Goa PCB
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Goa State Pollution Control Board to recover cost for environmental damage caused due to the oil spillage by the cruise ship ‘MV Qing’ owned by Sahara Group. The ship ‘MV Qing’ was chartered by Trinity Leisure Pvt Ltd and brought to Western India Shipyard to be converted into a hotel in 2014. In 2017, the NGT directed the Sahara Group to submit a remediation cost of `1 crore. A week later, the respondent was allowed to submit `30 lakh.
Landslide victory of BJP in Guwahati municipal polls
The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) won 58 seats out of total 60 seats in the local polls for Guwahati Municipal Corporations (GMC). BJP won 52 seats and its ally AGP won 6 seats in this election. The Congress party failed to secure even a single seat while, the Aam Aadmi Party and Assam Jatiya Party secured one seat each. This time around, 50 per cent of seats were reserved for women, and the voting percentage stood at 52.80 per cent.
Tripura to provide tap water supply to all rural households
AGARTALA: Sushanta Chowdhury, Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of Tripura has declared that all the 7,60,052 rural households of the state will get water connection by 2022. Till date, only 3,82,475 households have been covered under the umbrella scheme of the Government of India, namely, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). Tripura stands at 5th position among all the north-eastern states with 50 per cent coverage under JJM, which is just above the national average of 48.81 per cent. Along with rural households, all the schools and Anganwadi centres will also be covered as mandated under JJM. Currently, as the dry spell continues in the state, 205 tankers have been assigned the task of supplying water to 463 habitations with no active tap connection. JJM is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, launched in 2019. It aims to provide functional tap water connections and 55 liters of water per person per day to all rural households by 2024. The mission also focuses on the functionality of the existing water supply system, testing and monitoring of water quality, source augmentation and conservation, along with greywater treatment.
GANGTOK: Sikkim Pollution Control Board has recommended the Government of Sikkim to ban plastic bags of less than 75 microns thickness by the end of 2022, and make preparations to phase out plastic bags of 120 microns thickness. The board, in a meeting, has recommended banning the plastic bags of less than 75 microns thickness and to introduce a complete ban on single-use plastic items such as plastic bags, candy sticks, earbuds ice-cream sticks, thermocol cutlery, wrappers, and packing films by July 1. The board recommended the state to make preparations to phase out plastic bags of 120 microns thickness and allow only those that have labels on them, describing their specifications. The meeting was attended by the officials from the Sikkim Pollution Control Board, representatives from the seven civic bodies in the state and the other elected representatives of state. Proposed recommendations are in compliance with the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, which were amended in 2021 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, while CPCB is the implementing body at the national level.
Sikkim government asked to ban plastic bags
NEWSCAN
SURAT: The three-day “Smart City, Smart Urbanization” conference was held in Surat from April 18-20, 2022. The event was organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, in collaboration with Surat Smart City Corporation Development Ltd, as a part of the year long celebrations of India’s 75th independence year ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Many dignitaries from the Center and various states were present at the event. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, was the chief guest and spoke at length on the first day about Smart Cities Mission and India’s urbanisation journey of the last few years and what is the next step. Others speakers at the inaugural event included Kaushal Kishore, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Railways, Vinod Moradiya, Minister of Urban Development and Urban Housing, Government of Gujarat, Dr Audimulapu Suresh, Minister of Education, Andhra Pradesh, CR Patil, MP, and Hemali Kalpeshkumar Boghavala, Mayor, Surat. During the awards ceremony, winners for the India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISAC) 2020, were felicitated. Some of the awards and their winners are: Best City – Indore and Surat (joint winners) Best State – Uttar Pradesh Best Union Territory - Chandigarh Best Governance – Vadodara for GIS Best Urban Environment – Bhopal for Clean Energy and Chennai for Restoration of Water Bodies (joint winners) Best Sanitation – Tirupati for Bioremediation and bio-mining and Indore for Municipal Waste Management System (joint winners) Best Economy – Indore for Carbon Credit Financing Mechanism Best Water Management – Dehradun for Smart Water Metering and Varanasi for Eco-Restoration of Assi River Best Urban Mobility – Aurangabad for Majhi Smart Bus On the second day, concurrent
sessions were held on five thematic areas of the urban sector- Reimagining Public Spaces, Digital Governance, Climate Smart Cities, Innovation and Smart Finance. Additionally, a central ‘chowk’ area was also built to conduct panel discussions of key urban issues being dealt by the Smart Cities Mission. A pavilion was also set up by the Government of Gujarat to display models of their key projects and some textile products of Surat. Details of the Pavilions
Many urban stakeholders from the Center and states partook in the conference sessions and participated in the pavilion activities. These included officers of the Central Government, Principal Secretaries of States/UTs, Municipal Commissioners of Cities, MDs/CEOs of 100 Smart Cities, State Level Nodal Agencies/Mission Directorates, along with their officials and team members, professionals, industry representatives, global partners and experts, media, and members of academia. The ‘Innovation Bazaar’ pavilion had sessions on City Innovation Exchange and Smart Procure Guidelines of MoHUA. There were discussions on the use of modern technologies like Augmented Reality and AI for devising innovative solutions for urban issues. A participatory game ‘Polaris’ was played to explain Smart Procure Guidelines in order to procure smart solutions from start ups. A mobile app developed by the Surat Municipal Corporation showed the real time air quality and purification and energy and carbon footprint of the conference. ‘Finance ka Adda’ pavilion discussed issues of urban finance and identifying untapped revenue sources. Subjects of municipal bonds, Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, land monetisation and Value Capture Finance were discussed by 29 global/ nation experts on urban finance. Successful PPP projects of Smart Cities Mission were also displayed in the pavilion. ‘Climate Café’ was the pavilion for discussing climate related issues and initiatives for creating a climate resilient and sustainable future. Puri put up a message on the ‘Tree of Life’ display in the pavilion emphasising India’s climate commitments. Various interactive games and activities were done based on climate issues and climate related disasters. ‘Digital Duniya’ was the digital governance pavilion, showcasing technology driven initiatives being implemented in cities. A robot ‘Sayabot’ welcomed the guests and advised them on COVID appropriate behavior. A model of Integrated Command and Control Center was placed at the pavilion. Here also, many interactive games were hosted. Exciting subjects such as AI transforming mobility through India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX), Wastewater Intelligence Network, success stories from cities under Smart Cities Mission, etc were discussed. Winners of the Urban Geospatial Data Stories Challenge 2022 and Open Data Week held in January were announced and felicitated at the pavilion. Under the ‘Reimagining Public Spaces’ theme, discussions were held on how to make our cities safer for children and their caregivers. A session on ‘Human-scaling the Public Realm’ was held in the central chowk area wherein the speakers discussed on ways the ULBs can build cities that better accommodate the needs of the people. Open Data Week Awards
The top performing cities were Pimpri Chinchwad, Thane, New Town Kolkata, Pune, Jabalpur, Satna, Surat, Kohima, Sagar, and Chandigarh. Urban Geospatial Data Stories Challenge 2022 Award winners
♦ B Prasanna - Planning for Climate Change, A Case of Solapur Smart City ♦ Team The Green, The Blue and The Grey (Vinaya Thakur, Titiksha Bhatia) - Urban Blue & Green, A case of Bangalore, India ♦ Team Urbane (Kastury Biswas, Priyanshu Raj, Satarupa Roy and Upama Ghosh) -Varanasi City Lights, Mapping the dark spots. Special mention for the awards
♦ Team Urban Nomads (Sachchidanand Singh & Ankit Kumar) - Identifying Mosquitos Hotspots in Dehradun City: A Geospatial Approach (Sector – Health) ♦ Team GEOGEEKS (Vikhyat Gupta, Shalu, Sruthika John) - Understanding Sewage Generation of Varanasi (Sector – WASH, Solid Waste Management) ♦ Team Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, IT dept (Sharad Ughade, Meenal Shetya & Pankaj Warwadekar)- BMC on Map & WhatsApp Chatbot, Discover Amenities Near Me (Sector - Social Infrastructure Mapping) ♦ Dr Preethi Balaji - Mapping Changes in Water Bodies of Bengaluru City using Sentinel-1 Imagery (Sector – Environment) ♦ Himanshu Kumar- Explaining bus transport service levels in Delhi’s wards (Sector – Mobility) Top 3 Placemaking Marathon 1.0 winners (held on SeptemberOctober 2021)
♦ Imphal for Dumpsite to Micro Park at New Checkon Youth Club Traffic Point ♦ Kohima for Pocket park and slow street at Forest Colony ♦ Srinagar for Pop-up plaza at Sher-eKashmir Park junction Top 3 Placemaking Marathon 2.0 winners (held on JanuaryFebruary 20222)
♦ Bhubaneswar for Maa Mangla Pokhari rejuvenation ♦ Greater Warangal for dumpsite to child-friendly park at MH Nagar slum ♦ Pimpri Chinchwad for 8 to 80 Park at Sudarshan Chowk.
Centre to set up MMLH in Tripura: MoS Railways
AGARTALA: Raosaheb Patil Danve, Minister of State for Railways, Coals and Mines, Government of India announced the construction of a Multi-Modal Logistic Hub (MMLH) in Sabroom, Tripura. The project aims to reduce the travel time between Kolkata and Agartala from 36 hours to 16 hours, via the Kolkata-Chittagong-Sabroom route. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘MaitriSetu’ bridge constructed over the Feni River in Sabroom, which gives access to the landlocked north-eastern region of India, to the Chittagong port of Bangladesh. Danve added, “The central government is keen to establish a multi-model transport hub at Sabroom to enable smooth inter-state freight movement and offer multiple facilities. In this regard, the central government is in discussion with Bangladesh. Once, the transport hub is established, it would be highly beneficial for the Indian Railways.” The MMLH project of Tripura is part of PM Gati Shakti Master plan, a flagship scheme of the Centre, which aims to create world-class infrastructure in India to bring down the logistic cost. Under the Gati Shakti master plan, the central government is planning to improve the cargo handling capacity and turn-around time of Indian ports. Along with it, 11 industrial corridors, 2 defence corridors and 17,000 km gas pipeline will also be built.
Digitisation of land records within two years: UP
LUCKNOW: Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has said that all land records in the state including nazul land and urban ceiling will be digitised within the next two years. He added that a master plan for each city will be developed, wherein only urban planners will be involved in the planning process by the Urban Development Department. A major challenge for the Urban Development authorities is unplanned development. During a presentation made on the urban development sector, the CM asked the Urban Development Department to prepare building bye-laws. He said that the urban population constitute 24 per cent of the state’s total population, while they contribute 65 per cent to the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product). CM Adityanath asked the officials to speed up the construction of 2.52 lakh houses in urban areas under the PM AwasYojna. In keeping with the trend of electronic vehicles in the country, the CM announced that battery or electronic buses should be used as public transport in major cities as well as the fleet of e-buses should be doubled in cities in the next 100 days. The department was also tasked with building 10,000 pink toilets for women in the next 100 days.
UP gets its first ‘Amrit Sarovar’
The Government of Uttar Pradesh has declared a local pond in Patwai village of Rampur district as the state’s first ‘Amrit Sarovar’, as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to encourage water conservation. As part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’- a year-long initiative to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence - each district would get 75 ‘Amrit Sarovars’ or ponds. The state government has planned 1000 ‘amritsarovars’ across the state with the first one in Rampur. PM Modi said in his program that each drop of water is like ‘amrit’ (elixir).
Ganga Quest to be organised by GOI
The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India is going to organise Ganga Quest, an international bilingual (Hindi & English) online quiz on Ganga. The aim of the program is to spread awareness about Ganga, water conservation, biodiversity and environment. The only eligibility criteria are that the participant should be at least 10 years of age categorised into three groups students up to class VIII, students from 9th to 12th , and anyone after 12th class. The final quest will be held on June 5 (World Environment Day).
Nagaland says no to single-use plastic items
Through an official notification, the Government of Nagaland introduced a complete ban on single-use plastic items in the state w.e.f. July 1, 2022. The state government, through an official notification, has declared that manufacturing, import, stockpiling, distribution, sale and use of single-use plastic items such as polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, thermocol items for decorations, plastic and poly-vinyl banners of than more than 100-micron thickness will be banned w.e.f. from July 1, 2022. Mizoram to give `50,000
to beneficiaries of SEDP
Tawnluia, Deputy Chief Minister of Mizoram, announced that the Government of Mizoram will provide assistance of `50,000 to the 60,000 identified beneficiaries under Phase I of the Socio-Economic Development Policy of Mizoram. Under this flagship scheme, the state government has identified 1500 families from each assembly constituency in the state. They will be provided `50,000 under Phase I as assistance to set up their own businesses. State government has plans to increase this assistance to `3 lakh to improve the economic standing of its people.
NEWSCAN Indore launches drive to conserve rain water
INDORE: The Indore Municipal Corporation launched a drive to increase ground water level of the city by conserving rainwater. The urban local body has set a target of at least one lakh structures for setting up of rooftop rain water harvesting systems before this monsoon. Currently in Indore, around 16,000 residential, commercial and other structures have rainwater harvesting systems. The IMC aims to install such systems in at least one lakh buildings in the city before the monsoon. Pratibha Pal, Commissioner, IMC, informed during the launch that the residents of Indore would be able to apply for installing water harvesting systems on their residential or commercial structures through civic body’s 311 application. She added that the systems
would be geotagged. Pal commented that the corporation will ensure that all the residential structures covering over 1500 square foot area and all commercial and government buildings in the city will have rainwater harvesting systems. Moreover, IMC has shortlisted five wards to ensure 100 per cent implementation of the project on priority. A gazette notification of the Government of Madhya Pradesh – Indore Municipal Corporation (Rainwater Harvesting) Bylaws, 2022 – has now made water conservation system mandatory in all the nonresidential and government structures along with all the residential buildings – existing and upcoming – with an area of 1500 square feet – in Indore. Arunachal Pradesh best performer in Malaria Elimination
ITANAGAR: On World Malaria Day, Arunachal Pradesh received a certificate from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India for its efforts to achieve Malaria elimination. Arunachal Pradesh received the certificate from MoHFW for the efforts it made to achieve the goal of making India Malaria free by 2030. The data shows that the number of cases in Arunachal was 13,950 in 2011, it was 3128 in 2016 and in 2021, it is 8. Due to its efforts, Arunachal Pradesh moved from category 3 to category 1. National Framework for Malaria Elimination in India 2016-30, is a flagship programme of the Government of India, which aims to make India Malaria free by 2030. Under this programme, states and union territories are categorised based on Annual Parasite Incidence (API) per thousand in four categories. (i) Category 0 – prevention of re-establishment phase, (ii) Category 1 – Elimination Phase, (iii) Category 2 – Pre-elimination Phase (iv) Category 3 – Intensified Control Programme. World Malaria Day was adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the World Health Assembly of 2007, to highlight the need and create awareness for a sustained political effort for malaria elimination. This year’s theme of Malaria Day is “Harness Innovation to Reduce the Malaria Disease Burden and Save Lives”.
NEWSCAN Exclusive township for dairy farmers in Kota
KOTA: A township, exclusively for dairy farmers, has been planned by the Government of Rajasthan in Kota, Rajasthan. This township will have 738 houses, fodder stores and a single cattle shade with a capacity for at least 28 cattle. It’s a unique township built by the Kota Urban Infrastructure Trust (UIT) under the `300 crore-worth Devnarayan Integrated Housing Scheme (DIHS). It is located outside the busy urban center of the city, over a 105.09-hectare land in Dharmpura and Bandha village. The township will be equipped with all the required amenities like schools, health centre, veterinary
hospital, community hall, police check post, water tanks, sewer line, parks, drains, STP, milk mandi and theatre. A commercial activity zone for dairy units, straw (Bhusa) and ‘Khal–Churi’ (fodder) will also be there. Apart from these, a biogas plant for the disposal of cow dung has also been built. This will allow for the cattle rearers to earn additional income from selling the cow dung to the plant. Commenting on this initiative, Shanti Dhariwal, Minister of Urban Development & Housing, Government of Rajasthan said that this will improve the quality of life of cattle rearers and also provide relief to the city residents from the stray cattle menace.
Ladakh starts workshop series for entrepreneurs
LEH: The Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Ladakh organised first event in the series of workshops on ‘Enterprising Ladakh’. Teams from three centres of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Delhi and Bombay were invited to interact with various agencies and budding entrepreneurs and assist in the development of entrepreneurship and incubation eco-system for the entrepreneurs of Ladakh. In his opening remarks, Saugat Biswas, Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, said that the purpose of the workshop is to assist the youth of Ladakh in becoming successful entrepreneurs, who would generate employment by sustainable utilization of resources in the union territory. He emphasised on the need of technology interventions, training and capacity building for the youth to understand the mechanism of entrepreneurship on a deeper level and plug all identified gaps. Over 40 active and aspiring entrepreneurs from various domains participated in the workshop. The participants asked the forum for assistance in developing harvesting techniques and machinery that would be conscious of the fragile ecosystem of the land and not harm the wildlife dependent on the resources. Various challenges were posed before the experts for development of solutions.
Two-day workshop on ‘Strengthening Community Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risk’ was organised by Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA). NSDMA, organised a two-day workshop to strengthen community resilience and bring about plans that can be approved and adopted by the administrative heads of the state. The workshop also aims to create awareness and understand the 10-point agenda suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and to inculcate the principles of Disaster Risk Reduction in policymaking.
Largest network of cancer care hospitals to come up in Assam
The Tata Trust Foundation will provide one of the largest networks of cancer care facilities, 17 in total, to Assam that can also cater for the needs of entire north-east region. In 2018, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Government of Assam and Tata Trust Foundation, during Advantage Assam, global investment summit held in the same year, to construct a network of hospitals under distributed cancer care model in Assam. The plan is to build 17 such medical facilities in total.
