Today Municipalika 2014 was inaugurated in Gandhinagar by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and unin minister Venkaiah Naidu at Mahatma Mandir. While speaking on the occasion talked of meeting challenges of Urbanisation.
With this 12th International conference on Emerging Trends in Sustainable Habitat and Integrated Cities was inaugurated.
Mobilization of resources in transparent manner through reforms must for urban development.
Central government guidelines for urban development linking financial assistance to administrative reforms, Sardar Patel Housing for All mission aimed at ensuring housing for all by 2022 & pilot project for construction of green building in the offing.
Task of constructing 1.25 lakh toilets in urban areas completed this year, construction of additional 3 lakh toilets already approved to achieve the target of ensuring toilet in every household of urban Gujarat by 2015.
With the major demographic boom in cities in India and developing
countries showing signals for strong and irreversible trends in
urbanisation, cities are contributing to over 65% of the GDP and
crucial economic development. However, cities are all bursting at the seams and with major deficiencies in urban infrastructure, citizen’s services, as well as governance mechanism.
Against this backdrop, Municipalika 2014, the 12th International
Conference & Exhibition on Emerging Trends in Sustainable Habitat & Integrated Cities was inaugurated by Mr M Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, and presided over by Smt Anandiben Patel, Honb’le
Chief Minister of Gujarat, the Host State in the presence of a galaxy
of dignitaries.
Delivering his presidential address at the inaugural function of the
MUNICIPALIKA 2014, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of Urban
Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, said, “Now-a-days,
smart city has become a buzzword and everybody wants a smart city, but
the fact remains that to build a smart city, the local administration
should take bold decision and rather than depending upon the government for funding, the resources should be mobilized through an efficient and transparent revenue model. If good amenities and infrastructure are created and taxes are levied, people will pay it willingly. Further, smart city is not just about design and infrastructural facilities, but the concept also includes good education system, provisions for environment conservation, ample scope for employment opportunities, entertainment facilities and effective security.” He also announced that the central government is in the process of frame a guidelines for urban development project, wherein
financial assistance from central government will be extended to those
cities & states only, which are ready for reforms.
Giving an example how reforms can make a difference he said, that
Hyderabad opted for computerization of land records recently and as a
result, the annual revenue increased from Rs. 765 crore to Rs. 1,035
crore. The union minister also announced that the central government
is also going to launch “Sardar Patel Housing for All Mission” very soon, which is aimed at housing for all by 2022.
Highlighting the importance of green building, Shri Naidu citied a
presentation made before him by a leading IT company saying that if we
incur about 20-25% cost on construction, we can save power consumption
by about 35%. Considering this fact, the central government also mulls
launching of a pilot project for construction of such building.
Delivering the keynote address, Smt. Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister,
Gujarat, said, “Urban development is a big challenge and we take the
challenge as an opportunity. Building & rebuilding of the cities
requires sustainable finance. Gujarat government is committed for the
same and it has taken up some projects such as Dholera SIR & GIFT
city. At the same time, we are also concentrating on affordable
housing. Other area of importance for us is Rurban development,
through which we want to create urban amenities in rural area while
keeping the soul of the rural area intact. In this mission, hygienic
condition through proper sanitation system is the core focus.”
Asserting that the state government has made provision of Rs. 9,000
crore for urban development under the state budget, she further said,”
Creation of clean, green and healthy Gujarat is our ultimate target.
To achieve this, we have already constructed 1.25 lakh toilets in
urban area and in addition to that, we have approved construction of
further 3 lakh toilets to achieve our target of ensuring toilet in
every household of urban Gujarat by 2015.”
The chief minister also cited some figures to highlight the importance
of urban development saying that as of now, 42% of the state’s
population lives in urban areas and the proportion is expected to go
up by 60% by 2030.
Earlier, in his theme address, Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director,
UN-Habitat, said, “Development cannot take place without urbanization
and as far as India is concerned, cleansing and setting up of proper
sanitation system for as many as 500 cities is a massive task, but it
can be accomplished through public participation. We need to increase
the productivity of a city through good design for urban development
in the desired manner. Effective rules, good design and sustainable
financial plans are the pillars for construction of smart cities.”
Highlighting the role of the private sector in the creation of the
infrastructure development, Zubin Irani, President of UTC Building
& Industrial Systems indicated that this would cover latest
technological advancements for buildings, infrastructure, financial
resources, operations and maintenance.
Luminaries present on the dais included G. R. Aloria, Additional
Chief Secretary, Urban Development and Urban Housing Department,
Government of Gujarat; Mona Khandhar, Secretary, Housing and Nirmal
Gujarat, Dr Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat, Sanjiv
Agarwal, Founder Trustee, Good Governance India Foundation &
Editor-Publisher of Urban News Digest and V Suresh, Advisor &
Convenor, Municipalika. In his welcome address Aloria welcomed all
to the conference also invited them to attend ensuing Vibrant Gujarat
Summit 2015, to be held at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. Khandhar
pronounced vote of thanks at the end of the inaugural function.
Municipalika 2014 is being organised with the active support of
Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Host State Government of
Gujarat and under the patronage of UN-Habitat as well as other state,
national and international urban stakeholder institutions.
This year’s event is bigger in scope and participation than earlier
years. Along with the two Indian Ministries, state governments like
Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and of course
Host State Gujarat are being represented in a big way, along with
participation from 24 other states. Canada and Switzerland are the
Partner Countries of the event.
Over 1,000 delegates from 200 cities of India and abroad, comprising
Ministers, Secretaries to State Governments, Mayors, Municipal
Commissioners, City Managers, Town Planners, Architects, Engineers,
Urban Transport Specialists, E-Governance Experts, Urban Utility
Managers, Private Sector and Citizens Groups are participating in
Municipalika. The three-day event will have 10 power-packed sessions
spread over three days. Detailed Conference Sessions Schedule is
attached.
Municipalika 2014 is being organised with CAPEx, the trade show
focusing on Construction, Architecture, Planning and Engineering to
deliberate on sustainable built environment and good urban governance.
A special issue of Urban News Digest, the Official Publication of
Municipalika, was released on the occasion. Also released was a
special IGBC publication,”Model Building Byelaws for Sustainable
Development of Built Environment in Cities” – a guiding document for
revamping building byelaws Development control Rules and Planning
Standards of Urban Local Bodies / Planning Authorities.
The Founder Trustee of Good Governance India Foundation and the
Publisher of Urban News Digest, Sanjiv Agarwal stressed upon the need
for innovation in urban development strategies in India, as the
conventional model is increasingly proving unsustainable.
The conference segment of Municipalika is organised by Good Governance
India Foundation and the exhibition logistics are handled by Fairfest
Media Limited, a leading trade show organiser. For the past 11 years
Municipalika has been organised in mega-cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Chennai, providing a
forum for learning and sharing experiences among all urban
stakeholders.
