MASTER PLANS NEEDED FOR EVERY URBAN CENTRE IN INDIA: ANANTH KUMAR
Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation
Shri Ananth Kumar has emphasised the need for preparing Master
Plans for every urban centre in the country, which would help
in identifying and forecasting future demand of urban facilities
and infrastructure so as to meet the demand.
Inaugurating National Seminar on Urban Infrastructure
Development, organized by the Indian Buildings Congress, here
today, Shri Ananth Kumar said that all cities and towns – more
than 3700 - in India are providing enormous challenges to the
town planners, engineers and architects in terms of creating solid
waste disposal system, traffic and transport management, drinking
water and power supply.
"The high rate of population growth in our cities
has resulted in increased demand for basic services and infrastructure,
including reliable and quality water supply, sewerage systems,
sanitation and roads. The city administration has to recognize
the importance of providing reliable and high quality infrastructure
and service for sustainable growth," he added.
"Not only do we need to create necessary physical
infrastructure for these towns, we must also build social, economic
and environmental infrastructure in the form of more hospitals
and schools, commercial and shopping centres, clean river, parks
and green spaces", the Minister stressed.
Shri Kumar stressed that cities should be made
productive, healthy and safe places where residents can enjoy
better opportunities and better life. "We much enable every citizen
to participate productivity and positively in the opportunities
cities have to offer. We must give priority to the needs of the
excluded urban poor and respond to their needs," the Minister
said while adding that by the year 2025, 40% of India’s populations
would live in urban centres.
Stating that out of 3700 towns, only 3 cities
have got urban transport system – another city Delhi would be
getting urban transport system by the year-end - and that only
300 cities have got underground drainage system, Shri Ananth Kumar
observed that the biggest challenge before us therefore is how
to provide basic minimum urban services to the residence of all
cities in the country.
Pointing out that the best experiment in transforming
the property tax structure, with the available physical and human
resources and expertise, was done in Patna, which was also commended
by the UN Habitat, the Minister said that we are capable of creating
such examples of good governance in other cities as well.
In her presidential address Chief Minister of
National Capital Territory of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dikshit pointed
out that Delhi’s urban infrastructure services get stressed out
due to huge influx of population in the city. She further stated
that more than one million people come to Delhi to work everyday
and more than 3.5 lakh people migrate to Delhi each year. "This
challenge is compounded by the fact that we have a large number
of local authorities crisscrossing each other".
