New Delhi, Nov.9 (ANI): The Government of India has launched a new ambitious programme to make Indian cities "slum-free".
This was stated here by the Minister of State for Urban Development, Mr. Saugata Roy, while delivering his keynote address at a two-day international seminar on "Global Urbanisation Experiences" organised by Observer Research Foundation and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung of Berlin.
The Minister said under the new scheme named 'Rajiv Awas Yojana' under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewable Mission (JNURM), the Centre and State governments would contribute 40 per cent each of the cost of the dwelling while the individual would have to contribute the rest 20 percent.
The Minister said the scheme was formulated with the concept of "whole city and whole slum" approach for a "slum-free India" after the earlier failure of removing the city slums in five years.
The Minister sought the experiences from the scholars and practitioners from Germany which had successfully addressed the problems of urbanization, especially after the unification of Germanys.
The Minister underlined the need for an effective Public Private Partnership to meet the burgeoning gap in the infrastructure and service deliveries. He said the high powered experts committee, headed by economist Isher Judge Ahluwalia, had estimated that more than Rs. 39 lakh crores were needed in a period of 20 years from 2012 to meet the gap in eight sectors alone.
The Minister admitted that rapid urbanization had put a serious strain on infrastructure, with service delivery standards also very poor. He noted that service delivery was not upto the mark in areas like water supply, sanitation and infrastructure.
The Minister noted that Indian cities contributed more than 60 percent of the country's GDP but the big cities are creating serious problems as in even advanced countries.
Director of Observer Research Foundation, Sunjoy Joshi said that increasing urbanization is causing equity concerns and governance problems and emphasized that the planning cannot be depoliticized.
Pointing out that more than 180 million job seekers will be added to the Indian cities population in the next 10 to 15 years, Joshi said India's so-called demographic dividend can also turn into a demographic nightmare unless the rapidly increasing urbanization is not planned and implemented effectively.
The seminar will discuss various aspects like 'urban governance and participation: creating innovative structures'; 'energy consumption and urban emissions: developing alternate scenarios'; 'urban design: using city spaces efficiently'; urban transport and mobility: building sustainable systems' and 'urban exclusions: questioning the right to the city'. (ANI)
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