India has anchored the dialogue on sustainable urbanization and climate change under its G20 Presidency, said Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs.
Mr Puri was speaking at the UrbanShift Forum (Asia) inaugural session. He said that India has taken the lead in sustainable urbanization and combating climate change under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. The country’s successful urbanization process has served as a model for other nations, including the Global South.
The minister highlighted several ministry initiatives that are pioneering the development of urban areas sustainably and inclusively.
The schemes and outcomes so far:
1. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban:
• Almost 11.9 million homes have been sanctioned
• Nearly 7.7 million houses have already been delivered to beneficiaries
2. Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban: Resulted in a behavioral shift towards cleanliness.
• Around 7.36 million individual and community toilets have made India’s cities and towns ODF (Open Defecation Free)
• Solid waste processing has gone up from 17 per cent in 2014 to 75 per cent today
• 326 garbage dump sites have been remediated and 42.6 million tonnes of waste reduced
3. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Mission:
• Nearly 14 million water tap connections and 13.5 million sewer lines have been provided in 500 cities, accounting for 60 percent of India’s population
• 6,069 projects worth more than $13 billion have been completed under the Smart Cities Mission
“India has led action on the issue of climate change under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the minister said, adding that his ambitious Panchamrit Action Plan is the anchor for our climate response, with the thrust of our response centered on our rapidly urbanizing cities.”
According to a statement issued by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, the forum’s key objective is to provide training and capacity-building to regional cities on various facets of integrated and sustainable urban development.
At the opening plenary session, key urban issues in the Asian region were discussed by a high-level panel and other participants while focusing on strategies to overcome obstacles and transform Asian cities into cities of opportunity.
Several regional leaders spoke about their vision and policy directions in the coming decades for enhanced ambition and accelerated climate actions in Asian cities, the statement added.