FUTURE CITIES:CIVIC AMNETIES IN URBAN

INDIA

Basic facts about India●5000Years OLD CIVILIZATION●325 LANGUAGES SPOKEN●PARLIMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT●WORLD,S LARGEST DEMOCRACY●WORLD 4TH LARGEST ECONOMY●WORLD CLASS RECONGINATION IN IT,BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SPACE●2ND LARGEST POOL OF SCIENTIST AND ENGINEERS.

Opportunity of India’s urbanisation● times the GDP will multiply.●590 million people will live in cities.●270 million peoplein working-age population.●70% net employment will be generated.●91 million urbanholds will be middle class.

●68 cities have the population of 1million plus.●Standard of life increases●Slum area decreases

URBAN INDIA

●urban dwellers existence and quality of life.●Low Carbon Cities.●city form●urban population, settlement size, energy consumption, transportation, waste generation and land use mix contribute to carbon footprint.●The government is planning to promote low-cost housing for the urban poor.

●The construction of the 10,000 flats for people living in slums and JJ clusters is expected to begin soon as land of the project –

Urban Space

●Town planning created integrated and impressive urban landscape ●Streets became broader and straighter●Declining impact of vernacular buildings and replacement by classical architecture ●Impressive public edifices, such as concert halls, assembly rooms and civic buildings symbolised prosperity, humanity and prestige of the whole community.

CHALLENGES●60% of indians work in Agriculure sector.●India’s GDP is growing merely 6%per year.●Economic growth is unparallel.●The investments in urban infrastructure merely ranges 0.7 - 2.5 percent of the GDP.●An average 25 percent of the population in Indian cities lives in slums.

●Cities are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.●Cities meet approximately 72% of their total energy demand from coal, oil, natural gas●Problems of social and political unrest.●$1.2 trillion capital investment is needed.●Future seems bleak as urban population is expected to double by 2030.

CHALLENGS●25 billion sq.mtrs roads will have to be paved.●7400kms of metros and subway have to constructed.●Residents of Samgam Vihar staged a complete bandh on 17 Jun 07 to protest against the slow pace of regularization by the government. ●Protesting against the lack of civic amenities in their area, including poor supply of water and electricity.●There are severe water and sewage problems and nobody is willing to take them up.

WHY DECREASE IN GDP?Inflexible labor lawPoor transport.Unauthorized Land market distortionGovernment owned business.Restriction on direct Foreign investmentCounter productive taxation.

What to do?●Provide public accountability through life cycle of rebuilding & revitalization:●From planning, to funding, to implementing,●To achieving desired outcomes.●Stimulate repeated media attention on “rebuilding performance” .●Promote continuing civic dialog and improve rebuilding strategies over time.

INDIA SOURCE●Keeping the Commonwealth Games in mind, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) is all set to revamp a number of public convenience centres and make them more accessible for people with limited mobility

●NDMC roped in an NGO Svayam to conduct a survey ● ●A total of 94 public convenience centres have been identified

●The sewer lines would be laid in 30 villages. It would be ensured that all 189 rural villages that have been lagging in development of civic amenities are brought at par

STEPS FOR URBANISATION

●Source of investment:●PROPER TAX

COLLECTION●FOREGIN INVESTMENT

2.PLANNING

3.MANEGMENT

4.IMPLEMENTATION

5.MAINTANENCE

lFour areas have been taken up for study in the first phase.lThe final recommendations in all these four areas would be submitted by March 06.lThe four areas are1.Effective implementation of Right to Information Act.2.Crisis management3.Public Order.Implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee

William Wordsworth, Upon Westminster Bridge Earth has not anything to show more fair:Dull would he be of soul who could pass byA sight so touching in its majesty:This City now doth, like a garment, wearThe beauty of the morning; silent, bare,Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lieOpen unto the fields, and to the sky;All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.Never did sun more beautifully steepIn his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!The river glideth at his own sweet will:Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;And all that might heart is lying still!

Reference

(The Hindu, 9 Jun 07 “Delhi’s rural areas to get sewer lines: Sheila” (Staff Reporter) and The Times of India, 9 Jun 07, “NDMC to revamp public toilet system” (TOI reporter)