Huge
central assistance of Rs.1.13 lakh cr committed to improve basic urban
infrastructure till 2019 to enable urban revival, informs Minister
Rs.1.84
lakh crore investments in urban sector approved over last one year; Rs.15,827
cr in Andhra Pradesh
Shri
Naidu asks BRICS nations to step up cooperation on urban issues to spur
economic growth
3
day BRICS Conference on Urban Transition inaugurated
Minister
of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri
M.Venkaiah Naidu today said that the political class of the country is now more
sensitised than ever before to the challenges in urban sector and the need to
fix them at the earliest in the interest of rapid economic growth besides
enabling a decent quality of life. He said so while inaugurating the three day
conference on ‘Urban Transition in BRICS’ at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Shri
Naidu stated that this much desired awareness is a result of the initiatives
taken by the central government to enable urban revival during the last two
years. He said that after detailed consultations with all stakeholders
including citizens, urban local bodies, State Governments and others, the
central government has set in motion a 10-point strategy for urban renaissance
and this paradigm shift has begun to yield results.
Stating
that resources are key to addressing huge infrastructure deficit in urban
areas, Shri Naidu said that the central government is taking measures to enable
increased flow of resources to urban local bodies and States which includes
enhanced central assistance. He informed that under Smart City Mission, Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Swachh Bharat
Mission (Urban), central government has committed to provide an assistance of
Rs.1.13 lakh crores to improve basic urban infrastructure, till 2018-19. “This
is a quantum jump from central assistance of Rs.33,902 cr committed during
2004-14 under JNNURM for basic infrastructure” said Shri Naidu.
The
Minister further said “The pace and scale of project and investment approvals
have increased manifold since 2015 with the central government approving an
assistance of Rs.1.84 lakh crore. This includes Rs.78,292 cr under smart city
plans of 33 mission cities, Rs.45,293 cr under Atal Mission and another
Rs.56,231 cr for building affordable houses for urban poor. These are the early
gains of urban renaissance in the country”.
Shri
Naidu stated that the central government led by Shri Narendra Modi has ended
the ambiguity in government’s approach to urban development since Independence
as planned and well guided urbanisation is central to economic growth. He said
that urban revival is being sought to be realised based on citizens’
participation, autonomy to urban local bodies and States in project formulation
and their appraisal and approval, promotion of a healthy spirit of competition
among urban local bodies, area based development, capacity building and
enhanced resource flows to urban local bodies and States.
Giving
an illustration of increased investments and scale of central assistance, Shri
Venkaiah Naidu informed that an investment of Rs.15,827 cr has been approved
over the last one year with central assistance of Rs.4,571 cr for Andhra
Pradesh. This includes Rs.10,579 cr for constructing affordable houses for
urban poor, Rs.3,595 cr for developing Visakhapatnam and Kakinada as smart
cities and another Rs.1,540 cr for improving water supply and sewerage systems
in AMRUT cities.
Stating
that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), with a population
of over 3 billion account for over 53% of world’s population and about one
fourth of global GDP, Shri Naidu urged them to step up cooperation in
addressing the challenges associated with urban transition based on sharing of
experiences and knowledge. He further said that given the size of the economies
of BRICS countries and the potential still to be realised, member countries
need to collectively address urban challenges so that they could drive global
economic recovery.
Ministers
from BRICS, experts, members of academia and representatives of industry are
attending the three day conference.
AAR