World Habitat Day celebrated
NEED FOR MAKING OUR CITIES MORE “INCLUSIVE” –
DR. H.S. ANAND
Dr. Harjit S. Anand, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation has stressed the need for finding ways of making our cities more “inclusive” to check the increasing divide between the rich & the poor. Dr. Anand was speaking at the inauguration of the World Habitat Day celebrations here today. World Habitat day is celebrated on the First Monday of the October each year. The Habitat Day is celebrated to sensitize a cross-section of stakeholders to initiate suitable actions on a most relevant theme to promote sustainable, inclusive and equitable development of human settlements. The theme of this year’s celebration is a “A Safe City is a just City”.
Speaking further, Dr. Anand said that the Habitat Agenda commits nations to improving living and working conditions on a sustainable basis, so that everyone is able to secure good quality shelter accompanied by a healthy environment. A secure habitat implies healthy, safe, accessible and affordable shelter adequately serviced by basic amenities combined with appropriate security of tenure for all, he added. He further stated that from town planner to policeman, the concept of an inclusive city is pluralistic and requires a dialogue between science and folklore as well as between society and state. He said we need to promote urban planning and governance with a social and grassroots’ approach for strengthening safety of cities. Such an approach at the local level will strengthen both crime prevention and detection.
Giving his views on this year’s theme of World Habitat Day, Dr. Singh said it is of critical significance in relation to the quality of life in our cities. Crime is a serious problem in cities all over the world. Crime and the fear of crime are serious threats to the social climate of cities as well as for sustainable and economic development. The growth of urban crime is posing a threat to urban safety all over the world and is a matter of serious concern for both national and city governments. On the increasing high level of unemployment amongst youth in urban areas, Dr. Anand emphasized the need to undertake concerted action for developing initiatives that improve the livelihoods of youth and generate amongst them a sense of belonging to society.
On the occasion Dr. Anand released special publications of Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO), Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and National Cooperative Housing Federation of India (NCHF). Dr. Anand also gave away the prizes to the winners of NHB Essay Competition for 2007 and Painting Competition of physically & visually challenged children. Ms. Shalini Dewan, Director, United Nations Information Centre read out the message of Secretary General, United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon.
RM/AS
(Release ID :31596)