President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday called for a planned urbanisation of India, terming it a key to unlock India's growth potential.
Speaking at the Metropolis World Congress held here, President Mukherjee said, "Urbanisation is sweeping the world. It has been said that the 19th century was the century of empires; the 20th century was the century of countries and the 21st century will be the century of cities. During 2008, according to the United Nations, mankind became for the first time in its history a predominantly urban species. Demographers estimate that three quarters of the global population could be urban by 2050 with most of the increase coming in the fast growing towns of Asia and Africa.
Quoting sheer figures, the President said, "According to India's census of 2011, about 377 million Indians comprising 31 percent of the country's population, live in urban areas in comparison to 45 percent in China, 54 percent in Indonesia, 78 percent in Mexico and 87 percent in Brazil."
"The top 100 largest cities produce about 43 percent of the GDP, with 16 percent of the population and just 0.24 percent of the land area. Globally it is also being recognized that rather than a 'rural-urban dichotomy', the phenomenon of 'rural-urban continuum' is the order of the day. In India too, there is realization that planned urbanization is one of the keys to unlock India's growth potential," he added.
Talking about some issues that need to be tackled, President Mukherjee said, "At a time when more than fifty percent of the world live in urban areas, it is important that administrators address the ever rising challenges of sanitation, pollution, mobility, civic amenities and public safety in an innovative manner. Most cities from the developing world are unprepared, both at local and global levels, to face the challenge of urbanization and ensuring equity in the provision of basic infrastructure and amenities."
"There is urgent need to strengthen urban governance and local finances in order to meet current demands and the challenges ahead of us. These challenges are not only in the context of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions but also with regard to provision of basic services to all the inhabitants, development of networks for water supply and transport, collection of waste, provision of equitable access to land and energy, building of green buildings, expansion of mass transportation systems etc. Also, our cities are having to do more with less and less financial resources," he added.
President Mukherjee further said, "Urban India today faces a backlog in the provision of basic amenities and infrastructure. About 9 percent of urban India does not have access to safe drinking water and 12.6 percent have no toilet facilities."
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Talking about the Swachh Bharat Andolan, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched on October 2, President Mukherjee said, "The Government of India has launched a massive campaign called the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. This five year Clean India Mission seeks to provide sanitation facilities for all and create a clean urban India in the 4041 statutory towns by 2019, the 150thanniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi."
Talking of the problems of pollution, President Mukherjee said, "Pollution is another huge challenge in cities today. The focus must be on prevention rather than mitigation of pollutants. Apart from creating lung spaces and green cover, we must encourage people to adopt energy efficient technologies. Green buildings and green zones must be an integral and imperative part of urban planning and citizens must be encouraged to plan their new dwellings accordingly. Unless we include greenery and conservation in the policy making and planning stage itself, the green deficit will always remain huge and impossible to fulfil."
Talking of the importance of traffic management, President Mukherjee said, "With an ever increasing population in cities, the need for comprehensive traffic management cannot be over emphasized. Efficient and affordable urban mobility solutions are a critical component of a smart city. Traditionally municipalities in India have not treated urban transport as their core function. But there is new realization that a city should think and act about how its people move from one point to another."
"Mobility and transport are a development issue and not just a regulatory issue. Cities must encourage their populations to use public systems as their first choice. The Hyderabad Metro is among the best models of public transport available in India. I hope it will set an example for similar efforts worldwide," he added.
President Mukherjee further said, "Urban administrators must use technology to provide better amenities to our people. Since cities are growth engines and time is money, people should not have to waste productive time in accessing basic amenities. Government to citizen services should be available online with minimal human interface. In the past decade, India has taken many novel steps in this direction. As people increasingly depend on the internet for getting their services, entire cities will need to be Wi-Fi enabled."
Talking of the issues related to housing, the President said, "As migration into cities grows, housing for all becomes a critical issue. It is imperative for city administrators to evolve sustainable housing policies which will prevent the creation of new slums. Private partnership should be made an integral part of such policies. Creation of satellite townships is another way of addressing this issue. Several state governments have adopted innovative approaches in creating housing for the poor and there is need for cross-learning from each other."
President Mukherjee, talking of safety, said, "Safety is a major concern for city governments across the world and a sine-qua-non of smart cities. As urban populations rise, public safety is bound to become a major concern. City administrators have to leverage new technology to ensure maximum public safety. A city is as safe as its people want it to be."
The Metropolis World Congress, which takes place triennially, took place in India for the
first time.