Raipur, Oct 21 Chhattisgarh’s Urban Administration and Development Department (UADD) on Wednesday signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to improve financial resource management and strengthen technical and institutional capacities of urban local bodies, officials said.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai during the first regional workshop on the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) and Urban Invest Window (UiWIN) at a resort in Nava Raipur, an official statement said.
One MoU was signed with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and the other with the CEPT University, it said.
Inaugurating the workshop, jointly organised by HUDCO and the state UADD, Sai said cities will play a crucial role in building a developed India and a developed Chhattisgarh, stressing the need for planned, inclusive and sustainable urban development with a focus on future requirements.
Cities are not merely centres of housing and civic amenities but also major drivers of economic activity, industry, trade, employment and innovation, the CM emphasised.
Sai said urban development gained a new direction and momentum under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Initiatives such as the Urban Challenge Fund offered an opportunity to make cities modern, well-equipped, economically strong and self-reliant.
Urban local bodies in Chhattisgarh should make the most of this opportunity by preparing quality projects that improve people’s lives while strengthening local economies, the chief minister maintained.
He said his government has prepared a vision document for a developed Chhattisgarh, in line with Modi’s resolve to build a developed India by 2047, and was working in mission mode to implement its features.
Sai urged urban local bodies to prepare development plans keeping the needs of the coming decades in mind rather than focusing solely on present-day problems.
Referring to frequent waterlogging in cities during the monsoon, he called for permanent solutions to the problems faced by residents and stressed the need for effective, long-term drainage systems.
He raised concerns over the haphazard arrangement of electricity and other utility cables in urban areas and said situations in which power lines had to be lifted to allow processions or large vehicles to pass are neither safe for citizens nor in keeping with modern urban planning trends.
Wherever feasible, plans should be drawn up to lay electricity and other utility cables underground, he stressed.
Addressing mayors, municipal council and nagar panchayat presidents, and officials attending the workshop, Sai asked urban local bodies to study the provisions of the Urban Challenge Fund, consult experts and prepare projects that were technically sound, useful to citizens and financially viable.
The two MoUs would help urban local bodies plan development projects more effectively, mobilise financial resources, access technical expertise, and strengthen training and institutional capacity, he noted.
They would also facilitate the preparation and effective implementation of quality projects tailored to cities’ actual needs, the CM opined.
Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao, who holds the Urban Administration and Development portfolio, said the Centre has earmarked Rs 1 lakh crore for the UCF, presenting a major opportunity for Chhattisgarh’s cities.
The challenge now is for urban local bodies to prepare high-quality, viable projects and secure the maximum possible resources from the fund, Sao added.
(PTI News)
