SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE AIILSG NAGAR RATNA AWARDS

Mumbai, 8th July 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to participate in this function organized by the All India Institute of Local Self-Government, which has been working for over eight decades in the field of training and capacity building of municipal administration and local bodies. I congratulate them as well as the municipal corporations, who have today been conferred Nagar Ratna awards for their good performance.

The growth of cities began in the early days of human civilization. The ancient Indus Valley civilization was one of the first urban civilizations of the world. Its cities, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, are acknowledged for their high sophistication in architecture and engineering. With their well-planned and wide roads, properly designed drainage and sanitation systems, public buildings and public baths, they evoke interest among planners, till today especially now, as half of humanity lives in urban areas. This trend is expected to continue, leading to assessments that the 21st Century is likely to be one when cities will be the dominant human habitats.

In India too there is a growing trend towards urbanization. The high rate of growth of populations living in towns and cities, has put infrastructure and services under severe strain. Housing and the supply of basic utilities have not kept pace with demand. While such inadequacies severely constrain economic growth, the lack of planned civic amenities, cause great inconvenience to the population and haphazard construction deprives towns of their character. Moreover, with an expected influx of more people into urban areas, we must plan carefully and adopt systematic approaches. Town Planning now has so many aspects and elements, that it has become a full fledged discipline in colleges and universities just like engineering. This will add to our knowledge base and enhance our abilities to address issues and problems of municipalities. I believe that as we draw plans, we should not only cater to the needs of current inhabitants, but should look at developing cities and townships keeping in mind a minimum of a 25 year timeframe. Works like road and drainage construction or repair, should be taken in a coordinated manner by adopting an integrated development framework for an area. The construction of green buildings, designed for energy conservation and water harvesting, should be encouraged as also the construction of earthquake resistant buildings. Local self-government bodies must ensure that building plans and standards are strictly adhered to.

People should be the centre of development, as we strive to build an atmosphere congenial to progress. Every citizen should have access to livable habitats and basic amenities like water and sanitation, transport and energy supply, which should also be efficiently managed. Slums represent the face of urban poverty and the sprawling divide that exists in cities. A look at statistics gives a fairly good idea of the extent of the problem. The population of slum dwellers in Indian cities has risen from 26 million in 1981 to 62 million in 2001. Being at the lower rung of the ladder, they constitute the vulnerable section that is likely to suffer from hunger, malnutrition and disease. There is also the labour force, who set up temporary hutments close to the construction site. Cities must work towards meeting the basic requirements of all and to eradicating poverty. No one should sleep on a hungry stomach, no one should sleep on the footpath and every child should go to school. It is such inclusive cities, where the benefits of social welfare reach all sections of society, that will be sustainable habitats. Special programmes for the welfare of the marginalized and disadvantaged, like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which seek to cater to the needs of the poor and improve the quality of their lives with the involvement of stakeholders, should be properly implemented along with regular monitoring.

Cities that are secure and safe are a product of good governance. In this, urban local bodies play a pivotal role. Representatives of urban local bodies have to do their work with interdependent principles of efficiency, transparency and accountability. Their role definitely includes the implementation of social welfare programmes but along with it, very importantly; it is to identify local priorities by taking into account perspectives of residents. Women should be actively drawn into the planning and development process, and I am happy that there are women representatives in our elected urban bodies constituting 36 percent of the membership, which is proposed to be increased to 50 percent. Training and capacity building is an important investment into the future sustainability of our cities. E-governance technologies can be harnessed for providing better services and facilities. This will enable better communication systems, better data and information systems, quicker processing of the data and resultantly better delivery and monitoring mechanisms.

India has a predominantly young population, and the future of the nation depends on how well we prepare our youth to take on responsibilities. Good value-based education is particularly important in making better-informed, duty conscious and creative citizens. Easily accessible and affordable healthcare systems that address issues of nutrition, while providing medical care go a long way in making people healthy and productive.

A city depends as much upon its planners and administration, as on the people dwelling in it, who essentially determine its character. Hence, the feeling, that it is for the Government alone to take action, is not correct. As Gandhiji has said, "No people have risen who thought only of rights. Only those did so, who thought of duties." People must feel that it is their own city, and think of how they can do something for it. They should live in harmony with each other, maintain peace, be law abiding, conscious of their responsibilities and willing to contribute to all aspects of its progress. Individuals should have a sense of civic duty. From waste management, to energy and water conservation, to planting trees - all these can be successful only with citizens' participation. Each person can contribute, NGOs can contribute, housing societies can contribute and industry can contribute in making a positive difference to our urban habitats. It is a two-way relationship between local self government and citizens. Local self-government must create conditions where citizens can become partners.

While cities occupy just over 2 percent of land, they currently produce 70 percent of waste and account for a high proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. In a fast urbanizing environment, we should look at striking the right balance between environmental and developmental needs. Environment friendly options such as biogas, solar and wind energy need to be explored. In a city, effective public transportation systems should be accorded priority to give people a convenient, comfortable and an affordable mode of travel, which also contributes to environmental efforts. Mass transport and transit systems facilitate movement within the city. In their absence, city dwellers would depend on private transportation, leading to congestion, pollution and more fuel consumption. Small steps can also go a long way. In the case of waste management, if action is taken by every household to segregate bio-degradable waste from other waste, it would provide an environmentally sustainable and effective system of waste management, that begins at the waste generation stage, and seeks to involve the maximum number of people.

On the basis of the concept of people's participation the 'Roshini' programme has been adopted in Rashtrapati Bhavan, as an effort to make it an eco-friendly estate. This initiative has waste management, energy efficiency and usage of new and renewable energy as components. Our attempt is to create awareness and a sense of responsibility in each individual living in the President's Estate, in keeping the environs clean. Urban planners and dwellers should develop models that create hygienic, efficient, eco-friendly and participatory urban settlements. Roshini could, with suitable adaptation, be a replicable model.

In the end, I again congratulate the award winners and also compliment all those associated with this Institute, for their dedication, commitment and professionalism. I would encourage it to continue with its endeavour to develop its training infrastructure for supporting and enhancing capacities of local governance. I again wish the All India Institute of Local Self-Government and its team a great future.

Thank you.

Jai Hind