Speech of the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the World Congress on Urban Infrastructure in Developing Countries

Shri S. Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Urban Development,

Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi,

Prof. Kamel Ayadi, President, World Federation of Engineering Organizations,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am extremely happy to be participating in the World Congress on Urban Infrastructure in Developing Countries organized by the Institution of Engineers India under the aegis of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, and with support of the Government of India and the Commonwealth Engineers' Council.

I welcome all of you to the beautiful and historical city of Delhi, which is not only the capital of India, but also a major metropolitan city of the world.

This Congress is taking place in the year 2007 when the global urban population has overtaken the global rural population for the first time in history. This trend is expected to continue. As per estimates of the United Nations, more than two thirds of the global population will be living in cities by 2025 and that 95 percent of the current urban growth is taking place in developing countries. This poses an acute challenge to developing countries in terms of making available urban infrastructure and facilities as well as in structuring urban planning and urban governance. This World Congress, while discussing the global requirements of creating and maintaining a sustainable urban infrastructure, should look at modalities and mechanisms through which the international community can support developing countries by transfer of technology, making available financial resources and capacity building.

Cities, in almost all developing countries, present two diametrically opposite pictures. On the one hand, cities are seen as centers of opportunities, as engines of growth as also incubators of entrepreneurs. It is this image that acts as a magnet for migration to cities. On the other hand, cities are seen as slums with a variety of problems like shortage of water, electricity and other civic amenities as well as crime, vehicular congestion on roads and severe environmental pollution. With growing urbanization, the urban population living in slums is likely to increase and slum-dwellers are just as likely to suffer from hunger, malnutrition and disease as their rural counterparts. Poverty is very much an urban phenomenon also.

It is imperative that for urbanization to be sustainable, it should be more inclusive and equitable. Every citizen should have access to basic services and livable habitats. The high rate of growth of urban population has put urban infrastructure and services under severe strain. Urban housing and the supply of basic utilities have not kept pace with demand. For improved human development indicators a pre-requisite is a sound basic infrastructure. Inadequacies in physical infrastructure severely constrain economic growth. Higher infrastructure development levels result in higher and speedier impacts on poverty reduction. Infrastructure, in fact, provides the framework for progress.

India is conscious of the fact that cities contribute over 50 percent of the country's GDP and that focused attention is needed for the improvement of existing conditions of infrastructure like provision of affordable housing, drinking water and sanitation in addition to medical facilities. A look at statistics gives a fairly good idea of the extent of the problem. It is a matter of concern that along with urbanization of cities, the population of slum dwellers in Indian cities has also risen from 26 million in 1981 to 62 million in 2001. Households having no facilities of toilets with water points account for 54 percent, whereas households with no arrangements of a proper sewerage system are 72 percent.

India attaches high priority to infrastructure development. India has recently launched an integrated programme to promote sustainable development of cities titled "Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission". Its implementation includes development of seven basic services for the poor, namely, land tenure, affordable shelter, water, sanitation, education, health and social security. Another very important step taken by India has been to set up an Infrastructure Commission, which acts as the main steering body for infrastructure development programmes. As per assessments, India would require about US $ 456 billion to meet its requirement for infrastructure development.

The scales of investment in most of the developing countries often exceed the capacities and resources of any national government and there is a need to look at innovative ways of financing. Public-Private Partnerships particularly in the sectors of sanitation, garbage disposal, street lighting, water supply, development and maintenance of gardens and parks could be looked at. Success of such partnerships depends on properly designed and economically viable models and a regulatory framework to oversee such arrangements. There is also a need for transparency and accountability in the delivery of local services to citizens. One of the most important long-term sustainable requirements of infrastructure development is the enhancement of skills and technical capacity building. It is my sincere hope that professionals and the pool of technical expertise in India will help meet the long-term challenges.

An inadequacy in urban infrastructure development plans is that there has been little co-ordination. Urban works, for example like road and drainage construction, are taken in isolation as a matter of rule rather than as an exception, probably because they are the responsibility of different organizations in the urban governance framework. The situation can be improved by taking up projects through one nodal agency aimed at integrating construction of various infrastructure elements like roads, pedestrian paths, cross-drainage works, public water points, water conservation taps, low cost toilets and community sanitation like Sulabh complexes, in a coordinated manner by adopting an integrated development framework for an area.

While cities only occupy just over 2 percent of land, they currently produce 70 percent of waste and account for a high proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The local municipal authorities and people themselves can play a significant role in creating awareness about urban issues as also getting involved in ensuring that services are maintained adequately. Sometimes small steps can go a long way in addressing big problems. 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.

Natural disasters can cause huge damages in cities. In the last decade India has experienced many disturbing natural hazards. Experience has demonstrated that technical intervention in planning, designing and construction of urban infrastructure can reduce vulnerability of societies to natural hazards. It should be the endeavour of the engineering fraternity to devise a system of early warning so that dislocation and sufferings of the people can be reduced if not eliminated altogether.

I would like to conclude by emphasizing that cities are important centers of cultural development of a country. There should be a specific focus on using city centers for propagating the rich heritage of a country's art, music, dance, literature etc. Development of heritage areas of the cities is another important aspect for the holistic development of urban areas. Heritage sites give a city its distinct identity and can also be used to promote tourism. There should be appropriate legislation and action plans for protecting and conserving heritage areas of cities and towns, failing which they will disappear forever.

I am confident that the deliberations in this Congress will provide not only a platform for sharing rich experiences but also come out with innovative and practical solutions.

I wish all success to this Congress.

Jai Hind