Workshop on urban infrastructure held in Pune ahead of G20

The seminar comprised a total five sessions which saw participation from central- and state- level officials, and representatives of financial institutes and industry

Ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in Pune, a seminar/workshop on urban infrastructure was organised. The seminar comprised a total five sessions which saw participation from central- and state- level officials, and representatives of financial institutes and industry. All the participants expressed the need to execute PPP models in urban local bodies in the country while simultaneously demanding that national-level guidelines be framed for the execution of these PPP models and that money be raised from financial institutes and the capital market.

On January 7, Cyclothon was organised in run-up to G20 summit. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Additional secretary of the ministry of housing and urban affairs Surendra Bagade said, “Urban growth will take place naturally and no one can stop it. But the main challenge is how municipal corporations will get ready to address the citizens’ aspirations. Municipal corporations will need to create last-mile connectivity. Mumbai had good last-mile connectivity due to local trains.”

Vice-chancellor (VC) of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics Ajit Ranade said, “The municipal corporations have great challenges as they have less revenue and need to execute many works. The main sources of income are tax, government grants, user charges and finance. The tax collection is very poor. For example, the real estate prices in Mumbai are very high but at the same time, the Mumbai corporation is not getting enough revenue from property tax. Day by day, the grants from the central- and state- government too are reducing. Municipal corporations need to execute effectively the collection of tax.”

Surat Municipal Corporation commissioner Shalini Agrawal said, “The Gujarat government is promoting PPP models in municipal corporations. We have allowed free FSI in public projects. We have even allowed PPP partners to use TDR in any of the cities in the state of Gujarat. The Surat Municipal Corporation has executed various PPP projects that are helping generate revenue as well as becoming popular among the citizens.”

Whereas financial institutes expressed the view that the financial condition of many municipal corporations is not good. Private players are opting for national highway and energy projects vis-à-vis urban infrastructure projects. As the municipal corporations are not equipped to deal with financial institutes, policies need to be framed at the national level and the staff of these local bodies need to be trained.