9 cities took key steps to curb climate crisis: Study
Ahmedabad, Indore, Pimpri Chinchwad, Vadodara, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Rajkot and Surat were adjudged top performers among 126 cities that participated in the second edition of the assessment, which was launched in September last year.
Nine Indian cities have taken significant measures to mitigate climate change impacts and inculcate climate-sensitive approach to urban planning, according to the cities’ readiness report on Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) released by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs on Friday.
Ahmedabad, Indore, Pimpri Chinchwad, Vadodara, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Rajkot and Surat were adjudged top performers among 126 cities that participated in the second edition of the assessment, which was launched in September last year.
Kunal Kumar, mission director of the ministry’s Smart Cities Mission, said the assessment currently only involves ranking cities based on their performance. “In the times to come... cities that improve their ranking will get more funds. We incentivise improvement of ranking for cities in the framework.”
This year, the cities were assessed on five key themes (with 28 indicators): urban planning, green cover and biodiversity, energy and green buildings; mobility and air quality, water management and waste management. The performance was rated on five levels (1 to 5 stars).
In urban planning and waste management themes, some cities have shown positive impact and were given 5 stars in performance level. But in mobility and air quality, water and energy themes, no city got 5 stars, indicating that a lot of work needs to be done before results are visible on the ground.
According to the report, 43 smart cities in India face poor air quality that poses serious health concerns. Indore, Surat and Visakhapatnam were adjudged top performers in the urban planning, green cover and biodiversity theme, in some measure because they not only took concrete steps to plan but set aside money in their budget and ensured implementation on the ground.
Of the 126 cities, only 65 cities including Thane, Pune, Agra and Coimbatore meet the norms for 12-18% green cover.
The report also underscored the absence of a road network for non-motorised transport (NMT), which along with use of public transport can reduce air pollution. It said 94 cities have less than 15% of the road network with NMT infrastructure. Six cities, Kalyan Dombivali, Mysore, Naya Raipur, Ranchi, stand out, with over 50% NMT infrastructure. This is important because studies show that close to 74% of people walk or rely on NMT transport for at least part of their daily commute.
Sewa Ram, professor of transport planning, School of Planning and Architecture, said, “It is easier for cities to develop NMT infrastructure in greenfield developments. To address issues related to air pollution due to transport, there is a need to increase public transport and develop NMT infrastructure. But in most cities, we have to do retrofitting. There is a need to provide assistance to cities to develop the infrastructure.”
The Delhi government’s Electric Vehicle Policy is an example of efforts made by cities in addressing mobility and air quality concerns. The national capital’s performance was largely assessed on information provided by New Delhi Municipal Council, which is part of the smart cities mission.
While Delhi was given a five-star rating in waste management (assessed on the performance on Swachh Survekshan 2020), the city got a three-star rating in mobility and air quality, energy and green buildings and urban planning, green cover and biodiversity themes.
