Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant stated on Friday that individuals should be paid for water usage and that the “nation needed to move forward.”

 

Kant was speaking at the Riverfront House in Ahmedabad on Friday to kick off another two-day National Conclave on Urban Planning, which was hosted for the first time in Gujarat.

 

Water will be a concern for the country in the next years, and how to address this through reuse, treatment, collection, and how treat full sewage water on a wide scale and use it in the design process. There is a significant loss of water in our country, as well as leaks and meter irregularities. This individual is not taxed for water in several towns. “If you don’t charge for water, your water bodies would vanish,” Kant, who is also a Sherpa for the G20 Indian Presidency, remarked.

 

On May 31, this year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs convened the first national conclave in Ahmedabad, which was arranged by a high-level group of urban planners. Keshav Varma, who also chairs the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation (SRFDCL) Ahmedabad, chairs the HLC.

 

Kant emphasized the need of charging for water by using Nagpur as an example.

 

He went to a slum in Nagpur where, with the help of the private sector, they delivered water on a PPP basis that is accessible twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. When I questioned them, they stated that acquiring water was the most important thing that had occurred to them since it addressed illnesses and enhanced nutrition amongst children and that they wanted to provide money for water. People are willing to pay for water. It is critical to instill such political will in the country. And because of this political determination, when payments are made, this country will go forward. Individuals want to pay for water as they use it. Diseases are managed by water, as are hygiene and development, he claims.

 

While inaugurating the summit, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel stated that the Sabarmati Riverfront’s world-class investment in infrastructure is the best example and gift of governmental will.

 

The CM stated that various initiatives such as classroom learning to advanced Anganwadi, smart transportation to smart transportation planning, smart ventilation to smart hydrology, and smart paying to the modern grid bus are experiencing a beneficial impact on the lives of ordinary people and thus increasing the ease of living.

 

He also stated that the country’s urbanization has risen over the previous many decades as a consequence of restricted money, industrialization, infrastructural amenities, and inadequate education and health services in rural regions. As a result, urban development becomes increasingly vital. Recognizing this predicament, Gujarat has traditionally prioritized urban development, according to Patel.

 

Mukesh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, stated that after Town Planning schemes in megacities, the Gujarat government has designed 15 similar TP programs in tier II and III cities such as Mehsana, Surendranagar, Kheda, and Anand.

 

Also, twin city development, such as Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar and Surat-Navsari, is planned, Kumar added.

 

Manoj Joshi, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, emphasized his belief in all-inclusive urban development that places the poor at the center.

 

During technical sessions, specialists discussed the country’s current urbanization dilemma, emphasizing the scarcity of urban planners and how overcoming it will result in progress, development, job creation, and poverty reduction.

 

Bimal Patel, an architect and urbanist, emphasized the importance of changing the method of planning to make urban planning effective, including “removing the licensing permit raj from urban planning.

 

He also discussed how the 78-kilometer Sardar Patel Ring Road project was made possible with the support of Ahmedabad’s TP plan.

 

According to Gujarat government authorities, the national government has chosen six towns for smart city development, comprising Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Dahod. In terms of comfort of life and municipal corporation, Ahmedabad and Vadodara rank among the top ten.