Page 2 - HUDCO-SHELTER-OCT21

SHELTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Volume 22, No.2 October 2021
www.hudco.org
ISSN 2347-4912
Shelter is an official publication of
HUDCO/HSMI, distributed free of
charge. It deals with issues related
to housing, urban development and
other themes relevant to the habitat
sector. Contributions, comments and
correspondences are most welcome and
should be forwarded to:
EDITOR
SHELTER
HUDCO’s HSMI
HUDCO House, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi -110003
Tel: 011-24308600
Fax: 011-24365292
Email: hsmishelter@gmail.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman & Managing Director
Mr. Kamran Rizvi, IAS
Directors
Mr. M. Nagaraj
Mr. D. Guhan
Mr. Amrit Abhijat, IAS
Mr. Shyam Sunder Dubey
Company Secretary
Mr. Harish Kumar Sharma
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief: Mr. M. Nagaraj
Managing Editor: Dr. D. Subrahmanyam to hybrid and electric mobility. India’s forest and tree cover has increased by 1 per
Guest Editor: Ms Varsha Punhani
Editor: Dr. Akshaya Kumar Sen
Co-Editor: Ms. Pooja Nandy
Cover Design: Ms. Pooja Nandy
World Habitat Day Logo Credit: UN
Habitat
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Website: www.hudco.org
The world is becoming more urban than rural and India is no different. About 35 per
cent of India lives in cities and about 63 per cent of India’s national income comes
from cities. At the same time, cities are also the biggest emitters of the greenhouse
gases. As cities are where businesses and economic activities are concentrated, it
is no exaggeration to say that the battle against climate change would be won or
lost in our cities. Against this backdrop, the theme of this year’s World Habitat Day
forms the central focus of this issue of Shelter – “Accelerated urban action for a
carbon-free world”.
Indian cities are growing at a rapid pace and to cater to this surge, India would have
to invest heavily in new urban infrastructure, 70 per cent of which still needs to be
constructed. If we want our cities to be climate and pandemic ready then this new
development would have to be green and resilient and planned with the objective of
achieving social inclusion, economic growth and environmental sustainability. The
benefits of urbanisation and agglomeration economies would have to be harnessed
without compromising on the energy consumption and emissions benchmarks.
To reduce the carbon footprint of growing Indian cities, the key strategies could
include compact mixed land use development, low carbon and inclusive public
transportation system, water, sanitation, waste management, and energy systems
that are resource-efficient and financially viable.
India, a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris agreement on
Climate Change and the New Urban Agenda, has been making concerted efforts
to meet the targets set by the International Community. Some of the key policy
initiatives of Government of India towards achieving this include the National
Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), National Adaptation Fund on Climate
Change (NAFCC), Climate Change Action Programme (CCAP), International
Solar Alliance Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), State
Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC), and ClimateSmart Cities Assessment
Framework. Various programmes being undertaken on a mission mode like
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat and Urban Transport, etc.
are also aiding in development of compact, low carbon sustainable and resilient
cities. Other notable actions of Government of India to reduce emissions include
transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy and from petroleum run vehicles
cent in the last five years. UJALA for LED distribution has crossed 320 million
while UJJWALA for distributing clean cooking stoves to women below poverty
line has covered more than 63 million households. The implementation of these
programmes and projects are indicative of Government of India’s commitment
towards building a low carbon world.
The theme papers of the special issue of Shelter outline mixed land use compact
cities with Transit Oriented Development, carbon free technologies for Smart cities
and an effective green public transportation system coupled with mainstreaming
of informal sector in commercial zones of cities as strategies for making our cities
low carbon and resilient. The policy review papers focus on Impact of Housing
investment under PMAY on Employment, Income and GDP; and gender-inclusive
sanitation in India. This issue also gives a case study of Belagavi, Karnataka on
reclamation of existing natural systems and infrastructure in cities.
I am sure that theme appropriate articles chosen for this volume of Shelter would
kick start further deliberations on housing and infrastructure development which
is clean, green equitable and resilient. As always readers are encouraged to send in
their comments (critiques, suggestions and observations) about the issue.