Pointing out that transforming lives of urban poor was critical to growth of cities, Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO, said on Saturday that in last eight years, India has built 40 million houses and provided 110 million water connections, which were equivalent to the population of Australia and Brazil, respectively. Addressing the conclusion of a two-day U20 Mayoral Summit at Gandhinagar, Kant said. “If sustainable development had to take place, cities will have to lead. Our belief is that growth, development, upliftment of people above poverty line and climate action are directly correlated to cities.” “Our belief always has been that transforming the lives of urban poor is critical to growth. In the last eight years, we provided 40 million houses to Indians. It means more than the population of Australia. We provided 110 million water connections, which is more than the population of Brazil,” Kant said at the summit where 92 mayors and leaders from 57 cities, including Tokyo, London and Los Angeles, were present. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, who was also present at the event, told mediapersons: “Between 2004 and 2014, the total expenditure on all the urban schemes put together was Rs 1.57 lakh crore. In the nine years after 2014, that expenditure has increased to Rs 18 lakh crore.” “Our urban population was 17 per cent of our total population in 1947. Today, our urban population is in the upwards of 30 per cent,” he added. Talking about the implementation of Metro projects, Puri said in India, Metro rail covered a stretch of 240 km in 2014. “Today, it has reached 860 km and we have 1,039 km under construction. When that is commissioned, we will have the second largest Metro system in the world – more than the United States, Japan and South Korea.” Puri outlined the six recommendations made by the participating cities during the summit, which included “encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour”, ensuring water security, accelerating climate finance, championing local culture and economy, reinventing framework for urban governance and planning and catalysing digital urban futures.
