AHMEDABAD: A thriving nation depends on its successful cities. Urbanization is a tool for economic development, employment creation, and eradication of poverty, said Amitabh Kant, Indian Sherpa during the opening session of the first Sherpas meeting of the U20-Urban Summit held for two days in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.
The quality of life of its residents is significantly improved by smart and intelligent cities, he added.
Amitabh Kant stated “The world is currently facing numerous difficulties, including the geopolitical crisis, war, recession, debt crisis, difficulty with financing climate action, shortages of food, fuel, and fertilizers, and post-covid crisis. The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has worked hard to transform obstacles into possibilities.”
“In the next ten years, cities will still be essential for development. Urbanization that is well-planned, creative, and sustainable is crucial to the growth of any country. The management and development of cities should be more professional and technologically advanced. cities must be built using a scientific approach,” Kant added
While opening the first Sherpas meeting of the U20-Urban Summit, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel stated, "Our cities are socio-cultural, economic hubs as well as backbones of economic development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the architect of the journey of urban development, has completely rejuvenated the cities of Gujarat during his tenure as the Chief Minister and we are all witnesses to the fact that the "Ease of Living" has improved in the cities. The Gujarat government has also carried out a number of projects towards Net Zero, Transit Oriented Development, and bearing in mind the requirements of the poorer segments of society during the past few decades."
“Urban development plans must be created in a way that provides a major solution to the issues caused by imbalanced development, traffic congestion, environmental imbalance, and the provision of public services, as urbanisation is growing rapidly throughout the world,” Patel added.
The Chief Minister noted that it was an honor for India to preside over the G20 meetings and the gathering of U20 would give contemporary urban concerns a forum to maximize prospects for inclusive, long-term economic gains.
The Chief Minister continued, referring to Gujarat's urban development, rich history, and current development journey, that Gujarat has seen the development of Sidhu culture. More than 17 Harappan sites have been discovered in the state, with Dholavira being the most prominent.
Dholavira was the ancient civilization's main centre of urban planning, construction technology, water management, governance, development-art-culture, and industrial development. Dholavira was recently designated as India's 40th UNESCO World Heritage Site. Similarly, Ahmedabad is a world heritage city because of its rich heritage and sculpture culture.
It is worth mentioning here that under U20, C40 includes foreign cities such as New York, Kyoto, Mexico, Barcelona, Port Louis, Los Angeles, Milan, Riyadh, Jakarta, Lagos, Johannesburg, Dhaka North, Durban, Madrid, Rotterdam, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and India. Sherpas from 40 cities including Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh, Indore, Raipur, Ranchi, Agartala, Guwahati, Dehradun, Pune, Srinagar, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Rajshahi, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Gandhinagar -including sherpa - representatives of 40 cities were present.