The Hindu Business Line : Mumbai suburbs undergoing makeover

THE face of greater Mumbai is changing with massive infrastructure projects involving road or flyover constructions being implemented on a regular basis.

Over Rs 5,000 crore is being spent on these projects that will be completed by 2007.

While these are very visible projects, at the micro-level, the distant suburbs of Mumbai are also undergoing significant transformation.

Help for the local bodies in this endeavour in the suburbs of Virar and Panvel comes under the aegis of the Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) of the United Nations-Habitat (UN-Habitat) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Mr Ole Lyse, Chief, Urban Environment Section, UN-Habitat, told Business Line: "Our thrust is on capacity building because we believe that a lot of urban problems are anchored in planning and management issues and less in technical issues.

"Today you can acquire any technology in the world but in spite of that many cities struggle with environmental issues. UN-Habitat gives niche expertise in planning, management, capacity building, and new approaches to planning."

SCP has been working in these suburbs on a pilot basis with a $25,000 funding since October 2003. It is being implemented with the help of All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), which is putting in another $25,000 raised from its own resources and that of the local municipal councils.

Sustainable growth and development supported by balanced environmental planning and management strategies are the key drivers.

Given special focus are solid waste management and effluent treatment. Waste will be segregated, reduced at source and processed in a decentralised manner and will dovetail with anti-poverty programmes of the Government.

This is part of an initiative under implementation in 60 countries. Chennai was the first city in India to have benefited from this programme.

In Maharashtra, the programme is likely to be implemented in six more locations. According to Mr Ajit Kumar Jain, Head of AIILSG, Mumbai city has a chance to fall under the SCP scanner once the civic authorities make a request to the UN-Habitat to this effect.

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