The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations Member States in 2015 is a guiding document, said Hardeep Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs.

“The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets together reflect, both the collective vision and goal that we have to work to achieving by 2030,” said Puri while addressing a webinar on World Habitat Day 2020.

Providing details of the achievements under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, Puri said that the targets for individual and community toilets have not only been met but have been surpassed by October 2, 2019.

Smart cities & technology

On the benefits arising out of technology, Puri said, “The architecture of the Smart Cities Mission enables the use of technology extensively. Thus, while the Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) monitor the critical municipal functions on real time basis, the wide array of CCTVs across the city have ensured that the citizens and more importantly the women have found a new found feeling of security.”

To help the vulnerable sections of society, the Government rolled out the PM SVANidhi scheme targeting the street vendors affected by the lockdown, he added.

“Today, the world is on the cusp of several inflection points. Covid-19 has exacerbated and aggravated the momentum. Status quo has been disrupted and most importantly, the world has been forced to introspect and course correct,” said Puri.

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