More than Rs 18 lakh crores invested since 2014 in transformation of our cities, towns: Union Minister Hardeep Puri

New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI): Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, addressed the National Workshop on Capacity Building of Urban Local Bodies on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering, the minister said that there was a time when India used to be categorised as a 'reluctant urbanizer'. Urban development had faced neglect as only Rs 1.78 lakh crores were invested in urban areas between 2004 to 2014, according to a press release by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Referring to the initiatives undertaken by the Government of India for Urban Development since 2014, Puri said, "The Prime Minister has brought about a revolution in India's urban development paradigm. More than Rs. 18 lakh crores have been invested since 2014 in the transformation of our cities and towns."
"It is not enough to think in terms of traditional infrastructure creation. That was a thing of the past. Instead, let us look to the future and focus on creating a holistic ecosystem for ensuring last-mile access to services, enhanced operational efficiencies, and the integration of digital technology", said Hardeep S Puri.
"To achieve these outcomes, we need to increase our capabilities--individually, organizationally, and institutionally. That is the aim of this workshop", he added.
Highlighting the purpose of the Capacity Building Workshop, the Minister said that through this workshop, we aim to cultivate a unified approach towards capacity building for all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country, as per the release.
The Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs said, "The government, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has laid emphasis on providing ULBs with greater financial resources and access. While the 13th Finance Commission granted Rs. 23,111 crores to ULBs between the periods 2010-11 to 2014-2015; under the 15th Finance Commission, there has been a six-fold increase to Rs. 1,55,628 crores between 2021-22 to 2025-2026."
The Minister said, "Through the AMRUT mission, the government has pressed for cities to go to the markets to raise capital investment. 12 cities have raised more than Rs. 4,384 crore through municipal bonds. Such actions have increased ULB creditworthiness and made them attractive investment destinations."
Speaking on the emphasis being laid on the reforms in urban planning, Hardeep Singh Puri said, "The government has disbursed funds directly to state governments to undertake urban planning reforms. The reforms such as modernization of building bye-laws, transit-oriented development, adoption of transferable development rights, integration of blue and green infrastructure through nature-based solutions, affordable housing through in-situ rehabilitation, increased capacity building and recruitment, GIS-based master planning, and Online Building Permission Systems (OBPS) have been prioritised."
"The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Capacity Building Commission (CBC) jointly organised the national-level workshop today to foster a unified approach to capacity building for urban local bodies (ULBs) across India under Mission Karmayogi. The primary focus of this workshop was to identify challenges and propose solutions to enhance capacity-building initiatives at the ULB level, thus strengthening their ability to contribute to national-level priorities," the release stated.
"The workshop marked the launch of three key initiatives, i.e., 'Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP) for MoHUA', Annual Capacity Building Plans for 6 pilot ULBs (Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Mysuru, Rajkot, Nagpur, and Pune), and a Comprehensive Toolkit for preparing the Capacity Building Plans for ULBs.' Besides Hardeep S. Puri, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to Prime Minister, Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA, also graced the occasion and stressed the importance of elevating the quality and capacity of ULBs," the release said.
"The event was attended by more than 250 officials, including municipal commissioners / senior officials from urban local bodies, state governments, knowledge and industry partners, faculty from training institutes, and officials of MoHUA and CBC. The workshop witnessed productive interaction and discussions underscoring the significance of continuous improvements and introducing new skills within ULBs," as per the release. (ANI)