All years have their significance. A few are remembered for good reasons and some for not so good. You and I have experienced both kinds in the recent past. 2022 has been kinder than the past two years. I am referring to the large-scale health crisis that affected humankind, especially in our cities. This year, people sighed in relief and moved forward without Covid-19 disrupting their lives
2022 was significant for India other than the normalization of daily lives in the post-Covid era. The nation completed 75 years of its independence. Countries around the world face severe challenges in the economy and the impacts of climate change. India did well on the economy front and escaped the slowing of growth experienced by many countries, including China. India is well positioned against global financial headwinds or looming global recession in many parts of the world. There is an area where everyone is in the same position; that is the increasingly adverse impacts of climate change, which are being felt in India and elsewhere alike.
India took over the presidency of G20 on December 1 this year. The next year is going to be crucial. India can leverage the G20 Presidency to bring the member states to work on a common agenda of global good. And, the theme chosen says so—One Earth, One Family, One Future.
And the collective future of all depends on cities. The economy, development, and public services are centred around cities. The effect of climate change will be felt in cities the most. Recently, Pakistan suffered substantial economic losses of USD 32-40 Billion because of the furious floods. Our cities need to be ready to avoid such situations. We did not face such a huge setback this year, barring some impacts here and there. It does not mean that India can relax and do nothing to fix its urban systems and environmental degradation. The nation is continuously working to find its urban fault lines and fix them. Many of our urban missions are trying to address problems in cities and towns.
Not very long ago, it was said that only ten paise out of one rupee reached the real beneficiary. That was referred to corrupt practices in politics and bureaucracy causing leakages. But if we apply the same analogy to policy making at the central level and policy implementation at the local level, there are gaping holes. Only 10 per cent of policies’ benefits reach the local level. It is not just in India but in many countries. Policymaking could be excellent, but many schemes falter during implementation.
The nation has come out with some excellent policies and missions in the past few years, but only some of these schemes trickle down to the municipal level in the same spirit. In my interaction with local government officials, including some Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers, they are unclear about the objectives of some urban missions. For example, Smart Cities Mission aimed to make cities efficient in urban management, improve the quality of life in cities with pan-city and area-based development, and make the city’s coffers rich. Many officers are treating the Mission as a plain grant-based scheme without giving much attention to making those projects financially viable or generating money for the projects over and above the sanctioned budget provided by the centre and state government. It means that the nation still needs capacity building at all levels.
The country has done excellent work on sanitation in the past several years, and this year was no different. Our cities are continuously improving their sanitation standards and waste management techniques. The water management work is also picking up pace with Jal Jeevan Mission. These initiatives are timely and much required to address the present demands of urban residents. Everything the government is doing under various missions of the central government is ostensibly improving essential civic services for all. But dig deeper, and one can find that these schemes are greasing the urban engine to rev powerfully. It will, in turn, support the nation’s growth. Another important task at hand is upskilling municipal officials. A step forward could be creating a specialized force of urban officials for running cities. Cities have no alternative but to create a workforce that can address urban issues with their technical acumen. Private players are also coming up and participating. Recently, the Adani group won the bid to redevelop Dharavi-India’s largest slum. It will be challenging to pull off, but if it happens, it could be a model for other cities.
The last month of the year was happening for the national capital as MCD elections were held after merging three corporations. It will be interesting to see when the new council starts functioning and elects the mayor representing Delhi. As the years go by, local governments in the country are maturing. With new challenges, their role is also going to change. State and central governments have to delegate more authority to local governments and also prepare them to handle urban issues at the local level. The knowledge shared on a global platform like the COPs should be shared with cities and towns. The national government must understand that the global agenda will be achieved only when cities are on board. The efforts are on, and the march continues.