India unanimously elected to head UN-Habitat

NEW DELHI: India has been unanimously elected as the President of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations’ Organisation (UNO) that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world, after 10 years. UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly.

In elections, Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation M.Venkaiah Naidu will chair the four day meeting of the 58 member Governing Council of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya from today. Shri Naidu will preside over the deliberations of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat for the next two years.  Since the UN-Habitat came into being in 1978,  It is only the third time that India has been  elected to lead this important organization after 2007 and 1988.

As an inter-governmental policy making and decision making body, the Governing Council of UN-Habitat seeks to promote integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements, assist the countries and regions in addressing human settlement problems and strengthen cooperation among all countries on human settlement issue.

The theme of the 26th Meeting of the Governing Council to be chaired by  M.Venkaiah Naidu is “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda” with focus on inclusive, sustainable and adequate housing for a better future and planning and  financing sustainable urbanization and integrated human settlements. The New Urban Agenda was adopted by the world community at Quito, Ecuador last year.

Venakiah Naidu also chaired the Bureau Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing and Urban Development beginning in Nairobi.

Addressing the Governing Council of UN-Habitat, Naidu has stressed on the need to reorient urban planning and execution strategies to ensure dignity of living and sufficient means of living for people in the context of rapid urbanization, particularly, in developing countries.

Naidu elaborated on the integrated, inclusive and sustainable urban development model of India through various new missions like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart City Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. He said these missions are addressing deficits in different kinds of infrastructure including affordable housing in a convergence mode.