MoHUA announces ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge’ Cohort

NEW DELHI: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has shortlisted 25 cities for the ‘Nurturing Neighbourhood Challenge’ cohort including Agartala, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Dharamshala, Erode, etc. This three-year challenge is aimed at supporting early childhood-friendly neighbourhoods under the SCM.

The Smart City Mission (SCM), MoHUA had announced the ‘Nurturing Neighbourhood Challenge’ cohort in collaboration with Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) India as the technical partner. The challenge was launched on November 4, 2020, inviting participation from all smart cities, capitals and cities with more than 5 lakh population. The cohort will be provided technical assistance, capacity building and scale-up support to experiment and implement the trails and pilots in the next six months. The first stage, which closed on February 7, involved an open call for applications from cities and 63 cities submitted the application from across the country. The cities have proposed the neighbourhood level pilot projects considering public space, mobility and access to services to enhance the physical and psychological health of the young children.

Cities have proposed a diverse set of pilot projects which includes creating children-friendly walking corridors in residential neighbourhoods, safe commute for related childhood services in urban slums, increasing opportunities for nature play and sensory stimulation and adapting open spaces in government school grounds for public play after school hours. Other proposed pilot projects include early childhood amenities in government offices, bus shelters and transit hubs, outdoor waiting areas for Primary Health Centres (PHCs) with shade, seating and lactation cubicles.

Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary and Mission Director, SCM, MoHUA, said that the challenge has refocussed attention to neighbourhood level intervention by engaging cities in developing healthy urban environment in urban areas. He added that this approach is in line with the motto of SCM to promote inclusive, people-oriented development in local areas to enhance citizen’s quality of life.