Thiruvananthapuram aspires for tranquillity, peace

In the world of conflicts, Thiruvananthapuram is aspiring to become India’s first ‘City of Peace’. The corporation has also included the objective in its draft master plan 2040. It would achieve the target by rolling out projects for the welfare of all, reducing the chances of conflict among citizens, and providing a peaceful and liveable environment for all. To discuss more about Thiruvananthapuram development paradigm, the state of urbanisation in Kerala, including building smart cities, contours of urban governance and planning, local area planning, climate change, and city finance, Abhishek Pandey, Editor of Urban Update, spoke to Binu Francis, Secretary, Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. Excerpts from the interview…

Welcome to One on One session of Urban Update. Cities are growing out of proportion everywhere, especially in south Asia. By 2030, most of the population in developed, underdeveloped, and developing countries will live in cities. But Kerala is uniquely positioned to have good infrastructure facilities in rural areas. It is most unlikely that many people will come to cities. In such a situation, how will cities look like in the state of Kerala in the future?

Yeah! Of course, cities are engines of growth since 60 to 65 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from cities. But in Kerala, around 40 to 45 per cent of the GDP comes from urban areas. We have 93 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), and the area covered is less than 10 per cent. In Kerala, there is an urban-rural continuum. We cannot demarcate an urban area from a rural area since almost all the infrastructure in urban areas is also available in rural areas. So, no significant migration (rural-urban) is happening. Elsewhere, cities are the sole generators of employment, and that is why they attract people, but that is not the case in Kerala. Almost all the facilities, like medical and educational institutions, are also available in rural areas, and the connectivity is also there. That kind of urbanisation is happening everywhere, including the rural area in Kerala.

You pointed out an exciting feature of Kerala. What is the reason that Kerala could build up that kind of infrastructure and facilities? Is it because local government institutions were strong, or is there another reason?

The reason, of course, is the strength of the local bodies, especially the Panchayats. We have 940 Gram Panchayats, and an interesting fact is that one-third of the total government exchequer goes to the local bodies based on their population, geographical area and development necessities. Then there is the finance commission which earmarks the funds for each local body reflected in the budget as annexure IV.
The mechanism is one thing. The second thing is that traditionally prevalent urban-rural demographic concern is not here. Even before independence, some educational institutions or social institutions like ‘Anganwadi’ and health institutions were in rural areas. After enacting the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts and the Kerala Panchayati Raj Act, many of these powers were transferred to the local bodies. So, ULBs have power, function and funds.

The 73rd and 74th CAA brought about a change across the country, but Kerala was the first to implement these amendments. When we talk about the paradigm shift in urban space, then we talk about the smart city mission, which is the major programme of the Government of India. How do you see the smart city changing the role of municipal corporations?

We have two smart cities in Kerala, Trivandrum and Kochi. Trivandrum is selected in the last phase. The cost of project is `1300 crore. But the problem is that we have 100 wards in Trivandrum city, and only nine are covered. There is another problem. In the core city area where we have no land, Greenfield development [projects which are started from scratch] will not happen. If we select this core area, then only Brownfield development [ongoing projects being handed over to others] can happen, under which we have to integrate existing infrastructure with the new one.
Through this smart city system, almost all the services can be delivered at a single point, and that is the beauty of this scheme. Something happening in one place can be replicated in another place. As far as finance is concerned, around 50 per cent of it comes from the ministry and the rest comes from the state and the urban local bodies (ULBs). Plus, we have a provision for private participation as well.

Talking about finance, Smart Cities have different financial instruments. I would like to know about the financial instruments available to TMC. What is the financial condition of TMC in terms of generating funds from their resources and getting grants?

Trivandrum city has surplus funds. Our budget is around 1500 crore, out of which300 crore is our fund; the rest are grants, maybe from the plan fund, which is about 450 crore and project funds or mission funds from the ministries as well from the state government. A major source of revenue is property tax. In 2022, it was30 crore, and other taxes are around `60-65 crore rest comes from rent and additional user charges. In Thiruvananthapuram, we have sufficient funds, but some cities do not even have funds to pay the salaries of their staff. As per the Kerala Municipality Act, municipalities have many financial sources, but unfortunately, the ULBs are not tapping that potential.

Municipal Finance is a big concern area. You must be aware that the three municipal corporations in Delhi were merged into one because of financial issues. What are the creative areas where cities can generate funds? I am sure your answer could help cities in Kerala and other states. Please elaborate…
There are a few mantras for revenue collection. If you go through the act and rules, you can see where we can collect tax and non-tax. Whether we have implemented the same or not, and if so, is the coverage 100 per cent or not, is the first step. The assessment of tax and non-tax sources is up to its potential. Another way is improving collection efficiency.
There are other sources as well. In Thiruvananthapuram, we have a Solid Waste/Sewage Treatment Plan in Muttathara, covering only 43 wards. We have private truck owners collecting the sewage from households and institutions and disposing of the same in open spaces and water bodies. We came up with a mobile app where households and institutions can raise their voice, and they can remit the fees online. We will get 700–1500 as service charges, and the rest will go to the truck owners. This way, we can generate2 – 3 crore every year.
Moreover, there are so many mobile towers that are not taxed. As per our survey, there are more than 700 such towers. By taxing them, we can generate another one crore. Then in Kerala, we have public spaces we can lease out on a potential basis. If we can reduce the expenditure, then, of course, it will be good. Some of the expenditures we can outsource where the cost recovery and management are simple.

There is another critical aspect—environmental sustainability. Thiruvananthapuram is one of the greenest cities I have seen. But there are some pressing challenges that cities in the coastal regions face due to climate change. What are your plans to address climate change?

Thiruvananthapuram has 28 km of coastline. We are facing the issue of sea erosion in certain places. Also, certain low-lying areas face the issue of flooding in the monsoon season. We have a disaster management plan at the city level, prepared with the help of many relevant stakeholders. We have more than 500 volunteers; following the floods of 2018. On a large level, we have a project of over `1,000 crore to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change that may arise in the coming decades.

Trivandrum would soon join the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) for Climate and Energy South Asia. It will enable knowledge sharing with global partners and cities. Does knowledge sharing among cities help cities like Thiruvananthapuram?

Of course! Different cities are facing different issues. In the same manner, solutions could differ as well. Sharing knowledge and success stories is essential as some solutions could be replicated in certain areas. Like the issue of floods, some cities have managed to deal with it well. So, an experience-sharing platform is good as many cities are doing well in transport, logistics, communication, and empowering citizens. In Kerala, we have empowered the informal class, while in some other regions, this is not happening.

COP27 (Conference of Parties) is happening in Sharm el-Sheikh. Climate talks are n focus. When we talk about climate change, many experts say that cities are the problem since they have high Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) emissions. On the other hand, many experts suggest that cities are also the solution. They can help us adapt to climatic conditions. How can a city like Thiruvananthapuram play an important role in reducing emissions and encouraging people to consider their consumption patterns?

At COP26, we had five declarations from our Prime Minister. We have already started our movement towards attaining these missions or goals, thereby converting all our streetlights to LED lights. We are converting all our buildings into solar. Thiruvananthapuram is selected as the solar city as well. We have converted many of our vehicles into e-vehicles. Again, in certain households, there is a practice of stubble burning, which we have controlled. It has to be cultivated in the minds of the people and students. So, the government has also introduced a syllabus to keep the environment clean, and the corporation is also part of the government’s initiative. We have a separate budget for the same. This issue has been seriously deliberated at the local level, especially in Thiruvananthapuram.

At last, what is your vision for Thiruvananthapuram City? How do you see the city developing ten years down the line?

We have already decided to brand the city as the city of peace for the next 20 years. We had many deliberations after which we have taken a resolution on this. An action plan has already been prepared with the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), and the stakeholders’ meeting has already happened. To make the city a city of peace, there should not be any poverty, for which we have already prepared the action plan and selected the beneficiaries. The infrastructure which we have provided should be made up to the standard. So should the service on the part of government and city corporation.

Thiruvananthapuram has 28 km of coastline. We are facing the issue of sea erosion in certain places. Also, certain low-lying areas face the issue of flooding in the monsoon season. We have a disaster management plan at the city level, prepared with the help of many relevant stakeholders. We have more than 500 volunteers; following the floods of 2018. On a large level, we have a project of over `1,000 crore to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change that may arise in the coming decades