PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO MUMBAI (Media Coverage Report ) President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil Presents Nagar Ratna Award Mumbai, July 8, 2011 Government of India PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU Mumbai VMC gets Nagar Ratna award for urban poor housing Vadodara : The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) bagged the All India Institute for Local Self Government ( AIILSG) Nagar Ratna Award for the urban poor housing schemes in the city. VMC commissioner M K Das received the award on the day he was transferred from the city on Friday. The VMC has taken up a major drive to construct houses for the urban poor in the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The civic body has already begun work on the ambitious project to make 21,000 houses and has constructed over 8,000 houses in the city. The construction of the housing blocks has been taken up in a phased manner. While the work on the first phase that comprises of 6,668 houses is nearing completion that on the phase two is under way while land has been allocated by the state government for the third phase. VMC officials said that over 5,400 houses have already been allotted under the scheme. The civic body has now adopted a policy of displacing only those slum dwellers whose houses are ready. Several hutments were cleared by the civic body after the residents were given alternative housing, but were refusing to move. AMC gets Nagar Ratna AHMEDABAD: Municipal commissioner I P Gautam was in Mumbai receiving the 'All India Institute of Local Self-Government Nagar Ratna Award for the Best Performing City' in the country from President Pratibha Patil when his transfer orders came on Friday afternoon. This award was just one among the 14 national and international awards that Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation won under Gautam's leadership covering five years. Till June 2006, AMC had just two awards in its kitty. Other Nagar Ratna awards went to Vadodara Municipal Corporation for basic amenities to urban poor, Rajkot Municipal Corporation for complaints redressal system and Surat Municipal Corporation for innovation. Participation of residents is the key to growth of cities, says Pratibha Patil Mumbai : Stressing the need for citizens’ participation, President Pratibha Patil on Friday said that it is the key to good governance and better administration of cities. Patil was speaking at the Nagar Ratna Award ceremony in the city instituted by the All India Institute of Local Self Government, where 12 municipal corporations were presented awards, out of the 63 in the country covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). JNNURM is a massive city modernisation scheme, launched by the union government, under which funds are provided to cities for developing urban infrastructure and services. In return, the city carries out mandated reforms. The Nagar Ratna Awards aim to recognise those municipal corporations that have performed the best in fulfilling their responsibilities towards, and need of citizens. The overall best performer – this year, Ahmedabad municipal corporation – is presented with a trophy and cash prizes. “A city depends as much upon its planners and administration, as on the people dwelling in it, who essentially determine its character. Hence the feeling is that for the government alone to take action is not correct,” said Patil, addressing the award ceremony, held at YB Chavan hall, south Mumbai. “From waste management to energy and water conservation to planting trees – all these can be successful only with citizens’ participation. It is a two-way relationship between local self- government and citizens,” she said. “Every citizen should have access to livable habitats and basic amenities like water, sanitation, transport and energy.” Potholes are the road to bagging national award The Kalyan-Dombivli municipal corporation has ironically bagged a national award for the best road development by any civic body in the country. The region has some of the worst roads in the city, a fact admitted by its mayor Vaijayanti Gujar. "Right now, the roads of my city are definitely not in an award-winning condition," she said sheepishly after president Pratibha Patil conferred the All India Institute of Local Self-Government's Nagar Ratna award at a ceremony in Mumbai on Friday. Though the mayor expressed surprise at the honour, the corporation's municipal commissioner said the roads were in good condition when the nominations for the award were filed earlier this year. "The award has motivated us to do better. By this year-end, the roads of Kalyan-Dombivli will again be befitting the honour,"he said. Two other civic bodies from Maharashtra were also awarded. The Pune Municipal Corporation bagged the third spot in the overall performance while the Nashik Municipal Corporation received an award for its public health initiatives. The BMC returned empty-handed. "A city depends as much upon its planners and administrators as on the people dwelling in it who essentially determine its character," Patil said. The president expressed her joy at the fact that six of the nine mayors who won awards were women. The first spot for the best local self-governance in the country went to Ahmedabad. It was followed by Mysore. The Faridabad civic body was awarded for its recreational facilities; Vadodara for basic amenities for urban poor; Bangalore for financial management, Visakhapatnam for use of information technology in governance; Agartala for transparency and accountability; Rajkot for complaints redressal and Surat for innovation in local self-governance. Pratibha: individual participation vital for urban development PTI President Pratibha Patil interacts with Nashik Mayor Naina Gholap during the 'Nagar Ratna' award function in Mumbai on Friday. Mumbai : Pointing out that cities occupy just two per cent of land but generate 70 per cent of waste, President Pratibha Patil said here on Friday that citizens must participate to ensure good governance and they must give equal importance to duties, and not just focus on rights. “A city depends as much upon its planners and administration, as on the people dwelling in it, who essentially determine its character. Hence, the feeling that it is for the government alone to take action is not correct. As Gandhiji has said, No people have risen who thought only of rights. Only those did so, who thought of duties,” she said after conferring the ‘Nagar Ratna Awards' upon 12 Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councils. She appealed to the local self-government bodies to create conditions where citizens can become partners and said that there was a two-way relationship between the local self-government bodies and the citizens. “Individuals should have a sense of civic duty. From waste management, to energy and water conservation, to planting trees — all these can be successful only with citizens' participation. Each person can contribute, NGOs can contribute, housing societies can contribute and industry can contribute in making a positive difference to our urban habitats,” she said. The ‘Nagar Ratna Awards' have been instituted by the All-India Institute of Local Self- Government (AIILSG) to recognise the best performing municipal bodies under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. A selection committee, headed by the former Supreme Court Justice Arijit Pasayat, evaluated the performance of various cities on nine parameters, while adjudging the winners. “Twenty urban local bodies participated in this competition. We judged them on various parameters like innovative ideas, responsive application, data verification and assessment,” Mr. Pasayat said. There were two categories of awards. Three awards were given for the best overall performance. Nine awards were declared for good performance in different segments such as public health, roads and streets. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, which was adjudged the best-run organisation, was given Rs.5 lakh and a trophy. The Mysore City Corporation received the second prize and the Pune Municipal Corporation was declared the third winner. Gujarat looked the best-performing State after four of the 12 awards were bagged by Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara. Maharashtra inched a close second as three urban local self-government bodies – Pune, Nashik, Kalyan-Dombivali – bagged prizes. Under the segment awards, the best public services award went to the Nashik Municipal Corporation. The Kalyan –Dombivili Municipal Corporation won the award for improvement of roads and streets. The Vadodara Municipal Corporation won the award for providing basic amenities to urban poor. Bengaluru was awarded for financial management, Vishakhapatnam for use of Information Technology in governance and service delivery, Faridabad for recreational facilities, Rajkot for complaints redress system, Surat for innovation and Agartala for transparency and accountability. “As we draw [town] plans, we should not only cater to the needs of current inhabitants, but should look at developing cities and townships, keeping in mind a minimum of a 25-year timeframe. Works like road and drainage construction or repair, should be taken in a coordinated manner by adopting an integrated development framework for an area,” she said. “The construction of green buildings, designed for energy conservation and water harvesting, should be encouraged as also the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings. Local self- government bodies must ensure that building plans and standards are strictly adhered to,” she said. “The population of slum-dwellers in Indian cities has risen from 26 million in 1981 to 62 million in 2001. Being at the lower rung of the ladder, they constitute the vulnerable section that is likely to suffer from hunger, malnutrition and disease. Cities must work towards meeting the basic requirements of all and to eradicating poverty. ,” the President said. Hailing women power, Ms. Patil said that women should be actively drawn into planning and development process. She observed that six of the nine municipal bodies which received awards in the segments category, were headed by women.