Need to skill people working in construction sector: Hardeep Singh Puri

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri underlined the need to support people working in the construction sector though training and skill upgradation. The minister of state for housing and urban affairs said a strong transport system is crucial to building smart cities.

He was addressing a multi-stakeholder meet to strategise a roadmap for environmentally-sustainable urban development. The meet was organised as part of the ongoing thematic sessions in the run-up to World Environment Day on June 5.

"To truly build smart cities, we need to strengthen the city transport that can support the mass traffic. Further, urban local bodies need to be empowered, and we need a dedicated and trained municipal cadre for the same," he said.

According to an official statement, Puri said India will succeed in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals.

TERI director general Ajay Mathur said: "With urban growth impacting the environment significantly, there is a need to create a stable policy framework for development of infrastructure and integrated spatial planning at all levels: national, state and city."

"With support from the government, we continue to create impact in emerging urban areas such as Amravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh. We hope to bring together other stakeholders in our bid to create more liveable cities," he said.

UN Environment Programme Executive Director Erik Solheim said 50 per cent of humans live in cities and hence there is a need to build strong urban infrastructure.

"For smart, sustainable cities, it is essential to have a greener architecture, robust city transport, and good waste management policies," he said.

The statement said cities are expected to house as much as two-thirds of the global population by 2050, making urbanisation one of the 21st century's most transformative trends.

Forty per cent of the Indian population is expected to live in urban settings by 2030, the statement said, adding that India's population is expected to grow to 1.7 billion by 2050.

With these numbers, it is imperative to devise smart urban solutions that can help achieve the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals, it added.