General Assembly General Assembly

 

 

Mr. President,

 

Thank you for giving me the floor. We would like to thank the President of the General Assembly for providing the Summary of the high-level meeting on the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the positioning of UN-Habitat. We would also like to thank Secretary-General for his reports under these agenda items.  We associate ourselves with the statement made by the distinguished representative of the Ecuador on behalf of the Group of 77.


Mr. President,

 

The world is urbanising fast. More than half of the world's population already lives in cities. This figure is likely to increase to more than two-thirds by 2050. 

 

Urbanisation is intimately linked to the prospects of economic growth for a wider region and sustainable development for its residents. Much of the projected urban expansion will take place in developing countries. This points to the scale of resource requirement and policy formulation and implementation required to manage the opportunities and challenges presented by urbanization. 

 

As cities grow rapidly in terms of population and geographical area, they need careful planning to maintain the existing urban infrastructure and manage future expansion. In most cases, this is not happening in a sustainable manner.

 

For cities to become the engines of sustainable development instead of dysfunctional chaos and strife, the primary requirement is that they must to meet the basic needs of affordable accommodation, efficient public transport, safe drinking water and sanitation, waste disposal, power, affordable and quality schools and hospitals, employment opportunities etc.

 

Mr. President,

 

One sixth of global population lives in India. Urbanization in India has become an important determinant of rapid economic growth and poverty reduction. Urban areas generate over 2/3rd of the country's GDP and account for 90% of government revenues. 

 

An estimated 377 million Indians live in urban areas. At the current rates of growth, urban population will reach a staggering total of 575 million by 2030 with over 55 cities, each with a population of more than a million. We are, therefore, fully conscious of the challenges and opportunities offered by the ongoing urbanization.

 

India has launched the 'Smart Cities' Mission in over 60 cities so far and plans to extend it to many more. This is an innovative and new initiative to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and harnessing technology as a means to create smart and more efficient outcomes for citizens. The objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of Smart Solutions. 

 

A Green Urban Mobility Scheme is under consideration to promote public and non-motorized transport using green and clean energy. 

 

Municipal bonds have a huge potential for fulfilling the massive investment requirement in the urban infrastructure sector. The Ministry of Urban Development is working to invigorate the bond market through its various flagship missions.

 

The Clean India Mission was launched in 2014 involving all stakeholders including state governments, urban local bodies, NGOs, and citizens to further accelerate the cleanliness deliverables over the next five years.

 

At the same time, to ease pressure on larger urban centers, connectivity to smaller cities is being improved with high ways, public transport, airports and railways to give boost to attracting businesses to those cities.

 

Mr. President,

 

India has been actively engaged with the UN Habitat since its inception as UN Human Settlements Programme four decades ago. 
India is a rapidly growing large economy, home to a billion people, with federal governance structures.  The ongoing efforts in India to manage its rapid urbanisation through innovative and dynamic measures have coincided with the international efforts to chart a New Urban Agenda.

 

The New Urban Agenda adopted last year has important synergies with the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Sendai Framework. The Agenda is broad, understands variations according to national circumstances, and aims to catalyze and incentivize better urban policy through sharing of development experiences.
We welcome the convening last month of the high level meeting on the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the positioning of UN-Habitat by the President of General Assembly, that reviewed the recommendations made by the Panel set up by the Secretary General. 

 

We welcome the recommendation on a universal membership of the Governing Council i.e the proposed Urban Assembly. Some of the recommendations such as the proposed establishment of UN-Urban, the Policy Board, the Committee of Local Governments and the Committee of Stakeholders need further consultation.

 

For the UN-Habitat to act more efficiently and effectively as a hub among the UN entities on issues relating to the intersection of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, concerns about its declining funding must be addressed first. 

 


While a renewed focus on normative work is welcome, there is a complementarity with operational activities in a national context. UN-Habitat can only provide greater value to member states through adequately resourced Country Offices with enhanced technical skill sets.


Mr. President,

 

We look forward to the New Urban Agenda as a guiding framework for the efforts around urbanization of a wide range of actors — member states, city and regional authorities, international development funders, UN entities and civil society — over the next two decades. 

 

We hope that UN Habitat will be strengthened within the UN system in the context of the wider reforms proposed by the Secretary General, to be able to meet the expectation of being the nodal agency for implementing the forward-looking New Urban Agenda to pursue sustainable urbanization.


I thank you.