Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Environmental Management and Law Assignment Sample 2024
Introduction
In order to achieve sustainable development, urban frameworks need to be implemented that connect the economics, social and environmental aspects of urban development by focusing on building resilient communities with the help of urban development policy. In addition to that, local governments take initiatives to incorporate schemes that may help in economic development with the help of urban planning and development strategy.
Urban planning has distributed economic development by creating urban frameworks to collaborate between local governments to reach particular objectives. In this report, necessary initiatives as well as schemes will be discussed along with the strategic planning which will help to meet sustainable development goals properly.
Question 1
The Rajkot Municipal Corporation aims at converting the city of Gujarat into a smart city with the help of long-term and short-term plans. Rajkot is one of the hundred cities selected by the central government to convert into a smart city with the help of grants from the state and central government along with other sources. It may be stated that the main aim of the smart city development plan is to convert the city into a smart and livable city focused on facilitating sustainable development.
The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) proposed five aspects under the smart city initiative plan which are smart electricity, 24 hours water supply, drainage of wastewater and stormwater, waste management and sanitation (Rmc.gov.in. 2021). The plan will also focus on traffic management and mitigation of mobility issues within the city and envisions to convert Rajkot into a safe and secure city.
Moreover, it may be opined that the plan will enable efficient uses of energy by switching to renewable sources of energy which are environment-friendly and will provide affordable housing for all. Rajkot’s historical strengths will be leveraged and a state-of-the-art infrastructure will be provided in an effort to transform Rajkot into a smart city within the state of Gujarat.
The four main projects included under area-based development of the plan are greenfield development, Retrofitting-Transit Oriented Zone, slum redevelopment and river rejuvenation and retrofitting an area of 500 acres around the present Race Course in the city.
Rajkot may be transformed into a smart city by efficient delivery of services and by the empowerment of the ecosystem which will enable the citizens of Rajkot to realize their dreams. The government has various missions and goals and converting Rajkot into an inclusive city is one of the missions that the government is trying to achieve and numerous initiatives are being undertaken for the same.
As a part of the smart city initiatives, the government is focusing on developing the trade and business sector of the city which will help in the rejuvenation and upliftment of the economy. The future of urban development is represented by smart cities as the latest technology is used to build more efficient and loveable urban environments contributing towards economic growth, well-being and citizen engagement (Matsumoto et al., 2019).
The concept of smart cities revolves around making life easier with the help of smart ideas such as finding parking spaces during rush hours may be made easy in smart cities with the help of IoT (Chauhan and Popat, 2019). On the other hand, it may be argued that Rajkot will also be converted into a sports destination as part of the smart city initiatives.
Furthermore, it may be stated that the city is also being transformed into a tourist destination as tourism contributes towards uplifting the economy to a large extent. The proposal of Swachh Rajkot revolves around making the city clean and green for sustainable development as well as beautification of the city in order to attract tourists (Rmc.gov.in. 2021).
The business and employment opportunities in the city will also be increased with the help of skill development which will provide 12,000 employments annually. The initiative will focus on building robust infrastructure aimed at distribution of redundant power supply and underground cable connectivity.
The city will also witness the development of other infrastructures such as LED streetlights, smart bins and public toilets in order to facilitate sustainable development. On a border note, it may be stated that Project Shaishav will focus on the building of 5 model Anganwadi for economically weaker sections of the society and the city will also facilitate the building of two smart schools.
The project is aimed at providing smart technology to all and as a part of the project high speed Wi-Fi and GIS mapping integrated with ERP software will be available to all (Gujarat government. 2021). Additionally, it may be stated that environmental sustainability is a key aspect of the smart city initiative and three projects associated with it will be undertaken in the city.
Rajkot will witness the development of 2 MW solar park, 38 km long cycle track with solar roof top and mandatory solar roof for all houses. Furthermore, it may be stated that rain water harvesting will be facilitated with the help of percolation pits in public places. All buildings in the city will be green buildings with dual plumbing, rooftop solar for 10% power generation and rain water harvesting facilities.
Question 2
a) Difference between easements and concessions
Easement refers to the legal situation in which a person has the right to use someone else’s land for a specified purpose. In case of an easement, the ownership of the land remains with a particular person while others may have the right to use it for a unique purpose. It may be noted that interference with an easement is subject to legal issues as they are a part and parcel of a property and do not change when the ownership of the land changes.
Easements are extremely common in urban settings such as the municipal water company may have the right to run pipes under a property owned by someone. On a broader note, it may be mentioned that the various types of easements are easements by necessity, easements by prescriptions, easements by condemnation and party easements.
It may be opined that easement by necessity are created by court orders while on the other hand easements by prescription are created by implications. Easements by condemnation are created by eminent domain usually for the greater good as the owners are compensated for the easements. Party easements are created in the form of written agreements between parties who share a common boundary such as a wall or fence in order to avoid disputes resulting from it.
On the other hand, it may be argued that concessions give companies the right to operate under government jurisdiction or on the property of another firm following particular terms and conditions. It may be stated that concessions are beneficial as it results in all the parties being involved to get a comparative advantage with the help of outsourcing. In case a company lacks knowledge to use its resources effectively, concessions may enable the company to use the resource by outsourcing them to others.
On a different note, it may be mentioned that concessions may be used to attract investments towards small businesses as concessions facilitate cooperation of authorities and entrepreneurs (Feoktistova et al., 2021). Furthermore, it may be opined that concessions are extremely beneficial for companies as it aids the process of risk management which is a crucial part of a company’s growth.
Additionally, it may be stated that concessions are used by vendors such as restaurants or retail stores that operate in large airports, state fairs or state parks. A common area of concessions involving governments and private institutions revolve around the use of certain infrastructures which are public such as railways.
b) Thrust areas of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) will mainly focus on the areas of water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage to reduce flooding, non-motorized urban transport and green space or parks (Amrut.gov.in. 2021). The mission will focus on improving water supply systems including augmentation of existing water supply, water treatment plants and universal metering.
It may be noted that old water supply systems will be rehabilitated including treatment plans and water bodies will be rejuvenated especially for drinking water along with the recharging of groundwater. Furthermore, special arrangements for water will be done in areas with water scarcity such as hilly areas along with areas where the quality of water is harmful for health due to being contaminated by arsenic or fluoride.
AMRUT will enable decentralized, networked underground sewerage systems including augmentation of existing sewerage and sewage plants. The old sewerage and sewage systems will be rehabilitated and water will be recycled and reused for beneficial purposes in order to save water. The construction and improvement of drains and storm water drains will be conducted to reduce and eliminate flooding.
AMRUT will focus on building footpaths, sidewalks, foot over bridges and other facilities for non-motorized transports such as bicycles and multi-level parking will also be introduced as part of the mission. It may be stated that this initiative will encourage people to use non-motorized transports and non-motorized transports help in reducing environmental pollution as they do not emit harmful gases.
Moreover, the mission will focus on the development of green space and parks as increasing green spaces is a helpful initiative to reduce environmental pollution and balance the ecosystem. The green spaces or parks will be built with special provisions for children, senior citizens and Divyang friendly components as mostly the parks will be visited by them (Amrut.gov.in. 2021).
An Apex Committee will be responsible for supervising the mission which will be headed by a secretary and the committee may also invite government officials to help with the process of project management. The Apex Committee will meet once every three months, however, in case of special requirements the Committee may decide to meet at any point of time in order to discuss matters of importance.
Question 3
Local governments are expected to play a key role in the building of infrastructure and development as local governments are capable of keeping track of the immediate requirements of a region. Local governments are leaders of development which are required to work with people of local communities to develop strategies for growth and to implement the strategies in a way that will yield positive results.
Local governments go beyond the roles of providing physical infrastructure such as building roads, ensuring water supply, waste management along with other traditional duties. In recent times, local governments are required to focus on promoting research and development, facilitating the growth of existing business enterprises along with the development of new business enterprises.
The role of local governments in arranging development programs related to the workforce and ensuring that marginalized members of the community have access to resources required for a decent livelihood. The central government is required to identify the role of local governments in facilitating the development of cities, towns and villages in order to empower local governments to take effective measures.
The contribution of local governments will become effective and sustainable only if the local environments are strengthened to play the role as the local governments will need suitable resources to implement developmental strategies. It may be mentioned that local governments play a key role in reducing barriers to industrial symbiosis as local governments are capable of adopting various governing modes of engagement in industrial symbiosis (Södergren and Palm, 2021).
The panchayat governments are responsible for maintaining the infrastructure in the villages and finding out areas of development which need immediate attention. Panchayats look after the development of infrastructure in villages along with the maintenance and repair of public properties such as roads.
The local government also looks after the development of proper sanitation facilities and sewage treatment plants which is an important part of the duties of Panchayati Raj. On the other hand, it may be argued that certain state governments also give the jurisdiction of establishing new schools in rural areas to the panchayats and the local governments are encouraged to increase the space of the educational institutions if the available space is not adequate.
Furthermore, it may be mentioned that the role of ensuring the proper maintenance of school properties and that the school premises are repaired if required belongs to the panchayats. The panchayats of India are largely responsible for elevating the conditions of people at the grassroot level as the central government of India believes in decentralization of power.
The panchayats play an integral role in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic as ensuring the safety of rural people is the responsibility of local governments (Biswas, 2020). The protection of public infrastructure such as preventing encroachment of streets and taking care of public tanks is also the responsibility of local governments as it is easier for the panchayats to manage local affairs.
Additionally, it may be stated that the panchayats are also responsible for organizing voluntary labor as it helps in uplifting the conditions of rural areas and facilitates development in rural areas.
The municipalities are responsible for governing the development of infrastructure in urban settings as the local government bodies have been entrusted with the responsibility of facilitating development in urban areas. It may be noted that municipalities help in elevating the conditions of the people in urban areas as the main purpose of the local governments is to contribute towards economic development.
On the other hand, it may be argued that municipalities are required to implement strategies that aid the overall development in urban settings as a result of which economic growth is observed. The municipalities are provided the responsibility of maintaining public infrastructure and the repair of public infrastructure such as roads and street lights also belong to the local governments.
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), 1992 gave recognition to local governments in India and empowered the local bodies to function as institutions of self-governance (Sharma, 2020).
Question 4
The Sustainable Development Goal defines a global goal as well as it designs to be a blueprint to order to achieve a more sustainable and better future, more specifically, the objective of SDGs covers various aspects of environmental protection, social development and economic growth. Urban planning refers to an effective process that involves the development and design of lands for building the environment and this urban planning requires structural design, architecture and civil engineering to produce an effective solution for the communities with the help of strategic development.
According to the Economic survey in 2018-2019 managed by The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, India continuously maintains and targets its economic growth by introducing policies related to sustainable goals and resource efficiency (IndiaEconomy., 2021). In addition to that, this survey also suggests that the country moves forward towards the achievable goal and within 2030, the world including India will be free from poverty and economic inequalities.
Moreover, it may be stated that India may follow the holistic approach towards 2030 SDGs by launching various schemes which means with the help of holistic city planning, poverty has been reduced as various options have been provided for poor people.
The main motive of the SDGs is to create a liveable and sustainable community and by implementing a holistic approach, people have a multidisciplinary offering that may cover all levels of the development chain as well as the urban sector. In order to create a liveable community for reducing poverty from the community, the Indian government has concentrated on solutions and concepts through which it directly impacts climate change in the cities.
Furthermore, there are different types of factors that may determine poverty levels in India similar to low education, unemployment and health inequalities, therefore, proper strategic development planning has been required which interconnects between authorities and municipalities to decree spatial and social differences between communities or groups.
Urban planning or the urban framework may help to build social stability which may eradicate poverty from the urban areas, apart from this, urbanization may achieve the SDGs with the help of strategic development. Urban planning and strategic development implementation have been based on the decision-making process among the local governments, central government and authorities as well as its impact on the cultural economy which may help to reduce poverty (Darchen and Searle, 2018).
India has incorporated several policies which may include the Swachh Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana through which India may achieve the 2030 SDGs properly as well as India will be able to eradicate poverty from the country.
Sustainable urban planning is to be considered as the backbone of poverty reduction from the country by improving the slums in India, more specifically, by improving services and infrastructure in slums areas, the Indian government may achieve SDGs significantly.
On the other hand, it may be mentioned that interventions involving poverty alleviation programs and establishing local NGOs may understand the current situation faced by the people living in these areas. Therefore, the Indian government with the help of NGOs and the state government has been able to implement urban frameworks to build a sustainable environment as well as achieve 2030 SDGs.
Most importantly, many field workers have been recruited to help build urban areas through which the workers may receive the opportunities for income to reduce unemployed numbers. Considering this, it may be highlighted that poverty-stricken people have received opportunities to work that may reduce their poverty as well as it may help to successfully meet 2030 SDGs goals.
According to the current scenario, women’s involvement for income purposes will play a significant role to reach the 2030 SDGs in comparison to previous times, therefore, it may be stated that poverty motivates women to be productive in public matters (Pitaloka et al., 2021).
Urbanization with the help of urban framework and development strategies may support communities which may be deprived from the government-provided facilities through which gradually, the number of the poverty-stricken area will increase. Apart from this, political conflicts impact adversely on the poverty-stricken area which may create obstacles for India to achieve the SDGs properly.
However, with the help of the urban framework, the chances of political conflicts gradually decrease as governments have provided basic resources and services to reduce poverty. On the other hand, it may be argued that urbanization impact adversely the environment as urban planning may involve land usage as well as increasing pollution to develop sustainable and liveable communities.
Due to the high usage of lands to develop liveable communities, the pollution rate gradually increases and as a result, climate disasters also enhance day by day. Although urbanization may help to eradicate poverty, urbanization also increases climate disasters. Therefore, strategic development planning needs to be adopted through which the government and the local authorities also conduct the environmental analysis to reach 2030 SDGs.
On the other hand, climate disasters such as floods and drought negatively impact poverty stricken areas due to lack of services and infrastructure, therefore, urbanization also is important in other ways. Therefore, strategic urban development planning at the community level or SCD may be required to reach the 2030 SDGs by mitigating environmental challenges (Roseland and Spiliotopoulou, 2017).
In order to achieve SDGs, urban planning or urban framework have been incorporated with the help of governments and local people through which poverty-stricken people may not be deprived of basic resources and services.
Question 5
On a broader note, it may be stated that poor urban planning is a major reason that contributed towards the recent flood in Hyderabad in October 2020 as a result of which the city was devastated. The city faced devastating results due to the floods as a result of years of poor urban planning which the government failed to improve.
The city’s drainage system has not been maintained properly which triggered even more devastation due to lack of proper management of the city’s drainage system. The disposal of solid waste on the drainage channel is a major factor that contributed towards the blocking of the drainage channel leading to severe effects as a result of heavy rainfall.
Moreover, it may be stated that the city witnessed a record rainfall of 24 hours which flooded the city and the poor disaster management strategies worsened the situation even more. On the other hand, it may be argued that a lack of proper disaster management strategies worsened the conditions in the city as the effects of the flood were largely felt by the population of the city.
It may be mentioned that devastation caused by floods is common in developing countries owing to the fact that human encroachment on the flood channels is evident in developing countries. However, it may be noted that extreme climate related conditions are also responsible for the harmful effects caused by the flood as the city witnessed such heavy rainfall after a long period of time.
On a specific note, it may be mentioned that unplanned development in the catchment area is a key factor contributing towards flash floods as the city of Hyderabad is endowed with an extensive system of catchments. The water bodies in the city have been a victim of unplanned urbanization which further contributed towards the devastating effects of the recent floods.
The pitiable condition of the Musi river along with multiple streams and water storage banks may be attributed to the expansion of unplanned urbanization in Hyderabad. On the other hand, it may be argued that the woeful condition of the drainage system caused by the disposal of solid waste as a lack of proper waste management strategies is a major factor that contributed towards the flood.
On a different note, the various factors contributing towards urban flood may be identified as single street intersection, surface sewer systems, an array of obstacles and quasi-realistic urban districts (Mignot et al., 2019). The infrastructure in urban areas may become more vulnerable to damage by floods as precipitation patterns are affected by climate change (Kim et al., 2017).
The urban governments need to focus on developing effective strategies to deal with floods and disaster management strategies will help in mitigating the issues related to flood. The drainage system needs to be improved in order to make sure that the system does not get congested and cause the water to overflow.
Moreover, it may be opined that identification of high risk zones and taking initiative to protect the areas from rain water with the help of monsoon action plan is required. The urban governments need to focus on developing periodic strategies at regular intervals for the augmentation of stormwater infrastructure. It may be noted that the augmentation of stormwater infrastructures is possible with the help of urban watershed modelling.
It may be mentioned that the regulation of air and water flows and the allocation of natural habitat space in floodplains will help in restricting the impact of flood events (Davis and Naumann, 2017). The government also needs to focus on proper waste management as the dumping of solid waste in random places congests the drainage system which makes the drainage system overflow in case of a flood.
The government is also required to focus on creating strategic plans of urbanization as unplanned urbanization results in floods due to encroachment of human beings on the flood channels.
Conclusion
It may be concluded from the above report that the Rajkot Municipal Corporation aims at converting the city of Gujarat into a smart city with the help of long-term and short-term plans. The major difference between easements and concessions is that concessions involve the government while easements refer to the use of property of one individual by others for a specific purpose. AMRUT will mainly focus on the areas of water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage to reduce flooding, non-motorized urban transport and green space or parks. The local governments play a key role in the maintenance of infrastructure and overall development as municipalities and panchayats are given many responsibilities in urban and rural areas respectively.
References
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Rmc.gov.in. 2021. RMC :: Rajkot Municipal Corporation. [online] Available at: <http://www.rmc.gov.in> [Accessed 3 June 2021].
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