18 Jan : India has an opportunity to build big sustainable cities that can cater to needs of 21st century unlike Europe and US which have already set up such megapolis and have no chance of innovation, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said.
“Everyday an estimated 750 million people migrate to cities around the world. A city like Bombay is expected to house 25 million by next year and double that figure by 2050. Hence challenges of future cities are different from that of now,” Sibal said on Monday.
The Minister was addressing a function after distributing prizes to winners of ‘Future Cities India 2020’ competition for high school students sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology.
“The needs of 21st century cities will be different. We need sustainable cities — one having new modes of public transportation, new kind of buildings that are light and absorb less heat, initiatives for pollution control and energy saving measures,” Sibal said.
“Europe and US have already set up their cities and have no chance of innovation to build such sustainable cities in future. But India is on the path of development. Much of its cities have to be developed and new ones built,” he said, while calling upon youths to contribute innovative ideas.
The competition, held annually since 2006, engages students from Delhi and NCR schools to develop solutions to real-world infrastructure challenges and issues.This year, the theme was redevelopment of Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and busiest markets in the capital.