Growing urban conglomerates are logging into the sustainable development model with assistance from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. The city of Guntur along with Vijayawada, Bhopal, Mysore and Jaipur is part of the Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SCIAP) project implemented by the UNIDO in close cooperation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) aligned with Swachh Bharat Mission, Government of India with funding assistance from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
A workshop on the SCIAP project flagged issues relating to capacity building on climate smart investments to reduce cycle maintenance costs of GMC projects/ works such as laying BT/ CC Roads, UGD etc.
Municipal Commissioner Keerthi Chekuri said that the refreshing ideas would present a new model of sustainable development and help Guntur become a global city and a role model in solid waste management and reducing environmental pollution.
The team consisted of Professor Janice of the University of Washington, Professor Adrine of the University of California, Sujatha Srikumar, Nandapal Singh, Manasa Suresh and P.V. Ramana Rao from UNIDO. City planner Murthy and SE D. Srinivas were also present.
The UNIDO support for capacity building on climate smart investment is also backed by Rs.10 crore grant for providing electric auto tippers for door-to-door collection of solid waste and solar power plants.
“The technical assistance on climate-smart capital budgeting to improve the creditworthiness of the cities is one of the key activities supported under the SCIAP project in addition to the implementation of sustainability planning, investments in low carbon solutions to address municipal waste management, and enhancing the capacity and skills of city officials for effective implementation and management of projects in waste and sanitation sector,” said a team member.
The team is also introducing an Excel-based capital investment planning model in the workshop offering a step-by-step process for energy auditing, carbon emission forecasting, and lifecycle cost analysis for selected projects.
Day two of the workshop would highlight prioritising capital projects against various criteria and indicators, including measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience.
