The first ‘Annual Rainbow Cities Summit’ organised by the Urban Management and Governance Programme of XIMB-XUB, took place at the XIMB for two days from Tuesday.
The event aimed at addressing the need for developing knowledge systems and human resources for sustainable, resilient, humane and peaceful cities. Human and Urban Development Commissioner-cum-Secretary G Mathivathanan was present as chief guest.
Inaugurating the programme, Xavier University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Father Paul Fernandes gave welcome address. Industry leaders, policy makers and administrators attended the summit.
The first speaker of day one was Director, SPA, New Delhi ChetanVaidya, who spoke about the migration of rural population to urban areas. He emphasised the need for skill development and efficient land utilisation to effectively manage urban sprawl.
Mathivathanan said, “Bhubaneswar needs mobility, road improvement and better parking facilities.”
The next day’s speakers were D Durgaprasad of Centre for Organisation Development, Hyderabad, Prof CEPT University Meera Mehta and Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research Partha Mukhopadhyay.
Moderator for the discussion, Director, Urban Management and Governance Programme, XIMB-XUB Dinesh Mehta, spoke about the need for accountability and comprehensive information systems to build smart cities.
Director, Municipal Administration and Odisha Urban Housing Mission Sachin Jadhav adressed the students on the issue of solid waste management. Business Head (Odisha), HDFC ltd Abhik Ganguly explained the significance of affordable housing policies and government schemes, discussing the objectives, eligibility and benefits of credit-linked subsidy scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
The discussions with dignitaries were followed by a question-answer session, where students gained valuable insights from the speakers.