Integration of CLAP NOW into the Leader for Climate Change Management training program

A glimpse of LCCM training program

CLAP NOW Integrated into the Leaders for Climate Change Management Program

Climate Change

CLAP NOW, the interactive card game developed by the C-Cube, serves as a valuable tool for fostering collaboration and stakeholder engagement in developing holistic city climate strategies. Integrated into the Leader for Climate Change Management program, this innovative approach has been successfully adopted by the Administrative Training Institute in Mysuru during the third training cohort held on 7 February 2024 in Mysuru. This interactive session garnered positive feedback for its effectiveness in mainstreaming the understanding of climate actions and promoting their integration into urban planning processes.

Integrating CLAP NOW into the Leader for Climate Change Management training program holds great potential for scaling up capacity-building efforts and fostering a culture of climate action across cities.

Deepshikha Sinha, from C-Cube team and T-CAP partner organisation memeber with Ms Sameera, City Operation Centre (COC), GVMC

T-CAP team from NIUA and TERI with Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) officials

Glimpses from meeting with RWA and Community leaders of Tirumala Nagar in Visakhapatnam

Discussion with RWA members, Community leaders, ward secretary and volunteers of Tirumala Nagar, Visakhapatnam

T-CAP team with Ward Secrataries, Ward Secretariat, Vadlupudi

T-CAP team with startup team NASSCOM CoE-IoT & AI, Centre, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam

T-CAP Consultations in Visakhapatnam using Participatory Data Driven Decision-Making

Climate Change

Under the T-CAP Project, the project team conducted meetings with experts, local officials, and community consultations as a part of the groundwork for a use-case to be tested with Vizag - Prajamukhi Urban Living Lab (V-PULL) on 30 January to 01 February 2024 in Visakhapatnam.

Deepshikha Sinha, from the C-Cube team with partner organisations, looked into aspects of understanding critical conditions in a neighbourhood-level test bed to develop climate resilience, which involves the participation of all stakeholders (residents, government departments, non-governmental organisations, research institutes, digital experts, etc). The interactions initiated buy-in and feedback from various stakeholders for ULL structure and their roles in a living lab approach.

Vaishnavi T G Shankar, Lead at C-Cube as panellist on 'Nature as Infrastructure' panel discussion

Potential of NBS for Flood Mitigation Highlighted at a Panel Discussion

Climate Change

The regional launch of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's report, conducted in collaboration with NIUA as the knowledge partner and co-organiser, featured a panel discussion on 'Nature as Infrastructure' on 12 February 2024, at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. 

Dr. Debolina Kundu, Director (AC) at NIUA, delivered the welcome remarks, highlighting the alarming loss of wetlands and biodiversity. The comprehensive presentation of the report was given by Dr. Erik Berglof, Chief Economist of AIIB, providing insights into the spectrum of nature integration, from natural to green and grey infrastructure. AIIB Senior Economist Abhijeet Sengupta and Economist Abhinav Narayanan also presented key findings from the report. Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, delivered a keynote address, drawing upon the close relationship between man and nature as the basis of various philosophical revolutions.

The subsequent panel discussion, moderated by Jagan Shah, CEO of The Infravision Foundation, featured experts including Dr. Ritesh Kumar, Director, Wetlands International South Asia, Vaishnavi T G Shankar, Lead, Climate Centre for Cities (C-CUBE), Dr. Faiyaz Ahmed Khudsar, Biodiversity Expert, CEMDE , University of Delhi and Nitin Bassi, Senior Program Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The panel emphasised the transformative potential of integrating nature into development agendas, stressing the importance of understanding the economic potential of nature and expanding financial instruments accordingly.

Vaishnavi T G Shankar, Lead at the Climate Centre for Cities, shared the following insights:

• Highlighted C-Cube's ongoing initiatives and underscored the importance of informed decision-making in adopting appropriate nature-based solutions (NBS).
• Emphasized the potential of NBS to provide decentralised solutions for flood mitigation based on the reflections drawn from the ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework. 
• Highlighted the Center's efforts in developing flood vulnerability assessments and resilience strategies for five cities.

Through this collaboration and exchange of expertise, stakeholders gained valuable insights into the role of nature-based solutions in enhancing urban resilience and sustainability.

Shri G. Mathi Vathanan presenting an autographed copy of his book titled ‘People First: How Odisha’s Drink from Tap Mission Quenched Every Thirst’ to Dr Debolina Kundu, Director (AC), NIUA

Impact Assessment for ‘Drink from Tap Mission’ initiated in 24 ULBs in Odisha

Water & Environment (W&E)

Following a successful evaluation of Odisha’s ‘Drink from Tap Mission’ in Puri in 2022, NIUA has been engaged by the Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) to institutionalise an Impact Assessment for Drink from Tap Mission in 24 ULBs across Odisha. Additionally, NIUA will develop a Standard Operating Procedure for implementing Drink from Tap Schemes.

Dr. Debolina Kundu, Director (AC), Dr. Victor Shinde, Head C-Cube, along with Jyoti Verma and Anna Brittas from C-Cube at NIUA, initiated a project with an official visit to Bhubaneswar and Puri on 19-20 February 2024 to meet Shri G. Mathi Vathanan, Additional Chief Secretary of Odisha. The team held discussions with Shri Pradipta Kumar Swain, CEO of WATCO, as well as stakeholders from the Department of Housing & Urban Development, Odisha Water Supply & Sewerage Board and Odisha Urban Academy to strengthen NIUA’s partnership with the Government of Odisha. 

Group photo of representatives with Mr. Lavanya Kumar, Director, AMRUT division of MoHUA and Mr. Kunal Khemnar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Pune

Glimpses from the site visit organised to understand the relevance of ‘urban springs’ near the Mula-Mutha River in Pune

Training Workshop on Shallow Aquifer Management in Urban Areas at Pune

Water & Environment

NIUA under MoHUA in collaboration with ACWADAM, Pune and BIOME solutions, Bangalore, organised a two-day training workshop on ’Shallow Aquifer Management in Urban Areas’ in Pune on 12-13 February 2024. The workshop aimed to share insights from the Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) pilot project in 10 Indian cities supported under MoHUA's AMRUT 2.0 mission. 

Twenty-four representatives from Panipat, Moradabad, Ludhiana, Raipur, Bhopal, Bikaner, Surat, Vadodara, Bhuj, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Pune, including municipal commissioners and engineers from AMRUT cities facing groundwater management challenges, participated. Ms. D Thara, Additional Secretary, MoHUA and Mission Director AMRUT 2.0 addressed participants virtually. A half day for site visits was arranged to orient participants on the functions and importance of shallow aquifers in Pune.

Agartala CM Dr Manik Saha speaking at the inauguration event

The SPV team at one of the project sites

Tripura CM Inaugurates CITIIS Pilot Projects

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tripura, Dr Manik Saha, inaugurated two pilot projects under the Haora River Front Development Project, implemented under the CITIIS program. Hon’ble Mayor of Agartala, Mr Dipak Majumder and local corporators were also present at the event, which took place on 13 February 2024.

One of the components inaugurated by the CM includes developing a green space for horticulture and floriculture along with tree plantation, landscaping, construction of buildings and pathways, illumination of the site, etc. The other component entails the in-situ treatment of wastewater coming through five major drains in Agartala using phytoremediation and bioremediation before it is discharged into the Haora River. The Hon’ble Chief Minister visited these project sites and praised the efforts of the project team.

The CITIIS project in Agartala is developing a 1.7-km stretch of the Haora riverfront to make the area greener, safer and more accessible for the city's people. Read more here: https://citiis.niua.in/projects/agartala 

Trainees after completing the upskilling program

A trainee during a practical session

Skill Training Conducted for Sanitation Workers in Odisha

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)

A 3-day training program for Core Sanitation Workers was conducted on 20-22 February 2024 in Rourkela. The training was conducted under Odisha’s GARIMA scheme by the Odisha Urban Academy, in collaboration with the CITIIS program, with Urban Management Centre as the knowledge partner. The scheme aims to upskill around 1500 core sanitation workers in Odisha to ensure they have greater safety and dignity of labour.

45 trainees from Angul, Talcher, Brajrajnagar, Anandpur, Keonjhar, and Rourkela received training and knowledge through classroom and practical sessions. This was followed by a post-training assessment. All the trainees received certificates at the end of the program.

The delegation at the Ujjain Smart City office

Visit to a CITIIS project site in Ujjain

Delegation of ULBs Visits CITIIS Project Sites in Ujjain

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS)

A delegation of 20 members from the Municipal Corporations of Mysuru, Bhopal, Guntur, Vijayawada, and Jaipur visited various Smart City projects in Ujjain on 24 February 2024. The ULB officials were joined by Dr Debolina Kundu, Director (Addl Charge) of  NIUA and other senior members of NIUA.

As part of the visit, the delegation explored culturally significant heritage sites like the Maharajwada Complex and Mahakal Dwar, the Neelkanth Path (R18) smart road, and the basement parking initiative, which are all components of the CITIIS project in Ujjain.

CITIIS is upgrading existing structures, developing pedestrian infrastructure in Ujjain, and revitalising the Rudra Sagar Lake to improve the experience of residents, pilgrims, and tourists in the city. Read more here: https://citiis.niua.in/projects/ujjain.

TMRC Participants engaged in understanding the concept of CWIS

Setting the context for the group exercise to follow

Group exercise in progress to identify the area of need for developing training courses under CWIS

Participants from various organisation at the TMRC Meeting

NIUA & Dasra Organised the Year's First TMRC Meet

Sanitation Capacity Building Platform (SCBP)

The ‘Training Monitoring Review Committee’ meeting at the NIUA office on 8 February 2024 brought together 13 distinguished organisations working in the field of WaSH from across India to discuss the training needs for capacity-building training modules under the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) framework. It included various group activities designed to bring out an outcome in the form of demand identification of training modules to promote improved sanitation across India.

Inputs from the meeting highlighted:

• Need to focus on unpacking the concept of CWIS. 
• Climate & WaSH, Inclusive sanitation.
• Environment & Social safety - all pertaining to different domains of CWIS. With steps being taken towards CWIS as an approach to plan sanitation, NIUA which anchored the TMRC, used the inputs (received during the meeting) as guiding pointers to plan the next set of training modules under CWIS.

Participants engaged in understanding successful case of door to door collection in Indore

Delegates at Garbage Transfer Station in Indore

Ms Shraddha Tomar - Solid Waste Management and MIS Expert in Indore Municipal Corporation explaining Indore's Journey of becoming the Cleanest City in India

Participants understanding the implementation of India's first Bio-CNG plant in Indore

Participants at Cloth to Paper Recycling Plant in Ujjain

Participants understanding the process of floral waste recycling

Participants from five cities visited Integrated Command and Control Center at Ujjain Smart City Corporation along with Dr Debolina Kundu - Director NIUA

Smart City and Swachh Bharat Mission officials presented various initiatives undertaken by Ujjain City

Exposure Visit to Indore and Ujjain under SCI-AP Project

Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot in India

A two-day exposure visit to Indore and Ujjain was organised by the Resources and Waste team led by  Paramita Datta Dey. The participants included senior officials from Mysuru, Bhopal, Guntur, Vijayawada, and Jaipur municipal corporations. NIUA Director (Additional Charge) Dr Debolina Kundu was also present. MoHUA was represented by Diwakar Barnwal and P.K. Singh. The UNIDO team was led by Senior Advisor N.P Singh. The other team members were the city coordinators, Ramanna and  Sameer Saraswat, B. Mishra and the national coordinator, Dipika Lele. This visit was part of our ongoing capacity-building initiative under the SC-IAP project.

The participants explored Indore's Solid Waste Management journey, from 6-bin  segregated waste collection at the doorstep to cutting-edge waste processing facilities, including a mechanised MRF and transfer station and a Bio-CNG plant. Witnessing Indore's remarkable achievement of being named the cleanest city for the seventh consecutive time was a highlight of the day! 

The participants also visited Ujjain's smart city projects and Swachh Bharat Mission initiatives, marvelling at their innovative solutions such as floral waste management and cloth-to-paper recycling plants. 

This visit was covered in several newspapers.