Tuesday, 27 June 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
CM stresses on principle of utilisation instead of consumption
The third G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under the Indian G20 presidency commenced on Monday in Rishikesh. The three-day IWG meeting is being attended by about 63 delegates across G20 member countries, invitee countries and international organisations.
Two sessions were held on the first day wherein the delegates discussed two work streams under the flagship “Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”. The delegates also acknowledged the efforts of the presidency to achieve meaningful progress across the workstreams.
The meeting was also complemented by the high-level seminar on creating liveable cities organised by the Indian presidency and AIIB. Officials informed that the discussions across the three sessions allowed G20 decision-makers to learn key challenges, from climate change to infrastructure resiliency, fast urbanisation and inclusiveness, along with exploring the role of technology, infratech and digitisation. The delegates also heard a unique perspective on launching one of the world’s most ambitious new city developments- Nusantara in Indonesia.
Later, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the guests at the dinner held in Narendranagar. He said that the standard of development in any nation is decided by its infrastructure which also decides the present and future of the nation. The CM said that infrastructure doesn’t consist of simply building railway, ropeway, roads and other aspects because the main purpose of infrastructure is to decrease the problems of the general public and make their lives simple, convenient and safe. The infrastructure in States with mountainous geography is difficult compared to plains because the ecology and economy of a mountain State depend on natural resources and infrastructural development at times creates situations which lead to damage to forests and the environment. “We will have to focus on construction of infrastructure by making development and nature complementary to each other. This will be possible when we follow the principle of ‘utilisation instead of consumption’,” said the CM.
Speaking about Uttarakhand, he said that the State faces natural disasters throughout the year. Considering this, the infrastructure should be built in such a manner that it proves useful to the general public even during disaster scenarios. He referred to the frequent earthquakes in Japan and the technological developments made by that country to minimise damage to the people and their homes during seismic events. He expressed confidence that delegates in the IWG meeting will deliberate on what can be done for infrastructural development in the world while also preparing a detailed outline after evaluating the unique conditions in mountain States.
