GoI and ADB sign 400 million dollar loan to support urban services (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- The Government of India has signed a $400 million policy-based loan with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support its urban reform agenda for creating high quality urban infrastructure, improving service delivery, and promoting efficient governance systems.
Sub-programme 2:
- It is a loan agreement for the Sub-programme 2 of the Sustainable Urban Development and Service Delivery Programme.
- While Sub-programme 1 approved in 2021 with a financing of $350 million established national-level policies and guidelines to improve urban services, Sub-programme 2 is supporting investment planning and reform actions at the state and urban local body (ULB) levels.
- Sub-programme 2 supports the reforms initiated by the states and the ULBs in operationalising the national flagship programme of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 targeted for universal access of water supply and sanitation.
- The sub-programme also supports other mission objectives for ensuring urban water security through reducing water losses, recycling treated sewage for non-domestic use, rejuvenation of water bodies, and maintaining sustainable ground water level.
Salient features:
- The programme envisages integrated urban planning reforms to control urban sprawls and foster systemic and planned urbanisation through enhancing the entire ecosystem of legal, regulatory, and institutional reforms along with capacity building of ULBs and community awareness.
- Specifically, ULBs will promote modernisation of building bylaws, land pooling, urban agglomeration, and comprehensive urban mobility planning through transit-oriented development to help cities become well-planned centres of economic growth.
- Such integrated planning processes will incorporate climate and disaster resilience, promote nature-based solutions, improve urban environment, and improve cities’ financial sustainability through generation of additional revenues.
Way Forward:
- This will substantially help cities to mobilise innovative financing such as commercial borrowings, issuance of municipal bonds, sub sovereign debts, and public–private partnerships to bridge significant deficits in urban infrastructure investments.
AAINA Dashboard for Cities portal launched
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The ‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ portal has been made live by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
- The Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country can participate in this pioneering initiative to voluntarily submit their key data on a regular basis, through a simple, easy-to-fill, data entry form on the portal.
Key Objectives:
The primary objectives of the AAINA Dashboard are to help cities to
- see how they are faring vis-à-vis other cities,
- inspire them by pointing to possibilities and areas of improvement and
- providing opportunity to learn and engage with frontrunners.
- While not ranking the ULBs, the AAINA dashboard would serve as a tool for comparing similarly placed cities and promoting peer learning among cities.
Pillars:
The Dashboard will present the data submitted by the ULBs on the basis of indicators across five broad pillars namely,
- Political & Administrative Structure
- Finance
- Planning
- Citizen Centric Governance and
- Delivery of Basic Services.
Robust database:
- The ULBs will submit their data, including audited accounts, and self-reported performance metrics by logging in to the dashboard’s portal.
- ULBs would be free to update the information initially provided by them, anytime on the portal as per need.
- The Dashboard has been envisaged as a permanent platform for ULB related data that would be updated on a regular basis.
- With active cooperation of all ULBs, the ‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ aims to create a robust database of the key performance metrics of Urban Local Bodies, which could be accessed by all stakeholders, and subsequently would open for public view once it gets populated.
Handling:
- The Ministry through Digital India Corporation will provide handholding support to ULBs / States in the data submission process on a need basis.
Delhi most polluted city in world, Swiss survey
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Recently, three Indian metropolises figured on the list of the most polluted cities in the world compiled by the Swiss air purifier company IQAir.
- Delhi was the most polluted city in the world with an air quality index (AQI) of 287 followed by Lahore, Pakistan, at 195. Mumbai, at 153, and Kolkata, 166, were among the top 10.
IQAir:
- The IQAir’s AQI measures data from 109 countries, and the readings change hourly. It follows a U.S. methodology and varies slightly from the Indian one.
- The values are a measure of the quantities of PM (particulate matter) 2.5, considered most harmful for respiratory health.
Severe category:
- Though pollution from firecrackers are short-lived compared with those from persistent sources such as vehicle emission and waste and biomass burning, the spike in pollutants has a pronounced effect on health.
- Air pollution in parts of Delhi was 30 times the safe limits prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO), contributed in part by the firecrackers.
- Air pollution in the “severe” category “affects healthy people” and “seriously impacts those with existing diseases”.
PM 2.5:
- Another joint analysis analysed all-India pollution levels on Deepavali day in several cities, reported that the highest average PM 2.5 pollution was reported from Patna, Bihar, at 206 microgram per cubic metre.
- Just as the IQAir ranking, it too reports Delhi as being the most polluted city on the day after Deepavali.
- Bengaluru reported the lowest levels of PM 2.5 among 11 cities analysed and their figures were lower than 2022 Deepavali (October 24).
Centre asks States to use tracking devices on prison inmates released on parole
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The Union Home Ministry has said States may use tracking devices on prison inmates when they are released on parole.
- It also called for segregation of hardened criminals from other category of criminals.
Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023:
- The suggestion is part of the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023.
- It says that prisoners may be granted prison leave on the condition of their willingness to wear electronic tracking devices for monitoring the movement and activities of such prisoners.
- Any violation by the prisoner will attract cancellation of prison leave, in addition to disqualification from any prison leave being granted in future, as may be prescribed under the rules.
- The Act said that appropriate and advanced security infrastructure and procedures shall be in place for the high-risk prisoner ward in all central and district prisons.
- It also asks the States to digitise the prison administration and integrate the database with the Interoperable Criminal Justice System.
Implementation in J&K:
- Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Police introduced GPS tracker anklet for monitoring a terror accused out on bail.
