Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Monday, April 17, 2023
Urban Sustainable and Smart City Event
The 3rd
in the series of the Urban Sustainability and Smart City (USSC) was conducted on
17th and 18th April 2023 at Chennai in coordination with
Water Resource Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. This is a series of four
events, under the India - EU Urban Partnership (IEUP), a project between the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, and the
European Union.
MS. Kamilla
Kristensen Rai, Counsellor EU Delegation to India made the welcome Address
(virtually). Dr. Sandeep Saxena, IAS Additional Chief Secretary, Water
Resources Department (WRD), Government of Tamil Nadu attended the event as
Chief Guest and delivered keynote address.
The two-day
event saw participation from key experts from government organizations of Tamil
Nadu and EU Member States. On day one, officials from Government of Tamil Nadu
briefed about the role of water bodies, their environmental and social impact
and traditional water conservation systems of State while the EU experts shared
best practice on sustainable urban development of river rejuvenation around the
world. On second day site visit to Chembarambakkam tank was organised and the
workshop was concluded with a roundtable discussion ideas of urban river
rejuvenation, resilient water security plan, restoration of hydraulic
connectivity and recharging aquifers in context of Chennai with the Additional
Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department (WRD), Government of Tamil Nadu.
The event was
attended by more than 60 participants from Water Resource Department,
Government of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Conservation and Rivers
Restoration Corporation, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Chennai
Metropolitan Development Authority, Anna University, Institute of Water Studies,
State Water Resources Management Agency and Greater Chennai Corporation.
Overall, the
event saw an enthusiastic response and it was concluded that while technical
knowledge, data and implementation of technology focused solutions are
available, efficient governance and public participation needs more attention.