The 14th edition of Municipalika 2017 kick started at the CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Navi Mumbai on 18 May 2017 provided the largest platform for players in the industry where they were able to connect with dealers, influencers, service providers, business investors, and government representatives.
The inaugural event was attended by V. Suresh, Advisor, Good Governance India Foundation and former CMD, HUDCO; Sudhakar Sambhaji Sonawane, Worshipful Mayor, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation; Koh Lin Ji, Group Director, International Development Group Building and Construction Authority, Singapore; Durga Shankar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India; R Roshan Baig, Minister of Urban Development and Haj, Government of Karnataka; Pawan Arora, Director of Local Bodies and Joint Secretary, Government of India; Maya Singh, Minister of Urban Development and Housing, Government of Madhya Pradesh; H. E. Nadir Patel, High Commissioner of Canada in India amongst others.
At the event, the key speakers shed light on the activities carried out at both international and national levels, where they highlighted new plans and policies to aid and develop rural and urban areas. The announcement of Smart Cities by the Government of India and the ensuing work was already done around it, has created the necessary momentum to introduce another 40 new Smart Cities in India by June 2017.
Along with the development of Smart Cities, would be allied projects that would provide basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households’ and build amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all. Project Amrut, is being developed with a vision to provide water through the facility of tap to every household by the year 2019. Taking the water aspect and its severity with the new challenges being faced, rainwater harvesting should be a priority which should be a part of all upcoming and existing housing developments. To manage water crisis, initiatives to have bore wells in the country will help the farmers to avoid drought.
The importance of connectivity has grown and the dependence of public on transportation has grown. With the increased demand, the government of India has laid down a trail of 200 km for the Metros and another 500 km are proposed.
Ending on 20 May, the three-day conference and exhibition with the theme of ‘Smart and Sustainable City Solutions’ will be providing an opportunity to showcase the best solutions for various challenges faced by growing cities of India. Municipalika Exhibition segment is one of the biggest in the country, with over 150 exhibitors showcasing technologies, equipment, products, software and solutions for Smart and Sustainable Cities, which covered all facets of urban and housing development and building construction activities.
Over a period of three days, Municipalika will be hosting not only the exhibition but conferences on various subjects that are of concern in the building and development of smart and sustainable cities, some of which include , Sustainable Built Environment And Communities, Connected Cities For Efficient Urban Mobility, Inclusive And Humane Cities For Housing For All, Digital Cities For The Enabling FrameWork And ICT Supporting Back Bone Infrastructure, and Integrated And Self-Contained Cities.
“With Vancouver being the 3rd most livable city in the world, we want to bring these innovative solutions to Indian cities. India is a priority market for companies from British Columbia and we are forging partnerships with several states, cities and municipalities”, said Joel Fernandes, Director, Trade and Invest British Columbia. “This is the third consecutive year, Canada is participating in Municipalika event and will certainly be a part of it next year also,” he added.
A first-time participant at the exhibition, Bharat Gupta of Vision Mechatronics said, “The reason why we are here is to make a statement that the concept of a ‘smart city’ is just not keeping the city clean, but needs energy efficient, non-polluting equipment to support it.” Vision Mechatronics operates in the field of Robotics, renewable energy and Energy storage segments.
The co-located CAPEx (Construction, Architecture, and Planning & Engineering Expo) segment captured the leading building materials, technologies and construction equipment for structural, non-structural, finishing, building and plumbing services. Green building products which are environment-friendly and energy saving found an important place in the CAPEx segment.
The expo is expecting over 1,000 participants from 300 cities in India, Canada, and Singapore. The Government of Maharashtra is the host state, and the event is supported by Government of India and its ministries of Urban Development, New and Renewable Energy, Electronics and Information Technology etc. Canada and Singapore are sharing their rich global experience of decades in creating sustainable and vibrant smart cities with the best practices in planning, design, execution and good governance of cities.
The three-day conference and exhibition is attended by mayors, municipal commissioners, senior urban development officials from the Central and State Governments, urban local bodies and housing agencies from all over India, built environment professionals, architects, planners, and engineers to answer the question: ‘How do we plan, design, build and maintain sustainable built environment and smart cities?’
Moreover, Municipalika is providing an opportunity to buyers, distributors, service providers in the smart and sustainable city solutions to connect, and is providing a wide exposure to the exhibitors to the network.
BW Reporters
The author is associate editor at BW Businessworld
