COCHIN, 3 April 2005 — A three-day conference of city mayors discussing ‘Millennium Development Goals and the Role of Cities’ began in this port city yesterday. Some 50 mayors, including 18 from foreign cities, are attending the conference inaugurated by Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gulam Nabi Azad.
In his address, Azad said the federal government was planning for a constitutional amendment mandating devolution of powers to the local self-governments by the state governments. Azad said the center had decided to set up a National Urban Renewal Mission with an initial allocation of 55 billion rupees during the current financial year to provide focused attention to improving urban infrastructure.
The conference is the second of its kind to be held in India after the 1998 Jaipur meet.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who presided over the inaugural session, called for cooperation and support of international agencies for achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals.
Local Self-Governments Minister Kutty Ahmed Kutty, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Maxine Olson, Cochin Mayor Dinesh Mani, All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) Director General R.S. Chavan and Lucknow Mayor and All India Council of Mayors Chairman Dr. S.C. Rai also spoke.
The speakers unanimously demanded increased finances to tackle growing problems of urban poverty, shortages of housing and sanitation facilities.
The topics that are being discussed include poverty elimination, empowerment of women, HIV-AIDS, environment, primary education and community healthcare, potable water and improvement of lives in the slums.
