Maharashtra to host first-of-its-kind meet on urban rivers

The first-of-its-kind of the international meet on urban rivers will be held in Pune next week which will hold discussions on everything related to water and will help everyone with a water management strategy for their respective areas.

The Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers (DHARA 2023), which would be held on February 13-14 is being hosted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will be presiding over the opening session of DHARA 2023 while Minister of State of Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore will also be attending the event.

One of the major achievements of the NIUA-NMCG collaboration is the establishment of a “River Cities Alliance (RCA)” of 95 river cities across India.

Maharashtra’s two cities - Pune and Aurangabad are members of the River Cities Alliance (RCA).

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been undertaking the rejuvenation of the Mula and Mutha rivers while Aurangabad is preparing the Urban River Management Plan (URMP) for the rejuvenation of the Kham river.

DHARA 2023 will offer Alliance members a marketplace of solutions in urban river management that they can take back to their cities and put into practice. Case studies from throughout the nation on innovative river-related strategies and techniques for managing urban rivers, including groundwater management, flood control, lake and pond rejuvenation, and decentralised used water management, will be showcased.

Principal Secretaries of different Indian states as well as experts in urban river management from Denmark, the United States, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands, and Australia will showcase international best practices in the sessions.

Organized for the Municipal Commissioners of the member cities to spend dedicated time discussing and learning solutions for urban river management, DHARA 2023 has strong synergies with the Urban20 (U20) initiative under the ambit of India’s G20 Presidency. One of the thrust areas of U20 is to promulgate urban water security.

Healthy rivers have a vital role to play in enhancing the overall water security of the city.

“There will be presentations on the best projects related to rivers. Experts, scientists and social organisations working at national and international level will participate in it. The conference will hold

discussions on everything related to water and it will help everyone with a water management strategy for their respective areas,” said PMC Commissioner Vikram Kumar.

“During the two-day event, Municipal Commissioners and senior officials will interact with diverse experts and practitioners which will help our cities learn and adopt practical and tangible solutions to enhance the state of our rivers,” added Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA.