Consider urbanisation as opportunity for dvp: Modi

Ahmedabad, Feb 15: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today urged planners, developers and decision makers to take up urbanisation as an opportunity to make India a developed nation by year 2020, rather than considering it as a problem.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day ''Vibrant Gujarat Urban Summit-2007'' held at Tagore Hall here, Mr Modi said the making of the Urban India should be fulfilling the dream of President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam of ''Vision 2020: India, a Developed Nation''.

He said the urbanisation of cities should be generating employment opportunities for all sections of the society rather than just an expansion of 'Concrete Jungle'.

This should be done with a strong joint participation of public and private sector units, Mr Modi said.

Mr Modi also urged President Kalam, who was also present, to put in his efforts for inclusion of State Capital Gandhinagar, Porbandar and Karamsad cities into the 63 cities selected by Union Ministry of Urban Development under its project ''Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

He said Gandhinagar should be included in JNNURM because of its state capital status, while Porbandar and Karamsad cities should be included because of their historical importance-- being the birth places of 'Father of the Nation' Mahatma Gandhi and India's 'Iron Man' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, respectively.

The Chief Minister also urged the President to expedite the initiative taken by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for setting up The Earth-Quake Prediction Institute in Gujarat to avoid the repetition of the devastation by the killer quake Kutch in 2001.

The Chief Minister said urban development should be done with holistic approach thus giving opportunities to all sections of society.

UNI