Indian, Japan working group on Urban Development meet

New Delhi, June 21 (UNI) The first meeting of the India-Japan Joint Working Group on urban development, held in Tokyo on Tuesday, identified water management, trench less technology, urban planning, metropolitan planning and management, intelligent transport system for urban transport, metro for big cities and roof top gardening as areas of mutual cooperation.

Ministry sources here today said the deliberations at the meeting, however, confined to water environment and urban transport.

The Group was set up after the recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Japan.

Urban Development Secretary M Ramachandran co-chaired the meeting with Mr Taniguchi, Japanese Vice Minister for Engineering Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the sources added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ramachandran praised the way greenery was being maintained in a large city like Tokyo. He expressed keenness to push forward the endeavour by organising the first-ever urban joint initiative by continuing the dialogue with their Japanese counterparts, visits by experts to India and further focusing on specific areas identified.

Mr Taniguchi, describing the meeting as ''very successful'', noted that both sides deliberated upon the problems facing India's urban sector.

The Indian delegation was shown, among other things, the waste disposal site which included land reclamation by filling waste, odourless incinerator facility, top class underground parking facility at Asakusa, quake proof building technology, new transport systems, underground drainage river and Tokyo metro.

UNI