Ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UN Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael Bloomberg on Monday met Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and discussed various urban development issues including the 'Smart City' project. Naidu and Bloomberg, a former New York Mayor, also exchanged notes on various issues.
Naidu gave a broad account of various initiatives being undertaken by the government in the urban sector, while the UN Envoy noted that media particularly social media is bringing a new kind of pressure on banks and other lending institutions not to support any scheme which do not address environmental concerns. According to a senior UD Ministry official, they took note of the fact that while in India the central government is more pro-active in urban sector, it is the other way round in the US where city and state governments are more active than federal government.
Naidu gave a broad account of various initiatives being undertaken by the government in the urban sector, while the UN Envoy noted that media particularly social media is bringing a new kind of pressure on banks and other lending institutions not to support any scheme which do not address environmental concerns. According to a senior UD Ministry official, they took note of the fact that while in India the central government is more pro-active in urban sector, it is the other way round in the US where city and state governments are more active than federal government.