B’luru: Regional meet of urban development ministers held

BENGALURU: The first regional meeting of Urban Development Ministers was convened in Bengaluru under the chairmanship of Manohar Lal, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The meeting marked a major step in continuing the dialogue initiated during the national-level meeting held on July 17, in New Delhi, and aimed to strengthen collaboration among states and union territories in advancing India’s urban development goals.

Hosted jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka, the meeting brought together ministers from southern states and union territories to deliberate on key challenges, opportunities, and strategies in urban governance and infrastructure.

The meeting saw participation from DK Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister in charge of Bengaluru City Development; Suresha BS, Minister for Urban Development and Town Planning; Rahim Khan, Minister of Municipal Administration; MB Rajesh, Minister for Local Self Governments, Excise & Parliamentary Affairs, Kerala; and PRN Thirumurugan, Minister of Housing, Puducherry.

Senior officials from the respective state governments and union territories also attended, along with senior officers from MoHUA, including the secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary, and the director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs.

The deliberations were held in two sessions—the first focused on Bengaluru’s urban priorities, while the second reviewed the progress of central urban schemes across the participating states and union territories. The Union minister assessed the implementation of flagship programmes such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), metro projects, and the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme.

He also discussed implementation challenges and proposed actionable measures to enhance project outcomes on the ground.