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New Delhi : Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on November 25, 2021, launched here the River Cities Alliance, a dedicated platform for river cities in India, to ideate, discuss, and exchange information for sustainable management of urban rivers.

This first of its kind Alliance in the world symbolises the successful partnership of the two Ministries i.e., Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The Alliance will focus on three broad themes- Networking, Capacity Building, and Technical Support. The Secretariat of the Alliance will be set up at National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), with NMCG’s support, according to a PIB release.

Shekhawat, along with the other dignitaries launched the River Cities Alliance video and also unveiled the Urban River Management Plan for Kanpur City.

The participating cities in the River Cities Alliance are:  Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Srinagar, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Munger, Patna, Berhampore, Hooghly-Chinsurah, Howrah, Jangipur, Maheshtala, Rajmahal, Sahibganj, Ayodhya, Bijnor, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Mathura-Vrindavan, Mirzapur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Aurangabad, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Pune, Udaipur, and Vijayawada.

The Prime Minister, at the meeting of the National Ganga Council held at Kanpur in December 2019, had highlighted the need for a new river centric thinking in planning for cities on the banks of rivers. “Cities should be responsible for rejuvenating their rivers. It has to be done not just with a regulatory mindset but also with a developmental and facilitatory outlook” stated the Prime Minister. Subsequently, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA) have collaborated together to launch the River Cities Alliance (RCA).

Speaking on the occasion,  Shekhawat said that this is an excellent initiative which will enable cities to learn from each other’s successes and failures as well as connect people with the rivers.

Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,  stated, “The River Cities Alliance can play a crucial role in connecting cities with their rivers, and that it can be a model for all cities in the Basin and beyond to emulate.”

Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, said, “This Alliance will give an opportunity to municipal administrators and their teams to take path breaking initiatives and learn and inspire each other.”

In his address, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General NMCG, said “Although the Alliance began with the Ganga basin cities, it was extended to include cities beyond the basin as well. Thus, the work and knowledge products which will be developed under this Alliance will help cities learn from each other and be enriched by both national and international experiences.” Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA, said, “The River Cities Alliance is a culmination of 3 years of efforts for river sensitive development of our cities.”

The 30 member cities include Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Patna, Howrah, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, etc. from Ganga basin states and Aurangabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Udaipur, Vijayawada, etc. from non-Ganga basin states.