New Delhi: The Smart Cities Mission opened the registration for India Cycles4Change Challenge on 10th July, 2020. The challenge was launched on 25th June, 2020 by Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS (IC), Housing and Urban Affairs.
Speaking on this occasion, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said, “The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is committed to helping cities develop high quality transport systems that offer sustainable mobility options to their residents. I urge all cities to work towards achieving a vision of safe and fun cycling for everyone.”
“We are proud to launch the India Cycles4Change Challenge with the ambitious goal of creating cycling-friendly cities across the country. Cycling can aid a green recovery from COVID-19 for the transport sector and create a golden age for active, sustainable, and efficient travel in our cities,” said Durga Shanker Mishra IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, GoI.
The event was marked by description of the Challenge brief and launch of the online portal for submission of application for participating cities. The event was attended by over 450 participants, including CEOs of Smart Cities, Commissioners, city officials, civil society organizations, experts, and citizens.
The challenge aims to help cities connect with their citizens as well as experts to develop a unified vision to promote cycling. Cities are encouraged to collaborate with CSOs, experts, and volunteers as they develop and implement their plans.
Citizen collaboration will also be a key metric in the evaluation of proposals submitted by the cities.
To assist the cities in this aspect, the online portal also features a registration form for CSOs, urban designers, planners, students and other citizens who wish to collaborate with their cities.
Cities can access the Challenge Brief and register for the India Cycles4Change Challenge on the portal at https://smartnet.niua.org/indiacyclechallenge/.
The Challenge is open to all cities under the Smart Cities Mission, capital cities of States/UTs, and all cities with a population of more than 5 lakh population.
In October 2020, 11 cities will be shortlisted and will receive Rs. 1 Crore award and guidance from national and international experts to further scale-up the initiatives in Stage Two, which will be held until May 2021.
