Senior AAP leader and newly appointed Global Vice President of ICLEI foundation Atishi on Tuesday said that urbanisation is emerging as a massive challenge in developing economies since, by 2050, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities.

“We live in times of unprecedented urbanisation, whereby 2050, more than two-thirds of our population will live in cities. Education, healthcare, water and transportation are serious urban challenges in the developing world,” she said, adding that every citizen, irrespective of gender, caste, colour or creed has a right to the city and we government across the globe must ensure to make it accessible to each individual.

Atishi was addressing the prestigious international network of government representatives from across the world for the session ‘Shaping our sustainable future for all’ at the ICLEI World Congress –– hosted virtually by the city of Malmö, Sweden.

Atishi claimed that the AAP government in Delhi over the past six years has prioritised this diversity and inclusion and emerged as the model of success for the developing world.

“Although each of our urban issues has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the AAP government has remained determined in equalising the distribution of basic amenities across Delhi,” she added.

Atishi highlighted five key initiatives by the Delhi government taken in the past six years related to education, healthcare, access to water, equitable power supply and electric mobility in her address at the global podium.

“We reserved a quarter of the city’s budget to build high-quality infrastructure for public schools, invest in teacher training and upgrade the curriculum. Now, the public schools are outperforming private schools in the capital city; the mohalla clinic is another exceptional model of people-centric development, where the AAP government introduced a low-cost model of primary healthcare in every locality in Delhi”

“The AAP government’s efficient system of water distribution has brought water pipelines to 500 localities in the city – a record in all of India. Every family has access to up to 20,000 litres of free water a month. We also introduced efficient distribution of electricity. Today, Delhi has the cheapest electricity in the country. We also initiated one of the most progressive electric vehicle policies where the government now looks to shift all state-owned and used vehicles to electric. A massive infrastructure is being built across the city to support this step,” she said.