Pune is in the final round of the ‘Global 2021 Mayors Challenge’ for cities that are implementing innovative concepts despite facing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Only two cities from India – Pune and Rourkela – are entrants in the final round.
The 2021 Global Mayor’s Challenge was organized by Bloomberg Philanthropy. Around 631 cities from 99 countries had applied for the Global Mayors Challenge. Pune is among the top 50 cities.
On behalf of the city of Pune, an ‘important foundation for the future of all-electric vehicles’ scheme was presented for the ‘2021 Global Meyers Challenge Champion Cities’ competition. Pune has been selected under the weather and climate category.
The final round of the competition will be held from June to October 2021. And from this, the final 15 cities will be selected. Each of the selected cities will be provided with substantial technical assistance for the comprehensive implementation of their concepts.
Speaking on the scheme, Bloomberg Philanthropies Founder Michel Bloomberg said, “While facing the enormous challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many cities are striving to implement bold, innovative and ambitious concepts. In the next few months, we will help these cities become more powerful by helping them test their concepts. They will be encouraged to adopt the most advanced policies and programmes and implement them.”
Speaking on the selection, Pune Mayor Muralidhar Mohol said, “Pune is one of the best habitable cities in the country. It is a hub of education, information technology (IT) and the automotive industries. Pune has built a strong urban economy, but at the same time, the expansion of the city has also led to an increase in vehicle pollution. We are committed to promoting electric vehicles (EV) in public transportation for an eco-friendly transportation system.”
“We intend to make extensive use of electric vehicles. We have planned the use of electric vehicles in Pune. The scheme will be extended to other cities around the world, I’m sure. The concept we are implementing will improve air quality and provide better health to the citizens of Pune,” he added.
“We have submitted a proposal to Bloomberg Philanthropies to set up an electric vehicle (EV) fund as soon as possible to increase the use of electric vehicles in the city. To increase the use of EVs, the municipal corporation will formulate actionable policies and guidelines for the operation of these vehicles. The electric vehicles (EV) fund will be used to plan incentives for vehicles, charging stations, and other potential related components.”
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will use Bloomberg funds for the following:
- Preparation of City EV Readiness Plan
- Raising City EV Fund
The PMC intends to assess the needs and conduct some workshops to determine which topics should be focused on in the scheme.