Pune civic chief now on Global City Leader Advisory committee

(L to R) Bhaskar Bhattacharya of Pune CRO Office, PMC disaster management officer Ganesh Sonune and Pune muncipal commissioner Kunal Kumar are part of the panel.

2/09/2017

PUNE: Pune Municipal Commissioner, Kunal Kumar, has been appointed as a member of the prestigious Global City Leader Advisory Committee of the 100 Resilient Cities – pioneered by Rockefeller Foundation.

Kumar will also represent Athens Democracy Forum and meet with other global leaders. Along with Kumar’s appointment, an announcement was also made about the establishment of Chief Resilience Office (CRO) in the city.

Pune has been a member of the 100RC network since 2016. Its urban resilience challenges include: disease outbreak, lack of affordable housing, poor air quality, rainfall flooding, and water insecurity. The Pune CRO is the 80th CRO to be appointed in the 100RC network worldwide.

 “In the coming decades, building urban resilience will be critical if cities are to survive, adapt and grow to meet the challenges of the future. As 100RC and its network work to develop tangible solutions and inspire other cities to join the urban resilience movement, it is essential to have inputs and guidance from city leaders who have hands-on experience dealing with issues that impact cities. Strong local leadership is also important and that’s why I believe in the CRO model,” Kumar said in a press note.

He said that he has chosen Bhaskar Bhattacharya as the tentative candidate to lead Pune’s resilience efforts because of his strong track record of effective project implementation. Saurabh Gaidhani, programme manager at 100 Resilient Cities, said the announcement of Pune’s first-ever CRO and the appointment of the civic chief to the global advisory committee are testament to the critical role a city like Pune can play not just on the local or national level, but also on the global stage. The Advisory Committee was unveiled last month at the 100 Resilient Cities Urban Resilience Summit in New York and is scheduled to meet for the first time in September 2017 in Athens in conjunction with the Athens Democracy Forum. Kumar is the only representative from India on the Advisory Committee and joins colleagues from Mandalay and Sydney in representing perspectives from the Asia Pacific region.