Capacity Building
- Our Programs
- Capacity Building
Training and capacity building is a major objective of CMAG. Such programs in the past have included subject areas such as preparation of citizen charter, non-tax revenues for ULBs complaint redressal systems, accrual-based financial accounting system, quake-resistant structural engineering, slum networking etc.
It was Co-sponsored by The Department of Urban Development and Urban Housing, Government of Gujarat and International City/County Management Association, Washington. The Technical support was provided by Environmental Planning Collaborative, Ahmedabad. The workshop first is a series of CMAG's proposed activities, was held on 19th December 1997 at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Bhat. CMAG submitted a memorandum to the Government of Gujarat, requesting that necessary steps be taken to enable the urban local bodies to raise financial resources from non-tax revenue. Impact Fees, Revenue from Municipal Asset Management and User Charges are the three major sources which were identified, and deliberated upon by the workshop
The six major cities Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jammnagar, as well as the municipalities and Development Authorities participated in the workshop. Officials from the Department of Urban Housing and Urban Development were present. Representatives from some NGOs and professional organizations also attended the workshop.
Creating high density zones and special development districts to aid the local government in the provision and upgradation of infrastructure that is financed by the direct beneficiaries. The financing mechanism can be a one time impact fee for the additional intensity of development (FSI) permitted in these zones/ areas paid by the developers.
Prudent management of municipal real estate assets as it produces vital benefits for citizens and businesses seeking economic growth and a healthy urban environment.
User charges are, defined as the charges levied for the use of and for access to a given service. In urban local bodies, these services may include water supply, sewerage, primary solid waste collection, parks and playgrounds.
Submission of a memorandum to the Government of Gujarat, requesting autonomy to urban local bodies to raise financial resources from non-tax revenue/impact fees.
Concept of impact fees through identification of Special Development Districts (SDDs) introduced in the development plans.
A two-day regional workshop on "Citizens' Charter" was organized by School of Planning, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad, in association with City Managers' Association Gujarat. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India sponsored this workshop. It was held on 17th and 18th July at Gandhi Labour Institute (GLI), Ahmedabad. Senior officials from the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and also from the Government of India participated in this workshop. Officers from Municipal Corporations Municipalities, Elected representatives, NGOs, Academicians and research scholars were also invited.
The workshop concluded with the drafting of Citizens' Charter for urban local bodies, for Panchayats and for agriculture department. Government of India has decided to propagate the concept of citizens' charter for establishing transparency, accountability and higher standards of public service. It is expected that such charter will empower the citizen who, as taxpayer, is also a consumer of goods and services. The state government sent the model Charter prepared in the workshop to all the cities.
The state of Govt. circulated the model charter prepared in the workshop to all the cities of Gujarat. The cities in turned prepared their own charters. CMAG also provided a guide to preparation of charter, which was downloaded from the internet.
A Seminar was held on 5th October 1998 on "SAFER CITIES", organized by the School of Planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) in association with City Managers Association, Gujarat, as a part of World Habitat Day celebrations. Urban Planners, Architects, Representatives of NGOs and Research Institutes attended the seminar. The seminar was divided into two parts. First part consisted of a discussion on the present day safety. The second part of the seminars consisted of presentations by eminent professionals from the field of urban planning.
The workshop on "Designing Public Grievances Redressal System for Urban Local Bodies" was the fourth workshop conducted by CMAG. Urban local bodies provide basic amenities to the people. Therefore quality of life in the urban area depends largely on the efficiency of the local body. To serve efficiently and to the satisfaction of the, there is a need for regular and systematic consultation with those who use the services. Complaints are a very useful source of information for local bodies. The objectives of the workshop was:
The workshop on "Operation & Maintenance of Water Supply and Sanitation System" was another workshop successfully conducted by CMAG. This workshop brought together, urban local bodies, public and private companies, and individuals on a common platform to facilitate exchange of ideas and technology for efficient water supply and sanitation systems. The main objectives of this workshop were
Dr. Meena Shah, a Health Care Expert, conducted the seminar where she stressed on positive health options. Other session were taken by well-known psychiatrist and stress expert - Dr. Bhalchandra Joshi, Cardiologist -Jyotindra Bhatt and Yoga expert - Ms. Pragna Shah.
Stress, long considered alien to the Indian lifestyle, is now a major concern. Stress takes it toll on productivity, efficiency, creativity and also affects family life. There is an alarming increase in the number of stress related disorders such as anxiety, fatigue, depression, ulcers, heart attack etc. Interaction and practical demonstration on stress management included:
Stress Management workshops have been organized for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation and Vadodara Municipal Corporation.
In Association with: National Institute for Urban Affairs, New Delhi Supported by: Urban Development Department (UDD), Directorate of Municipalities (DoM) and Gujarat Management Finance Board (GMFB).
During the past few years, Gujarat has been witnessing significant changes in the urban development scenario. In the coming ten to fifteen years, the urban population in the state will increase by about 50 percent. This will exert tremendous pressure on the city governments. Information crisis and a lack of enthusiastic endeavor to take innovative steps is further aggravating the situation. In this context, CMAG organized this workshop for the newly elected Presidents and Chief Officers of municipalities. The resource group included experts from state and national level organizations such as NIUA, AMC, and CEPT, among others.
The workshop had two sessions:
| Session I |
Administrative and Legal Framework Participants were made aware of their legal powers and duties as revised in the 74th Amendments. |
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| Session II | Finance Major issues covered were:
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CMAG in association with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has organized Business English Certificate Course conducted by The British Council for Class I and Class II municipal officials.
Today, urban management has become a specialized profession and urban managers require professional development and training. More and more opportunities for making presentations and increased interactions with the international communities. The course has sections on reading, writing, listening and speaking in English. In the training the emphasis was put on how to communicate effectively and make good presentations.
The total participants were divided into two groups level 1 & 2 after holding a placement level test. The participants were guided by two English teachers giving individual attention.
Presentation on: Curitiba- A Model sustainable City by Mr. S.K. Safaya, Chief of Design and Development, HUDCO, New Delhi
"Curitiba", a city in Brazil has generated interest between planners & architects of the country. Mr. Safaya has visited this city and prepared the presentations highlighting the urban transportation achievements of the city.
Presentation on simulation techniques as a tool to understand impact and implications of policy decisions in urban planning process by Mr. Peter Bosselmann
Presentation on simulation techniques as a tool to understand impact and implications of policy decisions in urban planning process by Mr. Peter Bosselmann, Professor of City Planning at the University of California at Berkeley on Simulation Techniques.
Organised by CMAG, the workshop was held in association with Gujarat Municipal Finance Board and Vadodara Municipal Corporation, and supported by National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi and FIRE (D)/USAID.
Municipal Corporations in Gujarat have adopted the commercial accounting system, although they have yet to achieve perfection. The experience elsewhere in other states is not encouraging. However, most municipalities in Gujarat still continue to follow the old methods. Thus, the need for introducing financial reforms cannot be over-emphasized. It is well known that the financial system is a tool for budgeting, and of course, for transparency in the overall system.
Secondly, such reforms will bring about the much-needed uniformity in the affairs of the civic bodies in Gujarat that should logically, and through a series of strategically planned steps, lead to a uniform accounting code, with added software and hardware to quicken the pace of such reforms.
It is in this context that the first in the series of residential workshops on Municipal Budgeting and Accounting Reforms was organized at Vadodara from 18th -19th August 2000. About 12 Municipalities in South Gujarat, of A and B categories were requested to participate. To include 'enablers' and 'doers', the President, Chief Officer, Chief Accountant and Internal Auditor of each municipality in the South Gujarat cluster were invited. The workshop was conducted in Gujarati/Hindi/English.
Second in the series was the workshop in Rajkot on 21 and 22 September and the third was at Bopal near Ahmedabad. on 26th and 28th September.2000
The resource persons included Mr. Chetan Vaidya - Senior Urban Management Advisor FIRE(D), Mr. Ashwajit Singh - Vice Chairman, Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Ravikant Joshi - Chief Accountant, VMC, Mr. Patel of Gujarat Municipal Finance Board, Mr. Janak Dave, Mr. Arun Parekh, and Mr. Nagraj from AMC, Mr. Gaurang Soni of Anand Municipality and Mr. Naimesh Mushroowala - Consulting Accountant, CMAG, Mr. Amal Dhruv - Chartered Accountant from Ahmedabad , Ms. Manvita Baradi Urban Planner from CMAG, Mr. Harshad Patel - Accountant RMC.