"I am truly delighted to be here with all of you today to lay the foundation stone of the Mumbai Metro Rail Project. The construction of this Mumbai Metro Rail Project is the fulfillment of an important promise made to the people of Maharashtra and a promise of support by the Government of India. I convey my very best wishes to all the citizens of Mumbai on this very happy occasion.

I compliment the State Government, your Chief Minister, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, and all those associated with this project for having moved rapidly to begin work on this project. When I had visited Mumbai in March, I had requested the State Government to speed up the work on the Mumbai Metro. It is a matter of immense satisfaction that the State Government has delivered on its assurance and the project is being launched three months later. I wish them well and I wish this project all success. I sincerely believe and hope that Anil Ambani will make a definite difference to the execution of this project. And when it is completed, it will be one of the great symbols of Mumbai's great sense of creativity and great sense of adventure and enterprise.

I am told that this is Phase I of the Mumbai Metro, from Versova, through Andheri to Ghatkopar, covering 11 kilometres. I believe it is to be completed in three years by 2009 and I am confident that it will be so, given the enthusiasm and commitment of all those involved in the project. The project would provide the much needed east-west link in this great city. The total planned length of the Metro in Mumbai is 146 kilometres and when this is completed in phases, I am confident that it will make Mumbai a more livable city, a better connected city, a city where distances shrink with the passage of time. I hope that the Mumbai Metro, like the Delhi Metro, becomes a symbol of efficiency and economy. I am also informed that viability gap support has been sought from the Government of India recently. This proposal is being examined and I assure that the Government of India will do all that is possible for ensuring that this project is a resounding success. I have often said that Mumbai is not an ordinary city, its contribution to the creation of wealth in our country, the symbol of hopes and aspirations of a resurgent India, a symbol of hope in more than one sense of the term. It is the symbol of the cosmopolitan spirit of India, it is an embodiment of the spirit of India that India is out to embrace globalisation; its spirit of self-confidence. I now hope that a city like Mumbai does deserve the support of all policy-makers whether at the State level or at the Central level and I assure you that the Government of India will not be lagging behind in working hand in hand with the state government to make this city a great city.

The urban landscape of India is changing rapidly. In a few years, almost forty per cent of our population will be residing in urban areas. In Maharashtra, more than 42% of the population already lives in urban areas. These urban areas must be seen as engines of growth, as places where there are economies of scale and scope and hence, as hubs of economic, commercial and social activity. Prosperity and progress radiate from urban hubs into the rest of the country. Rough estimates indicate that urban areas account for 50-60% of our GDP. And this urban space has sadly suffered from years of neglect.

As I have said so often, our cities cannot continue to develop in the manner in which they have done over the past few decades. We have to ask ourselves whether our cities can and should continue to grow in this manner? We urgently need new investment in world-class public infrastructure for our cities. We have to invest in public transport, in roads with space for bicycles and pedestrians, in sanitation, in public parks, in water bodies, in airports, in railway stations, and many other amenities of modern life. Our citizens expect all this from the Government. Our cities have to become more livable and more people-friendly. We have to also take steps to enable people who work in the city to be able to live away from it thereby contributing to efforts underway to decongest our cities. All this can be possible only with rapid public transport. As the population of a city grows, the importance of public transportation increases. In the absence of good, reliable and affordable public transport, private vehicles will dominate the road leading to congestion, pollution, more accidents and of course, more fuel consumption. We cannot force people to become dependent on costly private transportation. This will not only increase energy consumption, but also exert an enormous burden on our exchequer. Public transportation has to be the focus of our urban transport policies for years to come.

The UPA government has reversed the trend of neglecting urban areas. Urban areas and their renewal are one of the prime focus areas for the Central Government. We have launched the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission for this very purpose and my esteemed friend and colleague Jaipal Reddy presides over the supervision of this Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission with efficiency and great commitment. We are committing almost Rs 50,000 crore over the next five years for urban renewal. This will be supplemented by additional resources from states and municipal bodies and through public - private partnerships. I am very happy that the Mumbai Metro is the first metro under the PPP mode. The Delhi Metro has been an example of our ability to build and operate a world class metro rail system and I hope the Mumbai Metro will showcase our ability to undertake these innovative projects as PPPs.

I urge the Maharashtra Government to come forward and make good use of the funds available under the Urban Renewal Mission. Maharashtra has five cities - Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Nanded - covered under this Mission. The government should plan to revamp the urban landscape of these great cities by securing all available assistance from the Government of India.

This National Urban Renewal Mission is not only about funding urban infrastructure. It is not just about flyovers, metros, high speed buses and subways. It is basically about improving the quality of life for all citizens living in our urban areas, especially the poor. It is also about improving urban governance. I believe that we should have a vision for our cities as hubs of economic activity where citizens from all walks of life can live, commute and work without difficulty. Cities should provide for the rich and more importantly for the poor; for the able and the handicapped; for those living in city-centres and those living in far flung suburbs. This is the biggest challenge that the urban planners must face and face effectively in the years to come.

I believe that Mumbai, with its cosmopolitan population and outlook can set an example which other cities can emulate. A city which is seen to be both caring and efficient. A city which attracts business and industry. A city which generates jobs and incomes. A city which pulsates with economic and social activity. Mumbai has a unique place in India. The city and state governments must plan to maintain and enhance its pre-eminence.

Mumbai, like all our cities, needs a humane strategy to deal with urban poverty, urban homelessness and urban squalor. We have to make our cities more livable particularly for the poor. We have to provide basic amenities in slums and ensure a modicum of urban governance in these areas.

Urban governance is also in need of reform. Mumbai has had an active municipal corporation for a long time. However, even here, there is need for reform of municipal administration. People need better urban governance, a more responsive and transparent urban administration. Urban administration should be freed from the cancer of corruption and the stranglehold of land mafias. New innovative mechanisms must be explored to raise resources for efficient and equitable financing of essential municipal public services. New technologies must be put in place for management and disposal of urban waste. Every citizen must feel that their municipality is of them and for them.

This of course is easier said than done. Unless people become more pro-active and participate in urban governance, we cannot impose reforms from above. I want all our citizens to become active participants in the management of our cities and the institutions of municipal governance. People of Mumbai are enterprising. Last year, during the monsoon, they demonstrated to the country and the world their resolve, their determination, their energy, their spirit of cooperation and tolerance and I salute them. I also urge you to set an example to the rest of the country and show how we can make our cities more livable - how we can get involved in our localities, in our housing societies, in our wards to make our city more livable and more people friendly.

The Mumbai Metro will be a landmark in the development of Mumbai. I am sure that the Government of Maharashtra has many other programmes for the development of Mumbai. I am told that a storm-water drainage plan has been prepared to prevent the recurrence of water-logging seen last year. There are plans for better connectivity through freeways. I urge the Government of Maharashtra to speed up work on these just as they have done for the Metro. I also suggest that given the wide variety of transport systems that will co-exist in this great city, the Government of Maharashtra should set up a body that would effect good coordination among the different public transport systems. It should set up a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority for Mumbai quickly to enable a seamless and efficient integration of all modes of transport.

Mumbai symbolizes India to the external world. It is the city of dreams. It is also the city where people come to realise their dreams. It is the most vibrant, globalised city apart from being a hub of financial and other services. I am very happy that this great city is re-inventing itself. Projects such as the Metro will propel it into one of the premier cities of Asia and the world. I once again congratulate everyone on this eventful day and I wish you well in your efforts in making Mumbai truly the 'Capital of Asia'."