There is a new chief in town for the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies (RCUES) at Osmania University. A professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, OU, Professor Kumar Molugaram took over as the Director of the centre from Prof C Aruna Jyothi.
The RCUES is a nodal agency that trains government officials about the rules, regulations and schemes of the government, and imparts training to municipal workers on various aspects of urban planning and development. Dr Kumar told Edexlive that he believes there is an urgent need to develop the centre because it can act as the bridge that gets government welfare schemes to the common people. "My focus will be on projects to plan smart cities and solid waste management. We will try to provide practical solutions to these issues," says the professor.
The RCUES was allotted Rs 1.5 crore for an AIDS Awareness programme by the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), and Dr Kumar says the execution of that plan will be at the top of his agenda, along with the rehabilitation of people living in urban slums. In fact, he recognises that urban planning will be a major issue going forward, and will be something he trains his attention on. "I plan to provide economical and technology-based solutions to the issue with my background in Civil Engineering," he said.
While the centre works to recruit and train municipal workers to implement various government schemes such as the Integrated Capacity Building Programme and the Solid Waste Management Programme, Prof Kumar's also plans to incorporate increased student participation in the centre. He is in the works to table a proposal to the Governing Council of the Centre to offer internships to students at the centre. This involvement will mutually benefit both the students and the centre, says the Director.
