Chicago varsity, Delhi launch better environment competition

University of Chicago's Urban Labs and the Delhi Dialogue Commission on Tuesday launched a competition focused on improving air and water quality in the capital by soliciting grassroots ideas from citizens, civic leaders, academics, corporations, and other institutions across India.

"Urban Labs Innovation Challenge: Delhi" will award up to Rs.2 crore in funding to the most promising solutions, said the DDC, an advisory body of the Delhi government, in a statement.

Proposals should broadly confront the challenges that Delhi faces in energy reliability and efficiency and help reduce environmental hazards to public health and climate for the residents of the national capital, it added.

Welcoming the initiative, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "I am glad that DDC has entered into first of its kind agreement with University of Chicago to find novel solutions to tackle pollution and environment related issues in Delhi.

"Through spirit of citizen participation, citizens and organizations will help Delhi government in finding lasting solutions for one of the biggest concerns in Delhi. In return, we will provide funding upto Rs. 2 crore to the best ideas for scale up. I request citizens to enthusiastically participate in the competition."

The Urban Labs will work with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago's India Office (EPIC-India) and the Delhi government to pilot and test the winning projects that could then be scaled up across the region and become important models for other cities, the statement said.

Letters of Interest for the competition should be received by March 1, 2016. To learn more about the challenge and submit an idea, the participants may visit urbanlabsdelhi.uchicago.in.