Delhi, Chicago varsity sign MoU on environment

The Delhi government on Friday signed an MoU with the University of Chicago for forming a partnership to focus on improving Delhi's air and water quality, an official statement said.

"We are pleased to partner with reputed University of Chicago Urban Labs to tackle the problem of pollution and environment degradation with the technical and financial help from University of Chicago," Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) vice chairman Ashish Khetan as per the statement.

"The centerpiece of this partnership will be a unique competition called the Urban Labs Innovation Challenge - Delhi. This competition is designed to build a toolkit of innovative projects proposed by local institutions and tapping into grassroots expertise," the statement said.

Under the challenge, all citizens have been invited to come forward and pilot their ideas to solve major problem of pollution on a big scale, said Khetan. The University of Chicago will fund the best idea chosen for Delhi and will provide a minimum fund of Rs.2 crore for the project.

The varsity's Urban Energy and Environment Lab director Michael Greenstone said: "Urbanization has been a driver of economic prosperity across the world. Yet cities like Delhi, that are engines of innovation and growth, are also the site of formidable energy and environment related challenges."

Details about the competition will be announced at a press event on December 1. The website for the competition is "urbanlabsdelhi.uchicago.in".