Events & Issues
New
Delhi, 3 December 2012
Smart Cities
VIABLE IN URBAN CHAOS?
Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR, New
Delhi)
The Government’s plan to develop ‘smart
cities’, is indeed, ambitious. For urban residents living with innumerable
urban-based life problems with practically no workable solutions, this project
raises curiosity mingled with pessimism. The prospects of developing these
smart cities that will remain “smart” for a reasonable time are open to
question in view of the degeneration of some of our planned and beautiful
cities due to bad maintenance.
With “smart city” projects underway world-over,
in about 125 places, Union Urban Minister Kamal Nath has recently confirmed the
Centre’s plan to develop two “smart cities” in each of the 28 States in the
country under phase II of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM). While the project have different components such as intelligent
transport, e-services etc and accordingly has worked well in China, Brazil,
Germany and other countries, India is studying what model will suit it.
For starters, the smart cities project
is not meant for metropolitan cities. It is for smaller cities with half a
million to one million population like Ujjain,
and Jabalpur,
as officially cited. Bigger cities are already covered under other schemes. According
to 2011 census, about 32% of India’s
population lives in urban areas. It is projected to grow and reach 40% in a
decade and 50% in about 30 years.
Cities are very important
contributors to the national economy, and have grown as centres of education,
health care, entertainment, science and technology, and administration. They
have to grow and change to fit their new roles and responsibilities. Where
their growth in every sense lags behind the demands and expectations, lopsided
development takes place, leading to sheer urban chaos. There are several such examples
in India.
Our planners have come forward with
a number of plans for urban development. Master plan policies and city
development authorities have been formed. Slum clearance projects are
undertaken. Employment plans, urban basic services for the poor, integrated
urban poverty eradication programme, etc, have been formulated but urban
problems have only multiplied.
The JNNURM was launched in 2005 by
the Government of India to last for a period of seven years. Under it, city
modernization projects have been taken up with the aim of creating economically
productive, efficient, equitable, and responsive cities. Upgrading social and
economic infrastructure in cities, provision of basic services to urban poor,
and introducing reforms to strengthen municipal governance are the principal
strategies adopted in this mission.
The aim of the Mission is to encourage reforms and
fast-track planned development of identified cities. The focus is on efficiency
of urban infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms, and community
participation.
The Mission focuses on inclusive growth of cities
with safe drinking water, improved public transport, sustainable environment,
and standardized service level. Community participation in urban local bodies
is also part of the mission.
Eligible cities include 7 mega
cities, 28 cities/urban territories with 4 million plus population, and an equal
number of cities/urban territories with 1 million plus population. In many of
these cities, substantial improvements are made by various infrastructure
development schemes. They have facilitated more activities in urban areas and
have enhanced civic amenities in suburban areas particularly around
metropolitan cities.
However, urban problems have not
come to an end. Even a beginning to end the problems is coming only slowly with
intense awareness propaganda. New projects introduce new problems; old problems
addressed through specific programmes do not vanish, but take new forms.
Thus, rapid transport systems create
massive problem of relocation and rehabilitation of the project i.e. the displaced
people. In the process, cities have to face emergence of squatter settlements
and conversion of any vacant area as residences of the poor and workshops of small
scale mechanics who cannot afford to change their home or place of work.
Growth of unplanned cities because
of unplanned growth of population, migration from rural to urban areas in
response to new economic activities at the cost of agricultural and allied
activities take place all over the world. In each case, the chief cause may be
different, but the effect is similar. In developing nations, all the three are present
and have created a huge urban mess, which is widespread in urban economy, urban
society, urban culture, urban crime, urban traffic, urban poor, and indeed the urban
mind.
The inseparable link between
liberalization, urbanization, and economic development has been acknowledged by
planners. In its reports, the UNFPA has pointed out that no country in the
industrial age has ever achieved significant economic growth without
urbanization.
Since urbanization is an
indispensable component of economic growth, India must pay attention to urban
planning. For, cities that cannot cope with the pressure of increasing
population and expanding activities will fail and end up as specimens of urban slums.
Modernisation of cities with
buildings, roads and bridges, and rapid transport are necessary but not enough
to make “smart cities”. Up-to-date and accessible knowledge, mechanism for
exchange of information, and speedy mass communication are needed to face
competition. Information is power in this knowledge society and instant
information is indispensable to acquire that power.
Smart cities are going to focus on
building the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – a strategy that
has succeeded in many places. Universal education and universal health care
will be greatly facilitated by ICT everywhere. E-governance can lessen the load
on transport and e-banking can connect remote areas in banking network.
However, smart cities will not
remain “smart” just with abundance of electronic goods and mobile towers. The ground has to be prepared with other
necessary changes which include change in people’s perceptions and habits.
First of all, smart cities to be
functional require uninterrupted power supply.
In some cities in Tamil Nadu, for instance, scheduled power cut is imposed
for even eight to ten hours which makes computers and mobile phones mere
showpieces.
Smart city concept is ideal provided
it is preceded by proper urban planning to strengthen the infrastructure in the
selected cities. It should include waste management, pollution control and
other environmental safety measures.
The mega cities in India are fast
growing as smart cities in the natural course of economic liberalism but are
facing tremendous problem of utter urban chaos.
Clearly, planned smart cities must avoid a similar fate. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
|