Open Forum
New
Delhi, 18 February 2015
Smart
Cities
HERALDING
A NEW AGE?
By Dhurjati
Mukherjee
The growth of cities has been a
unique phenomenon in the country and, according to the United Nations, India is
expected to add 404 million people between 2004 and 2050. Experts believe that
it is virtually impossible for any country to create the necessary level of
infrastructure services as also education, health care, security facilities
etc. In such a scenario, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has aptly outlined his
vision for creating 100 ‘Smart Cities’, realising the need for developing
infrastructure in tune with international standards.
Keeping in view the fact that the Indian
level of urbanization will reach 50 per cent by 2039 and an estimated $1.2
trillion will have to be spent in urban areas over the next two decades, the
country needs a national urbanization plan. As of this, the Government decided
that some of the existing cities would be upgraded. The US President Barack
Obama, on his recent visit to India agreed to develop three smart cities which
include Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam after which the Germans have also
signed up to develop three more.
While there are many dimensions to
such a developed city, what is essentially meant is that these centres should
provide a better quality of life. Whether new cities are built or extends and
develops the existing ones – the second option being most judicious – it needs
a model that is faster, better and cheaper.
Smart cities herald a new age where
information technology in addition to roads, electricity and transport
facilities are unique. In fact, the digital infrastructure should be in place
from the use of sensors to smart grids and data and analytics to meet problems
and citizens demands effectively and reliably.
A report by McKinsey Global
Institute (MGI) pointed out that with proper planning Indian cities could
produce 70 per cent of the GDP and drive a near-fourfold increase in per capita
income across the nation by 2030. The surge in growth is expected to bring
about employment opportunities to the educated class in cities.
One may mention here that most
cities and towns have grown haphazardly post independence. Behind the sheen and
flitter of the so-called manhattans lies bad planning. Moreover, most metros
are full of slums, squatter settlements, railway colonies not to speak of a
large population of pavement dwellers. Possibly the last big planned city,
which came up in the country, was Chandigarh.
Though the Government had launched
the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and allocated
funds for development of services of smart cities, the resources needed have
been far less than what has been made available. Thus, city development would
require huge funds, which obviously has to be garnered through public-private
partnership (PPP) to build and operate both physical and digital
infrastructure.
Apart from this, there is the
problem of distorted and shrinking land markets, which have stymied orderly
urbanization. India
was always land scarce compared to most countries and by 2050, its land to
population ratio would decline four-fold, making it the one of the most land
scarce nations. Changes and modification in old laws are absolutely necessary
without which little will happen. It is imperative to free up land for urban
development and housing that have been locked due to outdated laws.
In 2013, the UPA government passed a
bill to protect weak landowners against rapacious private sector land
acquirers. However, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and City and
Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) acquired land from farmers at
relatively cheap prices and sold these at exorbitant prices. Land is needed in
every metro or big city for housing needs of economically weaker sections and
the middle class – both upper and lower.
Apart from additional housing
requirement, there is also the problem of shelter upgradation. In the country’s
financial capital, Mumbai, 55 percent of the people live in slums on 35 km of
land while around 25 per cent reside in old and dilapidated buildings. As such,
around 80 per cent of the population needs to be re-housed which may take a
decade to accomplish the task. The problems in Delhi and Chennai are equally critical.
As is generally agreed, housing
would have a multiplier effect as such construction activity generates
employment for both skilled and unskilled persons. Moreover, housing has
backward and forward linkages with many other industries. Apart from housing,
demand of land for commercial and industrial hubs would increase significantly.
However, questions arise that if
essential services are developed by the PPP model, how will the parties recover
the amount. Significantly, keeping in view the need for cities to generate more
revenue, State and municipal representatives recently suggested adoption of
certain measures such as land monetization, increased floor area ratio (FAR),
norms with transparency in policies, progress in e-governance and online
service delivery apart from GIS-based master plans for sanitation, land use and
digital connectivity.
Further, it was suggested to have
fixed tenures for mayors, municipal commissioners, and minimum educational
qualification for municipal councilors to ensure that the development process is
geared in the right direction.
There have to be sustained efforts
to improve all-round functioning of municipal bodies to face challenges of
population pressure and a severe constraint on their rather limited resources. Undeniably,
some improvements have already taken place in the performance of most urban
local bodies (ULBs) in the last decade through PPP, innovation and adoption of
modern technology to carry out their key functions. Budgeting and accounting
systems have become modernized leading to reduction of costs and better service
delivery.
However, in the coming years there
is need for further improvement, specially in greater use of IT in official
functioning, relocation of hawkers from strategic points and business areas,
upgrading shelter requirements in slums and the unauthorized colonies and
improving their environmental conditions, including setting up sanitary
toilets, cleanliness of roads and pavements etc.
Though one need not be too
optimistic, one can expect that the thrust on city development given by the
Modi government would augur well in the coming years and with financial support
from the Centre and States, they would be able to achieve some, if not all, of
the outcomes.
Essentially, the goals are: establishment
and operational of a city-wide framework for planning and governance; access of
all urban residents to a basic level of urban services; establishment of financially self-sustaining
agencies for urban governance and service delivery through necessary reforms to
major revenue instruments; conduct of local services and governance in a manner
that is transparent and accountable to citizens; and introduction of e-governance
applications in all functions of municipal corporations and ULBs and parastals,
resulting in reduced cost and time of service and delivery processes. The pace
and progress in developing smart cities will be keenly watched. Shortcuts will
not do. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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