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Smart Cities: HERALDING A NEW AGE?, By Dhurjati Mukherjee, 18 Feb, 2015 Print E-mail

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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