The Smart City imperative in India
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The government on June 25, 2015 launched three missions aimed at ‘heralding a new urban era’. These included Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for All. These succeeded the government’s earlier move to allocate a distinct number of cities for each state in India. Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu lead the pack in terms of being given the opportunity to nominate the maximum cities that are 13 and 12 respectively for developing them into smart cities. Smaller states in terms of urban agglomeration and populations have been allocated less than two smart cities each. However, the looming concern remains in the implementation of this dream project. It is because INR 48,000 crores has been allocated for 100 cities under Smart Cities Mission over next five years. A simple back of the envelope calculation tells us that this would be 9,600 crores every year and an average of 96 crores for each city every year.
With the kind of infrastructural finance requirements, the implementation will be extremely undermined with the present allocation. There is a need to look at
Another struggle of the cities today is that of a faulty vision that arises due to top-down planning. It was even strongly articulated in a speech by PM
The Smart City Mission will only be successful if the government and leadership at all levels take into account these three factors in planning for India’s urban future. A synergy between efficient regulatory authorities, residents’ needs, and providers of urban services will thus improve the quality of governance and life in Indian cities.
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