Previous urban development plans have had limited impact. The Modi regime must learn from those errors
One of the big flagship programmes of the BJP-led NDA Government is the establishment of 100 smart cities across the country. Indian cities face numerous problems such as slums and unauthorised colonies, traffic congestion, unregulated informal activities, violence and crime, energy shortage and environmental pollution. They are also ill-planned and the development here is neither equitable nor sustainable.
Cities absorb and support people from various socio-economic backgrounds and, therefore, it is believed that India could show better progress if city growth and development is managed smartly. This thinking is visible in the manifestos of all major political parties that contested the 2014 lok Sabha election.
The NDA Government is in the process of drafting smart city action plans, which will provide principles and methods to be followed by State and Union Governments for the improvement of existing cities. The effort is to ensure greater efficiency in urban governance across all urban sectors, reduce wastage of resources, and guarantee better quality of life. Achievement of these goals is a fundamental requirement for describing any settlement as ‘smart'.
This approach has been adopted in other parts of the world, and the benefits are noteworthy. In Kitakyushu, Japan, almost everything is recycled. Singapore has achieved excellence in water management. Yokohama, another Japanese city, has shown how waste can be reduced by involving the community. Curitiba in Brazil has successfully created car-free zones and expanded the reach of public transport through innovative land use planning.
And in Barcelona, Spain, about 65 per cent of the people use public transportation and another 18 per cent either cycle or walk. The carbon-dioxide emission and the ecological foot print in Barcelona is, therefore, almost eight times less than in the American city of Atlanta where about 98.2 per cent of the people use cars. Often, sophisticated technology has been used to achieve success.
Previously in India, numerous efforts were made to improve the conditions in cities. But the transformation has really not happened. The UPA's flagship scheme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, did little to address the challenges of urbanisation.
Despite governance reforms and financial assistance from the Centre, most State Government and local agencies are operating at a low level, and following inefficient, unfair practices that have led to severe inequalities.
The creation of 100 smart cities is high on the NDA Government's agenda, and the process of signing memorandums of understanding with nations that have demonstrated excellence in urban governance has just begun. But will these so-called ‘smart' settlements solve the problems of inequality, infrastructure deficiency, insecurity, homelessness, protect weaker groups and stop wastage of natural resourcesIJ
Insofar as application of smart principles in existing cities is concerned, success has been achieved up, only in some sectors. Mass public transport systems such as metro rail, car-free zones, pedestrian pathways, automated multi-level parking facilities, affordable housing for the poor, rainwater harvesting systems and e-governance initiatives in municipalities are examples of smart moves undertaken in a few cities.
However, it is not easy to eliminate all inequalities. For example, urban development has often occurred in a haphazard manner due to lacunae in legislation, planning, implementation and monitoring. This has led to encroachments. Such violations must be controlled because these create difficulties in provision of new infrastructure/services for which sufficient vacant land at appropriate places is needed.
Further, despite recent urban reforms, the prevailing administrative environment offers scope for entry of unfair practices. Considering the existing challenges of urbanisation and governance in India, what policy should be followed by the Government in the creation of smart citiesIJ
Assuming that each State will have at least one smart city, the first component is the preparation of smart development plans. This exercise needs to be done with greater accuracy by a multi-disciplinary professional team that understands the city well, including the social/cultural practices and potential growth sectors. Knowledge can come from any direction and people from diverse backgrounds must be involved.
Smart plans should clearly spell out how each sector (transport, housing, heritage, environment, drinking water, sanitation, economy) will be managed and integrated in the short and long run, and include details on estimation and sources of funds for project implementation. Also, urban databases must be strengthened for preparing realistic plans.
(The writer is Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation and is part of a collaborative study on ‘Urbanising India' jointly undertaken by the ORF and the Peace Research Institute, Oslo)