Recently Ministry of Urban Development (MUD), Government of India had invited suggestions from the public on the draft standards for Smart Cities having 45 core indicators developed for the measurement of performance of the cities selected under the Mission.
These indicators have been categorised under 16 major groups like Governance, identity and culture, economy and employment, education, health, housing and inclusiveness, public open spaces, mixed land use and compactness, reliability of power supply, energy conservation and renewable energy, transportation and mobility, assured water supply, reuse of wastes, improved sanitation condition, reduced pollution, and safety and security.
Nirmala Buch, Chairperson of National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment (NCHSE) felt that this is a welcome step, especially in view of commitment of the Government to achieve urban sustainable development as per global frame works like sustainable development goals adopted in September 2015, Paris Agreement on climate change and the new urban agenda adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (HABITAT III) in October 2016.
However, some of the parameters of measurement tools, especially that of Governance, conservation of identity and safety are deficient, and indicators relating to inclusiveness and safety of differently abled persons are completely missing.
Considering these issues, we have forwarded following suggestions to the MUD, highlighting issues especially related to governance, identity & culture, housing and inclusiveness improved sanitation, and safety and security for inclusion in the standards to improve the measurement tool under the smart city mission:
1. City should have a long term (10-15 years) development plan and frequent changes in plan should be avoided. Smart city plan should be in consonance with the development plan of the city, which should consider all likely environmental issues to minimize carbon footprint.
2. Guidelines should provide for areas for reception and return of migrants coming or brought for specific works so that they do not become beginnings of encroachment and resettlement. There should be a system of giving land, plots and houses for desiring and needy persons rather than giving lands in the name of removing encroachments and resettlements.
3. Inclusiveness has to be the essence of good governance. In this context accessibility of certain section of citizens (men, women, and children, old & differently abled persons) to all parts of smart city as well as other common facilities is essential.
4. Safety and security have become a deficit in developing and expanding cities and urban areas. Women, children and elderly are becoming more and more victims. No city can be called Smart city if that does not include safety and security of these vulnerable sections.
Providing for infrastructural services to improve accessibility of these vulnerable sections should be included as absolutely essential component irrespective of model selected.
Some representatives of these sections should be included in the consultations while developing plans.