The factors on which emphasis is given to include a town in the Smart City list are (1) supply of water and electricity, (2) sanitation and hygiene, (3) management of garbage, (4) generation of electricity, (5) facilities for communication, (6) provision of dwelling houses for urban poor and destitute, (7) efficient services of health and education, (8) provisions of different kinds of information and technologies for common people, (9) good governance, (10) association of civil society in different modes of operation for city management plans and programmes, (11) adequate protection and safety of people specially of women, children and senior citizens, (12) overall marking of qualitative services affordable to the common city dwellers and floating masses and also foreigners. Now let us see how far the Twin City of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar fulfils the criteria.
Water now supplied to the Twin City dwellers of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar is highly polluted and mostly untreated. There is no adequate supply of water. For regulation of water supply and its misuse, meter should be installed in every household. However, no provision of water meter is seen. The rainwater harvesting proposal by the city dwellers and in Government buildings is still in pen and paper. The time is not too far when there will be an acute shortage of water in Bhubaneswar city. There must be adequate planning and a roadmap for management of water resources.
Similar is the case of services of electricity. It is quite hopeless. Every day there is undeclared power cuts and power failures. The street light provision is most unreliable and becoming a cause of crime. Everybody feels unsafe during the night hours. Especially the ladies and senior citizens are restricted for an outing at night for their safety. The State Government has no control over the electricity providers.
On sanitation front, the two cities fare no better. The management of garbage and maintenance of cleanliness is in utter disarray. Except a few principal roads of the twin city, other roads are not paid due attention so far as garbage lifting is concerned. The day to day household garbage gets accumulated on drains and roadsides polluting the whole surrounding and the water system of cities.
The management of garbage is most important. There must be adequate garbage treatment plants to treat the solid waste. The garbage which is biodegradable can be converted into fertilizers. Such practices should be carried out to meet the need of the bio fertilizers for peasants. Similarly, non bio- degradable waste like plastic etc should be recycled for useable products of the man. No civilization can continue for long with perfect happiness, if sanitation and hygiene are not properly maintained. Technology has also evolved for generation of power from garbage; this should be widely implemented.
There is no doubt the capital city of Bhubaneswar is well connected with within the nation by rail, road and air. But management of communication system is important and should be at par with the international standard. The drainage system is very bad. The entire new and old capitals of Odisha belong to coastal districts and well traversed by rivers, rivulets and water channels. The whole landscape is a coastal plain crisscrossed by rivers where the drainage systems should have been very efficiently managed. Regrettably, the efficiency of drainage systems can be well known during rainy season. While it is better not to speak a word for the drainage and water logging woes in Cuttack, the whole capital city is also facing bitter experience when it rains consistently for hours or days. Some residential parts and posh locations remain underwater not just creating challenges to shift the people to safer areas but posing imminent threats of health hazards.
The provision of dwelling houses for urban poor and destitute is again in a poor state. The quality of live in the slum areas is worst. The slums are denied minimum needs of life. Health and education are now better available to the moneyed people than the poor and marginalised sections. Again these two things are commercialized by the private institutions. The Government institutions are generally dominated by corrupt officials and become the centres of exploitations.
Radio, television and internet have now brought about a revolution in dissemination of information. The technologies are advancing fast and needs to be move faster. Good governance is now a far cry for the common citizens. In every moment, one or the other crime is committed. House breaking, chain snatching, robbery, rape, murder, burglary and hooliganism are rampant. The residents are in panic.
The Government administration itself is encouraging corruptions. There are some departments which have a name for money earning such as Revenue and police.
The Government is afraid of associating civil society in public affairs because it may stop siphoning off public funds. Cuttack and
Bhubaneswar are burning examples of corrupt activities where individual interests are more looked upon than common interest.
The State police record can say to what extent the women, children and the old people are safe and secured in our society and especially in the capital city. If the public servants join hands with goons and anti-social elements, imagine what will be fate of common man. Before preparing a list for Smart City, it is hoped the Government would take note of the discrepancies and try to improve the situation.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)