‘100 smart cities’ was a pertinent factor in the blueprint of Narendra Modi’s vision of achche din. But how far is the socio-culturally driven Indian middle class ready for the technology-driven smart cities, asks ANANYA BORGOHAIN
Imagine Delhi without the killing heat and biting dust, without the black piles of industrial smoke and sickly space crunch, without unsafe transportation and rush hour. UtopiaIJ Or actual ‘smart’ technological achievementIJ Progress or an utter scamIJ
One of the priorities and challenges of the Modi Government is to channelise its agenda of building 100 smart cities in India. Smart cities have been a part of Modi’s ‘achche din’ objective and even in the Budget this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced an allocation of Rs7,060 crore for the smart cities project.
What is a smart cityIJ
A ‘smart city’ is a highly advanced and structured urban space facilitated with sustainable infrastructure, real estate, data, connectivity and economic feasibility. It is fundamentally run by information technology. Reportedly, by 2050, the world’s population will be doubled. In India, the urban population is currently 31 per cent of the total population and it contributes over 60 per cent of India’s GDP. Apparently, 15 years hence, urban India will contribute nearly 75 per cent of the national GDP — which is why it is crucial that the Indian probability of 100 smart cities soon becomes an actuality.
How prepared is IndiaIJ
In a recent round table conference in Delhi organised with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Municipality of Amsterdam, Karuna Gopal, an internationally acclaimed advisor on smart cities and president of Foundation of Futuristic Cities, said that there could not be a better time for India to start building smart cities. In an economically vibrant, equity-oriented and environmentally safe setup, it would always be a safe bet to grasp the opportunity to build smart cities in India.
Gopal stressed that India has indeed started the work on its standards, indices and protocols. In fact, the country is also forging local and global partnerships to strengthen its PPP (public-private partnership) structuring for the endeavour. Besides uplifting the standard of living in the country, smart cities would also strive to improve business opportunities in India. The plan extends to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (1,500 km comprising six States), Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor: Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka, etc among others. Gopal also indicated that 20 cities would be a part of the first phase of the plan, followed by 40 in the next phase, and so on.
Eberhard van der laan, the Mayor of Amsterdam, said: “Amsterdam Smart City as an organisation is a public-private partnership, hosted by the Amsterdam Economic Board. It was initiated in 2009. Today, Amsterdam Smart City is a platform with over 12,000 contacts, 120 partners, 72 projects in the fields of mobility, energy, connectivity, (open) data, circularity and transformation. We have had positive developments, such as the rising popularity of electric vehicles, transition of energy, and easing SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) to produce new services. For instance, companies like TOON, Peer.by, and so on.”
Cathelijne Hermans, project manager of I Amsterdam, noted: “We Amsterdamers are demand driven and a public-private partnership. We focus on energy, data, connectivity, circularity, and have been doing so for five years. We are also a transit-oriented development. Amsterdam, for instance, isn’t a city built for cars. We are famous for using environment-friendly bicycles for daily commuting. With small steps like these, a lot of environmental problem in India, as well as its rising issue of space crunch, could be handled. The Indian-Dutch corporation is thus integral for urban development.”
Man v/s Machines
However, in the context of India, the smart cities project, as much as it is technologically driven, would also be socio-culturally driven. In the case of Amsterdam, because of collective public consciousness as well as because of the small size of the city, the project had bright prospects right from the beginning. But in India, in fact in its capital Delhi, amidst all the hustle and bustle that has engulfed the middle class, it is going to be a ferocious challenge to get the domestic players, the Indian aam aadmi into the game. But it is also equally a fact that while most projects are either to uplift the lower middle class or appease the powerful elite, this plan caters to the middle class, the category often ignored in the socio-political periphery.
Michael Bloomberg, former NYC Mayor, and Prime Minister Modi had recently announced a partnership to take forward the NDA Government’s smart cities initiative. Bloomberg Philanthropies, expected to help the Indian ministry in selecting the cities for the same, suggested 20 cities in the first phase of the work. The basis for picking the cities will revolve around specific logistics such as municipal reforms, e-governance, solid liquid wastes, and many others.
India at the same time, also has global collaborators such as USA, Japan, Spain, Germany, China etc. The aim is to build a 20 trillion dollar economy. Reportedly, statistics agree that irrespective of the ferocious debate that the land Acquisition Bill has generated of late, it too facilitates the smart cities project. IMF Chief Christine lagarde had recently said, “In this cloudy global horizon, India is a bright spot.” Only time will tell if India manages to sustain the paradigm.