Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Idea of creating smart cities is not bad' that was published in Newsband

Idea of creating smart cities is not bad

The Union Cabinet’s nod to the 100 smart cities project and a new urban renewal mission is an important step. A shade less than a third of India’s population now lives in urban areas, overcrowded cities and towns with infrastructure bursting at the seams. More Indians migrate to the cities and towns in search of jobs. Cities are engines of growth, and as a result attract a lot of people. The country’s urban population contributes over 60 per cent of India’s GDP.

Creating a smart city isn’t just about creating the physical infrastructure — roads, clean water, power, transport and so on, things India finds difficult to deliver to its citizens nearly seven decades after Independence. The big challenge will be to create self-sustaining cities, which create jobs, use resources wisely and also train people.

Whether that can happen is a moot question depending heavily on the maturity of the Indian political system. It is in this regard people need to engage. Having entrusted care of their hard earned tax money in the hands of politicians, all they can only do is to continue to monitor how they are spending that money. People need to come together in their local ward level and monitor how much money is being allocated for their ward improvement, and how the projects are being executed on an routine basis. Being so engaged shows their patriotism and also gives them better returns for their tax money. It is in this space that several NGOs are operating to bring the people to work with their local govt. at their local level.

Major problem for this plan is that in our country corruption grabs everything easily and in this kind of project government needs much more time and financial support and proper monitoring upon this project, and this is a kind of hard task to do.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's idea of satellite cities have been already tried successfully in Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. This does not require any funds and will be self sustaining. In fact the Navi Mumbai is cash rich and helping the state of Maharashtra. It is a puzzle why no government is trying this successful model and making the life of people more comfortable and create some funds for the government also.

According to some people, the 100 smart cities project and a new urban renewal mission sounds good on paper. But in practice it will only be money-spinner enterprise for the Contractor, Builders & Developers and Service providers. The ordinary city dweller would pay increased taxes out of his nose in return for a high cost of living and low on commensurate amenities and civic facilities. Leaders as ever will protect the illegal slums and the filth would continue to haunt. Farmers would sell their lands adjoining these cities to builders and agricultural sector will get a further jolt.

Anyway, states have been given autonomy and finances to proceed by choosing the cities they want to ramp up and create new models of efficiency and achieve next level of governance. But the money to be spent on creating infrastructure, institutions and supposedly people friendly zones of interaction and communication must keep people and that too of all the stratum at the forefront. "Exclusive zones" should be avoided and there must be opportunities for all to work, play, earn and create a living.