The steady pace of global population growth is corresponding to migration towards urban areas, leading experts to predict that the world’s urban population will double by 2050.
In India, the urban population is currently 31 percent of the total global population and contributes over 60 percent to the GDP of the country.
The cities are referred to as the drivers of economic growth. It is expected that three-fourths of Indians will live in cities by 2030.
Large scale urbanization means cities must be equipped with a coping mechanism to manage influx from rural areas, increase productivity and efficiency, reduce strain on resources and improve the quality of life. In short, cities must become “smart”.
Transforming cities
With its urban population set to rise by more than 400 million to 814 million by 2050, India faces the kind of mass urbanization witnessed in China.
Many of its cities are already bursting at the seams. Ahead of the General Elections last May, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised 100 Smart Cities by 2022 to accommodate rapid urbanization.
What exactly is a “Smart City”? The intersection between competitiveness, capital and sustainability is what makes a city capable of giving a quality of life to its inhabitants.
According to the Smart Cities website of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India (indiansmartcities.in): “The Smart Cities should be able to provide good infrastructure such as water, sanitation, reliable utility services, health care; attract investments; transparent processes that make it easy to run commercial activities; simple and online processes for obtaining approvals.”
Accomplishments
Smart Cities Council India has been formed to promote development of Smart Cities in the country.
It is part of the US-based Smart Cities Council, a consortium of smart city practitioners and experts, with 100-plus members and adviser organizations operating in over 140 countries.
The mission of building 100 Smart Cities intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available resources and infrastructure with the objective of enhancing the quality of urban life and providing a clean and sustainable environment.
The initiative could get a boost with a template readied by the European Union. The union government plans to spend Rs.48,000 crore on creating these Smart Cities over the next five years.
For now, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), the first such model city, has modern underground infrastructure and two office blocks and there is a plan in place for a planned metropolis, complete with high-rises, drinking water, automated waste collection and dedicated power supply.
GIFT promises to be a financial hub and aims to compete with India’s own financial capital of Mumbai and international cities.
Technology helps maximize utilization of resources by leveraging data collected from sensors, controls and real time data analytics.
It can be used to improve key segments like buildings, which consume 40 percent of all energy in India as well as utilities, healthcare, governance, transportation and education. This move could reverse decades of neglect.
In fact, in cities such as Dholera and Surat in the west and Visakhapatnam in the east, aid from organizations such as Microsoft, IBM and Cisco has already started coming in to assist this massive makeover exercise.
Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee shared that her government would develop seven Smart Cities in the state. which would have all modern facilities for decent living.
These Smart Cities will come up near Siliguri, near Gazol in Malda district, near Kalyani in Nadia district, near Bolpur in Birbhum district, near the industrial towns of Asansol-Durgapur covering Churulia, birthplace of Kazi Nazrul Islam, near Garia in the southern outskirts of Kolkata and the near the state secretariat Nabanna.
Thus, Smart Cities and rejuvenation of cities will not only lay out the path for more livable cities but provide the required growth engine for the Indian economy. — SG
