New Approach of Urbanization with Smart Cities

Smart city mission was introduced in 2015, and since then the 100 smart cities has floated tenders worth
Rs. 382.07 billion and projects worth Rs 101.16 billion are completed in the 100 cities. The sudden
increase of city capacity of turning ideas to project is mainly because of new approach adopted in the
smart cities, were cities endeavor their aspirational project and showcase the progress in a competitive
platform.

Real Winners

The real winners in the smart city mission are tier 2 and tier 3 cities which can realize their dream
project transform the urban fabric of their cities. The smart city fund is a substantial amount for the city
when compared to their Municipal Budgets and therefore has become the foremost priority project for
these cities. A grant of 1000 crore over the period of 3-4 years is not a substantial amount for cities with
annual municipal budget over 3000 Cr, but it becomes a substantial amount for cities with annual
municipal budget less than a 1000 Cr. For Example, Ujjain city has initiated the MRIDA (Mahakaal
Rudrasagar Integrated Development Action Plan) project through smart city, which was conceptualized
and planned since 2007 under JnNURM and only fraction was approved because of limitation of funding
and expertise.

With the substantial A&OE investment capacity smaller cities are getting the exposure of national and
international expertise and are striving to achieve international project standards. The team of expert
are available full time and are supporting the cities with other projects and are building capacity of city
engineers and administrators.

Further, a competitive spirit amongst the cities and its administrators has boosted the growth along with
surge of innovative and iconic projects. The cities have particularly innovated in the direction of frugal
innovation (Smart Poles) and sustainable infrastructure (Solar Energy, Waste to energy, green buildings
etc.).

This is perfectly aligned with National Urban Development Strategy to urbanize tier 2 and 3 cities and
reduce the migration towards metro cities. With metro cities becoming prone to air pollution, traffic
congestion and high living cost an inclination towards tier 2 and tier 3 cities can already be felt in the city
residents, however infrastructure availability, facilities and job opportunities are the reason which are
still limiting the growth of tier 2 and 3 cities in comparison to metro cities. With smart cities diversified
development, it is a good attempt to improve the living quality of the city, and opportunity in these
cities. For example under smart city mission, few cities like__ and __ has initiated incubation centers for
startups. Infrastructure such as, integrated traffic management system, ICC, smart poles and
underground ducting are much advance infrastructure when compared to even metro cities. It is
assumed that such state of art development shall attract more companies and thus improve the
employment opportunity in the city.

Challenges in sustaining Smart Cities

There are certain challenges which are emerging with sustainability of smart city project which require
immediate attention. One of the major concerns is recurring revenue source of SPVs. Only cities banking
on capitalization of land bank can ensure revenue source, that too on an extended timeline. Cities with
no option of land monetization are bound to struggle with recurring income for maintenance of assets.
One of the primary sources of revenue, as identified in SCM, was Development Tax and Share in
Municipal Tax which has not been formulated in any of the cities. Handover of assets and operations to
respective departments is also a big issue. For example, maintenance of underground electrification
requires high recurring cost and electricity board is hesitant to take ownership of projects done by smart
city. Limitations of electricity board is their limited budget and limited expertise.

Future Smart Cities – Sustainable Development

As a global discourse on sustainable urban development, the evolved concept of smart cities is not just
use of ICT and rapid development but it is climate resilient and sustainable development. With cities
frequently becoming victim of natural calamities, it is evident for the cities to increase their dependency
on sustainable infrastructure and plan mitigation strategy for climate change. A city cannot be called
smart unless it is sustainable and is resilient to climate change. Flooding in Kerala is one of the recent
examples how ignorance of natural features in urban planning and development can take toll on human
habitation.

The cities contribute nearly 44% of total carbon emission. At present our cities are vulnerable and
imposes huge risks towards increased water stress, heat island effect, increased frequency and severity
of extreme weather events such as urban floods/ draughts. A recent NITI Ayaog report has revealed that
Twenty-one cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad will run out of groundwater by
2020, affecting 100 million people.

Despite understanding the severity of above concern, the capacity of cities is limited for efficient and
timely implementation of urban climate strategies. Few major challenges are pace of urbanization and
requirement of capital investment. Matching the pace of development and investment with the pace of
urbanization is almost unachievable in developing countries.

Multiple initiatives across the world has been initiated by funding agencies and cities for preparation of
development plans, policies and guidelines to address these issues. The Government of India has also
initiated various missions like, Green India Mission, National Clean Air Program and other infrastructure
development schemes which emphasize on sustainable infrastructure. In response to the same World
bank-initiated Green Infrastructure program in few countries. Green Infrastructure solutions include
wetlands, bio shields, buffer zones, green roofing, street side swales, porous pavements, wetlands,
mangroves, etc. Many of these technologies are very simple, can be produced locally and come at no or
very little additional cost. The Green Infrastructure is often also very durable, and thus provide better
return on investment on a long term. Few cities and industries are also emerging with innovative use of
technology to analyze city data (Big Data) and create simulations to predict city growth pattern and its
effect on environment and micro climate.

We believe that it is crucial for Indian cities adopt climate resilient infrastructure and create a more
livable city.