Smart growth for 98 cities shortlisted by Government
The Government recently selected 98 cities as part of its ambitious Smart City Mission. The program is among the three flagship urban schemes to create self-sustaining urban centers in the country. It is aimed at developing cities into engines of growth, while improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. This initial list of nominations marks the first stage in the selection process of smart cities in India, wherein State Governments nominated potential cities with the finalists being selected by the Central Government. The list was compiled based on a nationwide competition in which each State / Union Territory had to nominate at least one city.
As per the recently released list of names, the states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu dominated the list of probable smart cities with the inclusion of 12 cities each, followed by Maharashtra (10 cities) and Madhya Pradesh (7 cities). Most of these shortlisted cities are state capitals, prominent industrial / business centers, tourism hubs, port cities, education and health care hubs in respective states.
Metros such as Chennai, Greater Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Greater Mumbai, which have a population of more than 5 million each, and other important urban areas such as New Delhi Municipal Council, Vishakhapatnam, Chandigarh, Surat, Kochi, Bhopal, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Jaipur, Allahabad and Lucknow, among others, have also made the cut. Prominent cities which have failed to be included in the first stage of the selection process include Bangalore, Kolkata, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.
Each of these finally selected cities will be required to prepare and submit a proposal outlining details such as the revenue model, financing options and development models that they plan to adopt. After the proposal is evaluated by a panel of national and international experts, organizations and institutions, the winning cities will proceed towards upgrading themselves to the ‘Smart’ criteria, while other cities will start work on improving their proposals for reconsideration. The implementation of the mission at the city level would be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and the government will provide INR 2000 million (USD 30 million) to the Top 20 cities of this selection process in the first year, followed by INR 1,000 million (USD 15 million) to each city each year over a period of three years for its development.
Smart growth ahead for urban India?
These 98 cities constitute approximately 35% (130 million) of the total urban population in the country. It is therefore imperative to develop and promote these urban centers to support and sustain urbanization in the long run in the country. This can be achieved by retrofitting, redeveloping or adopting a Greenfield development of the city, while taking into account the evolving global environment.
The successful development of these smart cities will now hinge on their effective implementation and monitoring at a central as well as state level. Huge fund mobilization, government capacity building at the state and city level and public private partnerships will be required for development of these cities. Emphasis should be given on providing core infrastructure such as waste management, efficient urban mobility / public transport and good governance in the form of e-governance and citizen participation. A seamless integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) would go a long way in providing a decent quality of life, while ensuring a clean and sustainable environment.
However, the Government has to ensure that sufficient funds are available at each stage of development while time and cost overruns along with regulatory conflicts, if any, are addressed at the earliest. The actual scale of funding could be much higher than the government estimates; consequently, there is an urgent need to implement funding instruments such as Infrastructure investment trusts, and involve greater private sector participation (even at the planning stage) in this program. The SPV which will execute and oversee the development activity of smart cities should adopt the latest in information technology, best practices in urban planning and public private partnership models, and make changes to existing policies, if needed, to make these cities really successful.
An aggressive execution of our smart cities is likely to stimulate India’s real estate sector, as well as other ancillary industries, such as construction materials; while generate significant employment for both skilled and unskilled labor in the long run. This can be a game changer for India as it can stimulate economic growth, besides improving the quality of urban life for millions of people.
CBREalty India 