{"id":256966,"date":"2015-10-25T22:12:40","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T16:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tehelka.com\/?p=256966"},"modified":"2015-10-25T22:12:40","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T16:42:40","slug":"cool-idea-sloppy-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/cool-idea-sloppy-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Cool Idea, Sloppy Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"No
No haste<\/strong> Smart cities should be planned\u00a0meticulously rather than being rushed into<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThink of a global smart city and most will come up with the obvious names \u2013 London, New York, Mexico City and Singapore (though the latter is a country). However, when the International Community Forum (ICF), a New York-based think tank, announced its 2015 list of seven finalists, it didn\u2019t include the above-mentioned large urban conglomerates. Apart from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the others were smaller. Unknown ones like Columbus (US), Ipswich (Australia) and New Taipei City (Taiwan).
\nIn November this year, when Venkaiah Naidu, the minister for urban development, selects the first list of 20 cities, out of 98, which will initially become \u2018intelligent\u2019, it may spring a few surprises. What if the initial list comprises names like Namchi (Sikkim) with a population of just over 12,000, Kavaratti (Lakshadweep) with just over 11,000 people, and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh) with a population of nearly 25,000? It will finally boil down to the \u2018Smart City Plan\u2019 that the selected consultants design and devise for the various shortlisted cities.
\nHerein lies the problem. In the hurry to implement the proposal, Naidu shortcircuited the process. The definition, vision and scope of a smart city was left vague as well as all-encompassing. The time required to achieve the objectives was squeezed to unreasonably short periods. As one of the consultancy firms, which refused to participate in the project, says, \u201cThe final outputs, in terms of city-specific blueprints and plans, may turn out to be a cut-and-paste job borrowed from global examples. There may be little or no innovations in it.\u201d
\nNOT-SO-SMART VISION<\/strong><\/span>
\nTo be fair to the government, it admitted that there was no \u201cuniversally-accepted definition\u201d of a smart city. On its website, www.smartcities.gov.in, it added that the concept would vary from city to city, country to country, and depend both on the policymakers and citizens. Clearly, a smart city in Europe or the US would be different from that in India; even in this country, different cities would require different plans. One-size-fits-all strategy cannot work. This is sheer common sense that stems from our own experiences of cities and towns.
\nUnfortunately, the urban development ministry insisted that the focus of its smart-cities vision was on \u201csustainable and inclusive development and the idea to look at compact areas and create a replicable model which will act like light house to other aspiring cities.\u201d The ministry note added that the idea was to replicate the models even within the smart cities and catalyse the \u201ccreation of smart cities in various regions and parts of the country.\u201d Clearly, there are inherent contradictions in the underlying philosophy of the overall plan.
\nThe ministry has, in its \u2018strategy\u2019 document, included the concept of \u2018pan-city development\u2019. It envisages the \u201capplication of selected smart solutions to the existing city-wide infrastructure.\u201d Pancity is an additional feature that needs to be a part of any proposal. The idea: \u201cSince smart city is taking a compact area approach, it is necessary that all the city residents feel there is something in it for them also.\u201d Thus, there has to be at least one, or ideally several, smart solutions to make the schemes seem \u2018inclusive\u2019.
\nOver the next few years, the idea of pan-city solution(s) may create several problems. One, in a bid to achieve the objective, the agencies that implement it may take a few shortcuts. It may lead to incomplete execution. Two, some of these agencies may resort to corrupt practices to cajole the municipal bodies to officially confirm that the solutions pan across the cities. Finally, the external planners may incorporate easy solutions in their plans, rather than think out-of-the-box.
\nSCOOP THE SCOPE<\/span><\/strong>
\nIf one analyses the various government documents related to smart cities, one finds that scope of the work is both vague and all-encompassing. For example, its core infrastructure elements include adadequate water supply, assured electricity, efficient public transport, affordable housing, robust it connectivity, good egovernance, sustainable development and public safety. Municipal bodies cannot deliver such results. Even state governments cannot, unless there is an unheard of coordination between its various ministries and departments.
\nAmong the specifics mentioned in the \u2018essential features\u2019 of any smart city plan are quantitative features for assured electricity supply, 10 percent of the energy requirements should be solar. Efficient public transport has to incorporate \u2018encouragement to non-motorised transport\u2019, like walking and cycling. In case of greenfield projects, as opposed to retrofit and redevelopment ones, 80 percent of the buildings have to be green and energy-efficient. These are mere figures that will obviously be twisted and tweaked by the implementing agencies.
\nMost of the global smart cities are more focused and have a single overriding target. In the case of Arlington Country (US), which featured in the ICF list of seven cities, the aim was to \u201creduce its vulnerability to Federal decision-making\u201d, as explained in a Forbes article. Being close to the US capital, Washington, this city is home to the Pentagon and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It designed \u2018The Arlington Way\u2019 strategy after the US Department of Defense decided to vacate 3.2 million square feet of land and export 13,000 jobs out of the city.
\nNew Taipei City\u2019s focus was mainly on broadband. In the past five years, the city increased the internet penetration rate to 91 percent, with most on 100 Mbps service. According to the Forbes article, it also \u201cconnected more than 300 schools, put tablets and computers into classrooms and has facilitated the installation of more than 10,000 wi-fi hotspots in convenient stores\u201d. The broadband advances were joined with a \u2018Knowledge-bridge\u2019 project to drive collaborations between the industry and universities to improve skills and create jobs.
\nSMART CITY, STUPID PEOPLE<\/strong><\/span>
\nA consultant observes that \u201can inherent condition to make a city smart is to have smart citizens.\u201d Minus the latter, what a smart-city plan will finally achieve is the creation of infrastructure that becomes redundant or inadequate within a short period of time. Past experiences in Delhi and Mumbai prove this conclusively. In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, India\u2019s capital constructed a string of infrastructure: the same flyovers, widened roads, subways and overhead bridges. All of them are either jampacked or under-used.
\nTherefore, what is needed along with smart cities is a communications strategy to make the citizens smart. Although nda-2 has launched nationwide ad campaigns for its schemes such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan<\/em> and Selfies with Daughter, experts feel that they may not yield results. The reason: research has proved that what is required in India is a \u2018participatory\u2019 and \u2018localised\u2019 messaging to cater to the specific needs of the local communities. The same needs to be devised to make the locals understand the scope and canvas of a smart city.
\n
\n
\"Germane
Germane issues<\/strong> PM Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed various issues related to developing smart cities in<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nAt the end of the day, a smart city has to allow the policymakers to \u201cengage more effectively and actively with its citizens\u201d, as defined by a few experts. It needs to be interactive, and allow participation by the local communities. Another definition states that a smart city has to create \u201csustainable economic development and high quality of life\u201d through \u201chuman capital, social capital, and\/or ICT infrastructure.\u201d Thus, it is not merely the smart solutions or use of it that\u2019s critical; individuals and local societies have to be involved in the process.
\nIn Surrey (Canada), which is included in the ICF\u2019s list, the city formed the Mayor\u2019s Health Technology Working Group, which comprised 50 representatives from universities, the health authority, non-profit organisations, business associations, the government and developers, to evolve a vision. The Group\u2019s goal is to boost local employment by 50 percent. In Arlington, a \u201cformal structure of more than 40 citizen advisory groups and commissions… influences decisions on everything from land-use to technology\u201d and seeks ways to \u201creinvent the way citizens engage with the government.\u201d
\nRACE TO BE SMART<\/span><\/strong>
\nNaidu\u2019s biggest mistake lies in his rush to brush up the 98 cities. Initially, the consultants have 100 days to formulate the Smart City Plans (SCPs). Experts feel that the time is too limited. \u201cWe have evolved several plans on public health for various cities,\u201d says one of them, \u201cand such exercises take a year or more. Even when the state governments and local bodies help with the information and past projects, we have found that the reality on the ground is different. Official information is invariably out of date, and projects\u2019 achievements are exaggerated. Most important, the citizens\u2019 ideas are different, even contradictory, with those of the policymakers.\u201d
\nWhat may happen with the SCPs is that the consultants will merely \u2018beg, borrow and steal\u2019 from the existing plans of the various cities. It may end up as a \u2018cut-and-paste\u2019 job without any understanding of the local needs and city-specific realities. Thanks to this lack of information, the consultants will focus on the creation of infrastructure, which is more visible, without any consideration to how it will be used by the local population. A prime example is Delhi\u2019s Bus Rapid Transit System, popularly known as the BRT, which was initially criticised and then scrapped.
\nThe SCPs may be half-baked because the winning bidders will be those who quote the least. They are unlikely to spend too much on research. There is a fear that consultants may be in cahoots with the municipal bodies.
\nThe former may prepare the SCP for a ridiculous amount, say Rs 500,000, to grab the projects, and offer cuts to the latter at the implementation stage. Experts contend that this has happened in a few cases. \u201cNo consultant can prepare a smart city plan for a few lakhs of rupees. It implies that it would conduct only online research,\u201d says one of them.
\nSEE THE MONEY As per the government\u2019s figures, the Centre will spend Rs 48,000 crore over five years to smarten 98 cities. This translates into an average of Rs 100 crore per city per year. An equal amount will come from the respective states or municipal bodies. Thus, nearly Rs 100,000 crore will be available over the five-year period. Is a sum of\u00a0 Rs 200 crore per year or Rs 1,000 crore over five years enough to create a smart city? Obviously no! To cite an example, Delhi spent an astounding\u00a0 Rs 66,550 crore on its facelift prior to the Commonwealth Games. Of this, Rs 5,700 crore went to build new flyovers and pedestrian bridges. The expansion of the Delhi Metro required Rs 16,887 crore, and an additional\u00a0 Rs 35,000 crore was spent on new power plants to provide assured electricity.
\n
\"Handle
Handle with care<\/strong> Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu & co must tread with caution with regard to smart cities<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nEven if one accepts that these are exaggerated figures and a lot of money was siphoned off during the Games, NDA-2\u2019s vision of a smart city will require tens of thousands of crores of rupees over a longterm period.
\nEven the Centre recognised this fact. In its document on the financing of smart cities, it said, \u201cIt is anticipated that substantial funds will be required\u201d. The grants from the Centre and states \u201cwill meet only a part of the project cost\u201d and, hence, these grants need to be \u201cleveraged to attract funding from internal and external sources.\u201d The internal sources may include higher user fees and beneficiary charges and the external ones can include municipal bonds, borrowings from financial institutions and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
\nHowever, all these are fraught with problems. Most municipal bodies are financially unviable; of the three in Delhi \u2014 East Municipal Corporation, North Municipal Corporation and New Delhi Municipal Corporation \u2014 only one makes money. While the East and North incurred an annual loss of Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore, respectively, New Delhi earned a small profit of\u00a0 Rs 335 crore in 2013-14.
\nIf the local bodies hike user charges, it will anger the consumers, which puts the entire concept of citizen-friendly smart cities in jeopardy.
\nGiven such financial woes, the municipalities cannot raise money through bonds and external borrowings. In the recent past, PPPS in the infrastructure sectors have proved to be unviable and inefficient. Thus, the only option before most of the local bodies is to raise additional amounts through grants from bilateral and multilateral institutions.
\nWhile the idea to create smart cities is an excellent one, the government may end up making them more stupid and citizen- unfriendly. Instead of plunging into the concept, it may be better to think it through, and evolve a plan that\u2019s useful. More importantly, smart cities are not created in a physical manner but in the minds of the people. Most importantly, Rome was not built in a day or five years. Globally, most smart cities have a 20-30 years horizon.
\neditor@tehelka.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In its haste to smarten 98 cities across the country, the Modi regime may create a set of new problems and end up with half-baked solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":256969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56],"tags":[9418,429,9419,3410,9420,71,9421,895,4838,5163,1925,9422,9423,9417],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256966"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}