Will India’s smart city dream ever be feasible?
Will India’s smart city dream ever be feasible?
Waterlogged streets, traffic jams — smart cities could have trouble taking off in India
On July 28, traffic came to a grinding halt in Gurgaon, India’s so-called Millennium City. Stuck in waterlogged roads for anywhere from six to 16 hours, many motorists slept in their cars, braved the flood, or gave vent to their frustration on social media.
“Monster traffic jam in Gurgaon is a reminder that we need basic cities before we need Smart cities,” one tweeted.
Monster traffic jam in Gurgaon is a reminder that we need basic cities before we need Smart cities.
— SamSays (@samjawed65) July 28, 2016
The tweeter is referring to the Smart Cities Mission, an ambitious program launched last year by the Ministry of Urban Development and state governments to develop smart cities as satellite towns of larger cities and modernise mid-sized ones. Thirteen cities, in addition to 20 announced last year, have been chosen to roll out the program, which will eventually cover 100 cities across the subcontinent.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive, India’s versions of smart cities will, among other features, have 100 percent household access to WiFi and boast maximum public commute times of 30 to 45 minutes.
For the program, India’s Union government is prepared to provide financial support of INR480 billion (USD7.1 billion) over five years via a private-public partnership model.
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To its credit, Gurgaon has not been included yet in the roll-out, although its exclusion has sent some government officials into uproar, with one declaring Gurgaon a “super smart city” anyway. At least one official was more receptive of the exclusion, admitting that Gurgaon has a “flawed model of development.”
“How can a city become smart without proper infrastructure?” said Ramesh Menon, director for Gurgaon’s Certes Realty.
“In order to unlock cities’ full potential, they need to remain focused on simultaneously developing basic services and infrastructure,” said Hany Fam, executive vice president for Enterprise Partnerships with Mastercard, which has partnered with mobile ticketing provider Cubic Transportation Systems, to launch a platform that delivers analytics to smart city planners.
“With its ambitious plan, it is more crucial than ever for India to stay realistic and focused. For smart city planning and development, India needs a collaborative approach of shared technology, expertise, learning and governance. That is what India needs to keep focused on to meet their 100 Smart City goal.”
Read next: Sustainable Cities: The big city picture
Source: Property Report