·       
The Smart
Cities Mission is a creative and recent project by the Indian government that
aims to promote local development and use technology to produce smart outcomes
for citizens in order to increase economic growth and improve people’s quality
of life.

·       
A
“smart city” is one that has the fundamental infrastructure necessary
to provide a respectable standard of living as well as a healthy and
sustainable environment.

·       
It
consists of the most fundamental infrastructure, such as a sufficient supply of
water, energy, sanitary facilities that are sustainable, solid waste
management, effective urban transportation, reasonably priced housing, and
strong IT connectivity and e-governance.

·       
The most
urgent demands and life-improving potential are the focus of Smart Cities.

·       
To alter
things, they use a variety of strategies, including public-private
partnerships, best practices in urban planning, digital and information
technology, and policy change. They constantly prioritize people.

Its main Objectives

·       
The goal
of the Smart Communities Mission is to “promote cities that provide basic
infrastructure, give its residents a respectable standard of living, a clean
and sustainable environment, and the implementation of ‘Smart’ Solutions.”

·       
The
objective is to look at compact regions and construct a repeatable model that
will operate as a lighthouse for other aspirant cities, with an emphasis on
sustainable and inclusive development.

·       
The goal
of the Smart Cities Mission is to provide models that can be used to create
similar Smart Cities both inside and outside of the Smart City. This will help
the country as a whole.

COVERAGE
AND DURATION

The Mission will last for five years and encompass 100 cities (FY2015-16
to FY2019-20).

Following a review by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), the
Mission might be resumed after incorporating the lessons learned.

FINANCING
OF SMART CITIES

The Central Government wants to provide financial support to the Smart
City Mission in the amount of Rs. 48,000 crores over five years, or on average
Rs. 100 crores per city each year. The Smart City Mission would be run as a
Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

The State/ULB will be required to provide an equal amount on a matching
basis, making almost Rs. 1 lakh crore in government/ULB funds available for the
creation of smart cities.

Progress up
until now

1.     
89 cities
have been chosen three years after the announcement, yet little has changed in
terms of urban transformation.

2.     
A few
cities have approached the challenge with seriousness. Pune has started by
issuing municipal “smart city” bonds in order to raise money.

3.     
An urban
knowledge center, a high-tech transit signal system, and a multimodal railway
hub have all been introduced in Bhubaneswar.

4.     
Through a
command and control center, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation has begun
implementing mini-sewerage plants, Wi-Fi-activated “smart” street
lighting, and city surveillance systems.

5.     
However,
most cities are still having trouble with their initial planning, and project
financial close is still a ways off.

6.     
More
crucially, little has been done to identify and describe private investment.

Concerns/Challenges
faced by the Indian government

1.     
Smart
cities serve as specialized vehicles that have broken away from conventional
urban governing frameworks.

2.     
Instead of
a citywide inclusive development, it may result in the development of
particular regions.

3.     
Governments
at the state and local levels lack the fine-grained data or the analytical
tools necessary to comprehend the changing requirements of their constituents.

4.     
Despite
the fact that India’s Smart Cities Mission has identified over 20 priority
areas, the interventions made by the appropriate organizations are ineffective.

5.     
Inadequate
attention is paid to how urban municipal bodies operate.

6.     
Only
around 3% of the urban regions connected to these smart cities will use the
Area Based Development strategy, which involves building a sewage system
somewhere or a network of roads in another city.

7.     
Urban
local governments are understaffed and unprofessional on both a technical and
human level.

Conclusion

On the way to smartness, there are undoubtedly
many opportunities for immediate gains that can be seized with an agile
approach to policy.

Instead of focusing solely on a
technology-driven vision, the plan should acknowledge that diverse and
supportive settings are essential to a city’s lively vitality.

The wise course of action involves having clean
common areas, simple movement, and a foundation of dependable civic services.

It is crucial to concentrate on local governance
as urbanization becomes more prominent in the discussion of global policy.