16/06/2015
Narendra Modi’s Smart City Mission: Creating Urban Livability
02
May2015
The Union Cabinet recently approved Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, widely known as 100 Smart Cities aiming to provide people better and healthy housings. As reported so far, the ambitious project is likely to fetch more than Rs 2 lakh crore investments (Union Minister Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said Modi’s dream project will fetch a minimum of Rs 2 lakh crore investment flow for the next five years). Therefore, the Cabinet’s approval is considered imperative on various counts; especially it’s anticipated to deliver concrete solution to India’s very old and often ignored issue – the urban livability or the urbanization to better serve the extensive migration from the rural areas!
Modi’s Smart City project will be a quantum leap for serving country’s large scale urban migration
The mass-scale migration delivered far-reaching effects in worsening ecosystem and housing conditions of urban cities. Unfortunately, these cities witnessed fiasco on the front of infrastructure development, majorly because of “unsatisfactory initiatives” taken by erstwhile governments.
Over the years, substantial surge in urban population was noted. The report backed by the United Nations said India is reaching on the brink of urban revolution. It predicted that the country’s urban population will reach 600 million by 2031. The country witnessed surge in urban population from 217 million to 377 million in the last two decades. The expected reach as predicted by New Climate Economy Report by the The Global Commission on the Economy and Climatewould ascend by 40% by the year 2031.
What upsetting result derived from the increasing urban population is the fact that urban cities didn’t get requisite investment for large-scale development to provide modern infrastructures against the corresponding population surge. If the status-quo of today’s urban areas is analyzed, we’ll most probably get their unimpressive depiction – overcrowded cities reeling under reduced infrastructures, gridlocked traffic, polluted neighbors, and the dismaying shortage of basic amenities! The dearth of these things illustrates sorrowful depiction of the modern-day urban areas and would remain plagued with their existing situations until supervened by the requisite initiatives, especially safe, hygienic and comfortable housing.
The large-scale migration from the rural areas against the correspondingly slower development of urban areas would yield ecological imbalance, not to mention the encumbering economy and settlement issues the urban cities would undergo. The urban population will keep uplifting due to mass-scale migration of people from different cities to other towns/cities in search of jobs. The status-quo will give rise to population density in the cities with lucrative job opportunities and better infrastructure facilities. This is where urbanization comes in the picture.
Urban cities pose crucial role for India’s dream to be superpower nation. At present, country’s GDP receives 60% contribution from the urban population. The same contribution is estimated to expedite up to 70% in 15 years. However, urban livability is sadly affected. Though the previous attempts at providing better infrastructure or generating new townships were institutionalized to tackle the issues, but they proved not good enough. The shortage of social infrastructure even in the developing special economic zones causes dearth of better education, healthcare, sports and arts etc.
When Modi-led NDA government was sworn into power in the year 2014, there was high hope among the common men for the new government to materialize the popular catchphrase – “Acche din ane wale hai.” That was the day when PM Modi revealed to the nation about his dream vision – 100 SMART CITIES. The announcement not only revealed India’s vision to deal with increasing urban population, but it also ensued the rat race among cities to get shortlisted in Unban Ministry’s compilation list. Mission smart city is the development-centric and distinctive project pioneered by Modi government featuring 100 smart cities equipped with basic infrastructure, retrofitting among other smart solutions.
Basic infrastructure facilities will include: Assured electricity and water supply, solid waste management, sanitation, tactful urban mobility, solid IT connectivity, efficient public transit, e-governance, and other features, including safety and security for the residents.
It may sound tantamount to a mere guesswork in reference with the possible impact that the Smart City will descend in future. However, there’s no denying the fact that the ambitious project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will most definitely provide breakthrough solutions in relation with infrastructural development, better housings and improved lifestyle, all dedicated to the vision of urbanization.
