Smart Cities in India

Myths & Facts

K Venkateswara Rao
(kvrao59@gmail.com)
 Present Cities are
smart. Even rural
Present Cities are not
areas are also smart
smart
to some extent or
other

Smartness is a relative term

 Smartness in present cities
•OLA Cabs
•Intelligent Traffic Signals
• Google Maps showing way
• Purchasing online any thing right from
vegetables
• Cooking Gas booking
• Auto detection of Burglary
• Reminders of credit card payments, flight status
and so on

Making the cities smarter is a continues process

Sky is the limit
 Few more smarter options
•Govt to develop an app like OLA or UBER app
•Allow every 2/4 wheeler users of the city to be on such
app so that they can pick up some commuters
•Which route is least congested?
•Which route is least polluted?
• Google Maps like maps for different services
• Auto debit devices
• What is next bus arriving?
• When will bus of my route is expected?
• Which area is flooded?
• Which location has leakage of water mains?
• Where is parking space available?
Integrating all services into a single window is
next level of smartness
 Some more smarter options
•Multipurpose smart card – for bus, train, metro,
parking fee and all payments to government
•Spread habitations. Do not concentrate at one
place (Like in Kerala, Haryana states)
•Like Google earth – Have layers and layers of
services, options on city map
•Encourage cycling. Create exclusive cycle
tracks, cycle parkings and so on.
•Encourage walking tracks.

Endless list of smarter options is possible

 Availability of Services

•Where is pest control service available?

•Purohits
•Where to get cow dung cakes?
•Plumbers, masons, carpenters
•Gardeners
 Reduce Garbage Generation
•Educate how to bifurcate garbage at source
itself.
•Encourage household garbage incinerators
•Ban Plastic glasses
•Ban Thermocol plates
•Ban Plastic Spoons
•Ban Polythene bags
•Dumping garbage / debris at unauthorised place
should be an offence

This is the top most attribute for a smart city

Smart Cities are Built Smart Cities are Built
by Government by Citizens

City becomes smart not by how they are

built but How they are used
Government or the Local Body
role is to provide

IT Backbone
Free Wi-Fi
Guide lines on Smart Cities
By Ministry of Urban Development says:
Smart Cities to be self sustaining
Smart Cities are
Smart Cities are not
intelligent or IT
necessarily IT centric
centric
Some Non – IT smart solutions
•Pillar numbers in flyovers in cities
•Numbers on Metro rail pillars
•Passenger Guidance System in Airports
•Ban plastics
•Different timings for different institutions
(schools, government offices etc)
•Different timings for different vehicles
•Put cap on number of cars, bykes and so on
•Rain Water Harvesting for every house hold
•Control using POP Ganesas during Navaratri
Smart City means Smart City means
Advanced City Basic City
 Basic things which make cities smarter

•Water Supply Engineering

•Sanitary Engineering
•Transport Planning
•Urban Planning
•Environmental Science
•Socialization
Focus of IT should be:
how it can enhance efficacy of above basic things
Flip Side of advanced systems

•They become obsolete even before the system

is implemented
•Government can not upgrade the systems
frequently
 “Smart City”
Smart City means
Means implementing
making new systems
the already laid rules
and new rules

Implementation of existing rules

&
Smart use of existing facilities
Is a smarter way of living
 “Smart City” is “Smart City”
a city designed as an Is a Buzz word
Ideal City

Like
Swach Bharat - Garibi Hatavo
India is Shining - Amaravati
 Private Investment is
not so successful
even in sectors of
Smart City should be
assured revenue.
conceptualized on
In urban smart
revenue model to
services, making a
attract private
private investment
investment
viable is far from
reality

This is stipulated in Smart City Guide

Lines issued by MUD
 Urbanization grows
Urbanization is
and grows.
grown.
We should prepare
for that

Industries department can be at one city.

Commercial Taxes department can be at another city
High Court can be at different city.
IT can be at different town
Each tier-II or even tier-III city can be head quarters of an
activity
 Real Estate
Citizens decide how
Developers decide
city should grow
how city should grow

Hon’ble PM of India Modiji told this

Cities can never be smarter as long as REAL Estate

considerations override other considerations
 “Smart City” policy of Indian Govt

•Rs 100 Crores per annum grant for 5 years

•Equal Matching grant from State Govt
•An SPV (one for each smart city) with central
and state govts equity participation is formed
•SPV identifies the projects and implements
•Project should be pan-city based
•Consultant should be appointed to prepare a
blue print for each city
•SPV should implement the blue print
•Taking the equity as seed capital, SPV should
develop self financing models
 The Last Word
•The investments envisaged are reasonably big
•A competent urban planner should be engaged for
each smart city
•Urban planner should capture the physical ground
features rather than relying on some documents and
reports alone
•Design the city from basics keeping in view the
physical limitations and the budget limitations
•IT can be dovetailed as per need. Prime focus
should be on “Basic Urban Planning” rather than on
tech savvy IT solutions
•Make the plan really a Pan-City
•Implement the plan and make the cities little more
livable