No Smart City tag for New Town in Rajarhat

There was a proposal to make New Town in Rajarhat into a Smart City because it had made it to the shortlist of 13 prospective smart cities this May - it was its second attempt. However, the state cabinet has taken a decision of not pursuing the project. With an investment of %s 500-crore of the center and an equal amount by the State, New Town could have boasted of having new-age amenities such as intelligent street lamps with integrated distress buttons, multi-nodal transport hubs and smart bus stops.
But, Bengal has spurned the offer and it is so far the only state to have done so.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 18 August 2016.

The decision of the cabinet would be communicated to Delhi. The chief minister Mamata Banerjee had indicated much earlier that she did not want to include New Town in this central project and the cabinet has formalized this decision.
The decision would translate into losing out on a number of benefits besides smart solutions to everyday problems like a modern water treatment plant, an entertainment zone spread over 2,450sq m between Home Town and Axis Mall, cycling tracks along all thoroughfares, a senior citizens' park and e-health clinics. It comes as a huge disappointment for those who have invested their life's savings in properties in New Town. They were eagerly waiting for civic amenities in New Town to be upgraded because, as it stands, they do not have many amenities.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Bhubaneswar promoting cycling as a part of its Smart City initiative

Cycling is a healthy and non-polluting way of travel and Bhubaneswar is promoting this activity as a part of its Smart City initiative. One of the key initiatives among Bhubaneswar's smart city proposal include construction of dedicated cycle tracks and pedestrian footpaths along key transport corridors. The civic body has already identified spots for construction of the tracks.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 17 July 2016.

Such cycling tracks already exist on the stretch between AG Square and Capital Hospital Square and some more tracks would be constructed. The civic body had been promoting cycling at the weekly Raahgiri event. Here bicycle rides are offered in partnership with an NGO. People were allowed to hire bicycles against a refundable fee of Rs 100 by producing identity proof.
Moreover, there is a cycling club where members have cycled at night from Bhubaneswar to Puri to Konark and back, covering 160km. Cycling not only helps to maintain fitness but is also a great way to experience nature. It seems people of the city are no longer averse to buying high-end cycles.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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'Smart City' Bhubaneswar to build five additional bus depots

The city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha has already got the tag of 'Smart City' and, efforts have been initiated by the authorities to improve mobility of the people in the city. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has drawn up plans to have five more bus depots in the city so that an additional 500 buses can be accommodated. These will ply on the city roads within next two years as part of the smart city initiative.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 5 June 2016.

The tentative plan is to have a five acre land for each of the proposed bus depot each of which will accommodate 100 buses. At present there is only one such depot in Pokhariput. Other depots are proposed to be set up at Pandra, Ghatikia, Nakhara, Patia and Patrapada.
According to the national benchmark recommendations, six buses for every 10,000 person. Since the population of the city has touched 10 lakh, it is necessary to have 600 buses to ensure smooth public transport system. The authorities had planned to create 100 more bus stops on public-private-partnership mode in the city and 98 bus stops are operational.


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Government announces another 13 Smart Cities with Lucknow on top

The government has announced 13 winners of Fast track Smart City competition and Lucknow topped the list. Others are Warangal, Dharamsala, Chandigarh, Raipur, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Panaji, Port Blair, Imphal, Ranchi, Agartala and Faridabad - in that order.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 24 May 2016.

Various criteria for being labeled as a Smart City are - assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation. Under the Smart City Mission, a total of 100 cities across the country will be identified and developed as smart cities by 2019-20. The Union government will provide financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.
Already 20 smart cities were selected during 2015-16 as per the Mission guidelines. Another 40 would be selected during 2016-17 and the remaining 40 during the next financial year. Each city that will be selected in different rounds of competition will be given central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore each during the subsequent three financial years. State governments and respective urban local bodies will be expected to provide matching funds of the same amount to the cause.


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Mumbai offers best quality of life, Thiruvananthapuram retains second position

The Annual Survey of India's City-Systems (ASICS) survey conducted by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, had taken into account a total of 18 states. As per the report, all the 21 cities had very low scores in comparison to cities like London and New York. This would indicate that major reforms are needed in municipal governance to counteract the increasing pressure on major urban centres.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 15 March 2016.

The result is - Mumbai topped the list with Thiruvananthapuram at second position. Delhi was at fifth last year and has slipped to sixth position while Bhubaneswar, which ranked number one in the smart cities contest recently, came 18th in the list. Obviously, the standards set internally for Smart City are a far cry from international standards.
Chandigarh, one of the planned cities, remained at the bottom for the second time in a row. Hyderabad has moved up from 17 to nine within a span of one year and Kanpur, which ranked at 14 in 2014, moving up six spots last year. It is interesting to note that while the score of all Indian cities continue be in the range of 2 to 4.2 on a scale of zero to 10, cities like London and New York have scored 9.4 and 9.7 respectively.
These would tend to imply that Indian cities are grossly under-prepared to deliver a high quality of life that is sustainable in the long term.


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United States lauds Prime Minister Modi's initiative to create 100 smart cities

US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews has lauded the initiative of Prime Minister Modi to create 100 smart cities. Bruce Andrews had traveled to India last week as leader of a high-powered delegation of 18 American companies on a Smart Cities Infrastructure Business Development Mission. In his opinion, the plan can also offer a unique and important opportunity for American businesses.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 20 February 2016.

The ambitious plan to develop 100 smart cities can enhance quality of life for its citizens and help the country meet all environmental goals. Andrews has appreciated Priime Minister Modi's leadership in revitalizing India's economic development.
The smart cities plan involves overlaying of the urban infrastructure with IT connectivity and it can improve core infrastructure and also enhance citizen services.
Andrews also highlighted the need for India to address the fundamental 'ease of doing business' barriers that have traditionally hampered expanded trade and investment between the two countries. Already, the first 20 cities to become smart cities have been identified and will be provided $15 million annually for the next five years as seed money to facilitate "smart cities" updates and improvements. The investment of the center will be matched by state governments and would be used to catalyze private-sector investment.
Visakhapatnam (Vizag) is one of the three initial smart cities named as an official partner for the US and, a grant agreement was concluded in presence of Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to continue US Trade and Development Agency's (USTDA) support of India's goal of developing smart cities across the country.


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A world record for India – it has 194.6-million undernourished persons, the highest in the world

India has successfully sent the Mangalyaan to Mars to check out the feasibility of settling on the Red Planet at a future date and, it also has earned the unique distinction of accommodating the highest number of undernourished people in the world.
The figure is 194.6-million as revealed in the State of Food Security in the World 2015, released by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization in Rome. This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 28 May 2015.

This is a real paradox since the number of crorepatis is continuously on the rise as is the number of undernourished people in any single country – the figure works out to roughly one in every four.
We Indians boast of latest jet fighters in our skies, latest submarines in the oceans, latest battle tanks on the frontiers. We want bullet trains to run in our country, we want to create Smart Cities, we want to clean up the highly polluted Ganga River. And we can now be proud about the highest number of undernourished people.
When we consider the global scenario, the number of undernourished people has fallen by 216 million between 1990-92 and 2015 – it has dropped from just over a billion to 795 million. India's contribution to this decrease has been marginal - its numbers are down by just 15.5 million.
The undernourished constitute just over 15% of the population in India and the government of the day needs to work out suitable measures to improve upon this.
(Image courtesy weikimediacommons.org)


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100 cities in India would turn into Smart Cities

#SmartCities #AMRUT #JNNURM #Modi The Smart City project is yet another pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is meant to recast the urban landscape of the country and, towards this, the Union Cabinet has approved Central government spending worth Rs 98,000 crore under two new urban missions over the next five years.
This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 30 April 2015.
For those who felt that Smart Cities’ would house Smart Alecs, please be informed that under this mission, 100 smart cities would be built with central assistance of Rs 48,000 crore and another 500 cities with outlay of Rs 50,000 crore. The cities that would be developed would be selected through a ‘competition’ which would ascertain their ability to achieve mission objectives. The task would be broken down into elements - each state would have to shortlist a number of smart city aspirants and their task would be to prepare proposals for the Centre.

The aim of the mission is to more efficiently utilize available assets, resources and infrastructure in order to enhance quality of urban life and, simultaneously, provide a clean and sustainable environment.
Some pointers on how to proceed are – develop intelligent transport solutions that would pay dividends by reducing commuting time. There would be focus on adequate and clean water supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, affordable housing for the poor, power supply, robust IT connectivity, governance, especially e-governance, and citizen participation.
Under the AMRUT scheme, the focus would be in 500 locations with a population of one lakh and above. Cities under this category would be those situated on stems of main rivers, a few capital cities and important cities located in hilly areas and tourist spots.
AMRUT is the acronym for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and is said to be an improvement over the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). It seems to be a case of a new wine in the old bottle. From all appearances, the leaders at the center are allergic to the names of Nehru and Gandhi and want to erase them from public memory.
Of course, there is nothing to complain about because everyone does it. When the British left, we renamed plenty of roads and monuments. Later, whenever any government changed in any state, those who took over power went on a renaming spree. West Bengal is the best example. When the Left Front took over the reins, they painted the Ochterloney Monument in the Maidan in red and when the Trinamool Congress took over, they painted the roads and curbs in white and blue and also renamed the stations of the Kolkata Metro.
Therefore, AMRUT in place of JNNURM would be fine if Smart Cities really emerged from the filth and chaos that has become the trademark of our country. We Indians must first learn the basic civic sense and stop spitting, littering the surroundings, follow traffic rules, show respect to elders and women. Once that is achieved, the Swatchh Bharat Mission would not be needed nor would the Ganga Bachao Andolan be necessary.

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