Smart City Mission (SCM)

More than Rs 34 thousand crore released for 100 smart citiess

• The government has released more than 34 thousand crore rupees for 100 smart cities, out of which 30 thousand 400 crore rupees have been utilized. This was stated by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The Minister said, the government has launched Smart Cities Mission in 2015 and 100 smart cities have been selected.

About the Mission Smart City Mission (SCM)

• Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Hon’ Prime Minister on 25 June, 2015.
• The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
• The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city.
• The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities.
• 100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities through a two-stage competition.
• Among its strategic components is ‘area-based development’, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), plus a pan-city initiative in which ‘smart solutions’ are applied covering larger parts of the city.
• Key focus areas of the scheme include construction of walkways, pedestrian crossings, cycling tracks, efficient waste-management systems, integrated traffic management and assessment.
• The scheme also assesses various indices to track urban development such as the Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, City GDP framework, Climate Smart Cities assessment framework, etc.
• Some main characteristics of smart cities are:–
• Artificial Intelligence

• • Introduction to ICTs
  • IT connectivity
  • Digitalization

• e-Governance

• • e- Panchayat
  • e- Chaupal

• Good Infrastructure

• • Good water supply
  • Electricity for all
  • Proper Sanitation
  • Solid waste management system
  • Urban Mobility

• Adequate public transportation

• • Affordable living conditions like Housing
  • Sustainable environment