Smart cities mission

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Recent context

Many plans under the SCM, which is funded partly by the Centre, remain incomplete due to the COVID-19 pandemic that stalled activities for most of 2020. In response, the Smart Cities Mission has extended the implementation date and given cities until June 2023 to complete the work.

Background

The Centre used a competitive process to select 100 cities for upgradation with significant investments through the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) launched on June 25, 2015. These cities were identified through a “challenge” to which State governments and local bodies responded with plans that covered showpiece projects for a specific area, as well citywide plans. These included

• integrated data,
• use of technology platforms for service delivery to citizens, and
• mainstreaming of urban development concepts to encourage other cities to adopt best practice.

In September 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) expanded the emphasis on climate-friendly infrastructure in smart cities through the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0 and a “Streets for People” plan that would put pedestrians and non-motorised road users at the centre of urban planning.

Progress so far

As per the Urban Affairs Ministry by November 2021, a total of 6,452 projects at a cost of ₹1,84,998 crore had been tendered. In terms of work progress, 5,809 projects worth ₹1,56,571 crore were under implementation or had been completed, it says, although it is not clear how many were completed.

Challenges faced by smart city plans

The key features of smart cities, according to the Ministry, are

• liveability,
• economic ability and

These broad ideas have a universal character and incorporate access to clean water, safe streets and public spaces, good public transport, facilities for health and education and places for recreation. They also seek to expand economic opportunity for all and address environmental stresses – rising temperatures, extreme weather events, bad air quality, flood and drought, and lost urban biodiversity.

Planning issue

• In practice, smart city plans mainly involve State governments, the bureaucracy and independent experts. This is in spite of processes that have been incorporated to tap public sentiment using online tools and platforms.

Affordable housing

• A core factor of liveability and inclusivity, such as affordable rental housing, determines the usability of other features of a smart city.Some centres, such as Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Indore, and Thane have pencilled in housing developments of various models, ranging from slum improvement to free sale of houses, into their smart city projects, a few involving over ₹1,000 crore; others have smaller levels of outlays for housing.

Planning for climate change

• Ongoing smart city plans also face the pressure of designing for climate change. The Climate Smart Assessment Framework would need to put in compulsory features to align all investments with national commitments towards obligations under the Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The Hindu Link

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/the-status-of-the-smart-cities-mission/article37958454.ece

Question- How Smart Cities Mission can help to design climate change resilient infrastructure? Also list other challenges faced by SCM.