The Jammu Smart City Limited has suffered losses of Rs 14 crore due to the free women’s smart bus service, which should trigger a serious policy rethink. While women-centric welfare measures are socially important, their design and execution cannot ignore financial sustainability-especially when the implementing agency is mandated to transform Jammu into an ultra-modern Smart City. Urban mobility is one of the core pillars of the Smart City Mission. The introduction of electric city buses was a progressive step aimed at reducing pollution, cutting noise levels and offering clean, efficient public transport. However, for such a system to be sustainable, it must be economically viable. Universal free rides, even if limited to a section of commuters, undermine the revenue model of public transport. Even when the Government promises reimbursement, a loss is a loss-to JSCL or the Government.
Smart Cities are not built on piecemeal populism. They require long-term planning, disciplined execution and hard financial choices. When JSCL projects repeatedly face hurdles-be it the deadlock over the Parade Sabzi Mandi, stalled canal projects due to lack of clearances, or resistance from local stakeholders-the result is fragmented development rather than holistic transformation. If modernisation is impossible at the current Sabzi Mandi site, shifting it must be Plan B. Decongesting the Old City is not optional; it is central to Jammu’s urban future. Equally troubling is the Government’s failure to adhere to Master Plan 2032. Government offices remain rooted in the Old City, the old bus stand continues to operate despite a new one being ready, and warehouse shifting remains a distant promise. These failures negate the very logic of Smart City planning. Urban landscape development cannot succeed when congestion, encroachments and traffic chaos remain unchecked.
Rehari culture and footpath encroachments continue unabated despite High Court directives. Building footpaths only to see them occupied by shopkeepers and vendors is a mockery of urban planning. Traffic lights that remain defunct symbolise the broader governance failure-when basic systems do not work, no amount of “smart” branding can manage urban chaos. Urban mobility cannot be transformed by merely adding e-buses or e-rickshaws. It requires strict traffic enforcement, functional infrastructure, congestion management and financially sustainable public transport. Without serious, coordinated efforts, Jammu Smart City will remain confined to announcements, RTI statistics and headlines-far from the lived reality of a truly smart, modern city.
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