DAYA SAGAR
Mission Smart Cities of Ministry of Urban Development GOI- MoUD (as launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25th June, 2015 ) is surely a bold and ambitious new initiative meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the nominated ‘Smart City’ by developing similar Smart Cities in other parts of the country.
For this mission no doubt MoUD GoI will be offering infrastructural assistance to 100 or more potential ‘smart cities’ on selective basis out of the cities recommended by different states on the basis of the existing systems in place and the quality status of delivery of services in different core sectors considered for assessment of smartness of a city.
It was after that the selected cities that had potential to go “smart with more financial/infrastructural support were to get prepared Smart City Plan and submit to MoUD for a rigorous evaluation by an Apex Committee of MoUD GoI for prioritizing cities for financial assistance under the Mission based on the score. That means only the apparently capable cities were to be chosen under the Smart Cities Mission through a two stage competition for assistance by GOI. To be brief Smartness had to be seen not only in investing money from state exchequer but more in the efficiency with which the human resources and financial resources are deployed for delivery of the public services and utilities.
This way a State / UT could even go for making more cities smart with own sources in addition to cities adopted by MoUD GOI. So, the Mission Smart City should not be seen by States as a means for extracting money from Government of India for creation of capital infrastructure but it should be seen as challenge for providing quality efficient service infrastructure for the community.
The process laid for selection of a prospective Smart City under the Mission clearly shows that it is the present money use efficiency and service delivery level of the existing public institutions of the applicant city that matters for considering a city to participate in the ‘race’.
There is no universally accepted definition of a Smart City. The conceptualization of Smart City, may vary from city to city / country to country, depending on the level of development, willingness to change and reform, resources and aspirations of the city residents and above all the commitment level of the government / public infrastructure providing social, physical and economic securities as well services like education & health to the community.
To exemplify the core infrastructure elements in a “Smart City” could include i. easy/efficient/ responsive public transport/ communication facilities ii. Adequate& dependable water and electric supply iii. immediate & responsive sanitation services including solid waste management iv affordable housing in general and shelter for the poor v. robust IT connectivity and digitalization vi. good governance/ especially e-Governance encouraging citizen participation vii. sustainable environment viii. personal (particularly women, children and the elderly) & material safety and security of citizens, ix. civic amenities & community sanitation services rendered by municipal corporations / local bodies and x. health xi. education xii most important is the hospitality / exploitation free services to the visitors from outside.
On way to smartness there could be some inputs ( particularly service inputs like local public transport / law & order ) from public institutions that may not require additional capital from the exchequer but would still demonstrate some smartness on the part of a city worth strengthening its claim for inclusion in First Mission list.
Let us have a look at the public and private transport service in Jammu city (J&K) … we have not been able to provide even a dependable three wheeler taxi service ( no driver wears a name plate, no taxi runs on meter , often one finds helpless commuters in and around city during late evening hours ) and that too in a city that receives nearly one crore visitors/ tourist in a year . What to talk of late night hours, even during day time the three wheeler taxi ( only taxi service with “meter” in Jammu city) is not easily available at notified fare where as civic authorities do not need extra money to make the Taxi meter run. The traffic lights are already installed but have to remain functional on regular basis. The CCTVs are installed on the roads but traffic violations like use of mobile even by two wheelers is common scene. Even around Bikram Chowk area the movement is interrupted due to ‘parking/stoppage/ at will of mini busses. A a number of main roads in the City ( like exchange road) are being used as private parking lots by locals (some where even on both sides).
In the parking lots attendants are to treat the commuters with honor and so often people complain of not good behavior by the staff attending public parking, many of whom do not wear any identity badge / take no responsibility for safe parking of vehicle. At places the parking charges are un realistic ( in the court complex where the attendee has no control over his/her stay time one has to pay heavy parking ). Regulating such services adds to smartness but does not cost additionally to civic authorities. Every next day ‘they’ talk of creating new parking lots, it is good but let’s first manage the existing ‘smartly’.
Let us have look at the health sector and the government machinery there to monitor it. A super specialty hospital has been built in Jammu with huge investment but no one visits the hospital unless compelled by monitory / social compulsions. SSH is being managed with the existing staff of medical college / by making stop gap arrangements. The private sector is doing roaring business with its investigation equipment but in the Jammu medical college hospitals equipment / machine that goes under break down do not get revived for months and like. The community prefers visiting a private clinic of the same Doctor who otherwise heads a medical unit in the medical college Jammu. No government doctor doing private practice issues a receipt to the patients for the fee collected. Inspite of government instructions there could be only microscopic number of prescriptions written with chemical name even by government doctors so the PM Jan Aushadi Pariyojna Stores have rare visitors even outside GMC Jammu. Bali Bhagat as minister had got issued orders for regular prescription audit but the status is any body’s guess. And there could be more quotes like above.
So, making the government infrastructure deliver truthfully too would add more to ‘smartness’ without any capital input and that surely is the first need as otherwise simply creating physical ‘models’ in materials out of the State Exchequer would be only adding more in the maintenance budgets of the future years without providing any smart services to the citizens.
(Daya Sagar is a Sr Journalist & a known analyst of J&K affairs dayasagr45@yahoo.com).