The third round of the Smart Cities challenge had the largest number of winning cities among all the rounds of the competition. The 30 winning cities had submitted proposals considering their needs and limitations in terms of geographical restrictions, demographics, etc.
There is no fixed definition of a Smart City and it varies from country to country and region to region. It’s important to keep the context and the location in mind before developing a definition. Also, a Smart City may be perceived differently by different people. Even to implement the proposed smart city
projects, several factors and variables come into play that may vary from one zone to another.
To understand what a Smart City means for a particular set of people, it’s important to understand a few things first. What is the level of development in the area, what are the aspirations of the people of the area, what resources are available at their disposal, if there is an openness or willingness to bring about change among the majority of the people in the area, etc.
The Smart Cities Mission is also a people-driven movment and state and local governments have strived to rope in the masses, especially the children and the youth, to ensure future generations reap the benefits of the work being done now.
A liveable, iconic city
Among the 30 winners in round three of the Smart Cities challenge was Rajkot, the quaint town in Gujarat. At the time of the proposal submission, Rajkot stated that it envisions for it to develop into a smart, liveable and iconic city of Gujarat with growth and sustainable development, by leveraging its historical strength state of the art infrastructure, delivery of services and empowering ecosystems enabling citizens to realize their dreams.
Further, as part of the identified goals, the following were listed: To develop Rajkot as an international trade and business centre; To develop Rajkot as a World Tourism Centre; To develop Rajkot as one of the best sports destination in the country; To ensure 24×7 water supply in the city; A safe and secure Rajkot with smart traffic management; To solve the mobility challenge in the public transportation systems; To provide affordable housing for all; To make it an inclusive city; To promote beautification of the city; and, lastly, to make the city and its infrastructure energy efficient.
As part of Pan-City Smart Solutions, Rajkot has implemented an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICC) which is a place that gathers all the departments and minds of
the city using ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a backbone. Presently, under the Rajkot EYE Way Project, two ICCs have been installed in the city – one at NANA Mava Circle and the other one at the Police Commissioner’s office.
Aspiring to be a futuristic town
Haryana’s Karnal city was also among the 30 winning cities in round three of the challenge. Karnal, like most cities in India, has a great history dating centuries ago. It was used by the army of the East India Company as a refuge during the 1857 Indian Rebellion. Also, the famous Battle of Karnal was fought here in 1739 between Nader Shah of Persia and the Mughals.
For the Smart City Mission, Karnal too laid down what it aspires to be – a futuristic NCR town. By leveraging its business and research acumen to attract knowledge-based enterprises and start-up activities, Karnal aims to achieve its goals. Karnal also envisions itself as a more liveable city by focusing on diversifying its strengths to create new employment opportunities and improving its infrastructure.
The Smart City plan is based on three core area – Diversifying economic development; improving infrastructure for a futuristic town; and promoting a responsive e-governance system. Karnal’s three strategic pillars are guided by its vision of creating a more vibrant, inclusive, resource-efficient and technology-enabled future for the city.
When Karnal was included in the Smart City Project in 2017, the initial blueprint of Karnal Smart City Limited (KSCL) had 57 projects including 40 projects of ₹ 1,022.08 crore kept under area-based development on 720 acres and 17 projects of ₹ 149.75 crore under the PAN City Solutions.
Leveraging human capital
It’s no secret that the most precious resource is the human resource. Mizoram’s largest city and capital city Aizawl was established on 25 February 1890. Aizawl’s demographics strongly reflect the diversity of the region and comprise the many groups of the ethnic Mizo people. Under the Smart City Missions, Aizawl had mentioned that it would be an inclusive, sustainable and resilient city by leveraging its human capital through technology and by celebrating its rich natural and cultural heritage.
Aizawl Smart City Mission focuses on economic sustainability, building a resilient environment, improving quality of life, strengthening human resources and improving basic services. Recently, Aizawl has also been actively participating in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and involving its citizens in the Smart City Projects. Aizawl had organised a Walking Audit for Streets for People that was received well by the people. Aizawl Smart City Ltd (ASCL) also participated in the airport road clean-up programme initiated by the UD & PA department as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The programme was flagged off by Deputy Chief Minister at the Ch. Saprawnga Truck Terminal.
From rural to modern ‘outlook’
The city of Pimpri Chinchwad has evolved from a small group of villages into a modern city, located near Pune. The city is famous as an Industrial Township and also known as the Detroit of the East with the presence of many national and multinational automobile companies. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is based in Bhosar.
Not only this, Pimpri Chinchwad is also rich in culture and history and is the birthplace of many freedom fighters like Chapekar and Halbe. This modern township is also the birthplace of Morya Gosavi – the prominent saint of the Hindu Ganapatya sect. A Ganesh devotee, his shrine is located at Chinchwad. The area was ruled by King Bhoj two thousand years ago and the capital of his empire was Bhojapur which is now known as Bhosari.
Due to the proactive and forthcoming efforts of the municipal corporation, Pimpri Chinchwad is now a ‘well-provisioned, progressive city, on the brink of transformation’. The efforts have mainly focused on ensuring better infrastructure and amenities in the zone. Using the “Smart City” platform, Pimpri Chinchwad now envisages to ‘re-defining itself into an attractive, vibrant and liveable destination’.
The city aspires to ‘invest in urban “software” that includes society, environment, and community – to improve the quality of life of its citizens’. This will be done by re-connecting Neighbourhoods, re-energizing City-Governance, re-thinking Environmental Systems, re-investing in Social Development and re-vitalizing Local Economic Development.
The objective of the Smart City Mission is to promote cities that are providing core infrastructure and a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and furthering application of ‘smart’ solutions. This kind of a development cannot exclude sustainable and inclusive development. The idea is to examine compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a light house to other aspiring cities.