Do we really need smart cities? | Best Abstract GD Topic Smart City

Background –

It is expected that in India, by 2050, 70% of the population lives in cities. But the present cities are not capable to accommodate the growing migrants. 500 new cities are needed by then according to futurologists. To address this challenge, Government of India launched ‘Smart cities Mission’ in 2015.

98 cities were selected under this project. And these cities will be developed as smart cities in 5 years duration. In the first stage, 20 cities were selected for the financial year 2015-16. For the next two years, 40 and 38 cities respectively will be included in the mission.

Approximate budget for this mission is 1 lakh crore rupees. Center will provide 48,000 crores in the next five years and respective state Government will provide another 48,000 crores. On top of this, investments will be provided through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Pros –

Good infrastructure – The main aim of constructing a smart city is to provide good infrastructure to the residents, such as water and sanitation services, 24*7 electricity supply etc.

Smart solutions – Smart cities are required as it would also provide smart solutions such as providing public data, electronic service delivery, 100% treatment of water waste, monitoring water quality etc.

Promotes development – Smart cities enhance the developmental activities of a region. A lot of developmental activities such as building schools, organizations, shopping malls can take place. These activities benefit everybody including citizens, businesses, government and environment.

Housing for All – The main aim of a smart city is “housing for all”. Due to the rising urbanization, a better standard of living is required. To support this rising shift, a sustainable model of housing should be developed.

Provides employment – A smart city is an economy of agglomeration. It provides various opportunities and advantages to its residents. India is expanding rapidly and the emergence of smart city can provide employment for many. The construction of a smart city requires a lot of manpower.

Yes – Smart cities are required.

1. Good infrastructure – The main aim of constructing a smart city is to provide good infrastructure to the residents, such as water and sanitation services, 24*7 electricity supply etc. The information will be collected through the detectors – gas, electricity and other government analytics, which will be carefully complied into small grids and then, will be fed into the computers. This process can focus on making the city efficient.

2. Smart solutions – Smart cities are required as it would also provide smart solutions such as providing public data, electronic service delivery, 100% treatment of water waste, monitoring water quality etc.

3. Promotes development – Smart cities enhance the developmental activities of a region. A lot of developmental activities such as building schools, organizations, shopping malls can take place. These activities benefit everybody including citizens, businesses, government and environment.

4. Housing for All – The main aim of a smart city is “housing for all”. More than 70% of the Indian population would be living in cities by 2050. Due to the rising urbanization, a better standard of living is required. To support this rising shift, a sustainable model of housing should be developed.

5. Provides employment – A smart city is an economy of agglomeration. It provides various opportunities and advantages to its residents. India is expanding rapidly and the emergence of smart city can provide employment for many. The construction of a smart city requires a lot of manpower.

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Cons –

Smart cities initiative will develop the already developed cities but not the poor villages. Instead of looking at solutions to accommodate the migrants from rural areas, it’s better to look at the solutions to increase the employment opportunities at villages.

Huge investment may make the life in smart cities more costly and unaffordable to many. Gated communities may develop there, which makes it a rich people zone. This can encourage slums.

As everything is integrated with technology, there will be data collection putting privacy at risk.

Too much dependence on digitalization can make us vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

PPP model has failed in many cases. Relying on it is risky.

No – Smart cities are not required

1. Dumb administration – The politicians of India have picked up the term “smart city” to woo the youngsters. In the past few months, we have witnessed the real face of the corrupt ministers who rule our country. Corruption has become a part of our country’s identity. Talking about a smart city and creating a plan under the corrupt minsters is a waste of time and resources. Smart city is not possible with a set of dumb administrators and politicians.

2. Unable to afford – In a smart city, people have to build their own houses according to their financial capacity. A lot of people would not be able to afford a place in smart city as it would be very costly. Thus, people from middle class and poor section of the society won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of a smart city.

3. Better utilization of places – A large acre of land would be wasted for the construction of a smart city. If properly utilized, this area can be turned into a biodiversity park later on. Cities which are rich in river beds and hilly regions can be utilized to avoid ecological degeneration.

4. Proper use of fund – India is a country which is better known for its increasing poverty rate. Only a certain part of the city would be utilized for constructing a smart city whereas, the other part of the city would be still under the shadow of poverty. We should understand that smart city won’t be able to solve the basic issues of an entire state or city. If the fund which is planned to be spent for a smart city is utilized for decreasing the poverty rate, India would be much ahead of other countries.

Areas of concern

A large amount of Capital is required to develop the smart cities and therefore needs to attract more and more foreign investment which is not an easy task.
The government has to liberalize the trade and the other Industry reforms to attract the foreign investors.
The other biggest concern is over land acquisition. Most of these smart cities are being built ground up, on land currently owned by villagers who may not be open to a change of ownership or who may want a premium price.
The lack of the coordination between the various Government agencies and project execution are the other areas of concern.
There is a need of change in the mindset and the segregation of the domain expertise and authorities, such as police, Municipal Corporation etc, with their own agendas and structured processes

Conclusion

India is a developing country and the Modi government is trying its best to develop India into a powerful nation.

Introducing the concept of smart cities in India is a great idea but due to increasing poverty rate, lack of infrastructure and basic amenities, the cities might have to face a lot of challenges. Before initiating the project, the government should try to attend to the basic issues of the nation such as implementing a proper drainage system, providing good water, sanitation and health care facilities etc.

A nation with a strong infrastructure would be successful in creating numerous smart cities.

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