The need for rapid urbanization including building new planned cities as well as upgrading the existing cities to a hi-tech one is become increasingly important as the population of India is ready to explode and standard of living has to be elevated to the one prevailing in most of the developed nations of the world.
Keeping in view both the factors, the Prime Minister of India Sri Narendra Modi had launched a mission of developing 100 smart cities by the year 2022.Having said that let us understand what is a smart city. As per Mr. Shah from the National Institute of Urban Affairs, a detailed definition with guidelines shall soon be issued. However if it is to be defined in common man’s word, a smart city shall be one that shall be carefully planned to incorporate maximum population and also maintain a high quality of life for them through its hi-tech utility planning, availability of necessary amenities and by building greater efficiency within the system.
The first new smart city being developed is called GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) and the master plan is laid down on the banks of Sabarmati River in Gujarat. Though not much has been done on building the infrastructure yet, the underground work is actively in progress. It is the first smart city that boasts of underground construction for utilities that is well hidden under the sandy area above. Apart from the underground work, only two buildings have been built so far. GIFT as decided shall be spread over 886 acres of land and the implementation plan is divided in phase wise manner. The phase-1 work has already begun and consumed an amount of Rs. 9 billion in the process.
The middle class Indians are currently residing in compromised homes with lack of access to basic amenities such as clear drinking water, good sewerage system and 24*7 provision of electricity. They also lack the facility of easily available public transit system, sensor monitored surveillance and basic employment opportunities. In a country of an already massive population and a population outburst expected by the year 2050, (it is expected to rise by 400 million to a total of 814 million Indians by 2050) the need for superfast urbanization to accommodate citizens and their basic needs have become utmost essential. Almost all of the Indian metropolitan cities as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are already overloaded as per capacity giving rise to the need of creating new cities on fresh available land based on a well-planned strategy.GIFT looks like the first most answer to this call.
As per KPMG, the project for setting up 100 smart cities would involve a hefty sum of USD 1 trillion which cannot be funded by the Indian government alone. Indian government has allocated USD 962 million towards the commencement of project in its annual budget starting April 1, 2015. Though the subsequent budgets shall also have certain amounts allocated towards implementation of the project, the need for foreign funds and involvement of private players cannot be denied. However to lure them invest into this project, the blueprint of the project with extensive plans should be ready and convincing enough. Only once this is done, the government shall be able to make outside funding possible; without which the project cannot be completed.
GIFT is also planned in a manner that it can become the next financial hub of India; a position similar to what Mumbai currently holds. This shall attract broking houses, banks and other businesses creating employment opportunities for the residents of GIFT. Besides Mumbai is currently on the verge of exploding in terms of traffic, distances and population and is in dire need of an alternative to bank upon. GIFT is arriving at the right time to its rescue. Besides GIFT also have natural and man-made advantagesmaking it more efficient and accessible for people and businesses – Natural is being on the banks of river Sabarmati and man-made advantage is to have a national highway on one side. It is also centrally located between Gujarat's political capital of Gandhinagar and its business hub of Ahmedabad. It shall also benefit from being connected well through air because of its vicinity to Ahmedabad’s large international airport.
Besides GIFT there are many other projects in the making and AnyROR Dholera, the biggest smart city planned is worth a mention. Apart from new smart cities, existing cities like Vishakhapatnam and Surat have also commenced work and are ready for a big transformation from its current state to being called a smart city.
The structure and planning of the project entails huge complexities and the success largely depends upon how well it is planned and even more on how much can the planning be implemented in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Time will say it all!
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