Context
∙ The Parliamentary Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs emphasizes the need to launch the second phase of Smart Cities Mission for tier-2 cities
located between 50 and 100 kilometers.
Smart Cities Mission
∙ The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, launched in 2015.
∙ Objective: To promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
Key Features
∙ Four pillars: Social Infrastructure, Physical Infrastructure, Institutional Infrastructure, Economic Infrastructure.
∙ Integrated Command and Control Centre: These ICCCs are designed to enable authorities to monitor the status of various amenities in real time.
∙ The ICCC acts as a smart city and acts as a “nerve center” for operations management.
∙ Other steps taken under the SCM for digital infrastructure are;
∙ Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS), Red Light Violation Detection (RLVD), and Automatic Number Plate Recognition System (ANPR),
∙ Digital assets for solid waste and waste-water management and water distribution management,
∙ CCTV surveillance systems, smart education and smart health systems.
Challenges
∙ Financial Constraints: Keeping the funds and finances flowing in for the smart cities mission is a challenge. Most Urban Local Bodies are not even financially self-sustainable.
∙ Infrastructure Development: Many Indian cities lack basic infrastructure, such as efficient public transportation, waste management systems, and reliable water and electricity supply. Implementing smart solutions requires significant upgrades to existing infrastructure.
∙ Data Security and Privacy: Smart cities rely heavily on data collection and analysis to optimize services and resources. However, ensuring the security and privacy of this data is a major concern.
∙ Technological Integration: Integrating various technologies and systems to create smart solutions poses a challenge, especially in cities with outdated or disparate infrastructure.
Way Ahead
∙ Data protection: A robust system is required to protect digital platforms from cyber attack and safeguarding sensitive public and private data adequately.
∙ Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs): The role of ICCCs in cities should be expanded by enabling them to provide a variety of services in the fields of health, internal security, waste management, traffic management, disaster management, e-governance etc.
∙ Leveraging the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV): The experience and expertise gained by SPVs must be leveraged in other projects, such as AMRUT, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) etc.
