Smart Cities Mission in India

The term Smart City is very much in vogue nowadays but lacks any universal definition. As per the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills”The concept is not static, there is no absolute definition of a smart city, no endpoint, but rather a process, or series of steps, by which cities become more ‘liveable’ and resilient and, hence, able to respond quickly to new challenges”.

There are a number of definitions given by various institutions and organizations but none has been taken as universal. The definition varies over space as the smart city in African countries will definitely vary from the smart cities of Europe because of the different developmental benchmarks and aspirations of its people.

However, the term does indicate something which ought to be common to all the places i.e. some basic facilities which should be common to all the cities that make them smart. They are as follows:

Employment Opportunities: This is the basic attraction to a city. A smart city should have sufficient economic opportunities to support a large population in gainful employment

Sustainability: City should have social and environmental sustainability

Quality of Life: A smart city should ensure the safety and security of everyone, and promote the feeling of inclusiveness and a sense of belonging along with quality education, healthcare and participation in governance.

Besides these basic prerequisites of a smart city, there are many other benchmarks that can be set and revised from time to time depending upon the level of development of the city and the aspirations and visions of its inhabitants.

The Government of India anticipating the exponential rise in the urban population came up with the idea of developing 100 smart cities to cater to the needs of the burgeoning population along with the aim of providing a good quality of life and improved urban governance. The mission has proposed several models of smart city development which can be chosen depending upon the needs of the people, resource availability and the aspirations of all the stakeholders.

The Government launched the Smart Cities Mission on 25^th June 2015 with the aim of developing 100 smart cities in five years duration. It has laid down certain guidelines and proposals to make this mission a success. It has identified certain features that characterise smart cities. Some of the key features have been given below.

Key Features of Smart Cities

Some key features of smart cities are given below:

1. Promotion of mixed land use- focus on planning for ‘unplanned areas’ containing a range of activities to make land use more efficient. Some flexibility by the state will also be provided in land use and building bye-laws.
2. Expansion of housing opportunities for all.
3. To strive towards the creation of walkable localities. The focus will be on decongestion, reduction of air pollution and resource depletion, stimulating the local economy, encouraging interactions and ensuring security. The road network development planning will also keep in mind the pedestrians and cyclists.
4. Promoting the development of open spaces like parks, playgrounds and recreational spaces as they have a strong role in enhancing the quality of life of citizens as well as restoring the eco-balance.
5. Promote and introduce a variety of transport options along with strengthening Public transport.
6. Providing efficient citizen-friendly governance by increasing reliance on online services for accountability and transparency, reducing the cost of services and providing services without the need to go to municipal offices.
7. Creating and giving an identity to the city on the basis of its main economic activity, such as its arts and craft, culture, sports goods, furniture, textile, dairy, education etc.
8. Providing Smart Solutions to infrastructure and services in area-based development.

Coverage of Smart Cities Mission

The Mission covers 100 cities with a duration of five years (FY2015-16 to FY2019- 20). It may be continued further in the light of the evaluation done by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) incorporating the experiences and learnings into the Mission.

Strategy of the Smart Cities Mission

The aim of transforming the city into a smart city requires a well-thought-out strategy taking into account all the nuances of development. There are three major strategic components of Area-based development in the Mission- Retrofitting, Redevelopment and Greenfield development. A Pan-city development initiative in which Smart Solutions are applied also forms part of the strategy.

1) Retrofitting will focus on planning in an existing built-up area thus endeavouring to make it more efficient and liveable. An area consisting of more than 500 acres will first be identified by the city in consultation with citizens. Based on the existing level of infrastructure services in the marked area, the cities will identify priorities and prepare a strategy. The existing structures will remain intact in this model but there will be an infusion of more intensive infrastructure services and a large number of smart applications into the identified Smart City. This strategy requires less time and can be replicated in other parts of the city to make it smarter.

2) Redevelopment will bring replacement of the existing built-up environment, which would enable the creation of a new layout with improved infrastructure and mixed land use. The redevelopment strategy envisages an area of over 50 acres, identified by Urban Local Bodies in consultation with citizens. This would then have a new layout plan prepared for the area promoting mixed land use and high-ground coverage. For example the redevelopment model of the SaifeeBurhaniUpliftment Project in Mumbai and East Kidwai Nagar in New Delhi.

3) Greenfield development focuses on introducing Smart Solutions in a vacant area (of more than 250 acres) using new and innovative planning, financing and implementation tools. There are provisions for affordable housing for the poor. Greenfield developments are helping to address the needs of the expanding population. The GIFT City in Gujarat is a good example of such a smart city.

4) Pan-city development strategy is based on applying selected Smart Solutions to the existing city-wide infrastructure. This will involve the usage of information, data and new technology to make infrastructure and services better and more efficient. For example, the application of smart solutions in the transportation sector ( proper and intelligent management of traffic) will reduce the time and cost of travel in the city thus making its citizens more productive. It will also improve their quality of life. Recycling of water and proper metering of the water supply is another good example of the application of smart solutions.

Each shortlisted Smart City is expected to follow any of the three proposed development models (Retrofitting, Redevelopment and greenfield) or a mix of all three plus Pan-city features with Smart Solutions. Pan-city is an additional feature to be provided by the selected cities to brace them with smart solutions.

Selection of Smart Cities

Each aspiring city undergoes a ‘City Challenge’ Competition. There are two major stages in the selection process.

Stage I: Shortlisting of Cities by States

The States/UTsshortlist their potential Smart Cities (out of a number of cities in the state) on the basis of ‘conditions precedent’ and scoring criteria. These conditions precedent are required to be met by the potential cities to succeed in the first round of competition. Thereafter, the highest-scoring potential Smart Cities are shortlisted and recommended for participation in the second stage of the challenge. The information is then evaluated by the State Mission Director after which it is placed before the State-level High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC)for approval.

The successful cities of the first round of competition are sent by the State/UT as the recommended shortlist of Smart Cities to the Ministry of Urban Development by the stipulated date whereupon The MoUD will announce the list of 100 SmartCities.

Stage 2: The Challenge Round

The potential 100 Smart Cities will prepare their proposals for participation in the city challenge round. The Smart City Proposal is very crucial and is expected to have important information about the model chosen (whether retrofitting or redevelopment or greenfield development or a mix of all including a Pan-City feature with Smart Solutions).

The Smart City Proposal (SCP) will also provide various inputs about the consultations held with the city residents and stakeholders, and how the objectives and aspirations are matched realistically with the vision and strategy contained in the Smart City Proposal. This also includes the crucial aspect of financing of the Smart City plan to attract sizeable private participation.

The proposals are submitted to the MoUD on or before the stipulated date indicated to the States/UTs.All the 100 city proposals that are submitted to MoUD will then be evaluated by a Committee having national and international experts, organizations and institutions. The MoUD then announces the winners of the first round of the Challenge.

Immediately after the announcement, the winning cities start their course of action to make the city smart while those who could not make it to the list of successful cities will begin work on improving their Smart City Proposals for consideration in the next round. On the basis of the nature of the SCPs and outcomes of the first round, the MoUD may decide to provide constant support and assistance to the potential Smart Cities thus helping them to upgrade their proposals before the second round.

Following is the list of 98 shortlisted smart cities announced by the Ministry of Urban Development on 27th august 2015. The list shows that out of 98 cities 24 are capital cities, another 24 are business and industrial centres, 18 are culture and tourism centres, 5 are port cities and 3 are education and health care centres.

The states were allotted a quota of cities on the basis of the number of statutory cities and towns and their total population. UP is the largest state and had the highest allotment at 13 (12 announced and 1 not finalized) followed by Tamil Nadu- 12 and Maharashtra – 10. Most of the smaller states, Northeastern states and union territories have one smart city each.

It is also important to note that many state capitals could not make it to the list of cities. Patna, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Shimla, Puducherry, Trivandrum, Gangtok, Daman and Itanagar were not among the shortlisted smart cities. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is still undecided about its city.

Implementation of the Smart Cities Mission

After the selection of the cities in Stage II of the Challenge, the process of implementation will start with the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The SPV at the city level would be established as a limited company under the Companies Act, 2013 with the State/UT and the ULB as the joint promoters having 50:50 equity shareholding. This pattern of shareholding has to be maintained at all times. The private sector / financial institutions may also be invited to have an equity stake in the SPV, provided the shareholding pattern of the State/UT and the ULB is equal to each other and both together have majority shareholding and control of the SPV.

The SPV has been given the crucial task of planning, appraisal, approval, release of funds, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of the Smart City development projects. Each Smart City is required to have an SPV which will be headed by a CEO and have nominees from Central and State Governments along with nominees from Urban Local Bodies on its Board. The sole objective is to provide flexibility to the SPV to ensure efficient and smooth implementation and management of the Smart City project. The States/ULBs will undertake necessary measures towards this end.

The SPV is empowered to appoint Project Management Consultants (PMC) to design, develop, manage and implement area-based projects. SPVs can take guidance and assistance from any of the consulting firms in the list prepared by MoUD.

Funds provided by the Government of India to the SPV will be utilized only for the purpose for which the grants have been provided and conform to the conditions laid down by the MoUD. Transparency and fair procedures must be followed in the procurement of goods and services

Financial Assistance for Smart Cities Mission

The Mission will be operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The Central Government has proposed assistance of Rs 48,000 crores to the Mission which will be distributed to the selected cities over a period of five years. An equal contribution is required from the State/ULBs. Together it adds up to Rs 1 lakh crore of Government/ULB funds for the development of Smart Cities.

Even the combined fund of the Government of India and the ULBs will not be able to meet the required cost of the entire project, therefore, it is imperative to mobilize funds from other sources like:

(a) States/ULB’s own resources generated from sources like user fees, beneficiary charges, impact fees, land monetization, debt, loans, etc. (b) Pooling additional resources transferred on account of acceptance of Fourteenth Finance Commission’s recommendations.

(c) Innovative finance mechanisms like municipal bonds, Tax Increment Financing

(d) mobilizing funds from Central Government schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT etc.

(e) Leverage borrowings from domestic or foreign financial institutions

(f) States/ ULBs may access the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), that was announced by the finance minister.

(g) inviting private participation through PPP.

The Scheme will have the distribution of funds as given below:

1. Project funds – 93%
2. Administrative and Office Expenses (A&OE) funds for state/ULB -5%
3. Administrative and Office Expenses funds for MoUD- 2%

Release of Funds

1) After the first stage of the challenge when the names of the smart cities are announced each Smart City will be provided with an advance of Rs.two crore for the preparation of the Smart City Proposal.

2) Government proposes to give Rs.200 crore to each selected Smart City in the first year of the launch of the mission. After the deduction of Rs. two crore advance and A&OE share of the MoUD, each Smart City will get Rs. 194 crores out of Rs. 200 crores in the first year. Thereafter Rs. 98 crores out of Rs. 100 crore will be given every year for the next three years.

The release of yearly instalments of funds to the SPVs will take place only after they meet the conditions given below:

1. Submission of the City Score Card to the MoUD on time.
2. Satisfactory progress of projects (both physical and financial) as shown in the Utilization Certificate and the annual City Score Card.
3. Achievement of the set targets contained in SCP.
4. A Fully operational and efficient SPV as set out in the guidelines of the association plus a certification by the Board Resolution that all the required conditions have been met.

Monitoring of Project

To make the mission a success and ensure it runs efficiently without glitches it is necessary that it should be periodically monitored at different levels. Therefore, steps have been taken to monitor the Mission at the National, State and City levels.

At National Level, it will be monitored by An Apex Committee (AC), headed by the Secretary, MoUDand representatives of related Ministries and organisations. The committee will approve the proposals, review and monitor the progress, approve the release of funds and also may recommend mid-term correction in the implementation if it feels necessary.

There will also be a National Mission Director, who is made overall in charge of all activities related to the Mission.

At State, Level monitoring is done by State level High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) chaired by the chief secretary. Representatives of State Government departments, the Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner of the ULB relating to the Smart City will be represented in the HPSC.

On the lines of National Mission Director, the state will have its State Mission Director who will be an officer not below the rank of Secretary to the State Government. He will function as the Member-Secretary of the State HPSC.

At the City Level, a Smart City Advisory Forum will be constituted for all 100 Smart Cities to help, advise and enable collaboration among stakeholders. The forum will include the District Collector, MP, MLA, Mayor, CEO of SPV, technical experts, local youth and at least one representative from RWA/registered Tax Payers Association/ slum level federation/NGO.

Challenges of Smart City Mission

The objective of developing 100 smart cities is by no means an easy task. There are some challenges discussed below that are likely to come up in the course of the implementation of the mission. (Smart Cities: Mission Statement and Guidelines,2015, M0UD, Govt. of India.)

1) This is the first time, a MoUD programme is using the competition method to select cities for funding and using a strategy of area-based development. This captures the spirit of ‘competitive and cooperative federalism’.

2) States and ULBs will play a key supportive role in the development of Smart Cities. Smart leadership and vision at this level and the ability to act decisively will be important factors determining the success of the Mission.

3) Understanding the concepts of retrofitting, redevelopment and greenfield development by the policymakers, implementers and other stakeholders at different levels will require capacity assistance.

4) Major investments in time and resources will have to be made during the planning phase prior to participation in the Challenge. This is different from the conventional DPR-driven approach.

5) The Smart Cities Mission requires smart people who actively participate in governance and reforms. Citizen involvement is much more than ceremonial participation in governance. (Smart Cities, 2015, MoUD, Govt. of India.)

The Mission of developing 100 smart cities no doubt is an ambitious one yet the citizens and the authorities through cooperation and serious effort can bring about drastic changes towards the goal of a city with all the basic facilities of good living, employment opportunities, healthy environment and good governance. The success of this mission depends on participation from all quarters; it should not be looked upon as the sole responsibility of the government.