6. SMART CITY – A FUTURE PERSPECTIVE FOR URBAN TRANSFORMATION

6

SMART CITY – A FUTURE PERSPECTIVE FOR URBAN TRANSFORMATION

India’s urban centres are starting to command more attention in the developmental discourse in policy and priority setting. This is driven by two related trends: an increasing concentration of population as well as economic activity in urban areas. The Government of India statistics also reveal that states with higher GDP have higher levels of urban population.

The past 6 years of Smart Cities Mission have transformed governance and service delivery along with improvement in project execution at local administration level. The role of ICCC war rooms in fight against COVID-19 pandemic is a testimony to the evolved capabilities of the urban centres. It is important that the momentum created is accelerated further and is also extended to other cities.

The pillars of smart city need to continually evolve through specific, measurable, achievable, contemporary and time-bound initiatives. These will need to be backed by a robust technology infrastructure and with the underlying theme of sustainability and building carbon neutral cities.