SPOTLIGHT

irregularities in implementation of smart cities works such as redoing of same work again & duplication of work, project cost higher than the market rate, frequent dropping of projects after finalization of proposals, etc.

The Committee felt that Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS) used for real-time monitoring of Smart City projects is not serving its intended purpose and there is a need for on-ground verification with the involvement of local representatives as they are aware of local developments.

It therefore, recommended the Ministry to put in place a robust monitoring mechanism for Smart Cities Mission for on ground verification of projects by a team consisting of Mission Director, State representative and local Member of Parliament and MLA.

However experts believe that additional reasons could be unavailability of funds in timely manner, existence of silos, and diversion of funds for state priorities.

FINANCING SMART CITY PROJECTS: DIVERSE AVENUES

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, states are expected to seek funds for projects outlined in the SCP from multiple sources including the following

Using State/ULB’s resources (from collection of user fees, beneficiary charges & impact fees, land monetization, debt, loans, etc.)

Deploying additional resources transferred due to acceptance of recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC)

Utilizing innovative finance mechanisms, such as municipal bonds with credit rating of ULBs, Pooled Finance Development Fund Scheme and Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

Leveraging borrowing from financial institutions including bilateral and multilateral institutions (both domestic and external sources)

Availing the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

Technology Solutions

Technology plays a crucial role when it comes to making a city smart. From integrated solutions, better connectivity, waste management solutions, traffic management, to addressing utility related problems, safety of the citizens, e-governance, thus technology will only empower the cities.

Information and communication technology, sensors, geospatial, IoT, AI and blockchain are crucial to tackle the emerging problems in the city and maintain law and order through detailed data analysis.

According to Deloitte-ThoughtLab Global City Survey, 94% of city leaders surveyed indicate climate change, pollution as the biggest challenge that the cities will face in the next five years.

Cities need to identify the gaps where advanced technologies can be adopted, and digital innovation can be encouraged to address those gaps such as digital talent and skill improvement, cybersecurity, and real-time assessment of projects.

“City leaders are betting big on AI and automation, and they believe that with support from government, this can help drive digital innovation,” as per the survey.

The nodal ministry for the Smart Cities Mission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is working with various agencies, technology providers to formulate smart city technology adoption, utilization of tech in developing solutions that are interoperable, scalable and capable of connecting with other smart cities for data sharing and other functionalities.

How GIS Aids Smart Cities?

Geospatial visualization, HD maps, and interactive 3D models and dashboards play a crucial role in understanding the needs of the people, figure out the pain-points and devise innovative solutions.

“With technology being at a pinnacle in this century and the geospatial ability to create, manage, analyze and visualize the data of spatial data, the sky is the limit,” says Rizwan Khan, Director & Subject Matter Expert – Smart Cities, JLL to Geospatial Artha.

Rizwan believes that Geospatial/Maps are a game changer when it comes to the Smart Cities, by providing real-time data about the citizens’ infor- mation, wayfinding solutions for the tourists or visitors visiting a particular place, using AI on the airports for immigration and logistical purposes, safety and security of the citizens and much more.

Esri India is one of the vendors that provides GIS Platforms to Indian Smart Cities. Esri India works with more than 45 Smart Cities. These cities have established GIS platforms or Geo-Hubs with Esri’s ArcGIS technology, thereby achieving more effective outcomes in all aspects of their functioning.

Agendra Kumar, MD, Esri India says, "GIS enables city administrators to gain an in-depth understanding of the cities, identify the problems more effectively and benefit from the most effective solutions. GIS plays a vital role in the Smart City ecosystem. It aids in creating future-ready, sustainable cities by successfully integrating all aspects of city planning and management."

In 2021, Kunal Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary & Mission Director (Smart Cities Mission), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) said “The government as a whole would like to create one integrated pathway where cities and state governments and central government can work together in bringing infusion of more digital technologies into the life of people.”

He added that the geospatial management information system in collaboration with Esri, compares real-time correlation of project information, on how cities and states are performing. With the images taken using geospatial technologies, one can see the progress and predict when certain projects are going to reach future milestones as well as what the shape of the mission going forward is.

ArcGIS Platform can be used in creating heat maps, GIS operating dashboards for health services, and CCTVs to track citizen mobility. It can assist in managing the health response; and examine the availability of infrastructure to solve health issues.

According to Om Hemrajani, Director of Genesys International, the company which was tasked to carry out mapping in Jaipur described to a news channel that they collected data for nine months with the help of cars bearing sensors, people toting LiDAR backpacks where cars could not go, as well as utilized overflights to take "God view images" and aerial LiDAR to build 3D model of Jaipur by 2019.

This data was later ingested by Dassault Systèmes to create the final model.