How Modi government’s flagship missions have irreparably damaged urban governance frameworks and put people at the periphery
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/india-smart-city-mission-7383242
Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).. on a PPP model... corporatise the process of setting up a smart city and cut through the political clutter. But they ended up bypassing the democratic process.
Second, while there has been a stress on capturing data and meticulous follow up on the implementation of schemes, there seems to be a complete lack of transparency in sharing information and relevant details of the proposals, projects and so on
Thirdly, with respect to the financial support required by ULBs, these schemes come with riders and a “reform” agenda that incentivise ULB’s to focus more on competition, rating them on scheme implementation points, leading to local governments executing them under pressure to get additional resources.
Fourth point on the capacities and roles of local agencies. After over 25 years, ULBs remain ill-equipped to govern in most urban areas. Most of the functions remain under the control of the state governments
Fifth, the push for this new “urban space at a rapid pace with the increasing use of technology” (‘The New Urban’ by Hardeep S Puri, IE, June 25) is leading to a different kind of concern — of not being participative and democratic.
As ideas for the future, the schemes lacked an understanding of significant issues of sustainability, disasters, and resilience building. The biggest challenge facing Indian cities is not of “smart” development, but the need for a “sustainable development”, where ecological concerns are addressed, where pollution is controlled, and resources used efficiently.