[Urbanstudy] Govt to open discussion on ‘100 smart cities’ via portal

[Vinay Baindur]

<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-to-open-discussion-on-100-smart-cities-via-portal/article6391650.ece>
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-to-open-discussion-on-100-smart-cities-via-portal/article6391650.ece
<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-to-open-discussion-on-100-smart-cities-via-portal/article6391650.ece>

<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-to-open-discussion-on-100-smart-cities-via-portal/article6391650.ece>

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<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-to-open-discussion-on-100-smart-cities-via-portal/article6391650.ece>*
*Govt to open discussion on ‘100 smart cities’ via portal*

Navadha Pandey


www.smartindia.gov.in to be up and running soon


New Delhi, Sept 8:


The Ministry of Urban Development will invite discussions from all
stakeholders, including the general public, through a web portal for its
ambitious ‘100 smart cities’ initiative.

“A web portal www.smartindia.gov.in will be up and running in 8-10 days and
will be open for intense discussion from everybody,” a senior official in
the Ministry of Urban Development told BusinessLine.

It is only after proper dialogue through public participation in
policy-building that the Ministry will be able to formulate guidelines for
smart cities, the official added.
Global counterparts

Internationally, Amsterdam has a portal www.amsterdamsmartcity.com, which
has information related to upcoming events, apart from a knowledge centre
which contains information, publications, figures and useful links related
to smart cities, sustainability, energy saving, CO{-2} reduction and
connectivity, among others. Dublin too has a portal www.digitaldublin.ie.

Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, JLL India, said: “The real estate of
the future cannot be built with the building blocks of the past.
Progressive formats such as smart cities are the result of vast knowledge
and know-how. In a developing country like India, where the more advanced
concepts of urbanisation are still work in progress, the inputs required
for the success of futuristic concepts are, at best, spread thinly on the
ground.”

Many countries such as Japan, Singapore, France, among others, have
expressed interest in helping India build smart cities.

Puri added: “The Ministry of Urban Development must necessarily move
forward on a highly consultative basis and allow these inputs to flow
freely. Moreover, the blueprints that have worked on foreign shores must be
feasibly interpreted in the Indian context — nothing in this respect can
simply be imported and made to work here.”

Parameters

In the recent Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated ₹7,060 crore
for the smart cities project over the fiscal. The concept, which doesn’t
have a fixed definition as yet, will be developed to address urban
challenges by implementing modern infrastructure enabling ‘smart’ solutions
and technologies in cities. Technology-based efficient governance, better
mobility, solid waste management and energy conservation, among others, are
likely to be the parameters for such cities.

Navin Raheja, CMD, Raheja Developers, and Chairman of NAREDCO, said: “The
Government must ensure decentralisation of power to reach the local level,
apart from focusing on accountability for results and timelines. It is
important that each smart city has its own economic hub for job creation.”
 (This article was published on September 8, 2014)
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