[Urbanstudy] PRIVATISING UTILITIES A MUST FOR SMART CITY?

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/others/Privatising-utilities-a-must-for-smart-city/articleshow/49219071.cms


PRIVATISING UTILITIES A MUST FOR SMART CITY?
By Apurva Venkat, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Oct 5, 2015, 04.00 AM IST

John Macomber addressing the gathering at the interactive session organised
by the BCIC in Bengaluru in September


Think tank debates their need; many from city are apprehensive about the
concept and don't think privatisation is the way to go

Is privatisation of basic utilities a prerequisite for building smart
cities? Well, this was the question that was brainstormed at a panel
discussion on the topic "New Horizons — Investing in Smart and Sustainable
Cities: Finance, Innovation and Infrastructure" organised by the Bangalore
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCIC) along with the Smart Cities India
Foundation recently. While the civic experts and planners spoke on how to
build smart cities, what remained elusive was a consensus on the
privatisation of utilities.


While Prof John Macomber, Gloria A Dauten Real Estate Fellow of Harvard
Business School, maintained that privatisation of utilities like water
supply and power connections is the way forward for building efficient
smart cities, many from the city were apprehensive about the privatisation
concept.

Macomber, who has been travelling around the world working on the methods
to build smart cities, maintains that the pay-per-person model is the best
way to maximise the utilities with the available resources. "Let utilities
be privatised. Make it a money-making tool for corporates and let them
charge people for the use. Let there be lower cost for the poor and normal
citizens and higher for corporates. Cost can be also range according to the
usage," he argued.
Macomber gave the example of Algiers in Africa where the largest
desalination plant was set up by General Electric and the city now does not
face a water shortage issue.
Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global Education Services, on the other
hand, argued aginst privatisation. "Why privatise? As the government, it is
their duty to provide citizens with basic amenities. Citizens pay tax for
this and it is their right. While the pay-per-person or -usage model is
valid, privatisation is not a solution. Technology should be employed and
the most basic utilities like water should be made available," Pai
contended.
"Make cities free of traffic. Improve the roads. Improved services as per
the need of the city dwellers will help achieve a smart city. One can also
use a model where there is a premium on infrastructure in the central area.
Say a builder wants to build a building in MG Road, they pay a premium.
This will generate finances as well."
A Ravindra, chairman, Centre of Sustainable Development (CSD), argued that
basic amenities cannot be privatised. "We are talking about basic utilities
like water and electricity. These cannot be privatised as the whole city
depends on these. Things like airports can be privatised, but not the basic
amenities. A smart city is a livable city. It should be developed by the
government in consultation with the public," Ravindra explained.
V Ravichandar, chairman, Feedback Business Consulting, felt there is a need
for trust between the parties.
"If there is a case of lack of trust, a public-private initiative will not
be successful," Ravichandar said. "It is also true that in some instances,
the authorities will not do anything to solve the problem; at the same
time, they will not allow a private player to solve it as well," he added.
"Smart city is not a Utopian term. It is a city where people live happy
with technology as an enabler," Ravichandar said.
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