“No Watering Down, PM’s Vision Is Being Made Complete”

It will take 10-15 years for each of the chosen cities to become ‘smart’, says Union minister for urban development Venkaiah Naidu. He says the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) set up for the cities will have access to more funds, but sidesteps queries over whether they will come into conflict with elected municipal bodies. The minister replies to questions e-mailed by Anoo Bhuyan:

Is the smart city project compatible with the Panchayati Raj Act?

According to mission guidelines, SPVs will be created as limited companies at the city levels as limited companies. They will be created by urban local bodies (ULBs), which will have 50 per cent shareholding in them. So there’s little likelihood of inco­mpatibility or a clash in their roles. SPVs are created under the Companies Act (2013) and the regulatory framework will provide consistency and predictability in project execution, making ULBs/SPVs more accountable. Moreover, SPVs will be able to access internal and external fin­ance more easily, thus enhancing the funds available to them.

In the 20 cities listed so far, will retrofitting areas involve relocation of people?

The smart city proposals of 20 cities do not envisage mass relocation of people. However, if there are slums, they will be accommodated in accordance with the Mission for Housing for All (HFA).

Are the identified lands owned by government or municipalities or other parties?

The main focus in 18 (of the 20) cities is on retrofitting, such that no land is required to be acquired. Only two cities have proposed redevelopment and in both, the land belongs to the government or municipalities. There is unlikely to be any impact on public land, which will remain public.

Some critics say the project is a watered down version of the PM’s vision of creating new ‘greenfield’ cities. Your take?

The prime minister, in his speech at the ET Global Business Summit, 2016, listed several ‘firsts’ in the mission. One was comprehensive development in a systemic and qualitative way in which the areas chosen act as ‘lighthouses’ which will eventually influence the rest of the city. The ‘lighthouse’ effect is envisaged through three types of area-based development—retrofitting, red­evelopment and greenfield development—so there is no watering down of the vision but it is (made) more complete. Another point missed is that the transformation of urban hierarchy is also happening through the corridor programmes, for example the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Sagarmala programme. Under DMIC, the focus is on greenfield development, which contributes to the prime minister’s vision.

What, in your view, are the immediate priorities for a developing country—to bring all cities to an overall ‘good’ standard or to have a few ‘smart cities’?

The long-term goal is comprehensive development by developing the four pillars of development—physical, social, economic and institutional. The pathway is incremental and integration is achieved as follows. Core infrastructure is developed to improve quality of life through convergence of missions (Swa­chh Bharat, AMRUT, HFA, Digital India etc). Smart solutions are deployed to improve infrastructure and services and areas developed one by one. Based on the framework, each city has to design its pathway to smartness depending upon the level of development, willingness to change and reform, resources and aspirations of the people.

How far and how soon can smart cities exp­and to include everyone?

Pan-city smart solutions will be applied to city-wide services and infrastructure to imp­rove them. At the same time, other forms of infrastructure will be developed through convergence with other missions (for example, Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT). Therefore, in the long-term, the cities will work towards developing the entire ecosystem. It will take 10-15 years for entire cities to become smart, improving quality of life, creating employment and enhancing income for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, leading to inclusive cities.