The smart city plan initiated by Modi government of India may be still on the budding stages, but real estate developers, IT and financial experts from India and East Asian counties have started queueing up outside the ministry.
Consultants from Singapore, Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan have approached the ministry with their smart city concepts.
Representatives from Wipro and IBM have made presentations for technology-enabled smart cities and smart applications that would make services available at the press of a button.
Financial advisors, such as KPMG, have met officials with economically sustainable and financially viable models for smart cities.
Lavasa Corporation that has built the Lavasa city on the outskirts of Pune has contacted the officials to share its real estate expertise.
After going through 200 presentations from various stakeholders, an idea was built on the perspective of smart cities, said, Shankar Agarwal, secretary, Urban Development Ministry.
The smart cities will be equipped with utilities including uninterrupted water and power supply, a well-established waste disposal mechanism and IT services.
So far, government has found the Singapore model most viable. It has a pyramidal approach and suits best in the Indian context. The model presented is in accordance with economically sustainable designs.
“Singapore’s expertise in smart cities, urban planning and water management strategies offer a valuable learning experience for India. We shall work for setting up greenfield smart cities and for urban rejuvenation. Our experts shall identify the priorities and we shall coordinate its timely delivery,” said, Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister for India.
Land acquisition is kept at the bottom of the pyramid, followed by creating utilities, including water, power and waste management.
At the third level cities are provided with economical feasibility, enhanced quality of life, transport network and environmentally sustainable features.
In the third level, the city attains solid information and communication network.
The urban development ministry is scanning all presentations and will put the meaty presentations in public domain asking for suggestions from stakeholders. Inputs from states will be asked before taking a final call.
Recently, government has announced a whopping Rs 7060 crore in the Union Budget for developing 100 smart cities across the country,
editor@greentechlead.com