The problem with smart cities – India
By 15 December, 85 cities out of the total 98 included under the Smart Cities Mission had submitted their respective Smart City Plans to the ministry of urban development. Hopefully, the remaining cities will follow suit shortly. The stage is ready for this ambitious mission that aims to make Indian cities sustainable and competitiv.
An important first step would be to build safeguards to protect the democratic nature of governance structures. There is merit in understanding the mindset behind some of the caveats voiced by unhappy urban local bodies. A robust governance structure, which allows for sharing of power and financial resources between urban local bodies and the private sector stakeholders, would go a long way towards assuaging fears.
[Read article at the LiveMint website]
Reading Development 