URBAN STRATEGIES IN INDIA
1. INTRODUCTION Nearly 30 per cent of India’s population lives in urban agglomerations. The fast-paced urbanization in the country, which is closely linked to the overall economic progress, has led the cities to encounter some serious challenges on the socio-economic front such as unemployment as well as excess load on existing infrastructure in cities like housing, sanitation, transportation, health, education, utilities, etc. In order to upgrade the quality of life of people, especially the urban poor, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has been actively introducing new schemes and reinventing the existing schemes which deal with these specific issues.
2. Urban Strategies in India 2.1. SMART Cities Mission 1. STAKEHOLDER BENEFITS: A strategy with clear benefits attributed to individual stakeholders is a success factor that will be notable in the continuous feedback received from the stakeholders, indicating the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the Smart City elements. Strategies that are developed based on real needs are more likely to have a measureable outcome. Specific strategies can be quite complex for the everyday citizen and for senior leadership that need to be onboard with the plan. It is critical to spend the extra time to put the strategies into context that can easily be understood by both government leaders and citizens 2. ENGAGEMENT & BUY-IN: Engagement and buy-in from city departments, regional stakeholders, residents and businesses is critical for success. Engaging early and often sets the city apart as a leader. Engagement also aligns with a common pillar for Smart Cities, which we call the Citizen Connect. This overarching pillar is crucial in the success of the strategy as it will inform the budgets, and impact acceptance during implementation. We have to remember that a Smart City is anchored in a strong connection with its people. It is critical that the connection starts with the development of the strategy through the engagement process, including businesses, residents and special interest groups. This sets the tone for how inclusive the city is, and will encourage citizens to be active and ongoing participants in the operation and direction of their community 3. REGIONAL ALIGNMENT WITH ACOMMUNITY FOCUS: A Smart City Strategy should reinforce linkages and collaboration within the region as a whole. Businesses and residents, including travelers, do not see city borders and expect continuity of services. At the same time, a successful strategy is one that addresses and reflects the needs and vision of the local community including being customercentric, focusing on enhancing the quality of life and providing a competitive advantage for businesses attracting positive growth. A starting point for regional alignment may be through regional economic development strategies that apply across the region. A local city developing their Smart City Strategy can develop more specific strategies for economic development; a niche area that aligns with the expertise and strengths of that community 4. STRATEGY MOMENTUM AND FOUNDATIONAL INITIATIVES: A good strategy should identify “early win” initiatives that create momentum. It should include foundational initiatives with clear implementation time scales. Some popular examples from previous work include the building out of a dark/lit fiber optic network or development of a corporate open data and security policy, along with the inventory and development of internal cross-department data standards. Another approach to “early win” is to build off of what has already been done. Cities generally have lots of innovation happening already but this is often not communicated, shared or celebrated. Developing communication and marketing around what is already being done creates awareness, a sense of pride, and a foundation to build upon for the future. 5. CLARITY: Although information and communication technology is fast becoming a basic city infrastructure, a Smart City Strategy can be different from other basic infrastructure strategies because the initiatives and benefits may not be as clear as a “ribbon cutting” for a new bridge, building or road. As a result, it is important for the strategy to include examples and outcomes that can be easily understood by residents and businesses. Public messaging and branding of a Smart City Strategy is
key to support the focusing of initiatives, and to remind staff and the public of the key reasons for undertaking projects. Benefits and outcomes drive understanding and buy-in. 6. “DUST-PROOFING” THE STRATEGY: A Smart City Strategy must strike a balance of providing appropriate levels of detail to move the strategy forward, but also being high-level enough to provide a framework that remains relevant over time. Some cities are treating their Smart City Strategy as a living document with higher-level policies and frameworks that have supporting initiatives and projects that evolve over time. Strategies tend to identify many initiatives and projects with longer time horizons for delivery. Some are more foundational than others. With the pace of technology change, many shortterm projects that support initiatives can look different by the time they are complete. Spending too much time on technical detail in the strategy will only make it feel outdated in a short timeframe. 7. LESSONS LEARNED: The development of a Smart City Strategy is a relatively new idea, which has taken a number of differing forms and approaches. While each Smart City Strategy will need to reflect its own goals, as well as its position within the region, it’s also important to spend some time learning from what has been done and what has worked (or not) for other cities. Another technique is to become actively involved in organizations that share knowledge, provide guidance and connect people to lessons learned from other regions. Regional organizations such as the Alberta Smart Cities Alliance, Toronto Board of Trade, Future Cities Catapult and Smart Cities Council, to name a few, all offer opportunities to learn and share knowledge. 8. URBAN INTEGRATION: Integration of technology within the public realm is an emerging trend in most cities globally. Including an urban planning component within the Smart City Strategy is critical to improving the quality of life for citizens. We have all seen the evidence of technology being quickly deployed in our communities with little thought to the impact on customer service, or the resident experience. These are often technologies that were not planned for or were not coordinated with other departments. For some of the more technicallyoriented people this may look “cool”, for others it can portray an image of disorder in the community. Consideration should be given to implementation guidelines as part of the strategy development. One approach is to develop the Smart City Strategy as an integrated effort within the urban master plan process. This approach ensures that the conversation around technology and the built environment is happening at the highest level. The best technology deployments are those that provide benefits to the community, are not visually intrusive in the public realm, and are implemented with a long-term vision. 9. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: Attributing success factors to the development and execution of a Smart City Strategy can be challenging and often qualitative in nature. While many of the specific initiatives will be quantifiable, the expected results may be less measurable, particularly if there is limited current information to measure against. There are a number of different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that have and are being developed by different organizations including ISO and ITU through the UN. Determining the KPIs that are relevant to the individual city is an important discussion point as these become the reporting mechanism over time for both internal operations as well as the outward message to the residential and business community. The key consideration is to develop KPIs that are meaningful to citizens and to those who are considering to live or do business in the community. Tracking and reporting these in an easily understood format, often through dashboards, is an important element of a Smart City 10. CREATING A LASTING SMART CITY CULTURE: One of the reasons that many cities invest time in developing a Smart City Strategy is to optimize and integrate the implementation of information and communications technology within the organization. The process of developing the strategies is often the starting point for removal of barriers and silos that might exist. Open data policy development is also often the initiator of this discussion. The involvement of all relevant stakeholders within the organization is key to creating a culture of buy-in that goes beyond the creation of the Smart City
Strategy. Ongoing coordination and sharing of challenges and successes (starting with the early wins) as part of the Smart City governance is key to long-term success. While large cities have a potentially larger tangible benefit from Smart Cities initiatives, we have found that small- to medium-sized cities that are very agile are also in a strong position to create momentum and sustain an ongoing culture of innovation.
2.2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (Urban) Housing for All
Fig: Implementation Methodology 1. “In-situ” Slum Redevelopment using land as Resource: “In-situ” slum rehabilitation using land as a resource with private participation for providing houses to eligible slum dwellers is an important component of the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All (Urban)” mission. This approach aims to leverage the locked potential of land under slums to provide houses to the eligible slum dwellers bringing them into the formal urban settlement. 2. The Mission, in order to expand institutional credit flow to the housing needs of urban poor will implement credit linked subsidy component as a demand side intervention. Credit linked subsidy will be provided on home loans taken by eligible urban poor (EWS/LIG) for acquisition, construction of house. 3. The third component of the mission is affordable housing in partnership. This is a supply side intervention. The Mission will provide financial assistance to EWS houses being built with different partnerships by States/UTs/Cities. 4. The fourth component of the mission is assistance to individual eligible families belonging to EWS categories to either construct new houses or enhance existing houses on their own to cover the beneficiaries, who are not able to take advantage of other components of the mission. Such families may avail of central assistance of Rs. 1.50 lakhs for construction of new houses or for enhancement of existing houses under the mission.
2.3. Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban (SBM-U) 1. Political Support Critical: Continuous support from the highest level drives change across levels. In the case of SBM the Prime Minister’s call to action garnered participation from all sections of the society and from stakeholders at various levels turning the campaign into a Jan Andolan on the same year it was launched, something that has never been achieved by any government-led sanitation programme in the past. The Prime Minister backed the programme with adequate resources and a budget of over USD 20 billion. 2. Think scale, not drip drip: Programme initiatives must think scalability during design process with an objective to reach everyone, everywhere. Change must come fast, like a revolution, and not incrementally. SBM has created several sustainable and demonstrative models with a focus on quality of sanitation service delivery and Mission sustainability. 3. Engagement with implementers: The Centre very early on in the mission realised continuous and close engagement with states and districts was paramount in their journey to become Open Defecation Free (ODF)01. Regular meetings with political and bureaucratic leadership of states were held to push sanitation to the top of the state’s development agenda. Numerous cross-learning platforms, trainings and national level conferences have played a pivotal role in establishing demonstrative learning, and served as ready reckoners for implementers in replicating the successes across districts. Large scale events were organized to engage with grassroots leadership like Sarpanchs and Swachhagrahis.
4. Getting everyone involved: The key differentiator of SBM has been its citizen-centric approach of engaging all stakeholders and making sanitation everyone’s’ business. This was done keeping in mind the objective that greater the recall, faster the behaviour change. The large scale attention drawn by the Mission can be correlated with the perpetual campaign mode it adopts. Further the Ministry has engaged deeply with private philanthropies and corporates to drive various initiatives and has collaborated with other departments/ministries, which have not only helped uniform implementation of SBM outcomes, but has also helped smoothen out frictions due to jurisdictional issues. 5. Success breeds success: By targeting the low hanging fruits – converting high coverage districts to ODF, the mission was able to create a demonstration effect. This in turn inspired the neighbouring districts to develop efficient systems and strategies to support districts in becoming ODF. The learnings from these early successes were subsequently used to support the more challenging districts. Further, the sunset clause of making India ODF by 2019 demands a focused strategy and has proved beneficial in aligning various stakeholders towards a common goal.
6. Competition and housekeeping: Healthy competition is key to achieving the mission’s objectives. With the aim of fostering healthy competition between states and districts for improving cleanliness standards across rural India, the Swachh Survekshan survey was launched. Apart from evaluating progress, the survey encouraged largescale citizen participation and accelerated Mission implementation by aiding the incorporation of sustainability in Mission implementation, through focus on outcomes and impact rather than inputs.
2.4. Jawahar Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM) 1.
Preparing City Development Plan: Every city will be expected to formulate a City Development Plan (CDP) indicating policies, programmes and strategies, and financing plans.
2. Preparing Projects: The CDP would facilitate identification of projects. The Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) / parastatal agencies will be required to prepare Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for undertaking projects in the identified spheres. It is essential that projects are planned in a manner that optimises the life-cycle cost of projects. The life-cycle cost of a project would cover the capital outlays and the attendant O&M costs to ensure that assets are in good working condition. A revolving fund would be created to meet the O&M requirements of assets created, over the planning horizon. In order to seek JNNURM assistance, projects would need to be developed in a manner that would ensure and demonstrate optimisation of the life-cycle costs over the planning horizon of the project.
3. Release and Leveraging of Funds: It is expected that the JNNURM assistance would serve to catalyse the flow of investment into the urban infrastructure sector across the country. Funds from the Central and State Government will flow directly to the nodal agency designated by the State, as grants-in-aid. The funds for identified projects across cities would be disbursed to the ULB/Parastatal agency through the designated State Level Nodal Agency (SLNA) as soft loan or grant-cum-loan or grant. The SLNA / ULBs in turn would leverage additional resources from other sources. 4. Incorporating Private Sector Efficiencies: In order to optimise the life-cycle costs over the planning horizon, private sector efficiencies can be inducted in development, management, implementation and financing of projects, through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
2.5. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) The components of the AMRUT consist of capacity building, reform implementation, water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage, urban transport and development of green spaces and parks. During the process of planning, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will strive to include some smart features in the physical infrastructure components. The details of the Mission components are given below. 1. Water Supply i. Water supply systems including augmentation of existing water supply, water treatment plants and universal metering. ii. Rehabilitation of old water supply systems, including treatment plants. iii. Rejuvenation of water bodies specifically for drinking water supply and recharging of ground water. iv. Special water supply arrangement for difficult areas, hill and coastal cities, including those having water quality problems (e.g. arsenic, fluoride) 2. Sewerage i. Decentralised, networked underground sewerage systems, including augmentation of existing sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants. ii. Rehabilitation of old sewerage system and treatment plants. iii. Recycling of water for beneficial purposes and reuse of wastewater. 3. Septage i. Faecal Sludge Management- cleaning, transportation and treatment in a cost-effective manner. ii. Mechanical and biological cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and recovery of operational cost in full. 4. Storm Water Drainage i. Construction and improvement of drains and storm water drains in order to reduce and eliminate flooding. 5. Urban Transport i. Ferry vessels for inland waterways (excluding port/bay infrastructure) and buses. ii. Footpaths/walkways, sidewalks, foot over-bridges and facilities for non-motorised transport (e.g. bicycles). iii. Multi-level parking. iv. Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). 6. Green space and parks i. Development of green space and parks with special provision for child-friendly components. 7. Reforms management & support i. Support structures, activities and funding support for reform implementation. ii. Independent Reform monitoring agencies. 8. Capacity Building i. This has two components- individual and institutional capacity building. ii. The capacity building will not be limited to the Mission Cities, but will be extended to other ULBs as well. iii. Continuation of the Comprehensive Capacity Building Programme (CCBP) after its realignment towards the new Missions 9. Indicative (not exhaustive) list of inadmissible components i. Purchase of land for projects or project related works, ii. Staff salaries of both the State Governments/ULBs, iii. Power, iv. Telecom,
v. vi. vii.
Health, Education, and Wage employment programme and staff component.
2.6. National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) The vision for Urban Sanitation in India is: All Indian cities and towns become totally sanitized, healthy and liveable and ensure and sustain good public health and environmental outcomes for all their citizens with a special focus on hygienic and affordable sanitation facilities for the urban poor and women. The overall goal of this policy is to transform Urban India into communitydriven, totally sanitized, healthy and liveable cities and towns. The specific goals are: A. Awareness Generation and Behaviour Change 4.1 Awareness Generation and Behaviour Change a. Generating awareness about sanitation and its linkages with public and environmental health amongst communities and institutions; b. Promoting mechanisms to bring about and sustain behavioural changes aimed at adoption of healthy sanitation practices; B. Open Defecation Free Cities 4.2 Achieving Open Defecation Free Cities: All urban dwellers will have access to and use safe and hygienic sanitation facilities and arrangements so that no one defecates in the open. In order to achieve this goal, the following activities shall be undertaken: a. Promoting access to households with safe sanitation facilities (including proper disposal arrangements); b. Promoting community-planned and managed toilets wherever necessary, for groups of households who have constraints of space, tenure or economic constraints in gaining access to individual facilities; c. Adequate availability and 100 % upkeep and management of Public Sanitation facilities in all Urban Areas, to rid them of open defecation and environmental hazards; C. Integrated City-Wide Sanitation 4.3 Re-Orienting Institutions and Mainstreaming Sanitation a. Mainstream thinking, planning and implementing measures related to sanitation in all sectors and departmental domains as a cross-cutting issue, especially in all urban management endeavours; b. Strengthening national, state, city and local institutions (public, private and community) to accord priority to sanitation provision, including planning, implementation and O&M management; c. Extending access to proper sanitation facilities for poor communities and other un-served settlements; 4.4. Sanitary and Safe Disposal: 100 % of human excreta and liquid wastes from all sanitation facilities including toilets must be disposed of safely. In order to achieve this goal, the following activities shall be undertaken: a. Promoting proper functioning of network-based sewerage systems and ensuring connections of households to them wherever possible; b. Promoting recycle and reuse of treated waste water for non potable applications wherever possible will be encouraged. c. Promoting proper disposal and treatment of sludge from on-site installations (septic tanks, pit latrines, etc.); d. Ensuring that all the human wastes are collected safely confined and disposed of after treatment so as not to cause any hazard to public health or the environment. 4.5. Proper Operation & Maintenance of all Sanitary Installations:
a. Promoting proper usage, regular upkeep and maintenance of household, community and public sanitation facilities; b. Strengthening ULBs to provide or cause to provide, sustainable sanitation services delivery;
2.7. Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) Preserve and revitalise the soul of the heritage city to reflect the city’s unique character by encouraging the development of an aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative and secured environment. To undertake strategic and planned development of heritage cities with the aim of improving the overall quality of life with a specific focus on sanitation, security, tourism, heritage revitalization, livelihoods, and retaining the city’s cultural identity. 1. Heritage Documentation and Mapping leading to Heritage Management Plan • Listing of heritage assets of the city (Tangible and Intangible). • Tangible and Intangible heritage recordings and documentation. • Profiling of infrastructure service at/around heritage areas. • GIS based mapping of cultural and natural heritage assets. • Develop Heritage Management Plan including conservation/adaptive reuse plans. 2. Heritage Revitalization linked to Service Provision • Revitalization of heritage/ historic areas, ghat areas, temple/mosque/basilica areas, kunds and façade improvement of surrounding areas for safety/stability/conservation etc. • Restoration/rehabilitation of heritage monuments and linking with service provisions at community and city levels. • Provision of basic services such as improved sanitation, toilets, drinking water facilities, parking, solid waste management etc. • Linkage with city infrastructure/trunks for water and waste water management and treatment. • Development of heritage walks, religious trails, Street furniture including shifting of hanging wires, poles and transformers. • Development of cultural events, fair and festival grounds and associated infrastructure. • Development of city museum, interpretation centers and cultural spaces. • Improvement of roads/ pathways, public transportation and parking in heritage areas including provisions for last mile connectivity. • Pedestrianisation of tourist attraction areas, solar/battery operated vehicles. 3.
City Information/ Knowledge Management and Skill Development • Local capacity strengthening for heritage management linked to city planning and overall growth. • Development of websites, Information Education Communication (IEC) and Outreach material. • CCTV cameras and provision of Wi-Fi. • Direction pillars and signages and digital information kiosks. • Skill development of tour operators and guides, local artisans and women entrepreneurs. • Support marketing, promotion and development of local heritage industry including women managed cottage industries, marketing heritage sensitive building codes and urban design regulations. • City maps and brochures, Digital Display /Information Board, Wi-Fi-Access Zones. • City heritage infrastructure such as web page, heritage linked mobile applications, software, web based interface for heritage conservation, adaptation and management. • Catalogue and brochures for historic and new construction in order to preserve the character of heritage buildings and cultural landscapes.
2.8. National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) To reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful selfemployment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in an appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong grassroots level institutions of the poor. The mission would aim at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner. In addition, the Mission would also address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors by facilitating access to suitable spaces, institutional credit, social security and skills to the urban street vendors for accessing emerging market opportunities. NULM will adopt the following strategy: i. Building capacity of the urban poor, their institutions and the machinery involved in the implementation of livelihoods development and poverty alleviation programmes through handholding support; ii. Enhancing and expanding existing livelihoods options of the urban poor; iii. Building skills to enable access to growing market-based job opportunities offered by emerging urban economies; iv. Training for and support to the establishment of micro-enterprises by the urban poor – self and group; v. Ensure availability and access for the urban homeless population to permanent 24- hour shelters including the basic infrastructural facilities like water supply, sanitation, safety and security; vi. Cater to the needs of especially vulnerable segments of the urban homeless like the dependent children, aged, disabled, mentally ill, and recovering patients etc., by creating special sections within homeless shelters and provisioning special service linkages for them; vii. To establish strong rights-based linkages with other programmes which cover the right of the urban homeless to food, healthcare, education, etc. and ensure access for homeless populations to various entitlements, including to social security pensions, PDS, ICDS, feeding programmes, drinking water, sanitation, identity, financial inclusion, school admission etc., and to affordable housing; viii. To address livelihood concerns of the urban street vendors by facilitating access to suitable spaces, institutional credit, social security and skills to the urban street vendors for accessing emerging market opportunities.
2.9. National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) VISION To recognize that people occupy center-stage in our cities and all plans would be for their common benefit and well-being. To make our cities the most livable in the world and enable them to become the “engines of economic growth” that power India’s development in the 21st century. To allow our cities to evolve into an urban form that is best suited for the unique geography of their locations and is best placed to support the main social and economic activities that take place in the city. To encourage growth of urban transport along low carbon path.
OBJECTIVES The objective of this policy is to plan for the people rather than vehicles by providing sustainable mobility and accessibility to all citizens to jobs, education, social services and recreation at affordable cost and within reasonable time. This will involve: Incorporating urban transportation as an important parameter at the urban planning stage rather than being a consequential requirement. Bringing about a more equitable allocation of road space with people, rather than vehicles, as its main focus PT should be citywide, safe, seamless, user friendly, reliable and should provide good ambience with well-behaved drivers and conductors. Walk and cycle should become safe modes of UT. Introducing Intelligent Transport Systems for traffic management Addressing concerns of road safety and trauma response Raising finances, through innovative mechanisms Establishing institutional mechanisms for enhanced coordination in the planning and management of transport systems. Building capacity (institutional and manpower) to plan for sustainable urban transport and establishing knowledge management system that would service the needs of all urban transport professionals, such as planners, researchers, teachers, students, etc
2.10. Rajiv Awas Yojana Mission Encourage States/Union Territories (UTs) to tackle slums in a definitive manner, by focusing on: 1. Bringing all existing slums, notified or non-notified (including recognized and identified) within the formal system and enabling them to avail the basic amenities that is available for the rest of the city/UA; 2. Redressing the failures of the formal system that lie behind the creation of slums by planning for affordable housing stock for the urban poor and initiating crucial policy changes required for facilitating the same. Objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Improving and provisioning of housing, basic civic infrastructure and social amenities in intervened slums. Enabling reforms to address some of the causes leading to creation of slums. Facilitating a supportive environment for expanding institutional credit linkages for the urban poor. Institutionalizing mechanisms for prevention of slums including creation of affordable housing stock. Strengthening institutional and human resource capacities at the Municipal, City and State levels through comprehensive capacity building and strengthening of resource networks. 6. Empowering community by ensuring their participation at every stage of decision making through strengthening and nurturing Slum Dwellers’ Association/Federations.