With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme’. (UPSC 2016)

Urban life in India has improved with economic growth, but many cities still face congestion, poor housing, pollution, weak transport, flooding and stressed municipal services. Rapid urbanisation has outpaced planning, making liveability uneven and often low.

• Objectives: create cities that offer reliable water, power, sanitation, mobility, housing, safety and digital governance.
• Develop model areas in selected cities that can be replicated elsewhere.
• Promote inclusive and sustainable urban growth with affordable housing, public spaces, better environment and climate resilience.
• Use technology and data for efficient service delivery, traffic management, solid waste systems and citizen feedback.

• Strategy: Area-Based Development through retrofitting, redevelopment and greenfield projects.
• Combine this with pan-city solutions such as smart control centres, e-governance and intelligent utility networks.
• Implement through Special Purpose Vehicles with convergence of funds from Centre, States, ULBs and private partners.

Thus, the Smart City Programme seeks not only smarter infrastructure, but also cleaner, safer and more inclusive urban living.