Introduction:- Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 1

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1 Urban Good Governance: an Analysis of India s Urban Governance A Case Study of Smart Cities Dr.Anurag Kumar Srivastava Assistant Professor, Public Administration and Public Policy Department of Social Sciences School of Liberal Studies, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar,Gujarat, India. Introduction:- Urbanization will be one of the most defining paradigms of the twenty-first century, which opens a new wave of opportunities for promoting just, equal and sustainable development, However urbanization would create inequality, destruction and chaos if could not be properly managed. Metros, cities and towns are becoming the growth centers of country s economic progress, the cities are excelling on economic front and are now being recognized as the engines of growth for instance of around 2/3 rd of India s Gross Domestic Production (GDP) comes from cities which clearly reflect the dominance of cities in a predominantly rural-agrarian country like India. In 2011 about million persons were living in urban areas of India and it was the second largest urban population in the world. The net addition of population in rural areas during has been to the tune of 113 million while in urban areas it is 6 million. The percentage decadal growth of population in rural and urban areas during the decade is 17.9 and 31.2 percent respectively. The Infrastructure and services are two driving forces in cities growth and development, the capacity to harness these would determine the success of countries in the current century. The financial, institutional, organizational, and political challenges in planning and execution of equitable, inclusive and futuristic urban development are quite complex and intricate. On 25 th June 2015 Indian Prime Minister launched Smart City Mission aimed at transforming urban India. The Smart city mission has been shaped around the objective of enhancing the quality of living, creating quality infrastructure, providing better services, promoting clean, sustainable environment and driving economic growth with the competitive element between the cities for development. The buzz around the Smart cities is all in the air. The media, the corporate houses, the urban planners, developers and consultants all are engaged in exploring the various aspects of smart cities and its implementation challenges. The smart cities are now widely been considered as gateway to usher in the new era of urban development. There seems to be a euphoria developing around the concept of smart cities in India. India is the second most populous country in the world with the increasing population; India faces a huge challenge of providing quality urban spaces to accommodate the rising population. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 1

2 Smart City Mission:- The financial outlay of Rs. 1 lakh crore(approx. US $16 Billion) involving both centre and states on equal basis over a period of 5yrs ( ) for 100 identified cities is quite meagre. India s Urban Awakening, report published by McKinsey Global Institute in 2010, calls for $1.2 trillion of investment in urban infrastructure by 2030, to be financed by monetizing land assets, leveraging debt and public-private partnerships (PPPs), and accessing private finance (enabled and encouraged by policy reforms) in addition to more public investment. The contribution of public funding is just a fraction of the same and the rest of the funding is to come from various other sources as given in the smart city mission of the government. However given the pathetic condition of financial mismanagement of urban local bodies attracting the investment through floating municipal bonds seems quite unlikely. Therefore for executing the smart city mission the government is largely banking upon PPP to attract private investment, technological inputs and managerial practices. Smart cities and Good Governance:- However, unplanned urbanization, infrastructural deficiencies, policy aberration and governance deficit would create enormous pressure on government, urban local bodies (ULB s), policy makers and stakeholders to maintain the momentum of economic growth and development. The concept of good governance is an all encompassing phenomenon. As the World Bank in its 1992 document on Sub Saharan Africa described it. The World Bank, for example, has sought to take a middle position by defining governance particularly as the traditions and the institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. (Rumki Basu 2004). This includes: (i) the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; (ii) the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and (iii) the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social communications. Therefore translating good governance discourse into practice at each and every level of urban governance will be a step forward in the direction of creating futuristic smart cities. Convergence of urban governance with good governance is the prime essentiality as municipal institutions being closer to the people require the paradigm shift in the way the municipal governance is carried out in order to provide quality services to the people, making the municipal institutions accountable, transparent and efficient in public service delivery requires basic transformation in the functioning of municipal bodies and good governance would create that enabling environment for the transformation. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 2

3 Smart Cities and Role of Information Technology:- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) requires re-engineering of existing policy framework and institutions up to a great extent for decoding the complex processes into simple mechanics of governance. ICT entails transcription of the existing strengths into code of governance for empowering the urban institutions in a substantial manner with larger mandate of decision making through timely accessibility of information. ICT can effectively be utilized in creating smart city by optimizing the resources, integrating the mediums of mobility, synchronizing the information flow, and streamlining the urban services for meeting between expectations and delivering outcomes. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has the potential to act as a facilitator in realizing the objectives of smart cities. The Cisco publication on Smart City Framework A Systematic Process for Enabling Smart+ Connected Communities released in 2012 observes that more than 50 percent of the world s population lives in cities, placing massive pressure on city infrastructures (transportation, housing, water, power, and city services), many of which require enormous redesign and capital expenditure. These issues, and others, can be mitigated through the adoption of scalable solutions that take advantage of information and communications technology (ICT) to increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and enhance quality of life. Cities that take this approach are commonly referred to as Smart Cities, or Smart+ Connected Communities (S+CC). Smart Cities, however, present an opportunity to integrate physical city infrastructures from utilities, transportation, and real estate to city services. As per National Institute of Urban Affairs, (NIUA) e-governance represents the strategic and systematic use of modern information and communication technology by a government to improve the efficiency, transparency and accountability in its functioning and interface with citizens. Smart City Construct- Four Pillars:- The smart cities construct is based upon four pillars which are Social, Physical, Financial and Institutional however the there seems to be an overemphasis on establishing the physical infrastructure, the focus on creating institutional capacity and reforming the urban local bodies appears largely ignored. The urban local bodies (ULB s) in most of the states are grappling with the inefficiency, ineffective utilization of resources and corruption hence there is an urgent requirement to press for the urban institutional reforms. Smart cities without smart governance would do little in terms of improving urban landscape. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 3

4 Institutional Reforms for Smart Cities:- The Urban Local Bodies (ULB S) are the basic institutions involved in urban governance. The dire need for institutional reforms which includes institutional reorientation, restructuring and revitalization is necessitated by the fact that the larger onus lies with the State in realizing the dream of smart cities. Municipal Institutions forms the fulcrum of any governance initiative including the smart city initiative, the smart city mission in India is a three layered concept involving Centre, State and Local Government. Urban governance despite being a state subject as per the division of subjects provided in the constitution of India, the initiative of smart cities is widely considered as centre s initiative and stake holders like states and ULB s have not been integrated in the planning aspects of smart city initiative however both the states and ULB s are integral part of implementation of smart city initiative; this reflects a critical gap in the planning aspects of smart city initiative. Planning for smart cities by ignoring local genius, local inputs and local initiative might face significant challenges at the implementation level. Figure: 1. Smart City Stake holders Centre States Urban Local Bodies Smart Cities Civic Participation Private Players Consultants,Handholding Agencies Role of PPP in Smart Cities:- Although Public Private Partnership (PPP) model based projects have scripted limited success in India so far, the reasons are plenty such as poor regulatory framework and many more the detailed discussion in this regard is out of purview of this paper. Predominance of PPP would necessitate the creation of an investor friendly business environment for smart cities to attract the investment. This would also entail the focus to be shifted on revenue generating methods in order to maximise the profit. However it is also necessary to realize Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 4

5 that the massive funding requirement for creating smart city infrastructure makes it imperative to find sustainable sources of revenue including PPP. Therefore the balancing act is required on the part of the government to make sure that financial viability does not impact upon social sustainability. Reijniers (1994) argues that although combining the strengths of private and public partners is important, such partnerships can also be a source of conflict of interest. Private sector orientation is that of achieving returns on invested funds, daring to take business risks, having to anticipate market and competitive developments and realising a corporate goal, whereas the public sector orientation reflects political opinion and political influence, formulation of legislation, regulations and authorities, democratic decision-making process, the minimisation of risk and realisation of a social goal (ibid 1994: 13) Keeping the City Spirit Intact & Maintaining Inclusivity:- Indian s cities are extremely diversified in various aspects like culture, cuisine, customs, heritage, and tourism and most importantly their trades. For instance Varanasi (Banaras) for its Silk Sarees and religious tourism, Agra for its Taj Mahal, which is among the Seven Wonders of the World and many more. While implementing the concept of smart cities in these cities it becomes imperative to sustain these aspects and promote them as well. The composition of Indian cities reflects a heterogeneous scenario and people from different socio-economic classes are ingrained in city ecosystem. There is a perception that the weaker sections, the impoverished sections of the society would be out of smart city framework. Smart solutions- Smart Cities:- What is Smart City? There is no universally accepted definition of a smart city. The conceptualisation of Smart City, consequently, varies from city to city and country to country, depending on the level of development, willingness to change, reform, resources and aspirations of the city residents. In the perception of any common city dweller in India, a smart city is like a magical bucket having items like quality infrastructure and superior services that matches with the rising levels of aspirations. The Government of India (G.O.I) has stated in the Smart Cities Mission, that the objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment, better housing, quality health, IT connectivity, Urban mobility and application of Smart Solutions. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a light house to other aspiring cities. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 5

6 Figure: 2. Smart City Features Sanitation, Hygiene & Sewage Treatment IT connectivity Digitalization, & e-governance Quality Health & Education Urban Mobility and Public Transport Smart City Sustainable Environment & Green Energy Adequate Water, constant Electricity supply Institutional Reforms & Good Governance Citizen Participation, Inclusivity Affordable Housing, especially for the Poor, The implementation of the Mission at the City level will be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created for the purpose. The SPV will plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects. Smart City is not a Panacea for all Urbanization Challenges:- The various challenges of urbanisation which have been manifested in the form of poor water supply, increasing slums, waste mismanagement, high rate of pollution, congested traffic, increasing crime, poor state of health and sanitation specially for impoverished, weaker sections, unaffordable housing and education etc. These challenges call for overall reform to the urban governance processes and structures and smart city construct alone might not address these concerns in a comprehensive manner hence a holistic approach is required for urban management. There are several complexities in the smart city construct for instance multiple parties, diverse stakeholders, and administrative-legal processes remains the most significant challenge. Various functional domains of local government viz. regulatory, governance, economic and structural manifest the complexities involved in implementing the Smart City solutions. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 6

7 Conclusion:- The Smart City concept is still in the nascent stage in India. The opposition and acceptance of the smart city concept is manifested in various domains of policy, planning, execution and monitoring. The urban planners, policy analyst, administrators and academicians are concerned and considerate about the why which deals with why smart cities however all seems to have divergent views. But increased attention is required to deliberate upon how, which deals with how smart cities are going to be established and made operational. There lies inherent challenge of bringing both public and private sector players on the same page in smart city development. Both of these players do not appreciate and recognize each other s works within the context of urban development. The private sector tends to view cities as just physical structures upon which technological intervention through Information Communication Technology (ICT) is to be superimposed. There are various concerns which have emerged during the discussion in the paper such as: What is the value proposition which is involved in initiating Smart city mission? How the smart city solution to be implemented? What should be the policy trajectory? What should be the business model and financial ecosystem? How ecological balance and sustainability be enforced? And what are the indicators for inclusivity and citizens participation in the smart city? Should government perform the role of a coordinator for facilitating the engagement among the different stakeholders? Should the government play the role of an active and major participant in smart city mission? How the role of government is to be calibrated in the context of smart cities? These concerns are required to be addressed and answered through further exploration, research, debates and discussion for making headway towards the era of inclusive, sustainable, equitable, and progressive smart cities. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 7

8 References: Basu, Rumki (2004), Public Administration: Concept and Theories. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers.pp Census of India (2011, July 15). Rural urban distribution of population 2011 (provisional population totals). Retrieved from Cisco publication (2012) Smart City Framework A Systematic Process for Enabling Smart+ Connected Communities. Retrieved from City-Framework.pdf McKinsey Global Institute (2010) India's urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining Economic growth. Retrieved from Ministry of Urban Development. (2015). Smart Cities Mission, New Delhi: Government of India. Retrieved from National Institute of Urban Affairs, (2004), Urban Finance, Quarterly Newsletter of the; National Seminar on e-governance in Municipalities Vol. 7 No 3. PM Modi launches Smart Cities Mission, says government committed to safeguarding rights of consumers (2015, June 25). DNA. Retrieved from Reijniers, J J A M (1994): Organisation of Public Private Partnership Projects: The Timely Prevention of Pitfalls International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 12, Number 3. Dr. Anurag Kumar Srivastava, Asst. Prof. Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Page 8