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Smart city – a utopian concept?

September 30, 2014

‘Smart city’ has become the buzzword ever since the Narendra Modi government took charge at the Centre, exactly 114 days ago. Since then, government offices and intellectual forums, both at the national and state level, have erupted into numerous discussions and debates over the subject. Though back home in Telangana, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is yet to commit on just how many of Modi’s 100 smart cities (as proposed by the Prime Minister) would come the new state’s way, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N Chandrababu Naidu, has gone right ahead and quoted a rather impressive figure. His estimate: 14 out of 100 would surface in AP soon.

Amidst such ambitious announcements, however, there still seems to be no definite definition for this, clearly overused, term.

While the Union ministry of urban development provides a sketchy summary on its official website, attempting to explain how “Smart cities should be able to provide good infrastructure such as water, sanitation, reliable utility services, healthcare; attract investments; transparent processes that make it easy to run commercial activities,” experts note that such descriptions hold no meaning unless sufficiently supported with a plausible plan to execute the same. What’s also missing, they point out, is a well-defined set of parameters that need to be followed for a city to qualify as a smart city, and clarity on just who the implementing authority would be.

“It appears to me that the government wants these cities to be driven by technology, much on the lines of today’s gated communities, where people would need to use a smart card to access common amenities,” said urban researcher, C Ramachandraiah, while airing his apprehension about the success of such a project. “Given that our existing municipalities do not have the capability to initiate such a programme, this would eventually slip into the hands of private parties and benefit only real estate bigwigs and tech consultants,” he rued.

It is perhaps for such reasons that, Anant Maringanti, of Hyderabad Urban Lab, categorically stated how the proposed ‘smart city’ scheme needs to be designed so as to be able to expand the livelihoods of people working in the informal sector. “A good 90% of the Indian economy is embedded in the informal sector. In most cities, this sector sustains the livelihoods of a very large number of people. If the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be deployed to make life easier for them, then that, according to me, would be an elegant smart city,” Maringanti said.

“Unless people have jobs in a city, what is the point in digitizing services and putting up cameras all over or even setting up open wi-fi? That does not make a city ‘smart’,” stated Sudhir K Mahon, former chief planning officer of HMDA, while maintaining that it ultimately boils down to “good governance”. “And that can be achieved through linking of all facilities and services, like water, sewerage, etc, so that they prove to be helpful to the masses. Then a city can be called smart,” he added.

Toeing a similar line of explanation, professor V Srinivas Chary, dean of research, Administrative Staff College of India, defined a ‘smart city’ as one that “can deliver good quality services to all its stakeholders, through the use of ICT, in a cost and resource effective way”. “Given the high level of digital literacy in our country, the proposition seems extremely plausible,” Chary claimed, though stressing the need for city governments to adequately capitalise on the available technology to make the project a success.

“There has to be an integrated system of governance with better coordination among departments to implement such schemes,” reiterated architect, Shankar Narayan. Sharing his definition of a ‘smart city’, Narayan said: “A city that can use its natural resources smartly – be it water or even garbage – and is sustainable and equitable to all its residents, can be labelled a ‘smart city’. Then, whether that is achieved through the use of technology or some other means, is immaterial.”

Source: The Times of India, Hyderabad

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City 

“Hyderabad will be developed as ‘Global Smart City’”

September 1, 2014

Minister for Irrigation T. Harish Rao said the government was committed to develop Hyderabad as a ‘Global Smart City’ and showcase as an ‘investor-friendly’ destination by implementing the assurances made by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India).

At the concluding ceremony of the 3{+r}{+d}edition of CREDAI Hyderabad Property Show, 2014 on Sunday, he said the State welcomed all communities to stay in Hyderabad and that in two years, the government could assure 365 days of power and water supply. “We will issue the GO on rationalised seigniorage fee to Rs. 3 per square foot of built-up area very soon. We can see a boom in the real estate sector in Hyderabad from 2015 onwards,” he said.

National president CREDAI, Shekar Reddy said Telangana had set an example for other States to follow, with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s assurance to remove unwanted NOC, single window approval and removal of VAT and Non-Agriculture Tax (NALA) too.

 

Source:The Hindu

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Andhra Pradesh, Smart City 

1 lakh CCTV cameras to monitor city

July 25, 2014

GHMC promises their installation before Metropolis meet. Other departments including Labour, School Education, Medical and Health too should join in and make these provisions mandatory for the licenses they issue.

Hyderabad would be equipped with at least one lakh closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras before the World Metropolis Congress meet in October, GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar said here on Thursday.

Speaking at a workshop on ‘Public Safety Act’ jointly organised by the GHMC and the Police Department, he rejected the commonly-held belief that public safety was the task of the police alone and said all departments should collectively work to implement the Act.

Mr. Somesh Kumar said the civic body was planning to include provisions of the Act such as making CCTV cameras mandatory before issuing building permissions and trade licenses. Other departments including Labour, School Education, Medical and Health too should join in and make these provisions mandatory for the licenses they issue, he said.

He pointed out that under the Act, all establishments where 100 or more people gather regularly, should mandatorily install CCTV cameras.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy said the city would have such cameras installed at all public places such as places of worship, educational institutions, bus stops, malls, hotels and railway stations. Cyberabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand said the workshop had brought all stakeholders on one platform to create awareness about the Act.

Source :The Hindu

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Andhra Pradesh, Articles, CCTV Surveillance 

Road trips take a toll on drivers

June 17, 2013

 

Koride Mahesh, TNN |

HYDERABAD: Venturing out of Hyderabad by road has become a costly proposition. Thanks to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the highways division of the state government handing over the roads to private developers, motorists are now greeted with toll gates at least four to five times on the highways fanning out from the city.

Except the Karimnagar highway, where toll collection is yet to begin, motorists on all other highways, including the Hyderabad-Vijayawada NH 65, Hyderabad-Nagpur NH 44, Hyderabad-Bangalore, Hyderabad-Warangal NH 202 and Miyapur-Sangareddy highway have to pay taxes. Apart from that, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has been collecting toll on the completed stretches of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and on the road to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad.

The toll being collected on the highways ranges from Rs 1.20 to Rs 2 per kilometre depending on the cost of the project. For example, motorists have to shell out Rs 75 at the toll plaza at Gudur village near Bibinagar for a mere 35 km stretch from Hyderabad to Yadagiri.

The developers are also increasing the toll every six months citing conditions in the agreement. For instance, the Hyderabad-Yadagiri Tollways Pvt Ltd started collecting tax on the NH 202 to Warangal barely six months ago in December 2012. But the developer decided to increase the toll amount from June 11 midnight without even waiting for clearance from the NHAI.

“The hike in toll has not been cleared by the NHAI but the developer decided to increase the tax anyway. We will ask them to wait till it is cleared by the authority,” P Ramesh Reddy, project director of Hyderabad Project Implementation Unit of NHAI, told STOI.

Even APSRTC buses are being subjected to the tax ranging from Rs 4 to Rs 6 per km. With the increasing burden, the corporation recently decided to pass on the toll burden to the passengers. “Both the state and Centre have given up on road development works and have handed them over to private developers under the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode. But the burden is being borne by the general public,” lamented B Giridhar, a software employee and resident of Madhuranagar.

 

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized 

Four-laning of Hyderabad-Vijayawada road from December

April 7, 2008

VIJAYAWADA: The long-awaited Rs 1460 crore four-laning of Hyderabad-Vijayawada Road will commence in December. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will finalise the tenders by June.

Currently, the four-laning has been completed between Vijayawada and Nandigama (50 km) and Hyderabad and Malkapuram (40 km). The 181 km stretch between Malkapuram and Nandigama will now be four-laned.

NHAI Vijayawada-Hyderabad section project director P Srinivasa Rao said the work will be completed in two years time. The NHAI, the State Government and the contractors will enter into a state-support agreement before commencing the works, he added.

VIJAYAWADA-MACHILIPATNAM ROAD: Srinivasa Rao said the the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam Road will also be widened to 200 feet. This would be done for 150 km. The tenders would be finalised in June and the works would begin from December.

The widening is estimated to cost Rs 493 crore. The widening has become necessary in view of the heavy vehicular movement on the road and the future needs that may arise after the establishment of the new port.

The project director met superintendent engineer of Irrigation T Shivaji recently to discuss the widening as some irrigation canals pass along the road.

Source: newindpress.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized 

Navayuga Engg bags Rs 710cr NHAI project

December 6, 2007

Hyderabad-based multi-disciplinary engineering and construction player, Navayuga Engineering Company, has bagged a Rs 710 crore project from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

The contract envisages designing, construction, financing and maintenance of an access-controlled highway project between the Bangalore and Nelamangala section on NH-4 on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in Karnataka.

Debt syndication of Rs 540 crore has been done by
Bhubaneswar-based SRB Consultancy Private Limited from a consortium of banks.

The six-lane highway project, total length of which is 19.5 kilometres with elevated highway for 4.5 kilometres, terminates at Nelamangala. The scope of the work also includes underpasses and service roads for the entire length on both sides of the highway.

According to a company press release, revenues generated from the proposed tolling will accrue to an SPV (special purpose vehicle) formed for implementing the project.

The concession period of the project is 20 years, including the construction period of two years. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2009, it added.

Source: business-standard.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Investment and Finance