SMART
CITY
A
'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall
infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability.
It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and
the basis for providing essential services to residents. A Smart City, should
have Power, Water, Cleanliness, Seamless Information, 24/7 Utility Services,
WiFi zones, Recreational Spaces, Waste Management, Connectivity in transport as
well as communication, Speedy Service, Transparency and Accountability etc.
While there are good points
& it is also a good and needed step, but.... firstly, it doesnt take into
account the realities of the Indian Demography, Polity, Bureaucracy, Governance
and Systems. it doesnt take into account the Indian Economy, and its doesnt
take into account the status of the real estate sector, as also any number of
other realities that beset the Indian Economy.
ECONOMIC STRUCTURE
Economic output by the entire corporate
contributes just 18% or thereabouts to the Indian Economy. The rest is
Agriculture, and unorganised sector. A smart city implies high doses of
technological capability, which scores upon scores of our companies do not
possess, and the gap is too large for them to plug, given the history and the
monetary requirements. Other nations enjoy economies of scale and can produce
whatever we can at cheaper rates. If we keep a purchase local condition, we are
finished before we start, like the FDI in retail brouhaha.
If we cant compete in a commodity like
Stainless Steel, it is foolish to believe we can compete in high-tech sectors.
We have skills aplenty; they have the economies of scale, which is what is
needed. For that, we have to dismantle a large part of our taxation structure,
which is inverted in more than a few categories.
Next, how do you fit in the small variables
like the thelaa-gaadis, small eateries, roadside stores etc - all the things
that define a lovely Indian City in a Smart City concept? Is it clear? What
happens to these small support services? They are a cultural reality; I wouldnt
be caught dead in a 5-star; too stuffy and showy for my taste, Give me the
fantastic Idli-Vada at Sion Station; given a choice, I would eat Idli Vada over
those showy dishes in a Marriott any day! The point is that these minor details
need to be idenitified and clarified before we start, or we run the risk of
overzealous officials banning or relegating such activities to the backburner,
leading to loss of livelihood to thousands, and an erosion of uniqueness and
attractiveness as well.
Next, Sustainable Real Estate. End of Story.
Take a gander at the real estate market in India. It is controlled and
cartelised, beset by crime and corruption. TIll last year, prices were holding
in Urban India depsite their being a 50% vacancy rate of unsold inventory. What
happens when the Smart City Ball gets rolling? Sustainable? That it isnt.
Valuations will go through the roof, and that is a fact.
It completely ignores the structure of the
Economy, which is characterised by small entrepreneurs. I would like to
understand how the small entrepreneur with 50000 seed capital can make a mark
in your smart cities. These ventures are capital intensive, and import oriented,
which is the real reason why everyone from China to USA is agog; they see
$$$$Kaching$$$$! Study the incomparable report on the Indian Economy by Prof
Vaidyanathan - India, Uninc; it gives figures from Government sources and
introduces you to the real India.
There are two data points available : 5th
Economic Survey, 2005 and NSSO 2011, Both tell the same story: Smart Cities are
nothing but a fantasy. They are premature, they are the future, but very
premature. The Idea is right, but a decade or two too early. As per the first,
there are 41.83 Million establishments in India; 76% of these worked without
any power; employing 100.9 Million; 46% were own account establishments. As per
NSSO 2011, 66% were OAE; retail trade slipped from 42% to 30% and ,manufacturing
grew from 23% to 31%. Own Account Establishments were 60% of retail, 72% of
Manufacturing, and 63% of service. Contribution to the GDP : between 46-58%.
Given the Smart City definition, a good
number of them don’t fit – and largely for no fault of theirs. These
organizations do not have the money to upgrade – they will upgrade eventually :
a process that is currently underway. That is the time these concepts can work.
And this will happen in tandem with improvements in education etc basic facilities
in India, not before.
PRIORITIES &
REQUIREMENTS
What does the nation require? Research shows
that nearly 93Million of our farmers are losing 800-odd per crop; data shows
the level of poverty in our nation; consumption trends corroborate, with the
top 10% growing at a rate of 3% as opposed to 1% consumption growth for the
bottom 40%. Farmer suicides are going up; the economic fundamentals are shaky;
the global economy is in unprecedented turmoil, and all we can think of is
Smart Cities? Our Armed Forces are in dire need of funds; and all we can think
of is Smart Cities? We spend the lowest in GDP terms on Education, Defence and
Health, and all we can think of are Smart Cities?
We dont need Smart Cities, We need Schools,
Colleges, Primary Health Centers, Rockets, Mortars, Fighter Aircraft, Missiles,
Satellites, Seed Research, Irrigation, Water Purity for Agriculture, Extension
Workers to teach our Small and Marginal Farmers, Redoing our Duty and Taxation
Structures, Fair prices for farmers at farm-gate, cement or pukka roads, etc
etc. A smart city can come after that.
Besides, a Smart City requires – data
connection. We in India have average & unreliable speeds of around 1,5mbps;
the developed nations have a speed of upwards of 22mbps. They have high
penetration of credit and debit cards and acceptability of online commerce; we
dont. India has precisely 73Million broadband connections - this is including
individuals with a double connection; I have three. Less than 69Million Indians
consume more than 512mbps of data on a monthly basis; and cashless transactions
are unknown outside the protected environs of top places.
The logic is sound, I clearly stated that
concept is needed - but a decade or two too early. This will work in a
relatively corruption-free atmosphere, where the Land issues are under control.
That we dont have. Next, this works in economic reality which enable the above,
which again we dont have, as I have been at pains to point out.
The shift to the small cities will not happen
in the industrial sector; the vast majority - upto 90% - of the actual
producers are concentrated in only a select few agglomerations, namely Mumbai,
Delhi, Chennai, followed by Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad. Other
second-level sites are Nashik, Meerut, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Kanpur,
Rajkot,Surat. No one else comes even close to these cities, although Jaipur,
Chandigarh, Hissar, Nagpur and a couple others do try hard. These are further
populated by small enterprises.
The shift will not happen from these
established centers; there is in existence an ecosystem that now is impossible
to replace,. with manufacturing facilities being deeply interlinked with their
vendors and suppliers who have now set up in the same or nearby areas. In B2B
industries, a symbiotic relationship has started with the consumers and the
manufacturers sometimes co-located, or located within 8-10Kms of each other.
The proof is in the manifest failure of
industrial areas in other wannabe metros, like Indore and Bhopal, which have
simple failed to take off. They remain consumption and trading centers, not
producers, despite an incredible level of support given to them by successive
Governments. The failure of Bhilai to rise as a comparable center to even
Nagpur, let alone Surat & Rajkot, is a case in point.
MY
FEAR
We are only exacerbating the rural-urban
divide. As on date, few Urban Indians show the same level of passion for rural
development, which is the only thing we need. Rest will take care of itself! We
are asking people to focus their valuable- sorry, waste their valuable time on
cities, where the conditions are utopic in comparison to villages and that is a
fact! Large numbers of villagers would willingly settle for facilities
comparable to our current "stupid cities" and that is also
undeniable.
No amount of planning will overcome the
serious objections there are, some of which are enlisted below. I dont buy
visions; they are a dime a dozen. I buy execution - call it my sales instinct,
but I am not impressed by Grand Visions without a proper execution document,
which contains detailed studies & steps. And this is not made after finalising the
plan; that is stupid, blunt and straight. Typically, that is to be visualised before
finalising the plan and the execution.
Where is that plan? If it exists, why isnt it
in the public domain? Where is the detail on what exactly a "Smart
City" means in practical terms - real world terms, not meaningless jargon,
which even I can write, given I am a part-techie and a part-telecom / business person
to boot?????? Give a person time and opportunity, and out comes a logical
sounding plan! That is dead easy; doesnt require any great skill whatsoever. What
will be the mode of transport in a Smart City? Residence and Commercial Areas?
Connectivity in Roads? Size of internal roads? Drainage?
What will be the connectivity in terms of data
and communication? What technology will be adopted? How will the technologies
communicate with the other "stupid' cities? What will it cost the
residents?What happens to the slums? Or doesnt the concept apply to the slums?
If they are in a smart city, they should be smart slums too! Each city has
bylanes with crowded marketplaces; these are the epicenter of business in
India, commanding a lion's share of the business volume pan-India. What does
this mean for them? What is in it for them?
How will rural India benefit? Please give
specifics : not general statements like find jobs, or employment generation.
Jobs in which industry, at what level paying what? Where will they stay? Where
will the land come from? What will it do to land prices? How will you ensure
proper settlement for dues - and if you think this is not important, I can
produce 40 years worth of terrifying tales of neglect? How will you ensure Land
Mafia is controlled - without real and serious administrative reform which no
government - AAP apart- has shown any appetite for?
A Smart City means Power, Water round the
clock, Where will that come from? We dont have enough power now, wont have for
another 2 decades. Who will sacrifice their power for these Smart Cities? And
why should any stupid city sacrifice even one kilowatt for a smart city, pray
tell? Where will water come from? Any number of cities are seriously water
deficient. Where is the plan for all this?????????
A Smart City implies a certain level of data
connection backbone; which we dont have, and wont for a minimum 5-10 years
more. It also means seamless information availability. How will you ensure
that, given the various data collection points, formats, protocols? When your
land records are not computerised? When any number of public facilities are not
online fully, and there are no plans for them either? When you still have no
common information system in the Government? When there is a redundancy in
several documents? I could go on and
on... Where is the real plan?
Why
does this generate this level of interest? Why doesnt the question of farmer
suicides, famers earnings, rural facilities, etc generate the same level of
attention, interest, passion in Urban Indians? Arent they Indians? What is
being done for them, pray tell? We are still focussing on cities, not on the
villages where the situation is decidedly bad. Why hasnt the same level of euphoria,
the same level of passion, the same vision, the same money been generated for
setting things right in Rural India? The government is hard selling this
concept abroad, showcasing our development, whereas we require basic steps like
Education, Health, Governance and Defence!
What it should have done is launched rural
programmes with the same fervor, passion, vision and attention - which is not
the case. We have finite resources both in terms of money as well as other
aspects. How we spend those resources is the key.
In point of fact, Smart Cities is the last
thing we need; we dont have the ground realities even in urban India for it,
and that is a fact. Not one person anywhere in India has even tried to meet the
serious and potent objections being raised by any number of people; and are
focussing on the vision.
Remember : Great
plans fail on execution as, among other reasons, it turns out that the ground
realities did not support the plan in the first place.
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