“AMRUT MOHOTSAV: AN ILLUSION OR REALITY!

Submitted by:

Samar Pratap Singh, B.A. L.L.B (Hons.)(1368)

(Hons.)(1368)

Submitted to:

Dr. Shivani Mohan,

Assistant Professor of Economics

This project report is submitted for the partial fulfilment of the

(B.A. L.L.B) course in Economics — I.

18th October 2016

Chanakya National Law University, Patna

 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE ....................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................. 4
1) “AMRUT MOHOTSAV: AN ILLUSION OR REALITY!” ........................ 5
a) Aims and objective:............................................................................... 6
b) Hypothesis: ............................................................................................ 6
c) Research questions: ............................................................................... 6
d) Limitations ............................................................................................ 6
e) Research methodology .......................................................................... 7
2) Government schemes and plans ..................................................................... 8
3) Challenges to urbanisation ........................................................................... 12
4) Smart solutions ............................................................................................. 16
5) Flaws in a flagship programmes .................................................................. 19
6) Conclusion and Suggestion .......................................................................... 22
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 26

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I, hereby, declare that the work reported in the L.L.B (Hons.) Project Report entitled

“ Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality!”

Submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA is an authentic

record of my work carried out under the supervision of Dr. Shivani Mohan, Assistant

Professor of Economics. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or
diploma. I am fully responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

(Signature of the Candidate)

Samar Pratap Singh (1368)

B.A. L.L.B., 2nd year
CNLU, Patna

3
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to show our gratitude towards our guide, Dr. Shivani Mohan, Assistant
Professor of Economics under whose guidance, we structured my project.
We owe the present accomplishment of our project to our CNLU librarians, who helped us
immensely with materials throughout the project and without whom we couldn’t have
completed it in the present way.
We would also like to extend our gratitude to our friends and all those unseen hands that
helped us out at every stage of our project.

THANK YOU,

SAMAR PRATAP SINGH

2nd year, SEMESTER -3rd
CNLU, PATNA

4
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

1) “AMRUT MOHOTSAV: AN ILLUSION OR REALITY!”

"This will be our true and meaningful tribute to our freedom fighters,"1

In the first full year budget, The Union Minister For Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley made a big
announcement that the government is planning to complete 2 crore houses in urban areas and
4 crore houses in rural areas under the scheme 'Housing for all'.

He further added, "Each of us has to commit ourselves to this task of eliminating absolute
poverty,"2. This was the language of finance minister promising nation that the year 2022 will
be the Amrut Mahotsav, the 75th year, of India's independence. This Amrut Mohatsav will be
a tribute to the freedom fighters. The vision of freedom fighters that every household in free
India will have roof above their head, ample food, clothing and everything necessary for
living a dignified life. The government is aiming to fulfil all these visions by 2022.

This project report is a critical analysis on the policy of the government. It focuses on the
viability of promise, the finance minister has made in his budget speech. The target set by the
government of India for Amrut Mohatsav is very big. It is no doubt that it can be achieved.
But whether it can be achieved in such short duration is a question to be pondered upon.

This project report will focus only upon major schemes initiated by the Modi government
like- AMRUT, SMART CITIES MISSION, and SWACHH BHARAT MISSION (SBM).

The first chapter deals with the introduction of the policy, schemes, or steps taken by the
government. The second chapter deals with the merits of such schemes and their critical
analysis. The third chapter will cover the comparative analysis of the schemes with other
schemes outside India. The fourth chapter will be the suggestions in order to improve upon
the steps by the government.

The Amrut Mohatsav will be the gift of transformed on 75th year of Independence to the
country. This project is only to show the mirror whether the arrangements made are sufficient
to make that a truth or some more things are to be added to the arrangements. The project

1
Arun Jaitley, Minister of finance, said during presenting the budget.
See also, Rajeev Masand, Amrut Mahotsav will be a true and meaningful tribute to our freedom fighters, says
Jaitley, News18, pub. February 28, 2015, 9:44 PM IST.
Accessed from: http://www.news18.com/news/business/amrut-mahotsav-will-be-a-true-and-meaningful-tribute-
to-our-freedom-fighters-says-jaitley-970122.html. Accessed on.-17-10-2016; 20:17.
2
Ibid.

5
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

report will give reasons supported by the authentic backing for making a strong and effective
suggestion.

a) Aims and objective:

The researcher wants to:

1. Critically analyse the government schemes.

2. Find out the strength and weakness of such government schemes.
3. Study the similar steps taken by the other governments.
4. Suggest steps to fill the loopholes for making the promise into reality.

b) Hypothesis:

1. The government schemes are totally impractical and imaginative.

2. The main objective of government to work for poor is defeated through such schemes.
It benefits only a handful of people.
3. The government has diverted funds from important sectors to less important sectors.
4. The government has lessened the role of local government in development of places.

c) Research questions:

1. Is the government serious and sincere regarding the fulfilment of AMRUT

MOHOTSAV promise?
2. Do the government schemes sufficient to achieve the goal?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such schemes?
4. What are the new changes to be introduced for making the promise a reality?

d) Limitations

Since, it is being a recent step by the government. The information regarding it is available
only with government websites or newspapers. The unavailability of the literature or
commentary in book form is a concern for the researcher. The researcher has a limited time to
prepare this project report. Having less time, it is very difficult to make it more
comprehensive. The researcher for gathering the information and reviews have to go through

6
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

various videos and documentary. This was a horrible experience when it took hours for the
video to buffer and play on YouTube.

e) Research methodology

The researcher has chosen to do doctrinal type of research. While doing this project, he
consulted various government notifications, schemes, news reports and case study of various
cities. The researcher, after reading the materials available, prepared a comparative chart.
This helped in understanding the problems existing and brings out the solution for the
problem existing in India.

The researcher went through various documentaries and Bloomberg philanthropies tutorial
videos in order to understand the method government is pursuing for train the smart cities
team. This made the researcher to better understand the flaws and problem with the method.
It also helped to point out the effectiveness of the method.

7
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

2) GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND PLANS

With the advent of the new government, a wave of change was expected in the whole
country. The face of new government, our hon’ble P.M., promised smart cities, Swatch
Bharat, “house for all” and clean portable water to each household. In the UPA government,
the government was running various programmes like- Indira Awas Yojna, PM Gram Sadak
Yojna, Rajiv Gandhi Electrification Scheme, and various Health Related Missions also. The
government recently changed the name for these schemes. Whatever programmes are started
were already there in UPA regime with different names. The new missions which Modi
regime started are AMRUT, SMART CITIES MISSION, and SWACHH BHARAT
MISSION (SBM). The government has made few changes in the tax imposition. A Swachh
Bharat cess has been added. There are no big changes in the tax collection. Now, the question
arises how the government will pay for such expensive initiatives.

The government have two fold unfolding of the schemes. The first fold is for urban
development and the other is rural development. There is no such flagship programmes
unveiled for rural development. The government has focussed mainly on urban rejuvenation
and slum transformation in metros. The official estimates of per capita investment
requirement is Rs.43,386 for a 20 year period, or a total investment of Rs.7 lakh crore.
Making a clean and smart city isn’t just about creating the physical infrastructure — roads,
clean water, power, and transport and so on, things India finds difficult to deliver to its
citizens nearly seven decades after Independence. It is hoped that public private partnerships
(PPP) will deliver but the mechanism seems to need a lot of tweaking in order for it to work,
a fact acknowledged in the recent Budget.3 The problem doesn’t end here. As per estimates,
about 25–30 people will migrate every minute to major Indian cities from rural areas in
search of better livelihood and better lifestyles. With this momentum, about 843 million
people are expected to live in urban areas by 2050. To accommodate this massive
urbanization, India needs to find smarter ways to manage complexities, reduce expenses,
increase efficiency and improve the quality of life. According to the budget speech of
Finance minister, 2 crore houses in urban areas and 4 crore houses in rural areas under the

3
Editorial, 100 smart cities project and India's urban challenges The
Hindu, May 1, 2015.
Available at:
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/100%C2%ADsmart%C2%ADcities%C2%ADproject%C2%ADand%C2%AD
indias%C2%ADurban%C2%ADchallenges/article7159339.ece?utm_source=InternalRef&utm_mediu%E2%80%A6;
accessed on: 16-10-2016; 02:55.

8
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

scheme 'Housing for all'4 needs to be completed for the population know residing in these
areas. And at this alarming rate of increase of population in urban area, there will be need of
more houses and more arrangements.

The government for the urban development has initiated AMRUT and Smart Cities
Mission. These schemes though named differently but hold a strong complementarity
between the AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission in achieving urban transformation. While
AMRUT follows a project based approach, the Smart Cities Mission follows an area based
strategy.

AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation):

The Amrut aims at providing basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to
households and build amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all,
especially the poor and the disadvantaged is a national priority. An estimate of the funds
required over a 20 year period, at 2009-10 prices, was made by the High Powered Expert
Committee (HPEC) during 2011. The Committee estimated that Rs. 39.2 lakh crore was
required for creation of urban infrastructure, including Rs. 17.3 lakh crore for urban roads
and Rs. 8 lakh crore for services, such as water supply, sewerage, solid waste management
and storm water drains. Moreover, the requirement for Operation and Maintenance (O&M)
was separately estimated to be Rs. 19.9 lakh crore.5

The Mission will cover 100 cities and its duration will be five years (FY201516 to
FY201920). The Mission may be continued thereafter in the light of an evaluation to be done
by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and incorporating the learnings into the
Mission. The total number of 100 Smart Cities has been distributed among the States and
UTs on the basis of an equitable criterion. The formula gives equal weight age (50:50) to
urban population of the State/UT and the number of statutory towns in the State/UT. Based
on this formula, each State/UT will, therefore, have a certain number of potential Smart
Cities, with each State/UT having at least one. The number of potential Smart Cities from
each State/UT will be capped at the indicated number. This distribution formula has also been
used for allocation of funds under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
AMRUT. The distribution of Smart Cities will be reviewed after two years of the
implementation of the Mission. Based on an assessment of the performance of States/ULBs

4
Supra, note 1.
5
Amrut: Mission Statements And Guidelines; Ministry of Urban Development; Government of India; Issued
on-June 2015.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

in the Challenge, some reallocation of the remaining potential Smart Cities among States may
be required to be done by the Ministry of Urban Development.6

The purpose of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is to:7
(i) ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a
sewerage connection;
(ii) increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained
open spaces (e.g. parks); and
(iii) reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for
non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling). All these outcomes are valued
by citizens, particularly women, and indicators and standards have been
prescribed by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in the form of Service
Level Benchmarks (SLBs).

Smart Cities Mission:

Cities accommodate nearly 31% of India's current population and contribute 63% of GDP
(Census 2011). Urban areas are expected to house 40% of India's population and contribute
75% of India's GDP by 2030. This requires comprehensive development of physical,
institutional, social and economic infrastructure. All are important in improving the quality of
life and attracting people and investment, setting in motion a virtuous cycle of growth and
development. Development of Smart Cities is a step in that direction. The Smart Cities
Mission is an innovative and new initiative by the Government of India to drive economic
growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local development and
harnessing technology as a means to create smart outcomes for citizens.8

Smart Cities Mission Strategy

1. Pan city initiative in which at least one Smart Solution is applied citywide
2. Develop areas step-by-step– three models of area based developments
 Retrofitting,
6
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), gov.india.in;
Available at: https://india.gov.in/atal-mission-rejuvenation-and-urban-transformation-amrut; accessed on: 16-10-
2016; 02:55.
7
Supra, note 5.
8
Smart Cities Mission: A step towards Smart India | India Portal;
Available at: https://india.gov.in/atal-mission-rejuvenation-and-urban-transformation-amrut; accessed on: 16-10-
2016; 02:55.

10
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

 Redevelopment,
 Greenfield

A bold Vision: each city conveyed its own unique vision that reflected local context, its
resources, and the Priorities and aspirations of its citizens.

A Pan-City Initiative: Cities drew inspiration from smart solutions that incorporated the use
of technology, information and data to improve services or results for citizens. The pan-city
initiative had to touch the lives of many, or potentially all, of its citizens.

An Area-based Development Plan: This plan aimed to transform an existing place within
each city, creating an exemplar for other areas in the city, or across the country, to follow.
Depending on local circumstances, cities chose one of three approached: retrofitting,
redevelopment, or green field development.9

The core infrastructure elements:10

1. Adequate water supply,
2. Assured electricity supply,
3. Sanitation, including solid waste management,
4. Efficient urban mobility and public transport,
5. Affordable housing, especially for the poor,
6. Robust IT connectivity and digitalization,
7. Good governance, especially e-Governance
8. and citizen participation,
9. Sustainable environment,
10. Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly, and
11. Health and education.

9
Challenges overview; Smart Cities Challenge;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/challenge-overview; accessed on: 16-10-2016; 02:55.
10
Supra, note 6 at 2.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

3) CHALLENGES TO URBANISATION

The goal of the flagship programmes of the government to urbanise and not only simple
urbanisation but to turn cities into smart cities. But there are various barriers to such goals.
These barriers, though big and nearly impossible to get away with, if the government works
with the conventional methods. Those challenges are:
1. Population

In each of our metro cities more than 6 million people resides and in small towns even,
the numbers easily crosses 2 lakhs. The population in the urban areas are even increasing
at a higher pace. India is all set to become the most-populous country in the world by
2030 and about 25–30 people will migrate every minute to major Indian cities from rural
areas in search of better livelihood and better lifestyles. With this momentum, about 843
million people are expected to live in urban areas by 2050.11

2. Congested lanes

All the major cities of India are very old. The style of making them is also based on old
methods. These lanes are not only congested but also occupied by thick population. These
lanes have old and weak houses which are not fit for undergoing any change. The
alteration may lead to their collapse.12

3. Over crowded suburbs

The cities in India are too expensive for the population. This led to formation of
various suburbs and slums. Dharavi, the biggest slum in Asia, is in Mumbai. There are
over populated suburbs on the outer borders of the big cities like Delhi and Kolkata.
These suburbs are not building in a planned manner and are overcrowded. There are
many houses which don’t have basic amenities. There are 13,749,424 houses in slums
in India in which 8,031,664 are Good, 5,163,169 are Liveable, 554,591 are in
Dilapidated condition.13

11
Smart Cities-Make in India
Available at: http://www.makeinindia.com/article/%AD/v/internet%ADof%ADthings1/7; accessed on: 16-10-2016;
02:55.
12
Prashant Jha; In chaotic Varanasi, a state at loss; Hindustan Times, Varanasi; Updated: Jul 12, 2016 07:55 IST
Available at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-a-chaotic-city-a-state-at-loss/story-
8MJkdQnuu64QPJLpcv8NeK.html; accessed on: 16-10-2016; 02:55.
13
HH (household)-Series Slum Tables, Census of India 2011
Available at: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/Searchdata.aspx; accessed on: 16-10-2016; 05:30.

12
Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality!
Reality ! (2016)

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

4. Lack of technology
The technology in use is old fashioned and are energy inefficient. They cannot take
the burden of increased population. The old technology is costing much higher price
than the actual cost. This is a big concern for a state like India.
5. Energy deprivation
The country is suffering from energy deprivation. The coal blocks are limited and the
supply of coal cannot be increased from our mines. This results into lack of energy.
Our country is dependent upon thermal power for electricity production. Now, it is
necessary to shift to other option for electricity production. The old technology and
transmission lines also waste energy.
6. Connectivity
Since, India is a developing country; it lacks proper connectivity in its remote areas.
The lack of renovation of the old communication equipments has led to poor
connectivity. The high data charges, the poor telephone cable maintenance and lack of
adequate towers add to the pinch.
7. Illiteracy
The rural areas as well as people in slums are illiterate. This creates a huge barrier for
the development. It defeats all the government schemes because due to lack of
education people could not utilise the government facilities.
8. Unskilled labour

The labourers which also include the white collars lack proper training and expertise required
in order to produce world class products or event provide desired services. This inhibits the
pace of development. The companies, hence, don’t want to invest in such areas and the
development gets deferred again.

9. Huge traffic
Due to the congested lanes and lack of adequate roads, the traffic on the road becomes
huge at peak hours. This costs the public time and money also. This is a big boulder in
the path of smart city.
10. Water scarcity
The majority of population depends upon the ground water and use pumps to suck out
the required water. In the big cities, the water table has gone down beyond
expectations. This has led to the scarcity of portable water in such areas. The water is

14
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

being supplied through pipelines and tankers which remain very painful for the
public. Long queues before tankers and the fear of infection always haunt the public.
11. Pollution

With the urbanisation, the most dreadful thing happens is pollution. This has been reported
that 3 million deaths took place in India due to pollution.14 This pollution not only affects
lungs but effect eyesight too. At the peak hours, it recorded a range of 651 to 2,000
microgramme per cu m.15

12. Garbage waste

The population cover is notorious for producing huge waste not only in India but
everywhere. According to the data, Indian cities produces 0.14 million tonnes of
garbage daily.16 The waste management has also become a bad dream for the local
government.
13. Lack of fund
The most important thing is that we don’t have adequate funda to turn our dream into
reality. Given the sheet scale of the development plan, the public resources would
largely be insufficient and the government is working on envisaging new financing
routes to boost the program.17

14
Chelsea Harvey; Air pollution in India is so bad that it kills half a million people every year; The Washington
Post, May 11.
Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/11/air-pollution-in-india-
is-so-bad-that-it-kills-half-a-million-people-every-year/?utm_term=.a937d5153a67;accessed on: 16-10-2016; 05:30.
15
Unacceptable levels of pollution in Delhi: Study;the financial express; PTI | New Delhi | Published: February
20, 2015 7:44 PM
Available at http://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/unacceptable-levels-of-pollution-in-delhi-
study/45385/;accessed on: 16-10-2016; 05:30.
16
Poulomi Banerjee; Gone to waste: How India is drowning in garbage;
Hindustan Times, Updated: Feb 09, 2016 18:54 IST
Available at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/india-s-cities-are-faced-with-a-severe-waste-management-
crisis/story-vk1Qs9PJT8l1bPLCJKsOTP.html;accessed on: 16-10-2016; 05:30.
17
Supra, note 11.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

4) SMART SOLUTIONS

The problems listed in the above chapter are the general problems haunting almost every city
or town of India. Around the world, there are cities which have adopted smart ways to tackle
big problems. The local administration took the problems and devised solutions through
public support.

City name Innovation Problems Solution Result

Bangkok18 Improving Slums lacked Called for solutions from
neighborhoods sufficient homes and communities and public.
through basic infrastructure. A pilot program was
citizen-led Increasing launched within informal
planning population and poor settlements along Buag
health condition of Bua canal in Bankok.
citizens Baan Mankong project
empowered people to be
directly involved in
shaping their whole
community and
encouraged people to see
informal settlements as
part of the wider city.
Through the scaling of
Baan Mankong, more
than 1,000 communities
innovated and
implemented projects in
226 towns and cities,
improving 54,000
households. The United
Nations commended the
initiative for using
community action to
upgrade slums.

Barcelona Promoting Barcelona was The city government Barcelona reduced its
19
solar energy to heavily dependent on passed a Solar Thermal energy consumption by
increase costly and Ordinance in 1999. The 25,000 MWh annually
sustainability environmentally ordinance made it compared to 2000 usage
damaging fossil fuels. compulsory to use solar levels. It has achieved this
The city needed a energy to supply 60% of by including more solar
new direction in running hot water in all and more photovoltaic
energy policy. new or renovated energy. More than 70
buildings. It also put solar other Spanish cities
powered bus stops on followed Barcelona’s
Barcelona’s streets. example.

Curitiba Increasing In 1990s, the city had Curitiba pioneered a new Within five years, 70% of
20 recycling limited capacity to recycling plan, “Garbage households in Curitiba
through routinely pick up that is not garbage,” which had become active

18
Case study Bangkok; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/bangkok-improving-neighborhoods-through-citizen-led-
planning; accessed on: 17-10-2016; 05:30.
19
Case study Barcelona; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/barcelona-promoting-solar-energy-to-increase-
sustainability; accessed on: 17-10-2016; 05:30.
20
Case study Curitiba; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/curitiba-increasing-recycling-through-citizen-incentives;
accessed on: 17-10-2016; 05:30.

16
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

citizen trash, which left encouraged recycling. The participants in the waste
incentives garbage piled up on city also began rewarding reduction strategy,
the streets. The city citizens with food, books, preventing tens of
desperately needed or bus tickets when they thousands of tons of
better methods of separated their organic and waste from being sent to
picking up garbage non-organic waste. landfills.
and to reduce its
production of waste.
Dongche local Citizens’ complaints DongCheng District The initiative has
ng21 government in DongCheng implemented a pilot improved relations
addresses District took a long program using mobile between municipal
complaints time to address. Even based GIS and GPS administrators and
with mobile if the government technologies breaking the citizens by organizing the
technology knew of multiple city into smaller zones and process and enabling the
issues in one tracking all complaints government to track
neighborhood, within these zones. Each service delivery. The
government zone is constantly updated work culture of municipal
employees were with issues citizens are staff has also been
responsible for submitting, allowing transformed; today,
limited assignments government employees to employees spend less
and would solve one address multiple citizen time in the office and
problem at a time. complaints at once. more time in the field,
Often, officials would solving problems. In
waste significant time Beijing, seven other urban
traveling back and districts have adopted
forth to a single similar systems.
neighbourhood.
Hangzho Bike sharing Traffic congestion in Hangzhou’s government The bike share program
u22 to improve Hangzhou, made invested 180 million Yuan includes 66,000 bicycles
public commuting a to create a bike sharing and 2,700 sharing
mobility challenge; it was also system that connected to stations. Officials plan for
harming the the public transport the program to include
environment and network 175,000 bicycles by 2020.
public health. Studies The initiative has
showed that 40% of improved Hangzhou’s
air pollution in environment, making it
Hangzhou was the more attractive to tourists.
result of vehicle It has also created a more
emissions. affordable way for people
to get around the city.

London23 automating In 1990s, London In 2003, the city began Within a short time,
congestion suffered from the charging single-occupancy traffic levels in Central

21
Case study Dongcheng; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/dongcheng-local-government-addresses-complaints-with-
mobile-technology; accessed on: 17-10-2016; 05:30.
22
Case study Hangzhou; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/hangzhou-bike-sharing-to-improve-public-mobility;
accessed on: 17-10-2016; 05:30.
23
Case study London; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/london-automating-congestion-pricing; accessed on: 17-10-
2016; 05:30.

17
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)
pricing worst traffic in the vehicles a fee to enter,
U.K. In Central drive, or park in Central
London, average London during working
traffic speeds would hours. The daily fee could
often dip below 10 be paid before or on the
mph, the lowest since day of travel through
the city started various means—online, by
collecting traffic data. telephone or text message,
Delays cost both the at select shops and petrol
city and its resident’s stations, and by post. For
time and money. convenience, customers
could also register to pay
via an automated payment
system. The system
recorded the number of
days a vehicle travelled to
the congestion zone each
month and billed a credit
or debit card accordingly.
New Transformin Between 2001 and Using smart data
York 24 g streets to 2009, motorists killed modelling techniques to
increase 3,774 people on New analyze traffic and
mobility and York City Streets. In pedestrian patterns, New
addition to the deaths, York City’s Department of
public safety
roughly 4,000 New Transportation
Yorkers suffered (NYCDOT) proposed
serious injuries in removing motor vehicles
road accidents each from some New York
year. City’s busiest roads to
convert them into public
spaces for pedestrians and
cyclists. NYCDOT also
oversaw the creation of
miles of segregated bicycle
lanes and created a bicycle
sharing program, which
made cycling a viable
transportation option for
citizens.
All of our major cities suffer from these types of problems which can only be solved by
adopting smart ways or solution as adopted by these cities.
24
Case study New York; Smart cities improve lives;
Available at: http://smartcitieschallenge.in/casestudy/new-york-transforming-streets-to-increase-mobility-and-
public-safety; accessed on: 17-10-2016; 05:30.
18
London fell by 20% and
traffic congestion by
30%. The city recorded a
16% reduction in carbon
emissions and an
estimated 40-50 million
litres reduction in fuel
consumption. Many
citizens switched from
private to public
transport, and the city saw
an 83% rise in bicycle
trips. In 2007, the city
extended congestion
pricing to other areas of
London, and now raises
£122 million in fees
annually. The money is
reinvested in improving
public transport, road
safety, and energy
efficiency
Almost instantaneously,
average travel times
improved and injuries to
pedestrians fell by as
much as 35%. Cycling
became an easier
transport option, and 74%
of New Yorkers surveyed
by the Times Square
Alliance said that Times
Square had dramatically
improved.
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

5) FLAWS IN A FLAGSHIP PROGRAMMES

"Bypassing political chaos and employing participation shortcuts to produce aggrandising

structures of glass and steel, thinking that our cities would become inclusive and sustainable,
is clearly not a very smart idea."25
The Smart Cities Mission not only prefers parts of a city over the whole but also abridges the
role of local governments.
 Prioritising the area
The MOUD selected 20 cities on the basis of a “Smart City Proposal” submitted by the
participating cities in the smart cities competition. The development proposal was asked in
two segments—one for area based development and second for the development of whole
city. The maximum of the participants went for area based development.

According to the data analysed by the researcher, 71% of the funding from the mission is
being or will be spent on area based development. It will comprise of only 4% of the
population.26 Under area based development, cities have suggested for redevelopment of old
and creation of new central business districts, retrofitting infrastructure such as water supply,
sewerage, and creation of public spaces apart from reinventing landscape. The proposal for
the entire city development has been restricted to IT based services like CCTV monitored
CCS, “smart” education portals and “intelligent” water and traffic management systems. This
selective treatment of area might add to the lived experience of residents of the area, but
poses two big question marks on the substance of this mission

 No framework for development

1. The Central government is prioritising development of a small area instead of the
entire city doesn’t go well. The Smart Cities Mission is aimed at land monetisation.
Indeed, one of the big issues of our cities is that land, as a resource, hasn’t been fully
exploited. The mission is arguably trying to articulate this particular aspect of our
cities — that is, to suggest that land monetisation has not been addressed and there
needs to be some thinking on this. One of the ways of doing this is to begin a project
based development, something that the mission proposes. But to present a land

25
Bibhhu Joshi; Smart Cities Mission: Flaws in a flagship programme; TheHindu; June 29, 2016;
Available at, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/smart-cities-mission-flaws-in-a-flagship-programme/article8784609.ece;
accessed on: 17-10-2016; 09:30.
26
Ibid.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

monetisation plan under the garb of national urban policy and encouraging it as a
model for the entire city is inappropriate and deeply worrying.
2. The mission also failed on the second count. It failed in articulating an institutional
framework for urban development — a sustainable blueprint for governance for our
cities — on two points.
a) Convergence of various schemes could not be understood.
There are various policies for urban India: the Swachh Bharat Mission which is
gearing up to make urban areas clean;
“Housing for All” which promises universal housing by 2022;27
The National Urban Livelihoods Mission; the National Urban Information System;
and the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).
Additionally, there are multiple infrastructure projects like expansion of city roads
and highways, water reservoir and storage related development which is mostly
undertaken by development authorities or the State governments. The Smart Cities
Mission’s convergence with all these schemes is not known.

b) Governance of the cities transferred from local government to SPV.

“The decision to make the city smart should be taken by the city, its citizens and its
municipalities.”28

Ironically, in the mission guidelines, the local governments’ role was significantly
curtailed. It gave the decision making powers to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)29.
This has been done due to the pre-supposed lack of capacity in our city government.
But, Is an SPV the right institutional architecture for our urbanisation and city
development?
In 1992, the 74th constitutional amendment had envisioned an elected local
government with neighbourhood committees and Mohalla Sabhas as an institutional
architecture vis-à-vis the functional, financial and legislative domain of city
governments. The mission buries this arrangement and at the same time fails to
provide an alternative. Bypassing political chaos and employing participation
shortcuts to produce aggrandising structures of glass and steel, thinking that our cities
would become inclusive and sustainable, is clearly not a very smart idea.

3. Lack of funding sources:

The government has put up such huge and expensive projects but there lacks the solid
sources of funding. The government has imposed the Swachh Bharat Cess and other
various cesses. The GST has also accumulated some wealth in the coffers. But these are
adding pinch to the life normal citizens. While the benefit of smart cities mission is
reaching unto only 4% of urban population. The government also sold share in Navratna

27
Amrut Mohotsav celebration year.
28
P.M. Modi said last year while launching the Smart Cities Mission.
29
A body to be set up and which would implement the mission.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

companies and Maharatna companies to mobilise funds but this is not going to bring
sustainable source of fund raising. The huge chunk of revenue collected already goes to
the long term loans taken by the government. Hence, borrowing from World Bank is also
a bad option. Looking to the cost of project, some big policy changes are necessary. This
will include the changes in labour laws and land acquisition laws. This will attract FDI
funding. Then, the question rises at what cost we are making Smart Cities. At what cost,
we are pursuing for houses for all. And are we ready for such big steps?

4. Unavailability of proper statics regarding slum dwellers or houseless people

The promise of giving roof to each head can only be possible if we have the numbers. The
census is conducted in the slums but it is not that much explicit. The houseless people
always remain out of record and government has not taken any step in this regard.

5. Middle man problem:

Everywhere there comes the middle man, who offers kick backs for getting government
projects. The big infrastructure firms manages that cost in their project costs itself. Hence,
it is obvious that there will be compromise with the quality of the infrastructure.

On the other hand, the manual registration in cases of Indira Awas Yojna, the officials
demanded 30% on sanctioning of the said amount for building house from the claimant.

Hence, the lack of funding could not build the house. The remaining amount with the
person is also used otherwise. The problem remained as it was.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

6) CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

After analysing various sources and the schemes of the government, the researcher came to
several conclusions:

The first hypothesis of the research partially stands true. The schemes, though lucrative, is
next to impossible if done in this setting. The funding for the projects is inadequate. The
FDI resources are not up to the mark. If the government is doing the project at the cost of
the labourers and the common people by selling of the shares of public limited companies in
the market and levying cess on various item. It is not a sustainable growth or development.
The project may be completed in coming years. But still there is doubt that the project will
achieve the time deadline of 2022.

The second hypothesis of the researcher is totally true. The main objective, on paper, of
government to work for poor is defeated through such schemes. It benefits only a handful of
people. The 71% of the funds allocated are spent on small pocket of lands which are
benefitting only 4% of the people. The basic thing is that only haves will get the
accommodation of the smart cities and not the poor. The poor needs security in livelihood
and proper shelter which will be ensured by some different steps and not by making multi-
storied buildings.

The third hypothesis also stood. The government has diverted funds from important sectors to
less important sectors. The government has made changes in taxation policy but the change is
not that much significant that it yields lakhs of crores for theses ambitious projects of the
government. If the government is arranging for funds it is by default by compromising in
some areas. Today, the most of the focus of the government should be on the education and
skill development. The huge funding of these projects definitely doesn’t serve the larger
interest of the country. There is lack of basic amenities which should be fulfilled first.

The last hypothesis of the researcher also stood. The government has lessened the role of
local government in development of places. The government appointed special purpose
vehicle to decide the plans and approve them for the development of the cities. This has
truncated the role of the local government. This has been done with the reason that the local
government lacks the competency to plan effectively. Though, it can be a pre-supposed
notion which might be correct or wrong but it ultimately limited the participation of the local
government.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

Suggestions

1. Community participation: The world has seen various infrastructural and

technological development due to which the near to impossible acts have been
made possible. The development in country like India is also a near to impossible
work. The roof for each head in India is almost an impossible work. But it can
only be done by changing the work culture or by seeking participation of the local
people. The example has been shown in Bangkok. The case study shows how
community help found solution to a big problem.
2. Professional support and training: for achieving a bigger goal, proper training and
planning is required. The local people might be lacking in expertise in planning
and thinking for a better plan. But it can be developed with professional
assistance. For training the teams in smart cities mission, the government has
made Bloomberg philanthropies of USA their knowledge partner. They conduct
online video conferencing with experts in Washington. They arrange for calls for
asking question. But this is not sufficient. The connectivity is itself unavailable in
remote areas. This will curtail their rights indirectly to get proper assistance. The
experts should come to ground and through workshop in field the planners should
be trained. The theory told by the experts may be based on the settings of USA
and may not work in India. So, the proper professional training is required.
3. New technology and innovative methods: the development of big cities in India
needs new technologies and innovation without which the development is not
possible. The majority of the big cities in India are 100s of years old. The city
consists of many old and heritage buildings. These buildings are weak and in
dilapidated condition. The expansion of streets and beautification of the city needs
good technologies. The lack of technology might affect the heritage value of our
cities. The footpaths which are to be constructed along the road may go beneath
the surface and double path can be devised in the same narrow lane. This type of
innovation needs new technology which can dig the ground without affecting the
old buildings.
4. Domestic Funding: the Indian mentality is that the people don’t care until and
unless the work has their interest. The government must encourage the domestic
investment with high return guarantee. The government should lure the domestic
investors to invest in the government schemes. The investors will be shareholders

23
 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

in the infrastructure and will get their dividend. The stacked wealth abroad and in
country can be used without adding to the loans or long term borrowings of the
government.
5. Proper channelization of water: the water is not scarce in India but still we face
droughts. This is due to poor management of the water. The river linking though
expensive can be a solution. The new method of underground harvesting can also
improve the situation. The awareness for water management should be given
upper hand.
6. Model city or example creation: the government if wants to teach the teams and
then create a smart city then it will take another 2 decades. For this example
creation is required. The government should show the team by developing a smart
city with help of teams. After which people take inspiration and do. This is what
our case studies have also shown. The government may not develop a whole city
but show the development of different facilities different place.
Suppose the smart city needs 3 facilities— sanitation, waste management,
connectivity— the team of expert will develop a new world technology at Delhi
for waste management. The others will follow the foot step. Similarly, at one
place sanitation system is developed. This will serve two purpose—1. Teaching
and creation of example or model for the rest. 2. Kick start the development work
and encourage people to add in the structure built.
7. Paperless and undisclosed operation of allotment of funds: the middle man
problem haunts all the development work. The suggested solution for this is
dropping the name of the bidder and the beneficiary from the paper records. The
names will be shown at the extreme ends. Even the government officials, cannot
know the name, place or any information of the bidder before allotment or till the
project is completed. They will know the bidders or beneficiaries by a number
only. Hence, the middle man problem will be abolished.
Suppose, A company from Surat registers for a tender of roadways. At his
interface the website for registration will show his details and on the other
interface that will show a number, say GH12, which will be allotted the tender.
After getting the tender approval on the website, the company will start
constructing the road. The name will be out when the company will claim. The
approval of the quality will be done not by the government engineers but any

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

private authentic engineer proviso the defect in quality will land them in jail with
rigorous imprisonment and all giving the false approval will be highly penalised
with confiscation of their property too.
Suppose, the person is claiming Indira Awas Yojna fund. He will claim online.
The person will submit his document online and get approval from a distant
interface. The account number will be attached to the claimant ID. If the computer
finds the documents correct, the funds will be automatically transferred to that
account. For this the document should contain digital code which can be verified
by the computer. It will not only revolutionise the government works but also
speed up the processes.

Hence, the work should be done with strong determination. Making castle in the
air will land the dreams nowhere. Proper work and sustainable development will serve the
purpose. The fulfilment of only the basic necessities to everyone itself will be perfect tribute
to freedom fighters. The smart cities on the shoulder of poor and deprived will not make the
freedom fighters happy.

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 Amrut Mohotsav: An Illusion Or Reality! (2016)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Report:
Amrut: Mission Statements And Guidelines; Ministry of Urban Development;
Government of India; Issued on-June 2015.

 Websites:

1. Make –in –India:

Available at :<http://www.makeinindia.com>
2. India Smart Cities Challenge:

Available at :<http://smartcitieschallenge.in/>

3. Smart Cities Mission:

Available at:< https://india.gov.in>
4. Census, 2011
Available at: <www.censusindia.gov.in>
 Newspaper:

5. Hindustan times
Available at:<http://www.hindustantimes.com>
6. Financial express
Available at:< http://www.financialexpress.com>
7. The Washington post
Available at:< https://www.washingtonpost.com>
8. News18
Available at:< http://www.news18.com>
9. The Hindu
Available at:< http://www.thehindu.com/>

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