Leading the Way

Bhubaneswar tops the list for India’s Smart City Mission. Neha Gupta Kapoor finds out why…

- Neha Gupta Kapoor

Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha in East India, looked sleepy to me. It lacked urgency in movement that one would expect in a city, which has much going on for its economy. Signal junctions aren’t exceptionally congested, buildings are stout, neighbourhoods are sparsely populated, the nearest general store or public transport can be a good walk from home; and barren lots of land, though occupied with labour, weren’t under drastic machining activities at the time of my visit.

Yet, Bhubaneswar is one of the first planned Indian cities that opened for India’s Smart City Mission (SCM) in June 2016. This is how it works: exactly a year before June, states shortlisted cities they reckoned would be suitable for SCM. Those selected were asked to submit a proposal outlining their “bold vision, pan-city initiative and area-based development plan”. They were further assessed on feasibility of the proposal and its cost-effectiveness, estimated turnover on achieving its goals, citizen participation, strategic plan, and so on. This means, cities with practical land usage, basic infrastructure, and those that don’t require much financial aide in repairing damages and adopting beneficial measures stood a better chance.

The most important parameter seeks details of the city’s participation in Prime Minister Modi’s ‘‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’’ (Clean India Mission). The mission draws attention to slum sanitation, a basic necessity and a primary concern in India. Bhubaneswar’s submitted form states: “As per the census 2011, the population of Bhubaneswar was 8,37,737 with a total number of households estimated at 2,01,873. Of this total number, approximately 1,61,836 households were reported to have latrine facilities within premises, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the total number of households.”