Sustainable development at heart of Smart Cities, has lessons for Global South: report
Cites water, sewage projects in Ahmedabad, Indore as examples; over 70% projects contribute to SDGs
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The SDGs are a set of 17 targets part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all UN member states, including India, in 2015.
Over 70% of projects under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) are in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on cities, clean water and sanitation, clean energy and economic growth, according to a report released Wednesday.
The report — “Smart Cities Mission, India: Localising Sustainable Development Goals” — was the upshot of what officials said was the first such exercise to map all the projects of a national mission against Global Goals. The SCM involves around 8,000 projects.
Prepared by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and UN-Habitat, the report was released by President Droupadi Murmu at the annual Smart Cities Conclave in Indore.
“We still have very far to go in that direction,” Murmu said as she emphasised making cities inclusive and sustainable. She said there was also a need for providing health, education and other basic services in rural areas like in cities.
The SDGs are a set of 17 targets part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all UN member states, including India, in 2015.
According to the report, while the SCM projects have largely contributed, in one way or the other, to 15 of the 17 SDGs, nearly 44% were in line with the aim of SDG 11 — to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
It further said that 13.3% of the SCM projects contributed to SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation); 8.6% to SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and 6.4% to SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth).
Highlighting the SCM compliance with SDGs, the report cited as an example a project in Ahmedabad, where sensor-based monitoring of the water network resulted in an additional supply of 50 million litres a day (MLD) by detecting leakages. This, the report said, benefited a population of 1.50 lakh.
It also mentioned the project in Indore, which used a gravity-based network to prevent 205 MLD of untreated sewage from entering the Kahn river, the Saraswati river and the network of 25 drains. “The dissolved oxygen levels in the water bodies now measure at 4mg/litre, indicating a healthier aquatic ecosystem,” the report said.
The report also highlighted the Mudasarlova Reservoir Floating Solar Plant in Visakhapatnam, which led to an annual electricity generation of 3,613 MWh and saved $0.28 million, the report said. The project prevented emission of over 3,000 tonnes of CO2, it added.
Capping it all, the report said that the SCM, with a total of 7,846 projects across 100 cities worth $22 billion, showcases “successful implementation of a national-scale urban mission that aligns comprehensively with global agendas and empowers cities to drive sustainable development”.
“It serves as a living lab for people-centric smart urbanisation and offers valuable lessons for urban areas in the Global South,” it said.
The Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015, was expected to be completed by June this year, but the Ministry extended its deadline to June 2024.
Speaking at the event, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri said of the sanctioned projects worth Rs 1.71 lakh crore, 6,069 projects worth Rs1.10 lakh crore had been completed. The rest were “on target” for completion by June 2024, he said.
“I have full faith that the success of the Smart Cities Mission will gain more momentum when there is the second generation of Smart Cities at district and village levels,” Puri said.
Parul Agarwala, the UN-Habitat India country programme manager and one of the authors of the report, told The Indian Express that the report showcases “India’s commitment to Agenda 2030.”
“The report demonstrates tangible and measurable impact towards the achievement of SDGs, relying not solely on data but also human stories and perspectives,” she said.
During the event, the President handed out the Smart Cities awards for 2022, with Indore being named the overall best Smart City and Madhya Pradesh the best state.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chalked up Madhya Pradesh’ success to making the Smart Cities and Swachh Bharat missions into a “mass movement” and not just an official programme.
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