Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The Indian government on Thursday released a list of 20 cities of the country that are to be developed into Smart Cities. These cities come from 11 states with New Delhi as the only Union Territory.
But what makes a city really smart?
There is no one definition of Smart Cities or what makes a city smart. In the simplest of words, it is a city with better living condition, with better infrastructure and facilities such as better housing, roads, 24x7 water and electricity, sanitation, healthcare, etc.
But again, there is not definite definition of smart cities. It has to be quantified and put together in order to make it more meaningful and understandable.
However, according to the Mission Statement and Guidelines of Smart City released by the Ministry of Urban Development, these are the qualities that makes a city smart.
- Adequate water supply
- Assured electricity supply
- Sanitation, including solid waste management
- Efficient urban mobility and public transport
- Affordable housing, especially for the poor
- Robust IT connectivity and digitalization
- Good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation
- Sustainable environment
- Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
- Health and education
