As India urbanizes at a rapid pace, it is estimated that by 2030, the country will have about 600 million urban population, throwing up huge challenges with regard to housing. According to a 2012 study estimate, there is an estimated housing shortage of 18.78 million, and two major problems that were highlighted were of congestion and a disconnect between demand and supply, according to Mr Rajeev Ranjan Mishra, Joint Secretary – Housing, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. He was speaking at the session on “Smart Urban Housing – meeting felt needs and beyond: Preparing for Rapid Urbanisation” at the CII Partnership Summit, organized with the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India, in Visakhapatnam. This is the 22nd edition of CII’s flagship annual event, and this year’s theme is ‘Partnership for a Shared and Sustainable World Economy’.
Elaborating on the steps taken to address the challenges, he said that the Government is focusing on policies, trying to introduce greater transparency, and streamline processes and clearances to augment capacity. He stressed that there is a clear move towards delegation at the state level, infact down to the Municipal level to streamline and accelerate the processes. There is also stress on convergence with other Ministries for environment clearances etc; and quick-construction technologies with the Central/State/UTs to partner with willing IITs, NIITs and planning and architecture institutions for delivering technology solutions.
Building further on this, Mr Sameer Sharma, Additional Secretary – Smart Cities, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India shared the findings of a January 2015 Ethnographic Survey conducted across India regarding the expectations form a Smart City. The Survey findings revealed that citizen participation was critical; look at the community for solutions; partner with the people; there is no one standard programme that fits all; and use Municipal officers to push the programme through. These findings, he said, are what the Smart City Mission is predicated on.
Throwing light on another aspect of Smart Urban Housing, Mr Purushottam Kaushik, Managing Director – Growth Verticals Cisco India and SAARC, said that even with the existing infrastructure, one can take a better approach to make cities Smart. He stressed on the need for an integrated approach cutting across various verticals/Ministries citing an example of how, when cables are laid across a city, almost every Department digs up the city separately. He spoke of how, whether to lay cables for transmission or work for the safety and security of a city, an integrated approach and long-term planning could create Smart Cities.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Mr Neel Raheja, Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Real Estate and Housing and Group President, K Raheja Corporation, said that with rapid urbanization, one will have to address the challenges of infrastructure, housing, transport, environment sustainability, among others, to arrive at solutions that would enable housing for all.
Vishakhapatnam
January 11, 2016