In an interview with Urban Update, Babul Supriyo, Minister of State for Urban Development speaks on Smart Cities Mission, urban challenges and the newly passed Real Estate Bill. He says, every city has its own USP. It’s important for the cities to come up with their own ideas about how they want to develop themselves. That’s a great way of making smart city endeavour even better
Both the houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, recently passed the Real Estate Bill. It’s dubbed as major relief for consumers and growing urban population. It’s also seen as a big reform to regulate real estate sector. The law is enacted but we also know that implementing it is a big problem in India. How do you propose to deal with that?
See, when we decide to lose weight, the first change needs to happen in your brain. You just decide that I want to be healthy and I need to lose weight. But for that process to happen and for your body to show what you have thought in your mind that will take six months. Similarly the real estate bill was an eagerly anticipated bill in the right direction. We have tried to maintain a balance between consumers and developers. At the same time safeguard the interest of millions of consumers across the country. Not only in existing projects but also in terms of future projects. Now even commercial projects have been brought under the ambit of the bill. This is an effort to bring about housing for all. There has to be harmonious relation between developers and consumers. This is exactly what this bill is all about.
UD Ministry has taken many steps recently. One of them is smart city project. You have selected 98 cities in the first step. What are the major challenges you are going to face in implementing it?
Basic objective of smart city mission is to provide infrastructure. We want to improve the quality of life, we want a sustainable environment which is clean and is connected to Swachh Bharat Mission. We want to bring smart solutions. Mission’s strategy is to develop areas step by step. There are three models of area based development. One is redevelopment, green field and retro city. We have chosen the cities in a transparent manner. The biggest proof is that neither mine nor my senior minister Venkaiah Naidu’s constituency figures in the list. Prime minister has ensured that there is no nepotism or corruption in choosing the smart cities. So the cities who have given us a clear road map about what they are trying to do for their cities they have been chosen. India is a big country. Every city has its own USP. It’s important for the cities to come up with their own ideas about how they want to develop themselves. Competitive spirit can drive their innovations. It can make their plan better than others. That’s a great way of making smart city endeavour even better.
PM has often said that cities are major engines of economic growth, employment opportunities and prosperity. They have to be sustained to become locomotives of our economy and havens of healthy living. Smart cities would make the cities networked to become efficient, safe and better in delivery of services. What are all the steps your ministry has taken to make this vision a reality?
Smart city endeavour is a tool where the centre, state and urban local bodies will have to work in tandem to address the problems of that particular city. Lot of people think that Smart city can be air dropped in certain areas of the country. That is not true. The cities will have to ensure that in order to create the sustainable environment that we are trying to build; they will need to develop their own revenue structure. A lot of urban local bodies do not have that organised a revenue structure. In order to meet the goals that a city has set for itself it is important that sanitation, water, fuel systems, roads, ring roads have to be coordinated. All the stake holders, all the agencies have to work in an orchestrated manner. The centre is looking at investing fifty thousand crores over the next five years. The rest of the money will have to be mobilised by the urban local bodies.
Prime Minister has launched three flagship missions for urban revamping namely AMRUT, Smart City Mission and Housing for All. In your interaction with the PM what sense do you get? What is he trying to achieve?
We need to build two crore houses by 2022. India is a young country. Rural areas have not been made self-sufficient. They can’t generate the kind of revenue and employment that is required. The rate of urbanisation in India is alarming. People just after finishing their studies are not able to find jobs in their place. So what they do is to come to urban areas. That is creating a lot of problem.
Our cities are not smart enough to support this influx of population coming to urban areas. This is also resulting in slums getting bigger and bigger. People do not have a place to stay. They do not want to stay far from the places they work. It’s a compounding problem. PM has tried to target the problem in a holistic manner. Once the rural population is fed with the employment that they require, rapid urbanisation problem can also be averted. If we can build the cities smart and make them smarter that will make life easier in urban and rural areas both.
What specific steps are you taking to help the urban poor? That is one section in crying need of help. From housing to civic amenities they have absolutely nothing.
Under the Pradhan Mantri AawasYojna 632 towns have been selected in 18 states. There are several things government of India is doing. Basically we are looking at four ways to support the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna. Policy making and funding is crucial. There are several ways in which we are addressing that. Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using the land as resource. People do not want to be removed from the area where they are working. It has to happen in that place. State government has to take a decision. We will pay one lakh rupee per dwelling unit but decision has to be taken by the state government.
One of the criticisms by urban town planners and others has been that there is too much of involvement of consultants in smart city projects and local institutions are not being involved by the government. Do you think this criticism is justified?
That is absolutely the prerogative of the state government and urban local bodies. One has to hope that state government and urban local bodies are going to use everyone’s expertise, be it local or national. That should be used to advantage.
How important do you see the role of urban local bodies in managing the most critical problems of the city? That is municipal governance. Just take the example of Delhi. We have seen in the recent past that it’s in a complete mess. How to fix this problem?
As central government our job is to see that right policies are in place. Urban local bodies must have the power to take decisions and take it forward. Many urban bodies in the country are not equipped and have not upgraded themselves to address the increasing demand and the need of people residing in one particular area. Urban local bodies have to be more responsive and we are advising the state governments to keep a much closer monitoring. In the AMRUT mission, urban local bodies will have to create a program SLIP. Based on these SLIPs the states will make their annual state plan. AMRUT mission is to provide flexibility to the states to devise their own plan. But let me add a rider, just making policy will not change India. Everyone has to be a part of it. Change has to take place mentally. In more ways than one we are formulating policy to put more power in the hands of states and urban local bodies.
You have been interacting with countries across the globe to understand their model of development and smart cities. In the West we have seen that they improved their functioning over a period. There has been a constant overhauling of functioning. We failed to do that. Do you think we need to learn from them how to make our cities smart and efficient according to our local situation?
There is no denying the fact that we need to study their model of development. My music and profession have taken me across the globe. I went to Dubai in 1993. When I went there for the first time and now when I see Dubai today, it has completely transformed. What they have managed to achieve in the last 23 years and what we have done in 23 years is completely different. If they can do it in Dubai, why can’t we do it in India!
What should be the future strategy of the government for urban development and issues confronting the cities? Experts believe that it has got to be an integrated approach at local, state and national levels.
As the minister of Urban Development, my job is to create the right infrastructure and frame rules and regulations which are within the limits of the local urban bodies and state governments. Also not just help them financially but ensure that it works on the ground. We are doing that in an aggressive manner. Everyone should try and make good use of the reforms that we are bringing in.