Fresh Approach to ‘Integrated’ cities along DMIC essential
Plans are on the anvil for the construction of 24 integrated cities by 2040, as part of the Delhi-Mumbai-Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project. Seven of them are proposed to be ready by 2019. However, it is important to address issues related to governance of these integrated cities.
Issues plaguing development of Gurgaon:
DLF city in Gurgaon, described as the largest private township in Asia, has more than 250 MNC offices in the vicinity. However, there are many pertinent issues that plague this city. As per estimates provided by the Centre for Science and Environment, the per capita available supply of water for the millennium city is only 107 LPCD, compared to the demand of about 225 LPCD. Another pressing issue that needs immediate attention is the sewage system. While the sewage network covers between 50-60% of the city’s area, it benefits only by 30% of the population.
Road availability is yet another constraint as far as the city’s infrastructure is concerned. The per capital road availability is highly short for the current population of 1.6 million. Power shortage is another hiccup that is staring at the city, with power-outages between 4-6 hours per day being a frequent occurance in peak summer. Gurgaon’s woes that include lack of proper planning, absence of administrative will, skewed urban infrastructure developed, as well as a sense of apathy towards civil services, are typical of any Indian city.
Jamshedpur model of development ideal:
However, Jamshedpur has taken a different route to development than the one normally tread by most Indian cities. The city’s industrial success can be gauged from the fact that it was conferred the ISO 14001 certification for civic and municipal services. Besides, it was also rated as the second best city in the country in 2008 by ORG Marg Nielsen, based on the quality of life index. Moreover, from a list of 441 cities and towns in India, it was ranked seventh based on factors like sanitation and cleanliness by the Ministry of Urban Development, in 2010. The city was also privileged to be selected for the pilot programme of United Nations Global Compact Cities.
Tata Steel’s town division unit was primarily responsible for providing the city with municipal services. However, financial constraints caused a major jolt to its operations, with around Rs. 40 crore incurred in operating various municipal services. Moreover, it was also severely hampered by its inability to provide basic services like water supply and waste management, due to inadequate human resources as well as not being well exposed to modern technologies and processes.
Partnership between Tata Steel and JUSCO:
Corporatisation of Tata Steel’s town division unit enabled it to expand and improve its services, provide greater efficiency and also financial viability to its services. As a result, Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (JUSCO), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, was created in 2003. T JUSCO has today transformed itself into India’s only comprehensive urban infrastructure service provider, providing municipal services to about 5,00,000 people in Jamshedpur, among a total population of 7,00,000.
Unified authority of development more effective:
There’s a lot to be learnt from these two contrasting illustrations of Gurgaon and Jamshedpur. Governance of the city would be ineffective even if it is handled by multiple agencies as in the case of Gurgaon, due to conflict of interest and buck-passing. The Gurgaon-Delhi expressway project is an illustration of such misappropriation. Hence, it is important that ‘integrated’ townships address this issue suitably. A unified authority with effective lines of accountability and transparency is imperative for citizen-centric governance. To tackle emerging issues, it is more important to strengthen existing institutions than creating new ones.
