Smart Cities and Urban Deprived Communities a Study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow
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smart cities and urban deprived communities A study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow www.actionaidindia.org actionaidindia @actionaid_india @actionaidcomms ActionAid Association, R - 7, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi - 110016 +911-11-4064 0500 smart cities and urban deprived communities A study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow Smart Cities and Urban Deprived Communities A Study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow Principal researchers and writers Vinay Baindur Richa Chandra Debapriya Ganguly ActionAid Regions and Hubs Citizen Rights Collective (CiRiC) Karnataka Regional Office Odisha Regional Office Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand Regional Office The study “Deprivation in the times of rapid urban reforms in India” was conducted as part of the European Commission supported project: “Securing rights and sustainable livelihoods through collective action and education for people dependent on the informal economy in India.” First published in 2019 Some rights reserved This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Provided they acknowledge the source, users of this content are allowed to remix, tweak, build upon and share for non-commercial purposes under the same original license terms. Cover Photograph: Chintan Gohil Published by Edited and Designed www.actionaidindia.org actionaidindia @actionaid_india 139, Richmond Road, @actionaidcomms Bangalore–560 025 ActionAid Association, Karnataka, India R - 7, Hauz Khas Enclave +91-80-43650647,25580346 New Delhi - 110016 +911-11-4064 0500 Printed at: 3P Solutions, B 186 Okhla Phase I, New Delhi 110020 Contents Foreword v Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations ix Chapter I 1 Introduction: Smart Cities – An Overview 1.1 The Special Purpose Vehicle - A Disruption in Urban Governance? 3 1.2 Inaccessible Consultations 5 Chapter II 7 Bhubaneswar as a Smart City 2.1 Smart City Initiatives in Bhubaneswar 10 2.2 Public Consultation 10 2.3 Smart City Proposal 12 2.4 Constitution of the Special Purpose Vehicle 14 2.5 Initiatives Under the Smart City Mission 15 2.6 Shantipallibasti, Bhubaneswar: a case study 19 Chapter III 23 Lucknow as a Smart City 3.1 Overview of Lucknow Smart City Plan 25 3.2 What the Smart City Proposal Lucknow Entails 27 3.3 Processes Undertaken for Smart City Mission in Lucknow 28 3.4 Citizen Participation 29 Chapter IV 31 Bengaluru as a Smart City 4.1 Bengaluru Smart City Proposal 32 Chapter V 35 Urban Inequalities and the Smart City 5.1 Reduced role of municipal governments in urban reforms agenda 35 5.2 Limited participation of residents in decision-making 36 5.3 Infrastructure for whom? 38 5.4 Right to the City: Peoples’ Vision 38 Chapter VI 41 Conclusion and Recommendations Annexure I 45 Resolution on Smart Cities Annexure II 47 References 49 Foreword Cities are viewed by many millions with hope for the future. Across the Global South vast swathes of people are being pushed out of agriculture and will continue to move to cities to look for the possibilities of work there. The influx of large populations into urban areas across the globe has resulted in a billion plus people living in squatter settlements, without basic facilities and services, in a life of insecurity, fear and indignity. Urbanisation of this kind has posed severe sustainability challenges on all fronts, and giving rise to deep speculations, contests and uncertainties about the fate of cities and urbanity. Urban futures where the spectre of majorities of populations squeezed up in neglected corners, in what are called slums and tenements, and numeric minorities living in sprawling, large, green spaces, raises nightmares of inequalities. ActionAid Association has for many years now recognized the importance of working on urban issues from the viewpoint of the common citizens, whose voices and interests should take priority in policies governing the city. In India the rights of the urban homeless were one of earliest focus areas we took up in the urban context. We worked with the homeless community and also in the realm of policy. Our work over the decades has educated us about the importance of combining grounded interventions aimed at building the protagonism of vulnerable communities, with policy interventions to ensure rights of vulnerable communities are recognized at the highest level. Under the European Commission supported project ‘Securing rights and sustainable livelihoods through collective action and education for people dependent on the informal economy in India’ the need was felt to study the experience of urban deprived communities and their experience of the urban reforms in India – focusing on the Smart Cities Mission launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. Smart Cities and Urban Deprived Communities A Study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow We are grateful to Vinay Baindur, Richa Chandra and Debapriya Ganguly who took on the responsibility to lead and conduct the research on the Smart City initiatives in the cities of Bengaluru, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar respectively. Colleagues from ActionAid’s Regional Offices leading our engagements in the regions of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand and Odisha participated in the study, sharing inputs, facilitating meetings with deprived urban communities, academicians, activists and officials. Citizen’s Rights Collective, the urban knowledge activist hub was part of the study from the initiation and has brought it to fruition. We are sharing this publication to strengthen conversations seeking to make cities inclusive and make the right to the city a reality for all. We welcome comments and suggestions from all. In solidarity, Sandeep Chachra Executive Director ActionAid Association vi Acknowledgements “Deprivation in the times of rapid urban reforms in India” was an action research project initiated in 2018 and anchored at the Action-Aid Karnataka Regional Office. The idea was developed over a few discussions initiated jointly by activists and leaders from and working with urban deprived communities in Bengaluru and K.T. Suresh, the Citizen Rights Collective (CiRiC), the urban knowledge activist hub hosted by ActionAid India and Kshithij Urs, the erstwhile Regional Manager, Karnataka Regional Office of ActionAid Association. The study was launched in July-August 2018, with the support of all colleagues at CIRIC and the ActionAid Karnataka Regional Office, especially Kevin Noronha, Malarvizhi, Reshma, Surajit Neogi and Pritha Chatterjee and with the guidance of research coordinator Vinay Baindur – Bengaluru, and the city specific researchers Richa Chandra – Lucknow and Debapriya Ganguly – Bhubaneswar. Colleagues of ActionAid Regional Offices leading engagements in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand extended their whole hearted extensive support in facilitating the field work and undertaking the related follow up work. For the Bhubaneswar case study, the help and support from the ActionAid Odisha Regional Office, especially Ghasiram Panda needs to be acknowledged. The study has benefited from the insights and assistance from ex-official P.K. Patnaik, activists Pratap Sahoo and Narendra Mohanty besides, discussions with the staff of UNFPA, CYSD and YUVA. We would also like to express our utmost gratitude to the residents of the Bhubaneswar city slums, especially from Shantipalli Basti and Janata Lodge Side Colony, for sharing their visions, opinions and stories with us. Academics from the Xavier Center for Urban Governance and Management and Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies have not only contributed towards the study with their interesting inputs but also helped in identifying and establishing contacts with other respondents. Last but not the least, we would like to thank the officials of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar development Authority (BDA) and the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) for sharing information, their plans and ideas. For the Lucknow case study the help and support received from ActionAid Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand Smart Cities and Urban Deprived Communities A Study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow Regional Office, especially Khalid Chaudhry needs to be acknowledged. There are countless academics, NGO activists, slum federations and people from the urban deprived communities need to be thanked for contributing their views for this study. It is their support that has enabled us take this action research study ahead. viii Abbreviations ABD : Area Based Development AMRUT : Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation BBMP : Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike BDA : Bengaluru Development Authority BDA1 : Bhubaneswar Development Authority BMC1 : Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation BQS1 : Bus Queue Shelters (BQS1) BSCL : Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited BSUP : Basic Services to Urban Poor BTCD : Bhubaneswar Town Centre District C-DAC : Centre for Development of Advanced Computing CCC : Command Control Centre CCTV : Closed-Circuit Television CEO : Chief Executive Officer CEO : Chief Executive Officer CII : Confederation of Indian Industries CMT : Community Managed Toilet CRUT : Capital Region Urban Transportation CSO : Civil Society Organization DMRC : Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Smart Cities and Urban Deprived Communities A Study of Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow DPR : Detailed Project Report FFC : Fourteenth Finance Commission GDP : Gross Domestic Product GIS : Geographic Information System GOI : Government of India HPEC : Expert Committee on Indian Urban Infrastructure