NEWS

Government begins finalizing proposals on PM’s action plan for Smart Cities initiative

WHAT IS NEW

• Aims at developing 100 citizen-friendly and self-sustainable urban settlements, includes setting up ICCCs for each city as a vital step.
• ICCCs, designed to enable authorities to monitor the status of various amenities in real time, were initially aimed at controlling and monitoring water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure. However, these centres will now also monitor various other parameters and is also linked to the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems) network under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• MoHUA aims to finalise the ICCC model and implement a pilot project across six major states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Launched the 100 smart cities mission in 2015.
• Objective – integrate city functions, utilize scarce resources more efficiently, and improve the quality of life of citizens.
• Improve safety and security & the efficiencies of municipal services.
• Use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is at the core of enhancing the city’s liveability, workability, and sustainability.
• Under – Ministry of Urban Development
• 24 key areas cities must address in ‘smart cities’ plan. Of these 24 key areas, 3 are directly related to water and 7 are indirectly related to water – Smart-metre management, leakage identification, preventive maintenance, and water quality modeling.