In an impromptu move, the government inaugurated the first smart city road adjoining Bal Bhavan in the capital on Thursday evening, taking everyone by surprise. It was a surprise that while the concrete road and the side pavement were in place, work on drainages and other aesthetics was incomplete while the road opened in grandeur. Workers were still on the job fixing the loose ends.
The road remained closed for over six months, causing tremendous inconvenience in connecting to specific areas of Panaji, and St Inez is now open. However, to the massive expectation of grandeur in the smart concept, this one was a disappointment because it appeared just another road, except for the footpaths and drainages and the touches of greenery on the sides. The test of its drainage prowess, which would be an ultimate parameter to gauge smartness, will only happen after the first downpour arrives somewhere between May-June and after that.
The point here is inaugurating one part of the road doesn’t make a huge difference to normal life because the connecting roads are dug up and some closed. The one running across the mall has been shut for over a year. Panaji is going through unprecedented pollution. There is mud, dust and chaos all around; normal life is hit badly, and so are businesses. On Monday, a part of a road at St Inez caved in, taking with it a laterite stone-loaded truck that was trying to negotiate the path. Four labourers who were occupants in the truck suffered severe injuries. On Friday, a tanker went down a pit at Tonca.
The question is whether the road infrastructure and drainages will fall in place before the monsoon sets in or whether Panaji will remain exposed. Motorists and residents of Panaji have so far negotiated the perils of the excavated roads. The worry is in what lies ahead. Understandably, Panaji has a deadline to keep in terms of central funding for the smart city project. But with the slow pace of work and the mess piled up, authorities have a monumental task at hand.
That brings us to another question. Does a smart city mean only an infrastructure upgrade? Smart City Mission, as defined by the Centre, is a mission to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment through the application of ‘smart’’ solutions. Launched on June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Smart City Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting programme to develop cities and make them citizen-friendly and sustainable.
Two key features of the programme are promoting mixed land use in area-based development ” i.e. planning unplanned areas and expanding housing opportunities for all. In addition, a smart city is supposed to use information technology to increase operational efficiency to improve the delivery of government services and aid in the welfare of citizens.
The core of the smart city concept is the citizen and his well-being”road infrastructure in just one component. Citizens of Panaji have endured the pain and the day-to-day trauma of inconvenience in the mere hope of ‘’better days’’. The question is whether this chaotic road leads them there.
As the roller-coaster ride continues, a sense of disillusionment creeps in for the sheer fact that besides the roads being horrendously ripped open, there is precious little that the State can boast towards ‘’smart city’’ plans. The section of the website where finished jobs are uploaded of every State cuts out a very sorry picture of Panaji with only photos of pavers and beautification of steps on display. The ‘’troubled spots’’ of the city, believed to be the first beneficiaries of smartness, are still untouched.
Interestingly, the roads that are dug up could get a quick-fix topping to host the G-20 leaders who are expected to be in the State from April 17 to 19 because of the 2nd Health Working Group Meeting. In all likelihood, roads will be dug up again once the global leaders move out of the State. One wonders why pick ‘a work-in-progress’ city, which is hurriedly catching up on time when there is so much to showcase elsewhere in Goa.
While Panaji goes about the job at hand, the government must undertake a study tour to some of the top ‘smart cities’ in India, including Bhubaneswar, Indore and Pune. It’s about time we smarten ourselves about the basic concept instead of chasing a skewed illusion of a ‘smart city’.
