Kolkata: Smart and planned cities are required for sustainable urbanisation and to accommodate the growing urban population in the country and it must be ensured that all constructions are earthquake-resistant, Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Secretary Nandita Chatterjee said.
"Proper planning is most essential for rapid and sustainable urbanisation and it has to be ensured that all constructions are disaster or earthquake-resistant," she said.
Chatterjee was speaking at a convention on "Urbanisation in India and Smart City : Challenges and Opportunities", organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.
The country has 377 million urban people, which is 31.16 per cent of the total population, and, if the current growth rate of urban population is a pointer, it will reach 600 million by 2031, she said.
As the urban sector is instrumental for over 60 per cent growth in the country's GDP at present, efficient urbanisation is needed, she said adding "The fast pace of urbanisation has thrown challenges as well as opportunities."
Another challenge is to ensure that services are provided to urban poor at an affordable rate, Chatterjee said.
"We need to make our cities globally competitive so that they emerge as an engine of inclusive growth," she said and added that late urbanisation allowed the country to reap the advantages of experiences of smart cities in the world.
"Upgrading existing cities and creating new ones are prerequisites for economic progress and they must take place in a planned manner," she said.
The Centre has approved Smart Cities Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation of 500 cities with outlays of Rs 48,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore respectively.
Out of this, in its first budget last year, the Modi government announced its intention to build 100 smart cities in the coming years.
Five pillars of a smart city are smart economy, smart people, smart environment, smart mobility and smart living -- all of which need to go with smart governance.
Chatterjee said smart cities could be built using both brownfield and greenfield approaches, and both of these have been adopted with varying degrees of success in different parts of the world.
She also mentioned a number of central projects meant for urban poverty alleviation, stating that the projects would ensure housing for all by 2022.
Chatterjee also assured all cooperation to the state government if it comes out with appropriate projects.
