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MP: Is Smart City not possible without displacement & felling of trees?
Smart City project, one of the most ambitious schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, showed how a project can be derailed with bureaucracy’s approach and attitude in MP.
Smart City project, one of the most ambitious schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, showed how a project can be derailed with bureaucracy’s approach and attitude in MP.
Bhopal happens to be the first city in the country out of the top 20 cities selected by the Centre for the project where the bureaucracy’s decision on selection of locations within the city went wrong to such an extent that massive protest by residents forced the state government to change locations.
Selection of a wrong location caused massive embarrassment to the state government in general and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in particular.
The bureaucracy action so far shows that it lacks a proper homework, said former chief secretary Nirmala Buch.
The state bureaucracy gave a knee-jerk reaction to the central government’s announcement on smart city project even without thinking for a while how its proposal can cause anxiety to hundreds of people and even may cause stroke to a person suffering from a heart ailment, Buch said.
The main aim of the Smart Cities Mission is to drive economic growth and improve quality of life of people by enabling local area development and harnessing technology that leads to smart outcomes.
NOTICE DELIVERED WITH JET SPEED
Shivaji Nagar and Tulsi Nagar residents received notice from estate office that they have to vacate their houses within a month (by June 30). Same was done in North TT Nagar and part of South TT Nagar, new locations for the smart city project.
After a hue and cry, authorities now say the notice was a part of redensification scheme which was to be implemented by Bhopal Development Authority (BDA) and that nobody would be asked to leave his house without a proper plan.
Selection of new location has kicked up a debate if any homework was done for the purpose.
“It’s shocking to see authorities say the notice was issued by mistake. How such a mistake could be allowed to commit which concerned a large number of people and their families if there was coordination among various wings of the government. This is nothing but a poor governance,” Buch told Hindustan Times.
Senior journalist Dinesh Gupta, who lives in Tulsi Nagar, alleged that there was nothing smart about the project. He said but it was certainly smartness of a few officers who wish to create another Chandigarh in Bhopal where rich and influential could grab the prime land.
ENVIRONMENT DAMAGE
If immense damage to environment in Shivaji Nagar and Tulsi Nagar was a major concern among environmentalists, the same is not misplaced in context of North TT Nagar too. Though authorities assured that most of development would take place on vacant land, environmentalists said there was no clarity as yet as to what the bureaucracy was up to.
When the smart city project was unveiled, Bhopal mayor Alok Sharma talked of how to get Bhopal selected as one of the top 20 cities under the project. He never talked of any specific locality to be selected under the project.
In a workshop held on smart city project in Bhopal on Saturday, a senior officer reportedly said they failed to convince citizens of Bhopal that smart city project was not for any particular locality in the city but for the entire city.
CONFUSION GALORE
Given massive protest by residents of Shivaji Nagar and Tulsi Nagar led by environmentalists like Nirmla Buch and others, chief minister Chouhan announced last month that the smart city project would not be developed in Shivaji Nagar. He also named North TT Nagar as the new location.
The announcement came as a big relief for thousands of people against the backdrop of urban development department commissioner Vivek Agrawal’s hints that if Shivaji Nagar-Tulasi Nagar localities were dropped, there was a possibility that the project might be scrapped. While former chief secretary of the Madhya Pradesh government and environmentalist Buch alleged that it was Nagar Nigam employees who were made to cast ‘fake votes’ in a large number for selection of the locations.
Even the ruling party MLAs and MP from Bhopal said they were not taken into confidence on the selection of locations.
There is a vast area in North TT Nagar lying vacant for several years after demolition of government quarters opposite Hotel Palash. There are patches of vacant land elsewhere in the area too. The interesting aspect of the announcement was though the chief minister mentioned specifically the name of North TT Nagar as the new location for smart city project the bureaucrats have covered parts of South TT Nagar too under the project, leaving South TT Nagar residents jittery.
HOW MUCH AREA?
The area under smart city project at the earlier location was about 350 acre. The same at the new location-North TT Nagar - is 280 hectare (about 690 acre) as announced by the chief minister. Hence, the concern among environmentalists is that the project would cause more damage to environment and there would be a bigger concrete jungle in the heart of the city.
Hence, if the builders, contractors, bureaucrats and other moneyed persons had an eye on the prime location of Shivaji Nagar and Tulsi Nagar to own their houses they can still get the same on no less prime location like north TT Nagar and Sought TT Nagar. All these areas are supposed to be lungs of the city with greenery over there still intact.
CONCEPT OF SMART CITY
The government and the administration have failed to understand that providing a luxury life to a few of people who can afford its cost cannot be smart city project. In context of Bhopal, a smart city project should mean saving its lifeline the upper lake and heritage and how to blend all the resources to meet future challenges, said civil society member Rajendra Kothari.
“If rural people cannot have a place in the scheme of things of smart city that Prime Minister Modi talked of, there is no use of any smart city project. The fact was the minimum cost of a flat in Gammon India project was `1.5 crore. How a poor or even middle class people can afford buying such expensive houses,” he said.
Bhopal Citizen Forum’s Harish Bhawnani said out of the top 20 cities selected under the project Bhopal was the only city which has been chosen for redevelopment unlike other cities which have been selected for retrofitting. The fact remained that the central government talked of selecting more than 50 acre of land for the project. There was no propriety behind selecting such a vast area.
