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Crowdfunding lights up Kolkata heritage: A blueprint for urban renewal in India?

Nov 25, 2024 05:28 AM IST

Indian cities, most of which are constrained by tight municipal budgets, have yet to explore crowdfunding’s potential for urban rejuvenation

Kolkata’s night skyline has transformed over the last year, with 50 heritage buildings now bathed in warm yellow light, casting an enchanting glow across the city. Iconic landmarks, such as the General Post Office, Chowringhee Mansions, Old Mint and Queen’s Mansions, have been illuminated, bringing their architectural grandeur to life after dark.

The Illuminated Reserve Bank of India Museum building in Kolkata. (Samir Jana/HT Photo) PREMIUM
The Illuminated Reserve Bank of India Museum building in Kolkata. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

This dazzling change has been made possible through a crowdfunding initiative led by Kolkata Restorers, a citizens’ collective. The group aims to illuminate 50 more buildings by the next year, adding even more sparkle to the City of Joy’s nocturnal splendour.

“The project started with painting the dome at the Maniktala Market and restoring the clock with my own money. But when I realised it was not visible in the night, I sought permission from the owner to light it. When I got the cost estimate from a lighting designer, I realised I would need some crowdfunding for its illumination,” says Mudar Patherya, who anchored the project and was instrumental in launching the crowdfunding initiative.

Patherya dropped a few WhatsApp messages to some high-net-worth individuals in his circle and managed to secure the funds he required. “With the money I got, I managed to illuminate two buildings. It struck me that Kolkata has some of the grandest buildings which could be transformed with lighting,” he says.

So, he sent another message to 15 people, telling them how he had illuminated two buildings. Patherya asked for five lakh rupees. By the next morning, he had raised 55 lakh. By now, he has collected over 90 lakh for the ongoing project.

Patherya believes illuminating these buildings will highlight their historical importance and redefine their neighbourhoods. “Lighting up these landmarks creates a sense of identity and pride for the community. We’ve established trust and credibility, so raising funds for the remaining buildings will be easier. People are willing to contribute when they see tangible results. This crowdfunding model can easily be replicated in other cities for urban regeneration,” he said.

Untapped potential

Globally, this approach has funded public art, parks, playgrounds and heritage conservation efforts, directly engaging communities. Indian cities, most of which are constrained by tight municipal budgets, have yet to explore crowdfunding’s potential for urban rejuvenation. The success of Kolkata’s citizen-driven initiative to illuminate heritage buildings underscores the untapped opportunities crowdfunding offers to transform urban spaces in India.

A November 2022 World Bank report estimates that India will need to invest $840 billion over the next 15 years—or an average of $55 billion per annum—into urban infrastructure to effectively meet the needs of its rapidly growing urban population. Currently, the central and state governments finance over 75% of city infrastructure, while urban local bodies (ULBs) contribute 15% through their own surplus revenues. Only 5% of the infrastructure needs of Indian cities are currently being financed through private sources.

“Crowdfunding has immense potential, especially for small-scale projects such as restoring heritage sites or creating public spaces, which resonate deeply with people. This approach has roots in India’s cultural traditions—think of community-driven efforts to build temples or schools through ‘chanda’. I believe crowdfunding can significantly complement traditional financing mechanisms,” says Dikshu Kukreja, urban designer and principal architect at CP Kukreja Architects.

He adds that crowdfunding to shape urban spaces in India presents a mix of challenges, as well as opportunities. “Building trust among contributors is a major challenge, especially in a country where people often doubt how funds are used. So, ensuring transparency in resource allocation and impact is crucial. Integrating crowdfunded resources into formal urban planning involves administrative complexities that need careful handling,” he says.

Encouraging community participation

Ravikant Joshi, an urban finance specialist, says that crowdfunding to finance local projects, such as community gardens, playgrounds, libraries and community centres, has great potential to encourage community participation and collaboration with the government. “When local bodies work on a project with citizens, it helps build trust and cooperation between the two, which is often lacking in governance today,” he says.

“In any crowdfunding campaign, hybrid models combining direct citizen contributions with matching government funds would work best. However, officials will need to abandon a ‘mai-baap’ (paternalistic) attitude and involve people in decision-making,” Joshi adds.

However, he expresses scepticism about whether municipalities—most of which, he says, have not made efforts to secure CSR funds already available—will take the initiative to create and support such campaigns.

“This crowding initiative needs to be government-led since such projects require multiple permissions,” says KK Pandey, who teaches urban management and finance at the Indian Institute of Public Administration. “However, monitoring should involve citizens to ensure transparency. The government can launch campaigns, provide match funding. In many cities, residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) have already taken responsibility for maintaining parks and lakes. This model simply needs to be scaled up,” he adds.

Kukreja says crowdfunding provides an avenue to engage India’s diaspora, whose emotional ties to their cities make them potential contributors to such efforts. “Digital platforms can play an important role by simplifying outreach and making it easier to mobilise funds from contributors worldwide.”

Global success

Crowdfunding has fuelled numerous successful urban rejuvenation projects across the globe, including the High Line in New York City, where an abandoned railway was transformed into a vibrant urban park, and Finsbury Park in London, restored with community contributions. Another standout is the Luchtsingel pedestrian bridge in Rotterdam, a 400-metre-long structure that reconnected three city districts.

In recent years, online platforms such as Spacehive in the UK and Ioby in the US have transformed the funding of civic projects. On a given day, Spacehive hosts numerous campaigns daily for projects such as parks, gardens, playgrounds, street infrastructure, public artwork and revitalisation of city centres and local markets. Similarly, Ioby focuses on grassroots initiatives, supporting efforts in urban gardening, safe streets and public art.

But In India, crowdfunding platforms like Ketto are predominantly used to raise funds for patients with critical illnesses who lack access to sufficient health care financing. While highly effective in this domain, their potential for transforming urban spaces is yet to be explored in India.

“So far, we have seen a few campaigns for civic projects, including lake clean-ups or repair of potholes on roads. But I think our platform has huge potential for financing small civic projects, for which people currently approach local municipal councillors and MLAs for funds, which doesn’t always work out,” says Varun Seth, founder, and CEO of Ketto. “Most of our donors are in metro cities, so I believe a crowdfunding campaign on our platform will be more successful for projects in these cities. Such projects should be broken into milestones, with funding raised in phases.”

Milan Mhaske, CEO of Praja Foundation, which works to promote accountability in urban governance, says, “Crowdfunding must be done at scale to make an impact, and it must be sustainable. There needs to be a clear model with proper guidelines and norms about how to use the money and how to acknowledge people’s contributions. I think the right acknowledgement is an important incentive for people.”

But some may question why they should contribute when they are already paying taxes. “Mandatory tax payments and voluntary donations for projects are different. Taxes fund multiple public services while crowdfunding for projects is a personal choice, often driven by a community’s desire to improve local infrastructure or address specific needs. So, I do not think that could be a challenge,” he says.

Indore, a city at the forefront of innovative fundraising methods, including the oversubscribed green bonds for building a solar plant last year, has also experimented with crowdfunding in some areas of the city. “In industrial areas and illegal colonies, when people asked us to prioritise a road, we asked them to collect funds, with a major contribution from us. And people have contributed. We will explore crowdfunding for other projects too,” says Pushyamitra Bhargav, mayor of Indore.

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