Published: 28th Sep, 2023
Context
According to the report released by President at the Annual Smart Cities Conclave in Indore, over 70% of projects under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) are in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on cities, clean water and sanitation, clean energy and economic growth.
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The SDGs are a set of 17 targets part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all UN member states, including India, in 2015. |
About the event:
- During the event, the President handed out the Smart Cities awards for 2022.
- Indore being named the overall best Smart City and Madhya Pradesh the best state.
Highlights of the Report:
- Theme: “Smart Cities Mission, India: Localising Sustainable Development Goals”.
- Prepared by: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and UN-Habitat.
- Objective: The report demonstrates tangible and measurable impact towards the achievement of SDGs, relying not solely on data but also human stories and perspectives.
- Sustainable Goals achieved:
- According to the report, while the SCM projects have largely contributed, in one way or the other, to 15 of the 17 SDGs.
- Nearly 44% were in line with the aim of SDG 11 — to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
- Around 13.3% of the SCM projects contributed to SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation);
- 6% to SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and
- 4% to SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth).
- The report mentioned that the SCM, with a total of 7,846 projects across 100 cities showcases successful implementation of a national-scale urban mission that aligns comprehensively with global agendas and empowers cities to drive sustainable development.
- Key Projects highlighted:
- The report cited as an example a project in Ahmedabad, where sensor-based monitoring of the water network resulted in an additional supply of 50 million litres a day (MLD) by detecting leakages.
- The Mudasarlova Reservoir Floating Solar Plant in Visakhapatnam, which led to an annual electricity generation of 3,613 MWh and saved $0.28 million, the report said. The project prevented emission of over 3,000 tonnes of CO2.
- The project in Indore, which used a gravity-based network to prevent 205 MLD of untreated sewage from entering the Kahn River, the Saraswati River and the network of 25 drains.
About Smart Cities Mission:
- The Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015.
- It is an initiative of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
- Aim: Cities across the country were asked to submit proposals for projects to improve municipal services and to make their jurisdictions more liveable.
- The projects were supposed to be completed within five years of the selection of the city, but in 2021 the Ministry changed the deadline for all cities to June 2023.
- But the Ministry extended its deadline to June 2024.
- Funding:
- The Mission is operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
- Central Government will give financial support to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over 5 years i.e., on an average Rs.100 crore per city per year.
- An equal amount on a matching basis is to be provided by the State/ULB.
- Additional resources are to be raised through convergence, from ULBs’ own funds, grants under Finance Commission, innovative finance mechanisms such as Municipal Bonds, other government programs and borrowings.
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