The funding of Rs 100 crore from the Centre under its smart city project would be a pittance for a mega city like Mumbai, which has an annual budget of over Rs 31,000 crore, experts said. However, they added that the amount could be used to improve the administration and governance of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Mumbai has been selected as one of the 10 cities from the state under Centre-sponsored schemes for smart cities. The Centre has plans to spend Rs 48,000 crore on improving 100 cities as smart cities after selecting them for various schemes and projects through phase-wise competitions. Mumbai is likely to get funding of Rs 100 crore from the Centre for this project.
However, experts feel that Mumbai should use these funds for the improvement of its system rather than spending them on its infrastructure projects.
“The smart city is not only a project, it’s a concept that needs to be implemented earnestly,” said town planner Ulhas Rane. “The BMC has huge revenues, which means that it may not need outside funds for its projects. But the Smart City project has its own advantages.”
“The concept also emphasises on improving the local governance by using technology. This will bring transparency in the administration, which in turn will reduce corruption. The taxes will be paid on time leading to increase in revenues. There will be better planning, which will help in overall development of the city,” said Mr Rane.
Milind Mhaske from the Praja Foundation said the Smart City project would improve BMC’s complaint redressal system. “It will bring in the HR module, which will make the administration more effective. We should use this opportunity to push for better reforms and enhance our system,” Mr Mhaske said.
