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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs recently announced that Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCCs) will be established in all 100 Smart Cities under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM). These ICCCs are distributed across states that are currently developing Smart Cities, including Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.
Understanding Integrated Command and Control Centres
ICCcs function as the “nerve center” for city operations management, handling daily exceptions and managing disasters. They provide smart solutions to the city’s municipal corporation, aiding in the management of safety and surveillance. The centers incorporate video walls for real-time monitoring, an emergency response system, operations planning, and round-the-clock maintenance.
The purpose of these centres is to facilitate various aspects of a smart city including smart living, environment, economy, governance, population and mobility. The centre will also analyze complex data sets at an aggregate level to derive insights for better planning and policy making. Additionally, they are now connected to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems network under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Their primary aim is to gather information from multiple sources across the city and provide actionable insights for decision-makers.
The Smart Cities Mission Explained
Launched in June 2015, the Smart Cities Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aiming to transform 100 cities by providing necessary core infrastructure and facilitating a clean and sustainable environment. This is executed through the application of ‘Smart Solutions’. The mission is driven towards meeting the aspirations of India’s urban population via various urban development projects.
Strategic components of this mission include ‘area-based development’, which encompasses city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), in addition to a pan-city initiative where ‘smart solutions’ are applied over larger parts of the city. Core focus areas include the creation of walkways, pedestrian crossings, cycling tracks and efficient waste-management systems, integrated traffic management and assessment. Various indices such as the Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, City GDP framework, Climate Smart Cities assessment framework etc., are used to monitor urban development.
The implementation period for SCM has been extended until June 2023. Thus far, it has covered more than 140 public-private partnerships, 340 ‘smart roads’, 78 ‘vibrant public places’, 118 ‘smart water’ projects and over 63 solar projects.
Defining a ‘Smart City’
There isn’t a universal definition or template for a smart city. In the Indian scenario, the concept of Smart Cities is based on six fundamental principles: smart living, smart environment, smart economy, smart governance, smart population, and smart mobility.
Other Initiatives for Urban Development
Several other initiatives are being undertaken to promote urban development. These include the Atal Mission for Urban Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0, and the Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP).