Future Cities

Project Svarnabhoomi “ Developing Cities by Developing Masses”

Team ‘ Panchajanya ’ : Harsh Sharma Aditya Tiwari Ameya Bidwalkar Anubha Agrawal Anisha Aggarwal

Urbanization: The Gloomy Side of Coin

According to 2011 census 31.16% population of India is urbanized, however the conditions under which they live are questionable .

As per our observations, the major hurdles that stop Indian cities from becoming world class are :

Miserable condition of Road network & Connectivity.

Slums, irregular housing & Encroachments.

Absence of a Responsive and Transparent Local self government Lack of accessibility to Basic Civic Amenities Costly Healthcare and Education facilities.

Inefficient Garbage disposal mechanism.

Lack of Surveillance services. Ineffective laws/policies regarding Environmental pollution and Land use.

Haphazard erection of Mobile towers in residential area.

Insufficient Landscape gardens and Recreational areas.

1

A Political Reform for a Socio-Economic Problem ?

The chaos caused by Urbanization indicates towards failure of regional level legislative system i.e. municipalities.

We plan to re-federalize the current local government and redefine power sharing at regional level through introduction of our E-E-E policy , explained below:

Eligibility

• Screening Test: Anyone who desire to contest regional elections will be bound to clear a screening test conducted by the election commission, designed to test their aptitude and analyze their personality traits. A similar system exists in Bhutan for selection of ministers.

Elections

• Non Partisan Elections: The removal of party politics from local governments will help everyone to stand up and contest elections more freely and will act as safeguard against chaos caused by such party differences.

• State Funded Elections: The govt. will provide eligible candidates a fixed amount to be spent on campaigning, no other funds could be used for it, thus reducing monetary influence on elections

Extension

• Allocation: Elected candidates (Parshads) will be segregated into H.R.D. Council, Public Inspection Council and Co-ordination council.

• Appointment: The Mayor will be elected by the body of these representatives.

2

Power Sharing Redefined

Public Inspection Council

Human Resource Development Council

Co-ordination Council

Responsible for upholding a transparent local govt.

Headed by the Mayor and guided by Collector.

Maintains all records including that of all tenders and ongoing projects.

Maintains an open to all online

database of these tenders, projects, their progress and cost estimates..

Manages a website dedicated to the local governance.

Upholds a responsive online

and offline complaint system accessible to all.

Acts as the social wing of local govt.

Includes a separate group of counselors, artists and other ex-servicemen with excellent work records.

Responsible for spreading awareness about various topics like govt. policies and social issues.

Conducts interactive sessions at

public places and schools.

Analyses the cultural as well as living standards of the city and strives to improve it.

Also acts as environmental vigilant of the city.

Strives to establish a status quo between the projects of municipality and other departments of govt.

Is headed by Municipal Commissioner i.e. collector.

Performs all administrative functions of the local govt.

Has the largest wing of officials.

Monitors surveillance and emergency services of the city.

Responsible for all the revenue related tasks and is answerable to any complaint filed through P.I. Council. 3

A Road to better Future

The road network is lifeline of a city, it regulates to a large extent the economy and lifestyle of the city.

With India having one of the world’s largest road networks, it would work wonders if these roads could be used to more than just connect different places.

This is where our concept of Proxy Roads comes in.

Proxy Roads

• Roads act as carbon sinks, water harvesters and guides for trench system.

• Either sides of roads have Green belts, helping in reducing air and noise pollution(ex: Porto Alegre).

• Along the Green belts, a trench runs underneath the ground carrying power, telephone and LPG connections .

• The water and sewer connections run beneath the roads with a model like that of San Francisco and Brussels.

• Also there are drainage points by roads, which collect rain-water and drain it to a nearby harvest wells(ex: Nahargarh fort, Jaipur).

• In cities frequented by rainstorms, a separate storm-water drainage is set up( example Brussels), to prevent waterlogging.

Connection Trench

Sanitation

Water Supply

Green Belts

Road

4

Maintenance is the Key !

Congestion Charges !

Traffic congestion at city bottlenecks is a phenomenon that disrupts lives in even most developed cities of present.

Congestion charges are much like a toll payable by private vehicles when they operate in a Congestion Charge Zone(CCZ).

Charged on 24 hour basis and can be exempted on weekends or public holidays.

Has been introduced in London and has helped in reducing traffic significantly.

Not only reduces traffic but helps in generating revenue and promotes public transport.

Transparency in road projects, complaints and their progress overseen by P.I.C. helps curb delays and inefficiency.

Developing separate pedestrian and bicycle routes along with more efficient public transport system .

Funds generated by congestion charges help in better maintenance.

Introduction of surveillance cameras to check on any overloading.

More emphasis on building of elevated roads and flyovers thus utilizing space effectively.

Proxy roads to check storm water-logging thus minimizing the damage

5

World Class Population for a World Class City

o Introduction of block schools policy (ex: U.S.A.)

o Introducing and implementing healthcare for all policy that provides rights to the lower income class to get their medical check up done for free, once every month.

o Block level monitoring of public health by the H.R.D. Council.

o Sessions in Block schools by healthcare experts.

o Development of a committee under P.I. Council to monitor and grade govt. and private hospitals and schools.

o Sessions and folk performances such as nukkad nataks etc. are organized for spreading awareness about govt. schemes, education and importance of self dependence.

o Counseling sessions for adults as well as youth on weekends at block

schools.

o Introduction of recreational corners in city for boosting up creativity and joyous attitude in kids.

Block Schools ?

• Block School Policy bounds schools to admit children from the nearby blocks.

• Reserved seats and subsidized education for less privileged children.

• Quality education based on Kendriya Vidyalaya model.

• Schools double as recreational centers for nearby community.

• Hosts performances and sessions organized by H.R.D. Council.

• Reduces traffic load caused by school transport.

6

A Roof for All : Sponsored Houses

Contrary to popular belief, slums are not poverty houses. They are in fact live example of people struggling to get out of poverty.

Unfortunately the standard of living, education and hygiene in slums ensure that they continue to struggle throughout their lives.

Sponsored houses are a resettlement attempt started by govt. and maintained by funding through corporates.

These houses are govt. apartments with walls which are rented to anyone willing to place their advertisements on it, thus generating revenue.

The residents of these apartments are given a lease for a limited time duration, after which they are bound to leave it.

The education and healthcare facilities are provided by block schools and healthcare camps and sessions.

Also vocational training sessions by H.R.D. council are organized for its residents.

The record of all these establishments will be kept by P.I. Council along with regular inspection reports of education and healthcare facilities of these houses.

Strict laws regarding maintaining decorum of these houses are introduced.

Effective Public Distribution System helps the residents to establish a standard of living.

A similar attempt is being carried by Akshaya Foundation in Madurai under the project name Akshaya Homes.

7

Green

Development of Carbon sinks in and around the city(ex: Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Introduction of Solar Community Power Plants i.e. solar power projects funded and established on community basis.

Solar powered traffic signals, road lights and other public places such as- stadiums, etc. (Ex: The Dragon Stadium, Kaohsiung ,Taiwan)

The excess power generated by solar panels used in large public places should be sold to power companies thus helping in maintenance of solar panels.

More emphasis on use of C.N.G. and establishing bio-fuel plants.

Awareness campaigns with the help of H.R.D. Council , volunteers from schools and colleges.

Development of efficient garbage disposal mechanism and stricter environmental regulations.

Introduction of garbage awareness at school level education.

Segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste on collection level.

State run garbage collection system and stricter Landfill and Disposal Directive ( Ex: European Union).

Discouraging use of non-biodegradable materials and promotion of recycle and reuse policy in block schools.

Categorizing littering as a punishable offense and better implication of laws for maintaining city décor(ex: Gangtok).

And Clean

8

Laws, Policies & Amendments

Inducing a change in Land use policy in order to bind land owners either convert unused residential plots into carbon sinks or development of residential complexes on them.

Policy regarding regularizing informal sector employees to be created and implemented

Introduction of a law stating that no residential complex is to be kept vacant for more than a period of 6 months, thus binding owners to keep tenants and effectively utilizing idle land.

Introduction of a policy regarding the loss of habitat caused by city complexes called Habitat adoption policy, under which the residential or industrial community creates and takes care of a new habitat till it reaches a self sustaining capability.

Inception and strict implementation of policies to curb nuisance caused by stray animals by creation of Dog pounds and ‘Gaushalas’ outside the city.

Strict implementation of laws regarding defacing of public property by any means.

Introduction of community service as a punishment given to those who deface or litter at any public property or monument.

9

Décor for your Destination: More Plans

Moving mobile towers out of residential areas.

Establishing a fixed design ratio for buildings (ex: Chandigarh).

Well connected police chowkies and surveillance through establishment of security cameras around the city.

Development of B.R.T.S. corridors and separate lanes for bikers and pedestrians.

Implementing the idea of a Wi-Fi enabled city.

Development and extension of emergency services department.

Development of landscape gardens throughout the city.

Inception of a public-state-corporate relationship enabling corporate investment in govt. projects like block schools, hospitals, roads etc. in order to benefit the public.

10

Appendix

Congestion Charge Zones(CCZs): Are generally the most congested roadways and bottlenecks of the city, for operating in which one has to pay Congestion charges.

Design Ratio: A fixed pattern or guideline based on the buildings are planned, often used for providing a uniform and pleasant look to cities.

Green Belts: Rows of trees often planted in order to absorb air pollution.

H.R.D. Council : Human Resource Development Council

Harvest Wells: Harvest wells dug wells equipped with filters used to recharge water levels through rain water harvesting.

P.I. Council : Public Inspection Council

Solar Community Power Plants: Community funded establishment of solar power plants on private rooftops or community spaces.

“The End is just a new Beginning”