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Integrated Command and Control Center: Smart Cities Mission

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has announced that all 100 smart cities will have Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCCs), under Smart Cities Mission (SCM).

Union minister of housing and urban affairs – Hardeep singh Puri

These ICCCs are spread across various states that have been developing Smart Cities, with states such as Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat leading in terms of the total number of ICCCs set up.

About Integrated Command and Control Centre

ICCC will act as the “nerve center” for operations management in the city with day-to-day exception handlingand disaster management.
ICCCs provide smart solutions to the city’s municipal corporationand help manage safety and surveillance of the city.
The centres comprise video walls for real-time monitoring, emergency response system, operations planning to include critical ones and 24×7 manual maintenance.
The centres are being established to enable smart living, smart environment, smart economy, smart governance, smart population and smart mobility.
The centre will also provide valuable insights by processing complex data sets at an aggregated level to derive intelligence for improved planning and policymaking.
The ICCCs are now also linked to the CCTNS(Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems) network under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Aim:

To aggregate information across multiple applications and sensors deployed across the city and provide actionable information with appropriate visualization for decision-makers.

Smart cities mission :

Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Hon’ Prime Minister on 25 June, 2015.
The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city.
The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities.
100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities through a two-stage competition.
The Mission is operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

Challenges/The Need for Smart Cities

Cities are engines of growth for the economy of every nation, including India. Nearly 31% of India’s current population lives in urban areas and contributes 63% of India’s GDP (Census 2011). With increasing urbanization, urban areas are expected to house 40% of India’s population and contribute 75% of India’s GDP by 2030. This requires comprehensive development of physical, institutional, social and economic infrastructure. All are important in improving the quality of life and attracting people and investments to the City, setting in motion a virtuous cycle of growth and development. Development of Smart Cities is a step in that direction.

This is the first time an Urban Ministry programme used the ‘Challenge’ or competition method to select cities for funding and used the strategy of area-based development. This captures the spirit of ‘competitive and cooperative federalism’.
States and ULBs will play a key supportive role in the development of Smart Cities. Smart leadership and vision at this level and ability to act decisively will be important factors determining the success of the Mission.
Understanding the concepts of retrofitting, redevelopment and greenfield development by the policy makers, implementers and other stakeholders at different levels will require capacity assistance.
Major investments in time and resources will have to be made during the planning phase prior to participation in the Challenge. This is different from the conventional DPR-driven approach.
The Smart Cities Mission requires smart people who actively participate in governance and reforms. Citizen involvement is much more than a ceremonial participation in governance. Smart people involve themselves in the definition of the Smart City, decisions on deploying Smart Solutions, implementing reforms, doing more with less and oversight during implementing and designing post-project structures in order to make the Smart City developments sustainable. The participation of smart people will be enabled by the SPV through increasing use of ICT, especially mobile-based tools.

Smart City Features

Promoting mixed land use in area-based developments — planning for ‘unplanned areas’ containing a range of compatible activities and land uses close to one another in order to make land use more efficient. The States will enable some flexibility in land use and building bye-laws to adapt to change.
Housing and inclusiveness — expand housing opportunities for all;
Creating walkable localities — reduce congestion, air pollution and resource depletion, boost local economy, promote interactions and ensure security. The road network is created or refurbished not only for vehicles and public transport, but also for pedestrians and cyclists, and necessary administrative services are offered within walking or cycling distance.
Preserving and developing open spaces — parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces in order to enhance the quality of life of citizens, reduce the urban heat effects in Areas and generally promote eco-balance.
Promoting a variety of transport options — Transit Oriented Development (TOD), public transport and last mile para-transport connectivity.
Making governance citizen-friendly and cost effective — increasingly rely on online services to bring about accountability and transparency, especially using mobiles to reduce cost of services and providing services without having to go to municipal offices; form e-groups to listen to people and obtain feedback and use online monitoring of programs and activities with the aid of cyber tour of worksites.
Giving an identity to the city — based on its main economic activity, such as local cuisine, health, education, arts and craft, culture, sports goods, furniture, hosiery, textile, dairy, etc;
Applying Smart Solutions to infrastructure and services in area-based development in order to make them better. For example, making Areas less vulnerable to disasters, using fewer resources, and providing cheaper services.

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