Assessing the efficiency of smart city mission for urban sanitation: a case study of Davangere city, Karnataka (India)
Student name: Ms Akshita Marwah
Guide: Dr Kamna Sachdeva
Year of completion: 2016
Host Organisation: Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Ms Jagdeep Gupta
Abstract: Across the world, migration from rural to urban areas has become very prevalent phenomena. Interestingly, urbanisation in India has for the longest time been viewed as a by-product of failed regional planning. Though it is inevitable, and will only change when the benefits of urbanisation overtake the costs involved. With increasing urbanisation and the load on rural land, the government has now realised the need for cities that can cope with the challenges of urban living and also be magnets for investment. The announcement of „100 smart cities‟ falls in line with this vision. In a smart city, economic development and activity is sustainable and rationally incremental by virtue of being based on success-oriented market drivers such as supply and demand. They benefit everybody, including citizens, businesses, the government and the environment. Thereby ,according to the Smart city document published by the Ministry of Urban Development(MoUD) provision of 100% sanitation with proper sewage management to all the residents of the smart city as one of its main objectives under the mission . As we know how essential proper sanitation and proper sewage management is for a better and healthy quality of living but there is always a certain group of vulnerable people (generally belonging to the economically lower strata of the society) who at most of the times unfortunately and unintentionally/intentionally are not able to enjoy the benefits accrued by implementation of such governmental policies and missions. Since the Smart Cities Mission is yet to reach its implementation stage at its full swing it would be very interesting to understand this gap by focussing on accessibility to functional toilets and proper drainage system amongst the urban slum dwellers living in Davangere city(Karnataka) one of the shortlisted smart cities under the mission and assessing its efficiency through DPSIR framework.
