After being ranked the cleanest city five times, Indore has bagged top spot for the ‘Best Smart City’ in India at the National Smart Cities Conclave 2023. So R Srinivasan spoke to Divyank Singh, CEO, Indore Smart City Development (ISCDL), who elaborated upon how technology has been leveraged in development of the smart city; measures taken to alleviate issues such as the high cost of water, slums, contamination of Kanh river by sewage and waste discharge; a public transport with 0.045 buses per 1000 population against the benchmark of 0.4-0.6 buses per 1000 population and over 10 per cent growth in private owned vehicles, which resulted in 60 per cent increase in traffic congestion, apart from key takeaways for other cities from their project, its plans and the challenges ahead. What factors would you attribute to Indore’s success as a smart city? Effective utilisation of citizen feedback for planning and further implementation of envisaged projects. Additionally, a perfect sync between public representatives and the city administration enables the organisation to execute projects within deadlines. A sustainable environment and improved living standards for residents synced with the inclusion of technological components is the primary objective of the Smart Cities Mission and ISCDL is committed to the same. ISCDL has planned the development initiative keeping the cultural lineage of the city intact and minimal adverse impact on the environment. It has been continuously moving ahead in the path of transforming Indore into a smart city with the successful execution of projects like heritage conservation, environment upgradation, infrastructure development (integrated smart roads, riverfront development, solar PV plants) and inclusion of technology in the day-to-day operations of multiple government institutions. This has resulted in the upgradation of living standards of the residents of Indore. ISCDL has also played a vital role in the growing economy of the city with the introduction and successful implementation of an innovative financing mechanism for funding various projects. How has technology been leveraged in the development of your smart city? Technological interventions such as an intelligent integrated traffic management system (ITMS), integrated command-and-control centre (ICCC), a governance and grievance redressal system through the Indore-311 app, integrated solid waste management system (ISWM) and an energy-efficient street lighting system managed by SCADA system are all improving the living standards of citizens. What can be done to alleviate issues like the high cost of water, which is Rs 18 per kl against the average cost of Rs 8-10 per kl in other cities? To fulfill the city’s demand, water is being pumped from the Jalud pumping station situated nearly 80 km away. Accordingly, the electricity expense towards this pumping is the primary reason for the high cost of water. We are actively working to reduce this cost through multiple initiatives such as the installation of a solar PV plant that will reduce electricity expenses, underground water recharge through rainwater harvesting and, most important, rejuvenation of the lifelines of Indore – Kanh and Saraswati – so that river water can be further utilised. What about slums, which grew by 8 per cent and currently account for about 38 per cent of the total population? Indore is growing at a fast pace, subject to high industrialisation. This is resulting in rapid urbanisation and migration of people from nearby cities and villages for employment opportunities. Increased migration has resulted in the formation of slums in such a large number. However, the city administration is actively working to curb this issue. Slum dwellers are offered houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) at subsidised rates. The municipal corporation also keeps a check on the formation of new slums. How are you addressing the contamination of the Kanh river by sewage and waste discharge? As part of SANKALP – the Saraswati and Kanh Lifeline Project – all the sewage and wastewater outfalls in the rivers have been tapped, the sewer and wastewater lines are diverted to sewage treatment plants and only treated water is released in the river. Additionally, the riverfront is also being planned on the entire stretch of the Kanh river to increase walkable pathways, enhance mercantile activities and reduce waste disposal (if any). Public transport includes 0.045 buses per 1,000 population against the benchmark of 0.4-0.6 buses per 1,000 population…. Being a fast-growing city, Indore has had to deal with the rapid migration of population from across the state. Accordingly, the administration is actively working to solve the issues arising from increasing population. One such issue, obviously, is public transport. For instance, in the past two years, around 120 electric buses have been included in the fleet and we plan to increase this in days to come. Additionally, the metro network is also being developed and will reduce the load on other public transport, especially buses. Over 10 per cent growth in private-owned vehicles has resulted in 60 per cent increase in traffic congestion. What initiatives have been implemented to enhance traffic management? Multiple initiatives have been taken to solve the problem of traffic congestion, such as: Intelligent integrated traffic management system (ITMS): ITMS is being implemented on all the major squares (50 junctions planned in the first phase) of the city. The entire system is interconnected, thus enabling real-time updates in signal timings and integrated with NIC for challan processing. This will curb traffic congestion and enhance detection of violations including red light violation detection (RLVD), tripling, no helmet, etc.Metro rail: A metro-rail network (elevated and underground) is being developed in the city.Bus rapid transit system: A network of nearly 10 km of a specific lane for buses has been developed for their smooth movement. What are the key takeaways for other cities from your projects? An effective citizen feedback system is at the core of all the developmental initiatives taken across the city. Projects begun with the consent of citizens and by maintaining due coordination among administrative officials and public representatives will always see the light of the day and fulfil all intended outcomes, thus benefitting the city as a whole.