I refer to an interesting news report appearing in the Herald (refer voice of Goa/page 7) dated April 12, 2019 on the decision to refer the Panaji Smart city works to District Level Road Digging Coordination Committee.
Why are the Panaji Smart city works not referred to a Town Level Road Digging Coordination Committee to resolve infrastructure/utilities related issues linked to the existing urban roads network of the small/medium town, in order to elevate the capital into a smart city?
The Union Ministry of Urban Development has prepared guidelines for smart cities in India. According to these guidelines, the strategic components of area-based development in the Smart Cities Mission are city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (Greenfield development) plus a Pan-city initiative in which smart solutions are applied covering larger parts of the City.
The capital city of Panjim has been chosen for the smart cities project initiative in Goa. Is the Panjim smart-city proposal restricted to Retrofitting and Redevelopment options only? Or does it also include Greenfield development? If so, has the planning area of the Panjim state capital city for implementing the Greenfield development under the smart cities project initiative been notified?
The master planning for new urban development projects on the outskirts of cities with vast open undeveloped areas/deserts/abandoned mining lands involved corridors (land widths) to plan the infrastructure/utilities networks adjacent to the road carriageway.
Sewerage & urban storm water drainage infrastructure networks/utilities are mainly gravity flow systems. These networks are planned based on actual ground levels. Any errors in the level surveys and identifying all existing utilities & other structures (both surface & underground) along the network alignment will cause enormous problems in the construction & operation of the sewerage & storm water drainage systems.
The local population is growing at a slow rate in the tiny rural-urban State of Goa. Therefore, the town/village development plans of the existing villages & towns of Goa should focus on providing quality & uninterrupted basic infrastructure/utilities. The existing land widths in towns/villages are adequate for basic services/utilities. Proper maintenance mechanism, the need to keep villages clean and protection of natural heritage & natural resources should take centre stage in the town/village development planning process in Goa.
Serious attempts are being made to treat the entire rural-urban state of Goa as one metropolitan city for the smart cities mission. The objective is for promoting massive urban transportation infrastructure projects all over Goa for the hidden business development plans of the unsustainable Mopa Airport. Can we allow this to happen by destroying the village settlement areas, livelihood areas, the unique identity and peaceful way of life of the local communities in Goa?
