Abstract
With the grave dangers of environmental degradation looming over us, it is essential for all nations to revamp themselves sustainably. However, in developing nations, many actions towards growth and progress are unsustainable. To move beyond clashes between the environmental protection and development of countries, nations are working on finding ways to accommodate sustainability in development. One such initiative in India is the Smart Cities Mission, which was initiated in 2015 towards redeveloping and developing cities across the country on the lines of sustainability while improving the quality of life of its people. However, the progress of this mission seems slow and hindered, and it is not very visible to the common person’s eye. This paper, hence, attempts to look into the challenges that are hindering the progress of the Smart Cities Mission on the environmental and legal lines.
Key Words: Smart Cities Mission, Smart Cities, environment, degradation, hazards, Sustainable Development Goals, urban,
Abbreviations:
Smart Cities Mission: SCM
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: MoHUA
Forest Conservation Act: FCA
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG
Solid Waste Management: SWM
Municipal Solid Waste: MSW
Special Purpose Vehicle: SPV
Urban Local Bodies: ULB
Public-private Partnerships: PPP
Introduction
The Earth continues to spin with a gloomy future of its sustenance with the incessant attacks perpetrated on the environment. The problem of the “environment” the Earth faces today was addressed on an international platform as early as 1972 with the ‘United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.’ Ever since efforts have been made to reduce the fast-paced environmental degradation that has encapsulated the globe. Numbers are best to look at to comprehend what environmental degradation looks like today – “at the current rate of deforestation, 5-10% of tropical forest species will become extinct every decade; 27% of our coral reefs have to be destroyed if the rate continues, the remaining 60% will be gone in 30 years; We are using up 50% more natural resources than the Earth can provide, i.e., at our current population, we need 1.5 Earths”. [1] With such a state of affairs at the world level, India is placed in a unique position, hosting the largest population in a country with the greatest diversity and being the largest democracy. Our country is posed with a difficult challenge to address the said issue while growing as a developing nation in the world. The balance between protecting the environment and development puts India in such a unique position.
India’s tryst with climate action goals began in 2009 when she voluntarily aimed to cut GDP emissions by 20-25% from 2005 by 2020, achieving 24% on time so far. Indian courts have also been playing an active role, along with legislators (recent amendments like ‘Biodiversity (Amendment) Act 2023’ and ‘ Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act 2023’), in protecting the environment. For instance, in Residents Welfare Association & Another v State (Union Territory of Chandigarh) & Others (2023) 8 SCC 643, the Supreme Court held that it has now become critical that “the Legislature, the Executive, and the policy-makers at the Union as well as at the State levels take note of the damage to the environment on account of haphazard developments and take a call to take necessary measures to ensure that the development does not damage the environment.” [2] With a similar intent, almost a decade ago, the Government of India on 25 June 2015, launched the Smart Cities Mission. Its goal is “to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment, and the application of ‘Smart’ Solutions”. [3] Recently, on February 8, 2024, to review the progress of the mission, ‘The Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs,’ Chaired by Mr. Rajiv Ranjan, submitted their report on “Smart Cities Mission: An evaluation”. The Committee observed that “the progress of SCM is slow in many small cities, including those in northeastern states”. It noted that “400 projects under SCM may take time to complete beyond December 2023. The mission has been extended up to June 2024.” [4] Thus, this paper attempts to shed light on the environmental and legal challenges the Smart Cities Mission faces today.
Research Methodology
The nature of this paper is descriptive. This paper is mainly written with the support of online sources, including information from official websites, journals, and articles. All numerical data presented are also taken from official or verified websites, or published in journals or articles. All sources used fall under Secondary sources of data in this paper.
Review of Literature
This paper delves into the environmental and legal challenges that the Smart Cities Mission faces for its successful implementation and provides some solutions/suggestions. Thus, the literature review incorporates the following sources used to understand challenges:
“The Smart City Mission in India and Prospects of Improvement in The Urban Environment” by M F Jawaid and Abdur Raoof Khan evaluates the significance of the SCM and how they can build a good urban environment that is sustainable in nature.
“The Smart City Mission in India: Has it addressed environmental considerations?” by Jyoti Chandiramani, Aanchal Airy, and Vaibhav Pingale that looks into the environmental concerns of certain selected cities through a series of statistical case studies.
“Evaluating the Environmental Sustainability of Smart Cities in India: The Design and Application of the Indian Smart City Environmental Sustainability Index” by Shruti, Prabhat Kumar Singh, and Anurag Ohri on assessing ecological sustainability in smart cities.
“Challenge of Making Smart Cities in India” by Rumi Aijaz delves into the smart cities mission and how it will be implemented, as well as where it makes it a success.
“A Critical Study on Socio-Economic and Legal Challenges of Smart City Mission in India” by Kariyanna K.S. discusses the socio-economic and legal challenges that the SCM faces.
“An Analysis of Laws Governing Smart City Projects in India” by Sneha Singh, which looks into the various laws that are involved in the SCM through the initiatives and projects of the mission.
Method
It is regrettable to hear that around 66 out of the 100 cities nominated for the mission have not yet met the “physical targets”. Ironically, the ‘Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)’ claims that “more than two-thirds of the total 7,804 projects under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) have been completed as of January 2023.” There is a clear discrepancy between the two statements above regarding the mission’s progress. The city-wise progress of projects under the Smart City Mission reveals significant disparities in performance among various cities. While 32 Smart Cities have surpassed their project goals, some by “as much as four times”, the remaining 68 Smart Cities are yet to meet their goals, with some showing abysmal performance. Consequently, the total number of completed projects is misleading since it “includes the surplus projects completed by the 32 well-performing cities”. [5] This shows the inaccuracy in understanding how and where development has been so far. This points to the question – why is there such poor progress amongst most selected cities despite its implementation beginning over eight years ago? With the extension, the mission, according to MoHUA, should be completed by June 2024, which has also passed. While development and infrastructural projects themselves take many years to complete, further accounting for the years during the COVID-19 pandemic that put a halt to such projects, it still can be questioned as to why the progress is overall so poor in many cities. What are some challenges that the mission currently faces – in terms of environmental protection and sustainability, as well as legal issues?
Environmental Challenges
Water and Waste Management: In the water sector, “about 8% of urban households still require travel more than 100 meters to access drinking water”. In large cities, “only 20% of wastewater is treated due to less sewage treatment”. Water supply, sanitation, and solid waste management were recognized as the primary ranking indicators for physical factors in the mission. The strategy for waste transportation of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) as per the Swachh city plan and the incidence of waterlogging were found to be “inadequately defined in the first stage”. Additionally, household coverage of SWM (Solid Waste Management), coverage of water supply connections, and coverage of sewerage were found to “overlap with other factors.” [6]
Air Pollution: A study examined the monthly air quality statistics from August 2018 to August 2020 for four popular cities that are a part of the SCM sourced from the ‘National Air Quality Index’ portal. The result was that “Delhi, followed by Chennai, exhibits poorer air quality compared to Bhopal and Pune.” Nevertheless, Bhopal and Pune also face significant air pollution issues, with “PM 2.5 levels exceeding limits, particularly in October, November, December, and January”. [7] With the increasing pollution in urban areas, vehicular traffic and pollution are also on the rise.
Energy resources: Rampant industrialization and urbanization continue to demand greater energy resources for development projects. More than 80% of energy requirements in India are fulfilled by 3 main fuels: coal, oil, and solid biomass. Majorly, coal plays a crucial role in expanding electricity generation and industry, maintaining its position as the dominant fuel in the energy mix. The rapid increase in vehicle ownership and road transport has caused a surge in oil consumption and imports. Biomass, primarily fuelwood, occupies a diminishing slice of the energy mix but remains prevalent as a cooking fuel. Despite progress in extending LPG coverage to rural areas, 660 million Indians still rely on traditional cooking fuels and technologies, highlighting a need for broader adoption of modern, cleaner alternatives. [8]
Legal Challenges
Public-Private Partnerships: Many smart city projects rely on PPPs to fund and operate infrastructure. “21% of the smart cities’ funds were expended via public-private partnerships (PPP). However, half of the smart cities could not take any project under the PPP model. Projects that have been taken up constitute only 6% of the total PPP cost.” [9] Issues related to contract enforcement, risk allocation, and dispute resolution plague the success of these partnerships. Even with a PPP, there is a lack of experience on both sides while implementing projects using advanced technology, which in turn leads to poor budget estimations.
Special Purpose Vehicle: Instead of using traditional development and government bodies like parastatal agencies and municipalities, the SCM relies upon a special city-level organization called the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for all urban transformation work. An SPV is a limited liability partnership, corporation, trust, organization, or other working body registered under the Companies Act of 2013 and established to fulfill a particular objective.[10] SPVs are co-owned by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and state governments. The boards of directors of SPVs comprise representatives from the central and state governments as well as chief executive officers (CEOs). However, frequent CEO transfers and the absence of clear guidelines are significant challenges faced by SPVs [11]
Data Protection: One of the critical concerns pertains to the handling of data from smart city infrastructure, including ownership, processing, use, and security. This data can include sensitive information about individuals’ locations, activities, and personal details, necessitating thorough mapping of data flows across smart cities for privacy impact assessments. A major challenge is the global nature of cloud infrastructure, potentially located anywhere. Consent issues regarding data capture and processing in smart cities have sparked discussions about the need for generalized “pre-consent” mechanisms. [12] The Information Technology Act of 2000 defines “data” as “information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions processed in a computer system”, but it does not account for the complexities of Big Data. Big Data involves vast and diverse datasets managed by governments, private organizations, and individuals. This trend raises significant security concerns regarding personal data and privacy. Additionally, the Act defines “cyber security” as “protecting information, equipment, devices, and computer resources from unauthorized access, disclosure, disruption, modification, and destruction.” However, the progressive nature of security risks, especially with the emergence of smart cities, introduces new forms of criminal activities beyond current definitions. This necessitates a review of the existing provisions under the Act to adapt to these evolving challenges. [13]
Right to privacy: The Information Technology Act facilitates e-governance by recognizing digital signatures, electronic service delivery, and electronic records retention. However, it lacks provisions to address risks associated with information sharing between government and private sectors in the SCM. Although the “right to privacy” is a constitutional right under Article 21, the Act’s scope on this matter is limited. Section 72 of the said Act imposes fines for privacy violations of electronic records, but only by designated authorities such as adjudicating officers and certifying authorities. This limitation creates a significant gap between the privacy expectations of individuals and the existing legal protections in India. ‘The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011’ “protect sensitive personal data” but do not encompass government activities. The Act defines “personal information” but excludes real-time data processed by applications for immediate information delivery. “India does not have a comprehensive privacy policy governing the conduct of different stakeholders engaged in the information technology chain.” [14]
Suggestions
Solutions: Environment Protection
Through the implementation of SCM, there have been successful projects in certain cities implementing environmentally sustainable measures. These measures can be further implemented across all the selected smart cities to save tonnes of energy resources, find effective ways to sustainably use energy, reduce pollution levels, and attain the SDGs sooner. These cities must set an example or at least guide other cities. Part of the mission is to create such measures of their own to protect the environment. Below are some initiatives state governments have taken to help their cities incorporate sustainable measures.
Water and Waste Management
According to the UN-Habitat, submitted by the Government of India to the UN, “Ahmedabad, with a population of 5.57 million, has invested USD 103.3 million across 19 projects to upgrade its water supply infrastructure. These projects include deploying smart toilets, constructing sewage treatment plants and stormwater drain networks, and installing smart meters to align with targets under SDG 6. Under SCM, the city implemented sensor-based monitoring to enhance the efficiency of its water supply network, resulting in an additional 50 MLD water supply and benefiting 150,000 more people. This initiative has also led to annual electricity savings exceeding 11 lakh units. Furthermore, the city has improved access to sanitation and hygiene through sustainable, smart, and self-cleaning toilets, which incur minimal operation and maintenance costs.” [15]
Similarly, it is submitted under UN-Habitat that “Jabalpur Smart City has implemented a pioneering Waste-to-Energy project with the goal of utilizing MSW for affordable energy generation. The first-of-its-kind plant developed in PPP mode in Jabalpur employs mass burning technology, incinerating around 600 tonnes of old, new, and unsorted waste while adhering to industrial standards and regulatory requirements. The plant generates around 11.5 MW of electricity daily, which is sold to the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board powering more than 18,000 households. This project has reduced carbon emissions by approximately 37,000 tonnes in Jabalpur and saved 4.4 hectares of land that would have been used for dumping waste—a total of almost 2,19,000 tonnes annually.” [16]
Air Pollution
According to the UN-Habitat, “Indore is implementing strategic interventions to address air pollution in collaboration with technical partners. The city has prepared a “Clean Air Action Plan”, which proposes innovativ4e Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaigns amongst other interventions. For example, the city implemented the “Red Light On—Engine Off” campaign to encourage vehicle drivers to turn off ignition when faced with a red traffic signal. the city has installed three measurement stations and 50 low-cost air quality sensors to monitor air quality. These sensors provide regular readings that are analysed at the ICCC. Indore has also embraced environmentally friendly transportation by promoting the use of CNG and electric vehicles.” [17]
Energy Resources
“Visakhapatnam has installed solar streetlights across the city. Each streetlight panel generates approximately 44W of power. In total, 380 solar streetlights (6m high) with a capacity of over 0.173 MW and 200 solar post lights (4m high) of 25W have been installed and commissioned. These solar streetlights generate around 189.4 MWh of electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 242 tonnes and saving the city USD 0.015 million” as stated in the said document. [18]
“Coimbatore implemented solar power plants and also focused on the waste-to-energy model by installing a bio-methanation plant that relies on Partially String Tank Reactor (PSTR) technology. The plant processes 1 MT of organic waste daily, converting it into biogas used for electricity generation. The bio-methanation plant produces approximately 60,000 m3 of biogas and 39,055 m3 of methane annually, generating around 7 KW of electricity daily. The plant saves up to 2,190 litres of fuel consumption per year. Moreover, the project prevents around 547 tonnes of waste from being dumped and reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 1,505 tonnes per year,” as given in the UN-Habitat. [19]
Solutions to Legal Challenges
Public-Private Partnerships and Special Purpose Vehicle
When it comes to addressing issues related to contract enforcement, risk allocation, and dispute resolution, developing a detailed and clear contractual framework is essential. This includes standardizing contracts that are suitable even for international contracts, like the FIDIC, to clearly define roles, responsibilities, risk-sharing mechanisms, and dispute-resolution processes. This approach can help mitigate the lack of experience on both sides and improve budget estimations.
Ensuring stability in leadership by reducing the recurrent transfer of CEOs and establishing explicit guidelines for SPV operations can improve efficiency. This includes creating a comprehensive manual for SPV operations that outlines the processes, responsibilities, and decision-making frameworks.
Furthermore, efforts to strengthen “the functioning of traditional institutions must continue because, on the one hand, the SPVs will be dependent on these for meeting their resource needs, and on the other, parts of the city not covered under the Mission will need to be efficiently looked after by traditional institutions.” [20]
As the Standing Committee under MoHUA noted, “many smart cities do not have the capacity to plan and spend thousands of crores on projects. The Committee itself recommends that a plan be made to strengthen ULBs’ capabilities in small cities.” [21]
Data Protection and Right to Privacy
It becomes crucial to amend the Information Technology Act to include comprehensive definitions and protections for Big Data and real-time data. Otherwise, new legislation must be passed on working with Big Data, and restrictive mechanisms must be put forth to ensure the security and privacy of the user.
Implementing generalized pre-consent mechanisms for data capture and processing can address consent issues. This involves creating standardized consent forms and ensuring that residents are informed about how their data will be used and protected and put forth in a simple manner in order to ensure comprehensibility amongst common people.
Expanding the scope of the ‘Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011’, to include government activities to provide better protection to users is necessary. This involves revising the rules to cover all stakeholders, including government entities, and to ensure its stringent working and implementation.
Along with this, beyond article 21, which is very overarching in nature on the matter of privacy, there must be specific legislation on privacy protection in the technological realm and the usage of online data of users. This is essential for the mission itself, which aims to make technological advancements for the development of these cities.
Conclusion
From the understanding above, it is crucial to note that the environmental and legal challenges discussed above are some of the many other challenges that the SCM faces. For better implementation, the solutions and suggestions are mere ways and cannot be easily imposed upon all cities either. Also, it takes a combined effort from the multiple stakeholders involved to be able to implement a project effectively. As the Standing Committee notes, it is necessary for the ministries involved “to remain watchful to ensure the execution and completion of the projects by intervening to facilitate inputs and expertise.” Since there are no specific laws exclusively for smart cities, it is essential for the government “to amend current laws to align with the smart city program’s goals.” It also becomes essential to develop a comprehensive law on ‘cybersecurity,’ ‘privacy,’ ‘data protection,’ and ‘equipment standardization.’ This could be achieved through amendments to the existing Act or by creating new rules that address the challenges discussed above. Therefore, it is clear that developing smart cities requires a fundamental restructuring of legislation to encompass all aspects of a smart city. It is also important to note that progress in the remaining cities, especially in the northeast, requires more attention to improve its capacity to implement the projects of SCM. This requires additional efforts from the respective governments, the Centre as well as other interested stakeholders to work together to implement the same.
Ruchiranana Marripudi, O.P Jindal Global University