Minister for Information Technology and Panchayat Raj K.Taraka Rama Rao has on Friday, said that roof-top solar panels would be made mandatory for new buildings coming up in the city, and requested the GHMC to enforce the relevant regulation forcefully.
Speaking after inaugurating a workshop on the theme ‘Transforming Indian Cities to Smart Cities’, in the run-up to the 11th Metropolis World Congress-2014 to be held between October 6 and 10, he said the rule remains unimplemented thus far due to lack of enforcement. “Laws are wonderful. But enforcement is slack,” Mr.Rao said.
Mr. Rao also revealed the government’s intentions to provide urban facilities in rural areas too, towards improving quality of life. He said the challenge before the government is two-fold— to make cities smarter and to provide urban facilities in rural parts too.
Drawing a comparison with Kerala where, he said one cannot recognise the difference between rural and urban areas, he sought to remind that 39 per cent of Telangana State is in its urban parts. Better energy management, traffic management, sanitation, water supply, health and education are primary requirements for smart cities in India, he noted.
Not one panacea is applicable to all cities, he averred, while recalling the influx of experts with smart city solutions into his office soon after the Central budget. “India is a complicated and heterogeneous country. Smart city applications which succeeded elsewhere would not apply here. We need smart citizens and smart citizen services for that,” he said.
Listing out the initiatives of the government for making city safe and green, he said technology would be leveraged to ensure quality of life and better living standards.
GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar said the congress would be a melting pot of various ideas of smart cities, and further enriches the discourse.
