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Coimbatore
The
significance of participation exercise in inclusive planning was highlighted by
Mr. C.R. Swaminathan, President, Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore,
during his keynote address. It was mentioned that Coimbatore is a very
progressive city and open to ideas for city development. The inaugural session
also offered an overview of the urban policy progression in India and the smart
cities mission. The challenges faced in smart city proposal implementation were
particularly highlighted, including key aspects such as capacity building of
the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV), financial sustainability of the ULBs, PPP
modelling, structuring and ring fencing of projects following a consortium
approach that ensures end to end tying up of projects to ensure their financial
sustainability (Manvendra Deswal).
The
session on inclusive cities brought out the need for careful evaluation of city
plans and proposals with respect to city needs and the need to strengthen the
democratically elected local government that offers a responsible governance
structure (D. Dhanuraj). Capacity building of ULB officials as also the elected
representatives was particularly highlighted (N. Muthuswamy). Concern was also
expressed over the delay in the conduct of municipal elections in Coimbatore
that adversely impacts democratic governance and stalls the city development
efforts (Rumi Aijaz). The session also brought out city redesign ideas through
appropriate density planning and redevelopment of old areas (abandoned industrial
areas). Emphasis was given on planning land use based on work-living
relationships and creation of open breathing lung spaces within the city core
(Nirmal S.J. Britto).
The
next session focussed on resource management. Efficient waste management by
segregation and composting and at the same time transitioning to a circular
economy (integration of rag pickers and financial sustainability) was given
emphasis (Chitra Mukherjee). The gender concerns and aspect of equity was
specifically discussed with respect to urban water systems. The need for
understanding exclusion factors was pointed out to be important (Dipesh
Suvarna).
Several
methods of eco-friendly treatment of wastewater at various levels, including
river, lakes, wetland and household wastewater, were discussed. Some of the
methods described included vetiver technology; reed bed system for landfills
and effective microorganisms activated solution (EMAS) (Selvakumar). The need
for reducing urban energy consumption was particularly stressed upon to achieve
energy efficiency and contribute to sustainable environment. It was suggested
that small measures including terrace gardens, sky rise greeneries, basement
car parking and green spaces in setback areas within the high rise residential
apartments can go a long way in reducing urban heat emissions (Bhuvanasundar).
Smart
resource management is also about smart integration of services that can
significantly lower the operations cost and achieve efficient maintenance. For
this, the need for connected infrastructure and information networks was
pointed out (Siddharth Ravikumar). A video on Coimbatore’s journey towards
resuscitating its water bodies was shown by “Siruthuli” — an NGO based in
Coimbatore. The importance of people’s participation in increasing urban green
growth, waste management and recharge of water bodies was highlighted. The need
for synergising innovative solutions and people’s participation to bring out smart
and sustainable urban development was particularly emphasised (Vanitha Mohan).
The
final session on smart infrastructure and mobility brought out aspects related
to smart transportation and power infrastructure with specific reference to
Coimbatore. Emphasis was laid on smart power grid management that focussed on
information centralisation, energy supervision, correct cost assignment and
preventive maintenance planning through smart transformers and programmable
devices for quality monitoring (M. Sundaram).
An overview of
urban development of Coimbatore was given with particular emphasis on its
regional interactions with other cities such as Tiruppur, Madurai and Palakkad.
The need for establishment of an urban development authority was emphasised for
planned development of Coimbatore. Key routes for improving intercity and intra
city transportation were discussed (Arun Prasad). Further, the urban built
environment of Coimbatore was discussed with reference to its lakes and water
tanks. The initiative within the smart city proposal to establish green
connectors (non-motorised transport corridors and pedestrian skywalks) around
the lakes as a mechanism to remove/prevent encroachments on natural water
channels and contribute towards smart mobility was discussed (Sarfaraz Syed
Yaseen).
Posted on 17 Oct 2017
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