<p>The New Delhi Municipal Council has spent crores and almost 10 long years on the never-ending renovation of Connaught Place. Though a refurbished CP was inaugurated in 2013, there are many pending tasks and the civic agency is still struggling to maintain the area.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Betel stains on walls and garbage dumped in corners are major eye sores in the area. Now, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to utilise the ‘Smart City’ fund to improve the facilities further. How it plans to achieve something which has not been made possible in so many years is still left to be seen.<br /><br />There are many challenges ahead in the NDMC Smart City project. In the recent past, many ambitious projects have got stuck. Redevelopment of Chanakyapuri Cinema got caught in arbitration, protests and court cases stalled attempts to free public spaces of encroachment.<br /><br />Projects like CP redevelopment and free Wi-Fi, which are now under the Smart City mission, have not delivered as planned. <br /><br />The free Wi-Fi project was launched in the two posh markets, Khan Market and Connaught Place, in 2014. But it lost popularity soon among visitors and traders who claimed that the connectivity was so bad that even basic applications did not work.<br />Even by NDMC’s own admission, the experience has been disappointing. “To be honest, the project has not been successful,” says an NDMC official.<br /><br />Now, under its Smart City concept note, the NDMC has ensured free Wi-Fi service in an extended area and not just the two markets. According to the plan, the service will be available in residential areas, major markets and bus queue shelters.<br /><br />The NDMC has proposed another multi-level parking under its jurisdiction. This is even when similar existing facilities in city’s hotspots remain underutilised.<br /><br />The agency currently has multi-level car parking at two locations under its jurisdiction – Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Sarojini Nagar. The third one at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, which was designed to accommodate 1,528 vehicles, was stalled after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) raised objections over its location near the 13th century monument Agrasen Ki Baoli. <br /><br />Even the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in its report last year said that non-adherence to statutory regulations led to its stalling.<br /><br />“The existing multi-level car parkings are not operating in their 100 per cent capacity currently, “an official said.<br /><br />“One, there is lack of awareness and second, it is also due to certain behavioural problems. People do not like to walk even a few steps and try to take their cars to the nearest possible location to their destination, which causes traffic jams,” the official added.<br /><br />He says traffic jams also cause CO2 emissions, resulting in air pollution. To address the problem, the NDMC is planning to introduce a ‘park and ride’ feature.<br /><br />“We will be introducing either electric or hybrid buses which will be available from parking lots. These will be 10- or 20-seater buses available at small intervals for last mile connectivity. By this, our parking lots will at least be full, and also pollution can be controlled. An app in this connection will also be launched,” he said.<br /><br />According to the Smart City note, NDMC has a goal to achieve World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality standard of 10 micrograms per cubic metre for PM 2.5 by 2025. Though it has to be achieved in the long run and is not high in the agency’s priority list, it still seems improbable.<br /><br />Lutyens’ Delhi, which has only around three per cent of the capital’s land area and <br />less than one per cent of its population, alone cannot make this happen and pollution levels in the rest of Delhi will have an effect on the levels in <br />this area.<br /><br />It also aims to clear all sums by 2025. The previous plans to revive slums have not been fruitful and a vast divide between two sections under the NDMC jurisdiction is as stark as it was years ago.<br /><br />The NDMC has not proposed changes in the infrastructure in the protected Lutyens’ Zone but has instead proposed interventions through technology like water ATMs and smart toilets.<br /><br />“We are providing lot of facilities but people are not aware how to get these. This may be due to bureaucracy or lack of awareness. Our main problem is publicity due to which public feedback and support is not much. Even under the smart city challenge, we scored highest in many components but lost in public feedback. This shows we are not able to reach out to public and we need <br />to work a lot on this,” the official said. <br /><br />When asked how the agency plans to fulfil the promises, given that many projects have failed before, official said this would be done through fixing accountability and a special focus will be given to operations and maintenance.<br /><br />“One of the major points under the smart city proposal will be levying heavy penalty on the concessionaire. Earlier there was no such clause which led to failure of projects. But now, be it Wi-Fi or maintaining toilets, we are introducing the concept of heavy penalties on non-performance,” he said.<br /><br /></p>
<p>The New Delhi Municipal Council has spent crores and almost 10 long years on the never-ending renovation of Connaught Place. Though a refurbished CP was inaugurated in 2013, there are many pending tasks and the civic agency is still struggling to maintain the area.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Betel stains on walls and garbage dumped in corners are major eye sores in the area. Now, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to utilise the ‘Smart City’ fund to improve the facilities further. How it plans to achieve something which has not been made possible in so many years is still left to be seen.<br /><br />There are many challenges ahead in the NDMC Smart City project. In the recent past, many ambitious projects have got stuck. Redevelopment of Chanakyapuri Cinema got caught in arbitration, protests and court cases stalled attempts to free public spaces of encroachment.<br /><br />Projects like CP redevelopment and free Wi-Fi, which are now under the Smart City mission, have not delivered as planned. <br /><br />The free Wi-Fi project was launched in the two posh markets, Khan Market and Connaught Place, in 2014. But it lost popularity soon among visitors and traders who claimed that the connectivity was so bad that even basic applications did not work.<br />Even by NDMC’s own admission, the experience has been disappointing. “To be honest, the project has not been successful,” says an NDMC official.<br /><br />Now, under its Smart City concept note, the NDMC has ensured free Wi-Fi service in an extended area and not just the two markets. According to the plan, the service will be available in residential areas, major markets and bus queue shelters.<br /><br />The NDMC has proposed another multi-level parking under its jurisdiction. This is even when similar existing facilities in city’s hotspots remain underutilised.<br /><br />The agency currently has multi-level car parking at two locations under its jurisdiction – Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Sarojini Nagar. The third one at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, which was designed to accommodate 1,528 vehicles, was stalled after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) raised objections over its location near the 13th century monument Agrasen Ki Baoli. <br /><br />Even the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in its report last year said that non-adherence to statutory regulations led to its stalling.<br /><br />“The existing multi-level car parkings are not operating in their 100 per cent capacity currently, “an official said.<br /><br />“One, there is lack of awareness and second, it is also due to certain behavioural problems. People do not like to walk even a few steps and try to take their cars to the nearest possible location to their destination, which causes traffic jams,” the official added.<br /><br />He says traffic jams also cause CO2 emissions, resulting in air pollution. To address the problem, the NDMC is planning to introduce a ‘park and ride’ feature.<br /><br />“We will be introducing either electric or hybrid buses which will be available from parking lots. These will be 10- or 20-seater buses available at small intervals for last mile connectivity. By this, our parking lots will at least be full, and also pollution can be controlled. An app in this connection will also be launched,” he said.<br /><br />According to the Smart City note, NDMC has a goal to achieve World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality standard of 10 micrograms per cubic metre for PM 2.5 by 2025. Though it has to be achieved in the long run and is not high in the agency’s priority list, it still seems improbable.<br /><br />Lutyens’ Delhi, which has only around three per cent of the capital’s land area and <br />less than one per cent of its population, alone cannot make this happen and pollution levels in the rest of Delhi will have an effect on the levels in <br />this area.<br /><br />It also aims to clear all sums by 2025. The previous plans to revive slums have not been fruitful and a vast divide between two sections under the NDMC jurisdiction is as stark as it was years ago.<br /><br />The NDMC has not proposed changes in the infrastructure in the protected Lutyens’ Zone but has instead proposed interventions through technology like water ATMs and smart toilets.<br /><br />“We are providing lot of facilities but people are not aware how to get these. This may be due to bureaucracy or lack of awareness. Our main problem is publicity due to which public feedback and support is not much. Even under the smart city challenge, we scored highest in many components but lost in public feedback. This shows we are not able to reach out to public and we need <br />to work a lot on this,” the official said. <br /><br />When asked how the agency plans to fulfil the promises, given that many projects have failed before, official said this would be done through fixing accountability and a special focus will be given to operations and maintenance.<br /><br />“One of the major points under the smart city proposal will be levying heavy penalty on the concessionaire. Earlier there was no such clause which led to failure of projects. But now, be it Wi-Fi or maintaining toilets, we are introducing the concept of heavy penalties on non-performance,” he said.<br /><br /></p>
