6. With overpopulated cities and their strained infrastructure, India is in the midst of an urban crisis. How far can the Smart Cities Mission help in upgradation of existing cities in the country? What are the reservations of local bodies with respect to this mission?

Approach:

♤ Briefly describe the issue of unplanned cities and how the current state of affairs is seemingly an urban crisis.

♤ Mention the features of a smart city- ICT enabled features, healthcare, policing etc. How will this help in overcoming the aforementioned problems in existing cities?

♤ Finally, mention the reservations of local bodies wrt the features of this Mission. Conclude by giving some suggestions to overcome these issues.