There was a time in history when people from all over the world would try to gain access to grand city states like Rome, Athens or Carthage, as they were pretty much the epitome of best living any place of that time period could provide. In more recent times, in this part of the world, we saw the same with urban migration towards metros like Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. Once IT entered the game, even Bengaluru found itself in the good books of people looking for a better life.
Now look where all of that has led us. The big cities are struggling to sustain themselves in the face of climate change and a rapidly increasing population density. Bengaluru is notorious for its traffic congestions and water shortage, Delhi is the most polluted city in the world and Mumbai is a living example of what you get if you mix real estate and the game of musical chairs. You cannot really blame the cities though. It’s not their fault they were not planned keeping sustainability in mind. Maybe it’s time we look towards smaller cities. Maybe it’s time we look towards Atal Nagar in Chhattisgarh.
There’s not one but many reasons why this recently renamed township, which was previously known as Naya Raipur, is called one of first integrated cities in the world. For those of you who are not familiar with this term, an integrated city is one that is designed using learnings gained from the studying the mistakes of existing cities, in such a way that once the plan comes to fruition, the city unleashes the potential of its own resources needs minimal external funding or aid to fully function. Here’s why Atal Nagar is already one such self-sustaining city and a pride of Chhattisgarh and the rest of India.
The Future Is Green
Unlike most other towns in India that have resorted to deforestation to make space for more people to live in and make more areas commercial in nature, Atal Nagar is actually doing the exact opposite. Afforestation is bang in the middle of the main plan for this city, where 27 percent land within its area is solely earmarked for planting more trees. And the roads and lanes are designed keeping that in mind. There are more than enough areas in Atal Nagar that favour non-motorized transport, to ensure people breath clean air instead of a cocktail of fumes.
Inclusive Governance With Digital Services For All
The idea of a well-connected smart city will now be a reality, as Atal Nagar is designed to provide quick and efficient utility services and bill payments thanks to the whole city being connected with a network of optical fibres. Using their registered phone number, citizens can easily pay their income tax, renew their travel passes and take care of other bills. This also ensures that services are never delayed thanks to computerized accountability, which makes it one of the most inclusive and transparent governance programmes in the nation.
State-Of-The-Art Zero-Sewage Discharge System
Atal Nagar is one of the few Indian cities that can brag about having a zero-sewage discharge system. In order to achieve this, the city uses a Zero Liquid Discharge System, which prevents sewerage water from entering the city’s waterways. The system recycles the sewerage water by removing dissolved solids and various other kinds of waste leaving only distilled water. This system ensures better efficiency and advanced water management, using proper wastewater recycling tools and smart meters. The world is talking about the benefits of smart machines communicating with each other using Internet of things; Chhattisgarh is already doing it.
Integrated Command And Control Centre Making Life Easy
The most important thing about a city is its people, and if they do not feel safe, secure and satisfied with the public services there, that’s a problem. To ensue that’s never the case in Atal Nagar, they have inaugurated the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), that’s literally making life easy for the people who live there. It helps provide single window for all citizen services like Land allotment, water connection billing & payment, BRTS travel planning, RTI, Grievances etc through mobile app and web portal, making Atal Nagar the 10th official Smart City in India.
Mandatory Installation Of Rainwater Harvesting Systems In Buildings
What makes a city smart? It’s not just advanced technology that is at play here, but also trying to change the habit of people and help them change for the better. The building plans for the city are such that it makes it mandatory to install rainwater harvesting systems, which is a huge part of self-sustenance. Cities suffering from water shortage like Delhi and Bengaluru are waking up to it now as well. Atal Nagar is clearly leading the way. Quick trivia - did you know the Naya Raipur Development Authority has to maintain 55 reservoirs? That in itself is unprecedented.
Having read about all the aforementioned points, you can clearly see how soon, other emerging cities will follow the Atal Nagar model, provided people all across the nation can be united in thinking ‘development first’.