The document proposes reforms to improve urban governance and living conditions in Indian cities. It suggests establishing three councils - Public Inspection, Human Resource Development, and Coordination - to decentralize power and make local governments more transparent and responsive. Other recommendations include screening political candidates, state-funded elections, congestion charges to reduce traffic, "proxy roads" that incorporate utilities and drainage, block schools to improve education, and sponsored housing complexes to resettle slum residents. The goal is to develop world-class cities through political reform, infrastructure improvements, access to services, and empowering local communities.

1. Future Cities
Project Svarnabhoomi
“ Developing Cities by Developing Masses”
Team ‘ Panchajanya ’ : Harsh Sharma
Aditya Tiwari
Ameya Bidwalkar
Anubha Agrawal
Anisha Aggarwal

2. Urbanization: The Gloomy Side of Coin
 According to 2011 census 31.16% population of India is urbanized, however the conditions
under which they live are questionable .
 As per our observations, the major hurdles that stop Indian cities from becoming world class
are :
 Miserable condition of Road network & Connectivity.
 Slums, irregular housing & Encroachments.
 Absence of a Responsive and Transparent Local self government
 Lack of accessibility to Basic Civic Amenities
 Costly Healthcare and Education facilities.
 Inefficient Garbage disposal mechanism.
 Lack of Surveillance services.
 Ineffective laws/policies regarding Environmental pollution and Land use.
 Haphazard erection of Mobile towers in residential area.
 Insufficient Landscape gardens and Recreational areas.
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3. A Political Reform for a Socio-Economic Problem ?
 The chaos caused by Urbanization indicates towards failure of regional level legislative system i.e.
municipalities.
 We plan to re-federalize the current local government and redefine power sharing at regional level
through introduction of our E-E-E policy , explained below:
Eligibility
•Screening Test: Anyone who desire to contest regional elections will be bound to clear a screening test conducted
by the election commission, designed to test their aptitude and analyze their personality traits. A similar system
exists in Bhutan for selection of ministers.
Elections
•Non Partisan Elections: The removal of party politics from local governments will help everyone to stand up and
contest elections more freely and will act as safeguard against chaos caused by such party differences.
•State Funded Elections: The govt. will provide eligible candidates a fixed amount to be spent on campaigning, no
other funds could be used for it, thus reducing monetary influence on elections
Extension
•Allocation: Elected candidates (Parshads) will be segregated into H.R.D. Council, Public Inspection Council and Co-
ordination council.
•Appointment: The Mayor will be elected by the body of these representatives.
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4. Power Sharing Redefined
Public Inspection
Council
Human Resource
Development Council
Co-ordination
Council
 Responsible for upholding a
transparent local govt.
 Headed by the Mayor and
guided by Collector.
 Maintains all records including
that of all tenders and ongoing
projects.
 Maintains an open to all online
database of these tenders,
projects, their progress and cost
estimates..
 Manages a website dedicated
to the local governance.
 Upholds a responsive online
and offline complaint system
accessible to all.
 Acts as the social wing of local
govt.
 Includes a separate group of
counselors, artists and other ex-
servicemen with excellent work
records.
 Responsible for spreading
awareness about various topics
like govt. policies and social
issues.
 Conducts interactive sessions at
public places and schools.
 Analyses the cultural as well as
living standards of the city and
strives to improve it.
 Also acts as environmental
vigilant of the city.
 Strives to establish a status quo
between the projects of
municipality and other
departments of govt.
 Is headed by Municipal
Commissioner i.e. collector.
 Performs all administrative
functions of the local govt.
 Has the largest wing of officials.
 Monitors surveillance and
emergency services of the city.
 Responsible for all the revenue
related tasks and is answerable
to any complaint filed through
P.I. Council.
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5. A Road to better Future
 The road network is lifeline of a city, it regulates to a large extent the economy and lifestyle of the
city.
 With India having one of the world’s largest road networks, it would work wonders if these roads
could be used to more than just connect different places.
 This is where our concept of Proxy Roads comes in.
Proxy Roads
• Roads act as carbon sinks, water harvesters and guides
for trench system.
• Either sides of roads have Green belts, helping in
reducing air and noise pollution(ex: Porto Alegre).
• Along the Green belts, a trench runs underneath the
ground carrying power, telephone and LPG connections .
• The water and sewer connections run beneath the roads
with a model like that of San Francisco and Brussels.
• Also there are drainage points by roads, which collect
rain-water and drain it to a nearby harvest wells(ex:
Nahargarh fort, Jaipur).
• In cities frequented by rainstorms, a separate storm-
water drainage is set up( example Brussels), to prevent
waterlogging.
Connection Trench
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6. Maintenance is the Key !
Congestion Charges !
 Traffic congestion at city bottlenecks is a
phenomenon that disrupts lives in even
most developed cities of present.
 Congestion charges are much like a toll
payable by private vehicles when they
operate in a Congestion Charge Zone(CCZ).
 Charged on 24 hour basis and can be
exempted on weekends or public holidays.
 Has been introduced in London and has
helped in reducing traffic significantly.
 Not only reduces traffic but helps in
generating revenue and promotes public
transport.
 Transparency in road projects,
complaints and their progress overseen
by P.I.C. helps curb delays and
inefficiency.
 Developing separate pedestrian and
bicycle routes along with more efficient
public transport system .
 Funds generated by congestion charges
help in better maintenance.
 Introduction of surveillance cameras to
check on any overloading.
 More emphasis on building of elevated
roads and flyovers thus utilizing space
effectively.
 Proxy roads to check storm water-
logging thus minimizing the damage
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7. World Class Population for a World Class City
o Introduction of block schools policy (ex: U.S.A.)
o Introducing and implementing healthcare for all policy that provides
rights to the lower income class to get their medical check up done
for free, once every month.
o Block level monitoring of public health by the H.R.D. Council.
o Sessions in Block schools by healthcare experts.
o Development of a committee under P.I. Council to monitor and grade
govt. and private hospitals and schools.
o Sessions and folk performances such as nukkad nataks etc. are
organized for spreading awareness about govt. schemes, education
and importance of self dependence.
o Counseling sessions for adults as well as youth on weekends at block
schools.
o Introduction of recreational corners in city for boosting up creativity
and joyous attitude in kids.
Block Schools ?
• Block School Policy bounds
schools to admit children
from the nearby blocks.
• Reserved seats and
subsidized education for less
privileged children.
• Quality education based on
Kendriya Vidyalaya model.
• Schools double as
recreational centers for
nearby community.
• Hosts performances and
sessions organized by H.R.D.
Council.
• Reduces traffic load caused
by school transport.
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8. A Roof for All : Sponsored Houses
 Contrary to popular belief, slums are not poverty houses. They are in fact live example of people struggling to get out of
poverty.
 Unfortunately the standard of living, education and hygiene in slums ensure that they continue to struggle throughout their
lives.
 Sponsored houses are a resettlement attempt started by govt. and maintained by funding through corporates.
 These houses are govt. apartments with walls which are rented to anyone willing to place their advertisements on it, thus
generating revenue.
 The residents of these apartments are given a lease for a limited time duration, after which they are bound to leave it.
 The education and healthcare facilities are provided by block schools and healthcare camps and sessions.
 Also vocational training sessions by H.R.D. council are organized for its residents.
 The record of all these establishments will be kept by P.I. Council along with regular inspection reports of education and
healthcare facilities of these houses.
 Strict laws regarding maintaining decorum of these houses are introduced.
 Effective Public Distribution System helps the residents to establish a standard of living.
 A similar attempt is being carried by Akshaya Foundation in Madurai under the project name Akshaya Homes.
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9. Green
 Development of Carbon sinks in and around
the city(ex: Sao Paulo, Brazil).
 Introduction of Solar Community Power
Plants i.e. solar power projects funded and
established on community basis.
 Solar powered traffic signals, road lights and
other public places such as- stadiums, etc.
(Ex: The Dragon Stadium, Kaohsiung ,Taiwan)
 The excess power generated by solar panels
used in large public places should be sold to
power companies thus helping in
maintenance of solar panels.
 More emphasis on use of C.N.G. and
establishing bio-fuel plants.
 Awareness campaigns with the help of
H.R.D. Council , volunteers from schools and
colleges.
 Development of efficient garbage disposal
mechanism and stricter environmental
regulations.
 Introduction of garbage awareness at
school level education.
 Segregation of biodegradable and non-
biodegradable waste on collection level.
 State run garbage collection system and
stricter Landfill and Disposal Directive ( Ex:
European Union).
 Discouraging use of non-biodegradable
materials and promotion of recycle and
reuse policy in block schools.
 Categorizing littering as a punishable
offense and better implication of laws for
maintaining city décor(ex: Gangtok).
And Clean
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10. Laws, Policies & Amendments
 Inducing a change in Land use policy in order to bind land owners either convert unused
residential plots into carbon sinks or development of residential complexes on them.
 Policy regarding regularizing informal sector employees to be created and implemented
 Introduction of a law stating that no residential complex is to be kept vacant for more than a
period of 6 months, thus binding owners to keep tenants and effectively utilizing idle land.
 Introduction of a policy regarding the loss of habitat caused by city complexes called Habitat
adoption policy, under which the residential or industrial community creates and takes care of a
new habitat till it reaches a self sustaining capability.
 Inception and strict implementation of policies to curb nuisance caused by stray animals by
creation of Dog pounds and ‘Gaushalas’ outside the city.
 Strict implementation of laws regarding defacing of public property by any means.
 Introduction of community service as a punishment given to those who deface or litter at any
public property or monument.
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11. Décor for your Destination: More Plans
 Moving mobile towers out of residential areas.
 Establishing a fixed design ratio for buildings (ex: Chandigarh).
 Well connected police chowkies and surveillance through establishment of security cameras
around the city.
 Development of B.R.T.S. corridors and separate lanes for bikers and pedestrians.
 Implementing the idea of a Wi-Fi enabled city.
 Development and extension of emergency services department.
 Development of landscape gardens throughout the city.
 Inception of a public-state-corporate relationship enabling corporate investment in govt.
projects like block schools, hospitals, roads etc. in order to benefit the public.
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12. Appendix
 Congestion Charge Zones(CCZs): Are generally the most congested roadways and
bottlenecks of the city, for operating in which one has to pay Congestion charges.
 Design Ratio: A fixed pattern or guideline based on the buildings are planned, often used
for providing a uniform and pleasant look to cities.
 Green Belts: Rows of trees often planted in order to absorb air pollution.
 H.R.D. Council : Human Resource Development Council
 Harvest Wells: Harvest wells dug wells equipped with filters used to recharge water levels
through rain water harvesting.
 P.I. Council : Public Inspection Council
 Solar Community Power Plants: Community funded establishment of solar power plants
on private rooftops or community spaces.

13. “The End is just a new Beginning”