Jaipur And Ajmer: Smart Cities Of The Future

India needs cities, and a lot of them. The government is looking to develop more of these and what's more, turn them 'smart' so that they become livable quickly.

On the radar of the Central Government and with a lot of support from Rajasthan government are the cities of Jaipur and Ajmer, all set to become India's earliest smart cities. The state government, too, is stepping on the gas on this front. It has already roped in Cisco as the technology adviser. This will definitely spur development of properties in Jaipur.

These tourist destinations, which attract many visitors, will be able to get connected too by setting-up Wi-Fi hotspots. It will also build interactive kiosks, increase surveillance with video cameras and environmental sensors to give correct updates on temperature and humidity, etc. All the utilities like water, electricity and gas are connected and made smart. The cities will get a much-delayed overhaul of its civic amenities, especially sewage. This is apart from building necessary roads and flyovers to make it easier for future populace to inhabit it.

How to make 'em smart?

A smart city is where the government will build Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure. The state government will also make it easy to acquire land for the projects in order to make it friendly for economic development.

Rajasthan, whose biggest investment until now has been in the oil fields of Cairn, is hoping to get private sector investment by bringing more of its cities into the investment ambit.

Making tourist spots into smart cities will get wide appeal and advertisement as the cities are thronged by international tourists. This could clear the air for large private investments into these cities. Most of the population here is employed by tourism, which is seasonal making them unemployed for several months in a year.

How will it help real estate?

Tourism has already made these cities agile to development and growth, and this can expand exponentially after they turn smart. The population of these cities, known for their entrepreneurial skills, can accept these changes much quicker than other cities would. As many experts put it, the state and its people understand the 'language of money' and have been on the forefront of growth.

The growth might come slower than expected, as it will take time for government initiatives to take space. After the waiting period is over, the landscape of these cities will transform into them into new-age real estate hotspots.

There are three ways in which land will become more valuable. More private investment will ignite the commercial and rental market that is non-existent now and will prompt development of affordable flats in Rajasthan. With more private investments, jobs can be created and that will also give scope for residential developments. The cities can also become smart townships of the future.

The right kinds of investment to make in these cities currently would be in underdeveloped land or plots in Rajasthan. The locations to choose would be in and around the spots that the government would chose to develop.

(The writer has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities)