Prime Minister Narendra Mosi launched his flagship Smart cities Mission proclaiming

thet governmental intervention in planning the cities would be minimal. He referred

to a bottom-up approach, but did not emphasise who exactly would benefit freom
the cities. The approach suggests that India is breaking away from its AngloEuropean architectural tradition, promoted by Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1960s with
the projection of Chandigarh as a template for urban planners. Nehrus aim was to
create mixed income cities with easy access to community infrastructure and to
institutions such as the judiciary, the legislature and the executive. But Mr. Modis
urban-planning approach contradicts that view and largely resonates with Americanstyle urbanism. The government is putting the spotlight on smart cities and allowing
the business community to lead the development . Let us take an example in the
U.S. to figure who could benefit from the new urban plans . In New York City, most of
the commercial and residential buildings from uptown to downtown Manhattan are
inhabited by the rich who can afford the huge rents. They have installed biometric
security systems to keep the unwanted people- that is the por- at bay. The city
government has largely outsourced the public services to private companies, which
are replacing the labour force with mechanized technology. As a result, the job
market has become saturated. The unskilled workforce is caught up in a low-wage
job cycle. Before pushing India on to a similar American path; Prime Minister MOdi
must step back and re-think whether his government should invest in smart cities,
or rather empower the existing urban centres by means of p[olicies that cater to
poor and middle class Indians. For instance, at present almost every Indian city
faces sanitation issues due to the absence or inadequacy of drainage networks. The
migration of people from rural areas to the urban peripheries continues at a rapid
pace, resulting