Telangana to have smart cities policy to suit its needs

The Telangana government will evolve its own policy and formula for smart cities tailormade to its requirements, and at the same time will take steps to stem urbanisation, a cabinet minister said Thursday.

Information Technology Minister K. Tarakarama Rao said the state was waiting for the central government to define 'smart city' and announce its policy before coming out with its own policy.

"The government of India is seeking inputs. We will give our inputs. We will work with them. Obviously we need to be smart, but at the same time in the Indian context," the minister told reporters Thursday night on the sidelines of a session on 'upcoming 100 smart cities in India' organised by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) here.

Stressing that India needs to find its own recipe rather than copying the West, the minister said urban amenities should be provided in rural areas to stem the migration of people from rural areas.

Rao said there was a need to strike a balance by ensuring that the smart cities take care of the downtrodden.

He said the Telangana government was taking the first steps in the direction by launching slum-free Hyderabad initiative and planning to improve amenities and cleaning up of lakes.

Explaining why Hyderabad can't simply copy cities like Barcelona or New York, the minister said the West was structured and regulated while there was no such environment here.

The minister, however, clarified that the government was not averse to using cutting-edge technologies.

He said the government had plans to make Hyderabad first WiFi enabled city in India.

He said it was also planning satellite townships around Hyderabad.

It would also support private developers planning green and smart townships.

Rao said the central government had no clue about smart city.

He quoted a top official in Delhi as saying that they were in the process of defining 'smart city' and promised to get back in few weeks.