By: T. Lalith Singh
Smart cities should be able to offer smarter citizen services and Telangana State government has taken up the task of making Hyderabad a global smart city, the IT Minister, K.Tarakarama Rao said here on Wednesday.
Speaking at XI Metropolis World Congress plenary session, he said special focus was needed to solve issues faced by the city and intelligence gained from large volumes of macro-data and analysis could help revolutionise urban planning and functioning of the city.
Mr.Rao said Telangana, with 39 per cent population living in urban areas, was a very urban State and has many challenges and opportunities and the government has a big agenda and lofty goals. “We have unique problems and challenges. There is no panacea. We made a fresh beginning and we are confident of solving the problems,” he asserted.
Proper data was needed to understand the needs of people and to design welfare schemes that suit them, he said while referring to the recently carried intensive household survey. Data generated from the exercise would be utilised for allocation of required funds in coming budget session of the Assembly and to remove inefficiencies in the governance.
Mr.Rao said the data would be useful for better revenue administration, urban poor inclusion, emergency response and disaster management and also citizen-civic engagement.
In his address, Barcelona Mayor, Xavier Trias said the cities of Hyderabad and Barcelona could collaborate in many fields and respond to major challenges. Barcelona with a population of 3.2 million was a city of culture and innovation with top level economic and industrial drivers, he said, according to a press release.
Source: The Hindu