UPSC Mains 2015 GS Paper 1 Q19: model answer

The Smart Cities Mission (2015) aims to improve urban infrastructure and services. Its success depends on surrounding villages.

Why smart cities depend on villages

• Villages supply food, water, raw materials and labour.
• Distress-driven migration from neglected villages overloads urban services and creates slums.
• Peri-urban areas face unplanned growth.

What smart villages need

• Basic infrastructure: roads, electricity, water, sanitation.
• Digital connectivity (BharatNet), e-governance, telemedicine, skill training and non-farm jobs.
• Market links for farmers (e-NAM, FPOs).

Rural–urban integration models

• Dr Kalam's PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas).
• The Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (2016): clusters of villages with urban amenities.
• Growth corridors and small towns as bridges.

Way forward

• Regional planning that treats city and countryside as one system; strengthening panchayats and urban local bodies together.

The evidence from migration

• Census 2011 found that for the first time urban population grew more in absolute terms than rural population, much of it from distress migration.
• Programmes that bring services to villages, such as the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (2016), PMGSY roads and BharatNet broadband, reduce the push without stopping voluntary movement.
• Gujarat's 'Jyotigram' 24-hour rural power (2006) showed how infrastructure can keep enterprise in villages.

Conclusion

A smart India needs smart villages and smart cities working together. Rural–urban integration is the key to balanced development and controlled migration.