FOR BETTER CITIES: V. Suresh (left), Chairman, Good Governance India, greeting S. Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Urban Development , at a conference on urban development in Bangalore on Thursday. R. Ram Prasad (right), Publication Director, Spatial India, and Brig. M.V. Bhat, Deputy Surveyor General, Survey of India, are seen. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: Rapid urbanisation is "like a tide that nobody can stop'', but growth has to be based on careful planning using the latest information and geospatial technologies, Union Minister for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy said here on Thursday.

Addressing a "National conference on urban development and municipal geographical information systems", he said: "This is the urban century, and Asian countries will benefit from it. India has only urbanised to the extent of around 30 per cent compared with urbanisation of the West in the previous century. The drawback is we are not yet prepared for this rapid urbanisation. The chaos on roads in Bangalore is an example.''

Making use of technology for urban planning was an important component of the National Urban Renewal Mission, Mr. Reddy said. The Union Government did not want repeated problems, such as those faced in Delhi because of unplanned development. Without a macro approach to urban planning, similar difficulties might be faced in other cities. "The Union Government will provide Rs. 50,000 crore with matching grants from the State, but one condition of our funding is that technology such as GIS (geographical information systems) and spatial data is used for urban planning,'' he said. He said using GIS for urban planning would benefit city governments in other ways such as improving their property tax collection by facilitating accurate survey of properties. Taxation would become more rational and transparent. Data from the National Informatics Centre and aerial maps were available to urban planners, but they need to change their mindset to using technology, he said.

Brigadier M.V. Bhat, Deputy Surveyor General, Survey of India, said survey maps, juxtaposed with aerial maps, could help urban planners. "We can provide geospatial data with great accuracy within a short time span now, he said. Remote sensing maps could be used to constantly update the data, he added.

Brig. Bhat said the Survey of India had taken up mapping of 138 cities and towns and would conduct courses for town planners and others on making effective use of maps by interpreting the data gathered. These activities were part of the national map policy of the Union Government, he said.

V. Suresh, Chairman, Good Governance India, said urban population accounted for 70 per cent of the GDP, and proper living space needed to be provided. Urban planning had to take into account villages surrounding a city and their land use. It was necessary to identify water bodies in and around urban areas through GIS to avoid floods.

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