With COVID-19 declared as global pandemic, Smart Cities took immediate steps to manage the crisis. The response to COVID-19 in Smart Cities can be classified into four areas of action viz. Information, Communication, Management and Preparedness. Some key components of COVID-19 War Rooms and other initiatives taken by Smart Cities are given in Annexure-I.
As on date, out of 100 Smart Cities, Integrated Command & Control Centres (ICCCs) have been operationalized in 75 Smart Cities. State/District/City Administrations converted ICCCs into COVID-19 War Rooms and used existing Smart Infrastructure for effective management of the pandemic.
All 100 Smart Cities deployed digital technology based and other innovative solutions to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic. The details of such steps taken by these Cities to manage the pandemic are available in the document “The Smart Responses to COVID-19: A Documentation of Innovative Actions by India’s Smart Cities during the Pandemic” which is available on smartnet.niua.org.
Government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on 25 June 2015 for development of 100 cities as Smart Cities. The cities were selected through 4 rounds of competition from January 2016 to June 2018. As on 12 November 2021, these cities have tendered out 6,452 projects worth ₹ 1,84,998 crore; out of which work orders have been issued in 5,809 projects worth ₹ 1,56,571 crore; out of these, 3,131 projects worth ₹ 53,175 crore have been completed. COVID-19 pandemic related lockdowns and other unprecedented situations have led to temporary interruptions in execution of Smart City works across the country. However, Smart Cities commenced works after un-lockdown and are trying their best to make up for the time lost due to such unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances.
Annexure-I
Key components of COVID-19 War Rooms and other initiatives
taken by Smart Cities
| Information | Communication | Management | Preparedness |
| CCTV Surveillance of Public Places and Lockdowns/ People’s movement. GIS Mapping of COVID Positive/ Suspect cases. GPS Tracking of Healthcare operations/ambulances/ workers. Real-time tracking of Disinfection Services. Deploy COVID-19 Mobile applications for early tracking, tracing, and treatment. | Helpline Numbers of State and District Administration. Accurate two-way communication between stakeholders. Inter-departmental coordination. Leverage social media channels to communicate with citizens. Deploy Public Address Systems to communicate with masses. 24X7 Availability of Medics at ICCC through shift system. | Pandemic Monitoring Dashboard with Analytics. Virtual Training to Doctors & Healthcare professionals. Medical Services through Telemedicine. Mobile Applications for essential supplies. Collaborate with hospitals/ medical stores to provide doorstep services to citizens. Use drones to disinfect public spaces, especially those that are difficult to access. Provision of food and shelter to the migrant labour, urban poor and destitute. Provision for adequate quarantine/ isolation centres. | Predictive Analytics for virus spread analysis/ containment. Predictive need forecasting for equipment and logistics. Continuous peer-to-peer learning through webinars/tech-clinics/ handholding sessions to disseminate best practices. |
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Kaushal Kishore, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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