Championing the cause of smart cities

“There is always something to give back to the society we live in. But if it is not welcomed in one place there is nothing to be disappointed about, as good thoughts and productive ideas always find their way in one form or another,” avers Karuna Gopal, the founder of city-based think tank ‘Foundation for Futuristic Cities’.

Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, the internationally acclaimed thought leader, columnist and keynote speaker is among the key brains in carving ideas for the Union Government’s prestigious ‘100 Smart Cities’ project. Belonging to a family of IAS officers, Karuna always believed in out of the box solutions to solve every difficulty that came her way but little did she know that her ideas would one day lead her in playing a crucial role to shape the future of several cities within the country and abroad.

“Being from a household comprising of civil servants and freedom fighters, I always wore patriotism on my sleeve but I was very sure that I did not want to follow the suit of my family members. I worked as a faculty at NIIT in the 1980s, since I was well versed in computer-aided designing.

In the meanwhile, with the help of a virtual network of design experts, we began a firm in 1995 that provided consultancy for various multinationals and corporates across the globe from which we went on to assist governments of different countries in developing their cities.

And eventually, we decided to apply our knowledge and skills to our Indian urban landscapes. As a part of which we gave presentations to government officials on how to showcase a city’s potential by creating a brand image for it.

It was widely appreciated and soon after we established the ‘Foundation for Futuristic Cities’, which is a unique platform for new ideas for sculpting a smart city. Ever since then, there is no looking back,” gleams the 52-year-old.

Empowering Indian cities to handle the rapid pace of urbanisation, the Foundation for Futuristic Cities came up different concepts like the ‘Citizens for City’ in 2007 and ‘Sculpt your City’ in 2009 as tools to engage citizens in the process of governance, gathering several accolades from public leaders and governmental officials across the country. As a result of which Union Urban Ministry imbibed the organisation’s central theme of Co-Creation as a core foundation while developing the guidelines for the Smart Cities Mission.

According to Karuna, an ideally smart city is economically vibrant, environmentally protected and encourages equal distribution of wealth and resources among all its people minimising the disparity levels in the society. But having travelled the world, the thought leader still thinks that Hyderabad still doesn’t fit the bill of a smart city.

“Having launched just one phase of metro rails in the city almost nine years after the decision was taken doesn’t give Hyderabad, a smart city status. There are so many problems like the lack of infrastructure, poor services, and civic issues which need immediate attention of the government. Moreover, there is still an absence of a private, government and public partnership in developing developmental strategies for the city,” expresses the thought leader in an exclusive interview with The Hans India.

But unlike other think tanks, Karuna doesn't wish to limit her foundation's work only to one issue of the society neither does she wants to demonstrate the dissatisfaction through rallies or protests.

"More than focusing on the problem, it is important to arrive at a solution. Our city has a multitude of complex problems but that doesn't mean it cannot be resolved. Systematic dialogues between the government officials and experts from various fields of work can help in enhancing the productivity of the state.

Townhall meetings that the IT minister conducts now were suggested long back by our organisation. But I feel there is still a dearth of young minds in the city's administration which needs to be addressed as new ideas, new people and new vision can revitalise a growing metropolitan like ours," opines the visionary.