India To Build Two Dozen 'Green' Cities

The western region of India will become one of the most interesting in the world in terms of what type of energy it uses. Authorities in Delhi, in collaboration with the Japanese government, plan to build here no less than 24 “green” cities, in what amounts to one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the country.

The Japanese contribution will materialize in credit and technology transfers to India, which is at this point lacking the relevant technologies to support such a development.

All the 24 new cities are in turn part of a mega-infrastructure project currently underway in India, the construction of the 1,500-kilometer-long Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, uniting New Delhi and Mumbai, the country's largest and most important cities.

The Corridor is estimated to cost the government a whooping $90 billion. Within this new structure will lie a large number of cities, including the planned green ones, Indian authorities say.

These urban centers will also serve a practical function, which is to increase and expand the economic growth and prosperity of the entire area in which they reside, Clean Technica reports. 

India is currently mainly focused on accelerating its economic development and on growing its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Already, the nation is considered as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, alongside China and Brazil.

What authorities are trying to accomplish is force the push in infrastructure away from the two massive metropolitan centers, and into the villages and small towns surrounding them. As this is done, plans also call for creating the new towns in a manner that will allow for their sustainable subsequent growth.

Public transport will be a key feature. All transport facilities will be focused around this concept, given that major Indian metropolises experience a significant drop in public transport use by the common citizen.

Additionally, Indo-Japanese plans call for arranging the infrastructure of the towns in such a way that important buildings will be accessible even without using public transportation.

All 24 urban centers will feature 24-hour water supplies, which is rare in India, as well as optimized power grids, that would eliminate excessive consumption and power waste.

This is where the Japanese technology comes in. Traditionally a power importer, Japan developed methods of boosting efficiency and reducing consumption, and India is very interested in them.

At this point, primary work on seven of the 24 sites has already begun, and work is progressing smoothly. Keep an eye on this space for more details on the new cities.