Environment and Social Audit for Smart City Planning Perspective in India

Dutta, Bikram Kumar and Bandyopadhyay, Sanhita (2016) Environment and Social Audit for Smart City Planning Perspective in India. REAL CORP 2016 – SMART ME UP! How to become and how to stay a Smart City, and does this improve quality of life? Proceedings of 21st International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society. pp. 249-255.

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Abstract

In view of the fact that development is an ever growing process, its impact is also ever increasing, leading to rapid deterioration in environmental conditions and human health, auditing thus ensures that the potential problems are foreseen and addressed at an early stage in the projects and account the causes of detoriation during execution of as per requirement of smart city planning. Environmental auditing and social auditing are used to predict the consequences of any planning and execution of development phases; as such Auditing provides scientific approach to sustainable development for city plan. The auditing are thus a systematic process of identifying cause and consequences of phase development of planning practice in consultation with the individuals or society. Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) tools have been applied internationally to ensure that proposed actions are economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable or not for planning stage. ESA is a process having the ultimate objective of providing decision-makers with an indication of the likely consequences of their actions. Environmental assessment enables us in carrying out environmental cost-benefit analysis of projects at an initial stage. It is thus a pre-cursor to detailed analysis of environmental impacts, which are taken up only if a need for the same is established. It gives a view of the actors involved in the development-environment linkages. This is required in view of the fact that the community at large is always at a loss in terms of deterioration of living environment that accompanies any development. Based on environmental assessment, the regulatory measures can be identified and the roles of concerned agencies defined for achieving more efficient environmental management. Further Environmental safeguard accounting including carbon foot print measuring can assesesmart accounting of any development plan. Social Assessment (SA) is carried out to ascertain the impacts, which would occur due to implementation of the project. The exercise facilitates identifying types and extent of impacts and also identifying impacts that can be minimized by good planning practices. Efforts are made to mitigate impacts, which cannot be minimized during the planning stage. The assessment is thus a systematic process of identifying and mitigating impacts on individuals or society in consultation with the individuals or society affected. Further social auditing and pay back mechanism can assess the social viability of smart city planning. The Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) in India is a constitutional authority, headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. The CAG of India derives his mandate from articles 148 to 151 of the Indian Constitution, examines various aspects financial, compliance and performance audit. Environmental and social audit by SAI India is conducted within the broad framework of compliance and performance audit. This paper aims to integrate aspects of environmental audit and social audit for accounting smartness of city. Government of India (GoI) has decided on developing 100 “Smart Cities” in the country. It includes one satellite city of each of the cities with a population of 4 million people or more comprises of 9 cities, most of the cities in the population range of 1 to 4 million people about 35 out of 44 cities, all State/UT Capitals, even if they have a population of less than one million including 17 cities, cities of tourist, religious and economic importance not included 10 cities and cities in the 0.2 to 1.0 million population ranging 25 cities. This paper is framing out the parameter for accounting the environmental audit and social audit for smart city in India.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Environmental Audit, Social Audit, Smart City, SAI, Planning
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Depositing User: REAL CORP Administrator
Date Deposited: 19 Jul 2016 08:32
Last Modified: 19 Jul 2016 08:32
URI: http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/98

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