Does a Flood Ravaged Country Need "Smart Cities"?

The Chennai deluge has , once again,  badly exposed  poor urban planning in India. We haven't learnt any lesson from past mistakes. Remember, 2005 Mumbai's worst flood.   In July, 2005, 944 mm of rain fell on Mumbai in a single day, killing over 500 people. Heavy development had destroyed green spaces and mangrove forests, its natural flood protection, leaving the financial metropolis of 18 million reliant on an inadequate drainage system. And then came the Uttrakhand flash flood in 2013. In June 2013, a  cloudburst centered on  Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides. It was the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. In September 2014, the Kashmir valley suffered the worst flooding in more than a century, killing more than 200 people and displacing almost a million for weeks. .The state administration,  was itself knocked out after the waters of the Jhelum river gushed into the city centre. It struggled for over a week to cope with the flood. In March this year, flood again ravaged the Kashmir Valley after incessant rainfall for over four days. And now Chennai disaster severely  ripping apart the capital of  coastal state after almost a century. People of Chennai, are in no doubt as to why a mix of flood waters and sewage is swilling neck-deep around parts of the  city of 6 million people after weeks of monsoon rains culminated in a 345 mm (14-inch) cloudburst in 24 hours. Experts say, as was in Mumbai, Srinagar and now in  Chennai, construction blocked storm water channels and reduced the capacity of reservoirs designed to soak up unseasonal rains. As cities grow in leap and bound, unauthorised construction along these channels and lakes chokes water flow causing flood.  Is not the nature fury alone.Bad urban planning and rampant "encroachment" by fly-by-night property developers have made the situation worse. We haven't even  worked out a reliable water management for our cities. The ambitious plans to install pumping stations, widen drains and clean waterways have remained either on papers or if executed have missed deadlines, seen  cost overruns and running behind schedule. In the given situation, the prime minister Modi's  dream project of  building " Smart Cities" doesn't appear realm. Fixing flood-prone cities  should  to be  the govt prime task.