A/HRC/34/51/Add.1 public transport, connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation, and safety and security of citizens. The Government has emphasized the importance of “citizen ownership” of the scheme, as well as the central role of municipalities, in order to promote innovative approaches in the implementation of the programme. 32. In order for city plans to be selected and consequently funded, they must include land that has already been identified for that purpose, with a development plan. Urban local bodies are expected to match the amount they receive, including by raising their own funds from public-private partnerships, international capital, real estate conglomerates or other financial arrangements.24 33. The Special Rapporteur was made aware of a number of concerns about the scheme. For instance, some local authorities suggested that the guidelines for the scheme reduce their decision-making powers, including by creating a body to establish and implement the scheme. Some cities with high poverty rates and few resources would have no competitive advantage, and there are fears that the scheme would broaden the gap between wealthier cities and cities with the most need for housing and infrastructure. Concern was also expressed that modernizing only parts of cities, or that a particular focus on technological responses, would result in the construction of unaffordable housing or infrastructure that is not targeted at the poorest. Substantive resources would thus be spent on assisting only a small proportion of the population, while residents of informal settlements would be evicted from their homes to make way for new developments. 25 34. Some groups argued that the consultations to select the first 33 city proposals had been largely limited to people with access to the Internet, thus leaving out the poorer segments of the population, and that, by not requiring smart city plans to address the root causes of poverty and discrimination, the initiative was unlikely to create more inclusive and human rights-based urbanization. An analysis of shortlisted Smart City proposals further revealed a predominant focus on technological solutions and a lack of priority for the affordable housing aspects of the scheme.26 B. Homelessness 35. Homelessness, a gross violation of the right to adequate housing, demands urgent attention in India. Mostly identified as “pavement dwellers”, all homeless people live in indigent conditions, enduring extreme weather and exposure to violence, serious and recurrent health conditions, life threatening situations and hazards, and discrimination. The Special Rapporteur heard testimonies that the most difficult aspect of homelessness was the stigmatization, hostility and indifference homeless people perceive from everyone in society: passers-by, police officers, the media and the authorities. Women and children who are homeless experience particular forms of violence or are more vulnerable to them. The lack of access to medical services for homeless women, owing to their status, has a disproportionate impact, particularly during pregnancy and childbirth. Many homeless children and women suffer from severe malnutrition. 36. The neglect of homelessness has been well-documented by the commissioners of the Supreme Court appointed to track the implementation of one of the court decisions and 24 25 26 10 See http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/Strategy.pdf. See http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/SmartCityGuidelines.pdf. Housing and Land Rights Network, “The human rights to adequate housing and land in India: report to the United Nations Human Rights Council for India’s third universal periodic review” (New Delhi, 2016), para. 13.