Presently, more than Rs. 30,000 crore involving 936 projects are under implementation and about 400 projects costing Rs. 20,000 crore are in tender stage as per Smart Cities Project.
Speaking on the momentum of Smart City Mission (SCM), Hardeep Puri, MoS (I/C) Housing and Urban Affairs said, “The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) is setting a new benchmark in terms of project implementation. The value of projects under implementation in August 2017 was about Rs. 8,000 crore which after eight months has increased to more than Rs. 30,000 crore involving 936 projects. Further, about 400 projects costing Rs. 20,000 crore are in tender stage, which would be settled over a next 2-3 months.”
He said that 98 projects costing Rs. 6,000 crore are under implementation with Public Private Partnership (PPP) which are getting good responses not only in the big cities but even in the smaller towns.
Hardeep Puri urged the Smart City CEOs to learn from experience and practices of other city leaders to accelerate the progress of smart city missions across the country.
He was speaking while inaugurating the two day ‘First Apex Conference for CEOs of Smart Cities’ alongwith Shivraj Singh Chouhan , Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal today.
Addressing the First Apex Conference for CEOs of Smart Cities, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh said, “The nation is undergoing a positive transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and Madhya Pradesh has embarked on an accelerated growth path in all sectors. Appreciating the work done by the state urban development ministry in enabling a transformative change in the cities of Madhya Pradesh from Swachhta to Smart City Mission.”
He assured that in next two months Integrated Command and Control Centres in all the 7 smart cities in Madhya Pradesh would be established.
The Integrated Control and Commmand Center of Bhopal Smart City in Govindpura was also inaugurated today making it the 9th Smart city centre to be operational in the country.
Hardeep Puri said in the last eight months, 26 more SPVs were established, taking the total SPVs to 91 and total number of PMCs to 67.
Regarding the Smart City Centres, he informed that while 9 have become operational including Bhopal, work is in progress to develop Smart City Centers in another 14 cities and tenders have been issued in 32 more cities.
He announced setting up of Advisory Committees on 9 themes, viz. Entrepreneurship and start-ups; Women empowerment, safety and security; Smart education and skill development; Divyang friendly measures and policy recommendations; Septage and sewage management; Promotion of public art; Urban mobility and climate change; Arts and culture; and Smart security with an aim to bring on board expertise from outside the practitioner’s domain, and adopt a holistic approach to urbanisation.
He further urged city administrators to keep the younger generation involved in creative and innovative ways in these Smart City projects in form of internship for final year and Post graduate students in the engineering, planning and architecture disciplines.
An exhibition showcasing the different projects being undertaken by Cities under Smart Cities Mission was also inaugurated. The conference will have panel discussions under key thematic areas such as: Development of Walkable Streets; Creation of Universally Accessible Public Spaces; Digitally Integrated Smart City Centers; Creating Vibrant Urban Spaces such as Squares, Plazas and Waterfront Developments under Area Based Development; Addressing Women Safety in Smart Cities; Promotion of Arts Crafts and Culture in Smart Cities; Smart Education and Skill Development; Inclusive Cities; and Bonds and PPPs for financing urban infrastructure.
As part of these panel discussions, Smart City CEOs implementing projects under above thematic areas will share their experiences through presentations and short videos.
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