Bhubaneswar, Jan. 28: It's celebration time for residents here as the city emerged at the top of the smart city contest.
Urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu's announcement has renewed hopes of the city getting better infrastructure.
Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation are some of the highlights of the smart city initiative.
The mood of celebration touched chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who took to the Twitter to congratulate the residents of Bhubaneswar.
From the mayor to senior officers of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) were flooded with congratulatory messages and calls with city clinching a score of 78.83 per cent to be followed by Pune and Jaipur with 77.42 per cent and 73.83 per cent, respectively.
"It is a proud moment for us. We have worked day and night and we are happy to have topped the list. I dedicate this victory to the residents of the city and my officials," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
The city will get Rs 200 crore in the first year to begin the process of converting it into a smart entity. Thereafter, it will get Rs 100 crore each over three years. #The corporation in December last year had approved a project cost of Rs 4,537.15 crore to turn Bhubaneswar into a smart city. The draft proposal had been submitted to the smart city mission of the ministry of urban development.
According to the proposal prepared by the BMC, the ambitious project will have two major components. The first attempt will be to develop a Bhubaneswar Town Centre District on 985 acres for which an area from Bapuji Nagar to Satya Nagar has been identified. Improving urban mobility and better waste management will be the other component of the project.
The city administration will build cycle tracks along the town centre and will also open cycle rental centres in the area.
The city administration will spend Rs 4,094.89 crore to develop the town centre, while Rs 442.26 crore will be spent for better waste management and urban mobility.
Development of facilities such as drinking water and sewerage has already been taken up under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme.
Besides planning to roll out a fleet of 565 buses to connect all the 67 wards of the city, the administration is also promoting non-motorised mode of transport. The corporation has already started organising events such as Raahgiri to promote no-car days. Pedestrian-friendly traffic signals will also be introduced.
The corporation is also organising workshops involving people of all age groups to elicit their views and ideas about smart city.
Sources said that according to suggestions forwarded by some women's groups, "safe refuse points" will also be introduced for female commuters. By pressing a particular button, those in need of help can inform police.
The city administration will also install at least five surveillance cameras at 26 major traffic junctions to check crime. An online parking ticket system will also be introduced at three multi-level parking lots here.
