Bhubaneswar, Feb. 14: The evolution of the city and its infrastructure will be showcased at the Museum of Urban History that the development authority has decided to set up.

People will be able to see the transformation of Bhubaneswar from a temple city to one among the smartest in the country.

A source at the Bhubaneswar Development Authority said the museum was likely to have some elements of the India International Centre (IIC) of New Delhi. It would be a place for organising cultural and intellectual meets as it happens at the IIC in New Delhi. Bhubaneswar would be the second city in the country to have such a centre.

Top officials of the state government today held a meeting regarding execution of the project. The meeting ended with the formation of a core committee consisting of officials of various government departments that will provide inputs on the project.

Krishan Kumar, vice-chairman of the development authority, told The Telegraph that the core committee would have officials from the housing and urban development department, tourism and culture department, works department, information and public relation department and those from the state archives. "The committee will provide their inputs and information on the project. The museum will have modern facilities and will showcase the journey of Bhubaneswar city from the ancient times to the present. A consultant will prepare the detailed project report and the project will take-off once the government clears it," Kumar said.

Sources said IBI, a Canadian firm and consultant for the smart city project, would prepare the preliminary papers for the museum project.

"The museum of natural history will have pictorial and audio-visual presentations and a timeline that will depict the story of the city. It will also have a centralised convention centre," said an official of the development authority.

The development authority has identified a land at Ganga Nagar in Unit VI of the city to establish the museum. It will come up over a land of around 2.34 acre of which nearly one acre is encroached by a local school. The remaining part of the land is vacant.

"After completing the preliminary report and following the detailed project report, including the design of the building and other things, we will go ahead with the project. The identified land is under the jurisdiction of the general administration department. We will ask our joint squad to vacate the encroached land for the project," said an official of the general administration department.

"Bhubaneswar is one of the best-planned cities of the country after Chandigarh. It is the smartest city in the country and will have more development in the future. This story has to be told to the posterity," said urban planner Piyush Maharana.