Nashik on Friday cleared the first hurdle in the race for the Union government's Smart City project with the Devendra Fadnavis government selecting it for a list of 10 cities from Maharashtra.
Altogether 20 municipal corporations had vied for a slot on the list of 10 cities prepared by the state government and submitted their respective presentations to chief secretary Swadhin Kshatriya on Wednesday and Thursday. Apart from Nashik, the other nine cities selected for the Smart City tag are Navi Mumbai, Pune-Pimpri Chinchvad, Thane, Mumbai, Amravati, Solapur, Nagpur, Kalyan-Dombivali and Aurangabad.
Speaking to TOI, Nashik municipal commissioner Praveen Gedam said, "Now we will have to submit the Smart City Plan of Nashik to the Union government by January. The selection of the cities by the Centre under its 100 Smart City Project will be on the basis of merit and on how we conceptualise the plan. The central government will select the cities for smart city project by March end."
On Wednesday, Gedam had submitted a presentation of the city, with respect to the criteria specified by the Centre and the state government, to the chief secretary. He had then emphasised upon employment, IT sector and tourism in the proposals for Nashik. As part of the pan-city project, the proposal had pledged that water supply and sewage network would be made more efficient, mass rapid transit system would be worked upon, compost plant would and road network would be improved.
The Centre's Smart City initiative is aimed at enhancing the quality of urbanisation in 100 cities across the country. The smart cities will receive funds to boost core infrastructure such as drinking water, sewage water, power, sanitation, transport, housing and digital connectivity. These cities are also expected to push for e-governance and cleaner environmental standards.
According to the plan, each smart city will receive central funds worth Rs 500 crore over a five-year period. It will also receive Rs 250 crore funds from the state government, while the city concerned will have to raise the equal amount over a period of five years. Each smart city will be capable of executing work amounting to Rs 1,000 crore over five years.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Tushar Pawar
Quelle/Source: The Times of India, 01.08.2015
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
