Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru, and Davangere chosen.
Six smaller cities of Karnataka have outdone their bigger counterparts for inclusion in the coveted smart cities project list.
The poll-bound capital city of Bengaluru — which contributes nearly 70 per cent to the State’s total revenue — failed to make it to the list, securing just 62 per cent under the 15-point parameter set by the Centre for inclusion. Two other major cities — Mysuru and Kalaburagi — too did not make it to the list.
Low recovery of property taxes, water cess, incomplete audit, delay in execution of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects and failure to utilise JNNURM funds, inefficient waste disposal, and heavy debt were major reasons for denial of smart city project for Bengaluru and Mysuru city corporations, according to Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake.
Six city municipal corporations that made it to the list are: Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru, and Davangere. Under the five-year project (2015-2019), each smart city will be given Rs. 500 crore from the Centre and an additional Rs. 500 crore from the State government.
The Rajender Kumar Kataria report has also noted gross irregularities in solid waste disposal management (SWM) in the BBMP by engineers, accounts staff, officers and contractors and said that the civic body incurred losses owing to payment of fake bills produced by contractors.
The State government has sent the proposal on the six cities to New Delhi.
Scores
While Mangaluru, Shivamogga and Belagavi scored 96.87 per cent each, Hubballi and Tumakuru scored 87.5 per cent each and Davangere managed to get 85 per cent.
The country’s Silicon Valley bagged low marks (62 per cent), while Mysuru scored 68 per cent. Kalaburagi secured 84.5 per cent marks and missed the project by just 0.5 per cent, according to sources in the department.
Transport Minister and Bengaluru city in-charge Ramalinga Reddy blamed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagra Palike for its failure to utilise Rs. 2,400 crore sanctioned under the JNNURM. Now, the Centre has wound up the scheme.
The BBMP, during the BJP’s five-year tenure, utterly failed to tackle disposal of garbage and siphoned off funds meant for waste disposal. Bengaluru did not get the smart city tag owing to BBMP’s mounting debt of Rs. 9,000 crore, mortgaging public properties, and inability to pay monthly wages to municipal workers, Mr. Reddy said.
Nodal agency
While Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation is the nodal agency for smart cities, Karnataka Sewerage and Water Supply Board will monitor the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) project in 27 cities.
Under the smart city project, cities will have a smart grid system, well maintained roads, smart traffic lights, advanced CCTV cameras installed on traffic signals, good water and sewerage system, and e-governance systems for all major public services.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Nagesh Prabhu
Quelle/Source: The Hindu, 07.08.2015
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