The urban development department led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has stepped in to find out why there is a massive cost difference between the city and Pune for the preparation of the smart city concept plan. The estimated cost for Pune is Rs 2 crore, while for the city it is Rs 47 lakh.
"August 31 is the last date for finalizing the smart city concept plan," urban development secretary Manisha Mhaiskar said. "Once the exercise is over, we will examine the row over the massive cost difference."
A leading developer said that since serious doubts had been expressed over the estimated cost of the project, Fadnavis should immediately step in and stay the on-going bidding process.
"We are in the process of knocking on the doors of the CM," the developer said.
The developer said that while the BMC had quoted Rs 47 lakh as the cost for developing the smart city concept plan, for Pune Municipal Corporation the estimated cost is Rs 2 crore. For Pimpri-Chinchwad and Amravati corporations, too, the cost is an estimated Rs 2 crore each.
For Nagpur and Navi Mumbai corporations, it is an estimated Rs 40 lakh.
"The entire exercise of calculating the cost for developing the smart city plan appears to be arbitrary and needs to be re-examined at the higher level," the developer said. "It is difficult to believe how the cost for Pune is Rs 2 crore and for Mumbai it is Rs 47 lakh."
The smart city mission is a new Rs 48,000 crore urban infrastructure improvement mission launched by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Under the five-year scheme, 100 cities will receive funding from the Centre for infrastructure development. According to the proposal, consultants are appointed to make a concept plan for creating a smart city. It is expected that the concept plan will incorporate smart transportation and public services, e-governance and state-of-the-art communication network.
"The task of selecting the consultants was left to the urban local bodies, which had invited tenders for the purpose," the developer said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Prafulla Marpakwar
Quelle/Source: The Times of India, 22.08.2015
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