Each of the 2.40 lakh properties within JMC limits are being geo tagged and given a unique digital door number.
An Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) to ensure the smooth online delivery of various services to citizens, a digital door numbering system with unique QR codes and geo coordinates for each residential and commercial property, a fleet of e-buses and a smart public bicycle sharing system – these are some of the features of the ongoing project aimed at transforming Jammu into a smart city, the first phase of which is set to be completed next year.
Integrated Command and Control Centre
At the heart of the project is the control centre, set up on the first floor of the Town Hall which also houses the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC). The ICCC was inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in March this year.
Executed by Jammu Smart City Limited (JSCL) through Bharat Electricals Limited at a cost of Rs 30 crore, the ICCC will act as a platform for the online integration of nearly 70 services rendered by JMC and other government departments.
The ICCC allows people applying for documents such as a birth certificate or a building permit, for example, to get these services at their doorstep through an online process linked with their digital house numbers, instead of having to physically visit the government department concerned.
This is made possible because the details of all 2.40 lakh residential and commercial properties falling within the limits of the JMC, and the people linked with those properties, that were captured during a JMC survey in 2022, have been stored on the servers installed at the ICCC, said Rahul Yadav, commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation.
Digital door numbers
Each of the 2.40 lakh properties within JMC limits are also being geo tagged and given a unique digital door number. JMC commissioner Yadav, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of JSCL, said these digital number plates would replace the existing “simple numbers” written or affixed on the doors of houses and other properties.
These digital door numbers will have their own QR codes and geo coordinates. When scanned, the QR code provides a link that can be shared with others in order to give them details about the location of the house. Around 40-50 houses in the Roop Nagar area of Jammu have already been provided with these digital number plates, but the process was stalled following concerns about the quality of these number plates.
The issue has been resolved, Yadav said, adding that the process of issuing these number plates to more properties would commence soon.
Data about properties that were collected during surveys will be linked with the digital door numbers, enabling various public services such as garbage collection, the payment of charges for the use of JMC assets, building permits and so on, to be brought to people at their doorsteps. The data collected include owner’s name, measurements of the plot and the built-up area, location, landmarks in the area, size of the street nearby, and power and water connection details.
In the case of door-to-door collection of garbage, Yadav said, the head of the family living at the property will receive a message via phone that garbage has been collected from the door. The message will also have a link that can be clicked to express dissatisfaction at the service, if applicable.
The JMC’s entire database, including all old documents, are being digitised, and all this data will be available to officials at the ICCC at the click of a button, Yadav said.
Intelligent Traffic Management System
The Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) is a component of the ICCC that allows keeping a check on traffic violations in the city. Sitting at the ICCC, traffic police officers, with the help of nearly 600 CCTV cameras installed at 40 junctions across Jammu city and its outskirts, are able to take note of traffic violations including the jumping of red lights, helmets or seat belts not being worn, and use of phones while driving.
An officer working with the ITMS said around 500-600 challans were being issued every day for traffic violations. They have different cameras to detect different traffic violations, the officer said.
Urban Mobility Project
One hundred fully air conditioned e-buses will start operations in Jammu from August this year. TATA Motors has been asked to deliver the buses, which will be run under the gross cost contract model that is already in place in various metro cities in the country. Under this model, the operator has to procure the e-buses and set up the charging infrastructure, saving the transport undertaking of a state or UT from making the initial capital investment.
Out of the 100 buses, 75 buses with a length of 9 metres will ply within Jammu city and the remaining 25 buses with a length of 12 metres will operate intercity services in the district. The J&K administration has assured that each bus will run at least 200 km per day.
The JSCL has already introduced a smart public bicycle sharing system, with the construction of nearly 100 docking stands with 720 bicycles in Jammu city. Eighty pedal-assist electric bikes will also be introduced soon, Yadav said.
Artificial lake
After missing several deadlines since 2012, an artificial lake 1,500 metres long and 600 metres wide is set to come up in Jammu next year along the river Tawi. Work on a 370-metre-long and 4-metre-high mechanically operated gated barrage is nearing completion. The work on its other components, including the river bed, channelisation of water, embankment construction and diversions are also in progress. The project undertaken by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department is estimated to cost the UT Rs 131.53 crore.
The artificial lake will have a provision for boats and other water sports activities in order to attract tourists and generate employment for local residents.
Beautification of Tawi riverfront
The first phase of the two-phase project on the Tawi riverfront involves the construction of a 3.5-km bund on both sides of the river between the fourth bridge over the Tawi near Bhagwati Nagar and the third bridge at Bikram Chowk. This is estimated to cost Rs 180 crore. The bund on both sides will have three levels developed into green spaces.
The first two levels will also have walkways and cycling tracks, while the top level will have recreational facilities for children and highrise buildings, malls, resorts, and parks among others.
The JSCL expects to earn Rs 300-400 cr by auctioning this real estate on both sides of the river for the construction of commercial properties, Yadav said. He added that the money generated from the auction would be used to develop similar facilities along other parts of the Tawi, such as both banks between the bridge at Bikram Chowk and Gujjar Nagar.
The finished first level would be 1.5 metres above the highest flood level in the river, Yadav said. He said efforts are on to complete the civil works by December this year and thereafter start the beautification works.
New spaces around the city
As part of the smart city project, parks, walkways, open-air gyms, cycle tracks, and other such public spaces will be created in and around Jammu city, authorities said. There will also be artwork installed in the city, including murals on walls.
Landscaping work is in progress in the upscale neighbourhood of Gandhi Nagar, where footpaths and parking bays are also being created. Illumination of various heritage buildings and bridges with façade lighting has already been done. The Apsara road between Gole Market and Last Morh is also being converted into a high street with the laying of cobblestones, and the installation of benches, dustbins and underground public utilities.
A 20-metre, tunnel-shaped underwater aquarium is being constructed near the Bahu Fort area, and it is scheduled to be completed by next year.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Arun Sharma
Quelle/Source: The Indian Express, 11.09.2023
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