52 works of Rs 219 crore done, 20 worth Rs 711 cr under execution
Over eight years after inception, Ludhiana is close to becoming a smart city as envisaged under the Smart City Mission (SCM) of the Union Government, the government has claimed.
Ludhiana, popularly known as Manchester of India, spread over 169 sq km area with a population of 16.18 lakh as per the 2011 Census, was among the 100 cities in the country and three in the state, which was selected under the SCM to be developed as a smart city in the first round of the selection by the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) on June 25, 2015, officials have said.
With as many as 52 projects worth Rs 219 crore already been completed, 20 more schemes costing Rs 711 crore have been put under execution and are under various stages of progress.
Of the 20 under execution projects, the work on 16 projects worth Rs 549.1 crore has already been awarded and is under progress while the remaining four deposit works worth Rs 161.9 crore have been tendered out.
With this, a total of 72 projects worth Rs 930 crore are being undertaken by the LSCL to develop Ludhiana, the industrial and business hub of the North, as a smart city.
Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora reviewed the progress of the SCM here on Thursday and took stock of the projects completed, under execution and those tendered out.
Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Sandeep Rishi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LSCL, briefed Arora that the total allocated funds of Rs 889.25 crore, comprising Rs 441-crore Centre’s share and Rs 448.25-crore state share had already been received, of which Rs 768.26 crore had been utilised, which accounts for 86.39 per cent of total funding.
He said the projects completed so far included LED streetlighting at the cost of Rs 13.39 crore, setting up of the Municipal Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at Rs 36.73 crore, development of smart school classrooms in government schools at Rs 6.26 crore, waterfront development and landscaping beautification along the Sidhwan Canal worth Rs 5.18 crore, façade light illumination of flyover at the Sidhwan Canal at Rs 2.38 crore, carcass utilisation plant at Rs 8.58 crore, procurement of sewer cleaning machines at Rs 4.44 crore, discharge of 200 cusecs fresh water into the Buddha Nullah at Rs 4.28 crore, installation of digital and analogue wayfinding and signages worth Rs 5.25 crore, installation of rooftop solar panels on existing buildings at Rs 6.54 crore, prefabricated toilet blocks worth Rs 3.1 crore, fabrication of firefighting vehicles on suitable chasis at Rs 6.45 crore, construction of government senior secondary schools in Ward 13 at Rs 3.34 crore, construction of top floor of existing multi-level car parking at DAC complex at Rs 4.75 crore, construction and commissioning of masonry toilet blocks worth Rs 3.4 crore, construction of obligatory span on RoB and RuB on Pakhowal road at Rs 45 crore, beautification and refurbishment of mini-rose garden at Rs 3.49 crore, several parks developed at EWS colony at Rs 2.58 crore and retrofitting of Sarabha Nagar market has been undertaken at the cost of Rs 50.24 crore.
The projects under execution are 24x7 surface drinking water supply project at the cost of Rs 71.16 crore, construction of RoB and RuB at Pakhowal road railway crossing worth Rs 86.47 crore, Phase II of waterfront development and landscaping on Sidhwan Canal front from Dugri Chowk to Pakhowal Road at Rs 5.06 crore, rejuvenation and landscaping of Buddha Nullah at Rs 250 crore, installation of chain link fencing of 14-km stretch along the Buddha Nullah at Rs 13.39 crore, construction and demolition of waste management plant at Rs 2.2 crore, compactors worth Rs 13.57 crore, refurbishment of badminton courts at Shastri Hall at Rs 2.08 crore, upgrade of leisure valley near the MC Zone D office at Rs 2.77 crore, refurbishment of ESI Hospital Road at Rs 2.45 crore, development of civil works for waste management plant at Rs 2.69 crore, installation of vertical garden along Sidhwan Canal on Southern Bypass at Rs 2.18 crore and bioremediation of legacy waste at Jamalpur dump worth Rs 27.17 crore.
Besides, the city mobility project for transport facilities at the cost of Rs 73.97 crore, trenchless rehabilitation of existing trunk storm water drains by standalone structural lining method with defect liability period of 10 years for area under the MC limits at Rs 82.22 crore, development of all-weather indoor swimming pool at Rakh Bagh worth Rs 5.21 crore and an artificial intelligence based surveillance project costing Rs 50 lakh had been tendered out.
Among three in state
The Union Government had selected Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar under the SCM for developing them as smart cities in Punjab.
Why Ludhiana?
Ludhiana was selected to be made smart city for following reasons and purposes: It can become the most bicycle-friendly city in the country as it is the largest manufacturer of cycles. It has been creating a symbolic relationship with other Indian cities and promoting sustainable practices around the country. Capitalising on the manufacturing base of the city for a sustainable growth. To mitigate pollution, congestion, safety on streets and create safe neighbourhoods. Vehicle-free zones, bike highways, shared streets planned in a phased manner ensuring citizens adopt and adapt for a positive outcome in the long run. Ludhiana, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world, to be made clean and green city by reducing the rising pollution levels.
Smart city top priority: MP
“With Ludhiana smart city project being one of our topmost priorities, we have ensured the best performance in the state so far and have pulled all stops to ensure completion of all under progress projects within the stipulated time frame,” said Sanjeev Arora, RS MP.
Best in state
Ludhiana has emerged as the best smart city in Punjab by ranking first in the state and 48th in the country. While Amritsar has ranked 79, Jalandhar stood 84 in the national rankings released by the Centre recently.
Rs 1,000-crore corpus
The selected cities were granted Rs 1,000 crore each, on the equal sharing basis of Rs 500 crore each by the Centre and state, which can be leveraged for getting additional resources for funding the project implementation/ execution under the SCM.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Nitin Jain
Quelle/Source: The Tribune, 20.10.2023
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