SHOAIB SHAIKH
As the Government of India’s smart cities programme draws closer to completing two years, Panjim city’s planning for transforming into a smart city has lost speed.
After being selected in the second round, the state government had announced the special purpose vehicle, Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL), for carrying out the works under the smart city project.
The vision was ‘transforming the City of Panjim into a world-class, environmentally sustainable and liveable city for all, while preserving its heritage, cultural diversity and ecosystem through innovation and smart solutions’.
However, the work on planning the further details of the project has been caught up in the bureaucratic hurdles.
According to sources in the IPSCDL, the policies on various fronts are being worked upon and a final call would be taken soon. The source informed that the executing agency is working aspects of sustainable and self-reliant city, which would be financially self-sufficient.
“The St Inez Creek has now been made part of the smart city project. At the same time, there are many smart ways of revenue generation which the city’s corporation has not been able to do and would be rolled out as the comprehensive plan is rolled out”, the sources stated.
Revenue generation from the optimum utilisation of market spaces and billboard spaces is on the cards of IPSCDL.
While the Union Ministry of Urban Development is partly financing the project, transforming the capital into a smart city will involve a total capital expenditure of Rs 1,775.12 crore over a period of five years. Of the total expenditure, Rs 534.12 crore is the smart city component, funded 50:50 by the state and the Centre. The remaining Rs 778.55 crore is through convergence – various central schemes, Rs 396.83 crore via PPP and Rs 65.62 crore in operation and maintenance (for a period of ten years).
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, during the budget speech, informed allocation of Rs 145 crores for the development of the capital city under the scheme.
