There is nothing smart in the manner in which the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has acted when dealing with the smart city project. It’s been lethargic to act on the project, confused about what it wants, far removed from the pressures and deadlines that a project such as this one has. There has been no professionalism shown in the manner in which it has responded to the city being selected for the Centre’s prestigious project and now, it has reacted almost as if the project was unwanted in Panjim. This is further borne by the fact that last week the Panjim MLA, Panjim Mayor and CCP commissioner did not attend a meeting called by the Deputy Chief Minister to finalise the consultant for the smart city project. There also appears to be no coordination between the mayor and MLA on what would be best for the city.
While Panjim MLA Siddharth Kuncolienkar has written to the Urban Development department that the project be handed over to Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, Panjim Mayor Shubam Chodankar wants that a cell be formed at the State secretariat that will have architects and engineers of the GSIDC implementing the project.
The main reason for CCP’s reluctance to take up the smart city project is that they do not have the expertise to deal with a project of this magnitude. What the Mayor said is, “There is a difference between CCP and municipal corporations elsewhere. They have good technical staff strength like many architects, junior engineers and other specialised persons which we don’t have.” Very true, for the other cities that have been chosen have a far larger population, provide more services to the residents or their cities and hence have a staff strength that is commensurate with the city’s population and the services it provides. But, should this be a reason to go slow on the smart city project? There’s a simple solution to this and it involves something that should have been done years ago – CCP should grow up and in more ways than one.
The Panjim municipality, a council for many years, was upgraded to a corporation in 2000. At that time the municipality should have incorporated a larger area within its jurisdiction so that the corporation could also turn financially viable. This was proposed but did not happen because of objections from the residents of the villages that were scheduled to be added to the municipal limits of Panjim. Consequently, in size the municipality remained the same, though it got a grander title. Given Panjim’s small size and small population running the corporation is going to be economically unviable, but that should not mean that it should remain so always. The matter needs to be addressed and not dismissed with the shrug of the shoulders or by passing off the management of a prestigious project like that of the smart city that will immensely benefit Panjim and its residents, to be undertaken by another government entity.
This – the smart city project – is the best reason to redraw the boundaries of the State’s capital city and give the corporation the expertise it needs in the form of qualified staff. The project will not only add to the city’s development, but could make a difference to the lives of the residents of the city. CCP has a duty towards the residents of Panjim to improve their quality of life and if the smart city will help do this, that the corporation would be failing in its duty to get it done.
Panjim lost out on funds it could have earned through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the various projects that could have been undertaken with these funds. And now it could lose out on the Rs 500 crore that the smart city project will bring it. That’s definitely not smart.
