Team Herald
PANJIM: Even as it missed the opportunity to get selected in the first list of the Smart City Mission, Panjim ranks fifth in the ‘fast-track’ round of the competition, under which 23 cities across the country will be selected for funds under the Mission by the Union Ministry for Urban Development.
The Union Ministry has released a fresh list of 23 top cities under ‘cities to be upgraded on fast track’, wherein Panjim ranks fifth with a score of 52.99 percent. “The 20th city that got selected had a score of 54.89 percent, with five cities including Goa missing out narrowly,” Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues told Herald.
The four cities above Goa are Warangal, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Newtown Kolkata. Warangal missed to get in first 20 with a 0.10 percent margin, its score being 54.79 percent.
Rodrigues, Friday afternoon held a video conference with officials of Union Ministry, wherein he was informed that Panjim has a good chance to get selected in the fast track competition, which will begin from April 1.
“The Ministry has decided to give the top-ranking city in each of these 23 states and UTs an opportunity to upgrade their proposals in a fast-track round of the competition,” he said adding that the upgraded Smart City Proposal would be submitted to the Ministry by April 15.
Rodrigues said Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) and the consultant agency ICLEI South Asia will study the proposals and the loopholes in it identified by the Ministry. “The work will begin soon. This time we will ensure that no loopholes remain,” he said.
The Commissioner had earlier blamed the CCP council decision not to fund the Smart City project, as a major reason for the project not getting selected in the first 20 cities list. One of the prime criteria of the project was that the State share of funding should be on 50:50 bases between the Government and the urban body.
Goa had submitted a Rs 981.11 crore proposal with a major thrust on ‘eco-mobility and public transport system and improvement of conservation zone”. The Centre and State’s share would be Rs 304.22 crore respectively over the next five years while another Rs 299.98 crores are expected to be funded through public private partnership (PPP).
