Herald: Congratulations on being appointed as consultants for the Panjim Smart City project. What are the methods you will employ to make the plans?
Emani Kumar: Thank you. As per the Smart Cities guidelines of the Government of India, a process of planning based on citizen engagement is being followed in three broad stages: Prioritization of sectors, Proposal development and Proposal finalization. All of the shortlisted cities are currently in the process of preparing the Smart City Proposal, through extensive citizen consultations, with focus on two strategic components: Pan-city initiative in which Smart Solutions are applied across most parts of the city; and Area-based development which can be either city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) or city extension (greenfield or new development). We are reaching out to citizens to understand their priority sectors and seek inputs on smart ideas & solutions that they would like to see implemented, which can help make Panjim a Smart city. Subsequently from next week onwards, we shall be discussing conceptual plans for pan-city and area based initiatives with the citizens. The main focus of the Smart City Proposal is on efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure with the objective of enhancing the quality of urban life and providing a clean and sustainable environment. Ultimately, after final selection of top 20 cities under Round 1 of the challenge, a Special Purpose Vehicle will be created in each city specifically for implementation of the Smart City Proposal.
Herald: How long will you take to complete planning for the proposal?
Kumar: Panjim Smart City Proposal will be prepared by the first week of December and would be shared with the Government. The competition for Smart Cities Challenge will be undertaken on 15th December 2015.
Herald: Before this, there has already been several plans drawn up by CCP like from LKS, Holistic Master Plan, Sanitation plan and City Development Plan. Are you going to consider these plans for drawing up the Smart City plan?
Kumar: Yes absolutely. We are currently reviewing all of the existing plans and studies. These plans and studies and valuable citizen inputs that have been given under the various reports including the Holistic Master Plan report which is the starting point for development of the Smart City Proposal for Panjim.
Herald: Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues said you had earlier done some projects for Panjim. Could you elaborate on that?
Kumar: We have been working with the City of Panjim for several years now. Our projects have been focused on Low Carbon Developments, Climate Resilience Planning, Climate Adaptation and Eco mobility Readiness Assessment. Panjim has also participated in Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) which is a competition amongst cities to promote renewable energy and prepare for climate change.
