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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

After being “little bit urban” same cities are now ready to be SMART

After being “little bit urban” under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban renewal Mission ( JNNURM) many same cities are now ready to be SMART  under PM Narendra Modi’s Smart Cities scheme. And off course Pune and Pimpri Chinachwad are  no eception to that.PM Narendra Modi has squashed JNNURM and started the smart city scheme where the Centre and state will fund  some amount  remaining will be contributed by the chosen cities. There are some guidelines framed for cities to be smart under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Photo Courtsey https://www.sunstonecommunication.com


The smart city mission will focus on water supply, sewerage facilities and sewage management, storm water drains to reduce flooding,. pedestrian, non-motorized and public transport facilities, parking spaces, and enhancing amenity value of cities by creating and upgrading green spaces, parks and recreation centers, especially for children.

Photo Courtsey kannanranji.wordpress.com
Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery, citizens’ engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy, efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system are the key areas that are to be improved under smart city mission.

The ​Central government had invited proposals from cities who want to be a part of smart cities mission. The cities were supposed to send proposals after consulting people . However Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) being already smart, ​it sent a​n​ invitation to some ​"​smart​"​ activists and NGO’s to give consent for smart city proposal. PMC sent​ the​ invitation​ ​on 8th ​July (Evening) and convened the meeting on 9th ​July i.e very next ​day ​at 11 A M .

​The names of participants are not known. However, former ​Major ​General and P​resident of Nagrik Chetna Mach refused to be “PMC Smart” activist or NGO.  The reasons he ​gave for declining to attend were 1) ​The ​invitation ​for the meeting received very late and it is not possible to attend​ the​ meeting at ​the ​11th ​h​our 2) PMC  hasn’t shown any proof whether it has ​the ​capability of​ making Pune a​ Smart City​ as PMC has failed in public transportation, water​ supply​ and solid waste management.​ ​PMPML has failed because of ​PMC does not give the promised fundsand PMC has also failed in completing any project as per the rules and regulations.​ ​3) How the funds under JNNURM were spent known to all.

However PMC sent proposal to state government. Meanwhile Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation also sent proposal to be part of Smart cities. PMC at least did a farce of public participation, PCMC didn’t even bother to ask or consult anybody. Now state government has sent PMC and PCMC”s proposal together to central government

Smart city means a city equipped with basic infrastructure to give a decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment through application of some smart solutions. However as the new generation’s life revolve around smart phones most of suggestions given are related to mobile applications. For them being smart means only use of smart phones and mobile apps. PMC is to be blamed for this to happen because they didn’t provide background material to citizens before inviting suggestions.  Unless basic infrastructure is not improved improved mobile apps or computer can do nothing.

As far as many municipal officers are concerned they use computers as typewriters only. If you send them email they take printout and process it manually, for them that is the height of e governance. Anyways, fortunately app lovers haven’t sent proposals for online games, casinos, discotheques or pubs as new generations need. For detail suggestions visit  http://punesmartcity.in 


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