The BMC?commissioner is sure that the development of the Capital as a smart city cannot happen without its people’s help
Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Krishan Kumar is happy that the capital city has been selected as the top smart city in the first list of 20. Bhubaneswar beat many bigger and wealthier cities in the country to become the top selection.
He believes the credit for the selection goes to all citizens, BMC staff, schoolchildren and volunteers from various NGOs, and especially the city’s youth who played a crucial role through their vigorous campaign over social media, which helped turning the tide in favour of Bhubaneswar. Several other cities had had to rope in multinational event management firms to work for the smart city title.
The soft-spoken commissioner is unequivocal about the role of citizens in building Bhubaneswar as a smart city. “Now a huge responsibility rests on the shoulders of the citizens to make the capital city’s smart city dreams become a reality in the next five years,” Krishan Kumar says.
The challenge is to implement and improve upon whatever work we have done so far, while gearing up for our smart city bid, Krishan Kumar said and added that tenders will be floated between February and March for projects inviting bids from within the nation and abroad.
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be created soon and it will constitute members from all state departments concerned. The SPV will ensure the implementation of the smart city works within five years in a speedy manner, the BMC commissioner said.
“Our aim is to transform the capital city into a major knowledge hub and dream destination for IT, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries of the country and this will give a big push for the state’s economy and generate jobs for the youth,” Krishan Kumar said.
The objective is to make the smart city, equitable and inclusive for all, and Bhubaneswar’s vision statement which it had submitted to the Centre had emphasised that child and disable-friendliness as one of the most important considerations in its ambitious, `4,537-crore smart city plan.
“We want to tell the citizens that they need to take responsibility of this city to create a better future for them in the coming years which will witness major infrastructure development.”
Bhubaneswar is the only city in the country which has included kids and disabled in its vision document, and equal importance is given to conserving and showcasing the priceless heritage of city, by elevating it into a world class UNESCO tourist destination to attract foreign tourists.
Improving the city’s drainage and drinking water facilities will be given due importance, the commissioner added. PNN
