BMC unveils Rs 4,537 Cr Smart City plan for Bhubaneswar

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Dec 12, 2015 at 11:29 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 12:

The much awaited Smart City plan for Odisha capital was tabled before the Council of BMC (Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation) today. The Rs 4,537 Crore plan would be submitted to the State Government on Monday and to the Smart City Mission of Union Government on Tuesday.

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As per the guidelines of the Union Government, the plan has been divided in two important segments. The first being the Bhubaneswar Town Center District (BTCD), wherein 985 acres of land would be developed as a model area on the Smart City guidelines and the second being pan city solutions such as better urban mobility, waste management system etc.

“We would need Rs 4,094.89 crore for BTCD and another Rs 442.26 crore for pan city solutions. The financing of the project would be made from various Central Government schemes including Smart City Mission Fund and other sources such as public-private partnerships, Asian Development Bank, infrastructure development funds and through commercial borrowings,’’ said BMC Commissioner Krishan Kumar presenting the plan.

The plan is aimed at offering government services to 10 lakh people that would soon inhabit the city. It emphasizes on improving infrastructure such as better roads, installation of solar and LED lights, round the clock water supply, waste management, Wi-Fi zone, special bicycle track from Nandankanan till Lingaraj temple etc. It has been drawn upon the recommendations of denizens of the city in a ‘Citizen Engagement Programme’ that started on September 26.

“The plan has been made to accommodate a million people in the city. We have focused on facilitating bus services at key junctions every five minutes and at other places every ten minutes. We need about 550-600 buses for this and it has been made a part of the plan. We have a plan to offer Wi-Fi services in the entire city,” said BMC Mayor Anant Narayan Jena.

Among other key facilities intended to be offered, the Smart City plan plans to fit 26 traffic junctions with 5 surveillance cameras each for better monitoring of crime. Besides, online parking ticket system and multi-level parking lots would be on offer.