Smart city project work to start from June in Odisha’s capital

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, April 1: 

The smart city project will be first started in India in June this year in Odisha’s Capital, according to Central government notification.

The smart city project will complete one year in June 25, this year,  therefore, to jumpstart the  project the union government has already send its portion of the fund.

In the first phase Rs 388 crore will be spent in Bhubaneswar,  the state government will provide Rs 160 crore and Union government will share  Rs 194 crore.

Bhubaneswar Smart city Ltd company is involved with implementation while Special Purpose Vehicle under  the Development commissioner has been formed for monitoring the project and two consultants have been appointed to assist them.

Housing and Urban Development special secretary SK Rath has informed that Centre has released Rs 184 crore funds on Tuesday for smart city project to Odisha government, while the state government has also released its fund.

In the first phase, Bhubaneswar Railway station and nearby area will be developed.

Meanwhile, the state government on March 18 this year appointed Odisha cadre IAS officer Vineel Krishna as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smart City Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) following a minor reshuffle in the ranks.

Notably, Bhubaneswar had topped the list of the first 20 cities to be turned into smart cities in India, announced Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi in January this year.