SRINAGAR: Under the Smart Cities Project, open spaces – parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces are being preserved and developed in order to enhance the quality of life of citizens, reduce the urban heat effects in areas and generally promote eco-balance in Jammu and Srinagar cities.
Smart City Mission was launched by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) GoI by which 100 cities were to be selected for Urban renewal and retrofitting with the objective to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, give a decent quality of life to their citizens and apply smart solutions to improve services and infrastructure.
Speaking at a event recently, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha asked the Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations to develop Smart Cities as Climate Smart Cities and run a year long campaign “City with Nature” with public participation to prevent water, air and plastic pollution. He further advised all the government departments to achieve the goals of bringing an end to the use of single-use plastic, and strengthening of Waste Management System.
The Smart Cities project will enable some flexibility in land use and building bye-laws to adapt to change. It will help to develop walk-able localities –reduce congestion, air pollution and resource depletion, boost local economy, promote interactions and ensure security. Under the mission, the road network is created or refurbished not only for vehicles and public transport, but also for pedestrians and cyclists, and necessary administrative services are offered within walking or cycling distance.
Working on the mission, the idea of Jammu Smart City Project and the objective of the Special Purpose Vehicle, Jammu Smart City Limited, is to transform the city into a city “of the people, for the people and by the people”; a city, people take pride in calling their own; a city people own and take responsibility of; a city which is an epitome of good, sustainable and healthy living and a city where “happiness quotient” is high.
In Jammu city, under the Smart City mission, a cumulative capacity of 12.28MW Grid-connected solar rooftop plants will be installed on government buildings at a Project Cost of Rs 53.10 Cr and the Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) would be the executing agency for the project. This will significantly help in improving the public service delivery mechanism.
Similarly, under Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL); Special Purpose Vehicle created under Smart City Mission envisions transforming Srinagar into an eco-friendly, resilient and socio-economically vibrant city that celebrates its natural and cultural heritage creating harmony and opportunities for all. SRINAGAR SMART CITY aspires to leverage its Natural & Cultural heritage/ tourism, through innovative and inclusive solutions, enhance the quality of life for its citizens.
Remarkably, under the project, the comprehensive development would be witnessed in Smart Cities under the national project. It will promote mixed land use in area-based developments–planning for ‘unplanned areas ’containing a range of compatible activities and land uses close to one another, in order to make land use more efficient.