Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 29: As the Government today constituted high level 18 members Committee headed by Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey and comprising Administrative Secretaries and other senior officers of various departments on `Smart City Mission’, it was unlikely to bid for first 20 `Smart Cities to be declared by the Central Government in the first year out of total of 100 cities in view of procedural wrangles and huge shortcomings to get any of the four proposed cities qualified for the smart city.
“The high powered 18 members Committee would prepare and approve online publishing of the ‘Smart City Strategy’ of the State and provide guidance/State level platform for exchange of ideas pertaining to the ‘Smart City Mission’, a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” official sources told the Excelsior. The Government hasn’t set any deadline for the Committee to submit its recommendations.
Sources said the Government has decided not to compete for first 20 ‘Smart Cities’, which would be announced in the countrywide in ongoing financial year of 2015-16 on the ground that Jammu and Kashmir has been allotted only one `Smart City’ but the criteria laid down by the Central Government was not being fulfilled by any of the city in the State including twin rotational capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar.
“Instead of applying and then losing in the bid of first 20 ‘Smart Cities’, we have decided to first meet the guidelines of the Central Government and then compete for it when bid would be taken up for remaining 80 ‘Smart Cities’ (40 each in 2016-17 and 2017-18),” sources said, adding by then the Government hopes that some of the cities would be able to fulfill the required laid down by the Centre for the ‘Smart City Mission’.
The Government had initially proposed Jammu, Srinagar, Katra and Anantnag for the ‘Smart Cities’. However, during allocation of 100 `Smart Cities’, the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Development Department, which is nodal agency for implementation of the `Smart City Mission’, had allocated only one ‘Smart City’ to Jammu and Kashmir as against 13 to Uttar Pradesh, 12 to Tamil Nadu and 10 to Maharashtra.
Sources said the Government has, in principle, decided not to compete for first 20 `Smart Cities’ this year as none of the cities in the State fulfilled the criteria laid down by the Centre to qualify for the ‘Smart City Mission’. Instead, it would fulfill the guidelines and go for competition in the next financial year of 2016-17 when 40 ‘Smart Cities’ would be taken up for bidding. An equal number of cities would be taken up in 2017-18.
The guidelines laid down by the Centre for ‘Smart Cities’ included total population of the City, number of statutory towns in it, geographic pattern, need for vision and city development strategy, progress under Swachh Bharat Mission, timely payment of salaries to Municipal staff, information and grievance redressal mechanism, e-newsletter, self financing ability, institutional systems and capacities, existing service levels and committed plan of action for three years, past track record in implementing reforms, quality of vision document, e-governance, online delivery system, urban reforms like recovery of property, water and power taxes, Master Plans, including for sanitation, mobility, land use, digital connectivity, disaster risk management and climate change, policy reforms, fixed tenures for Mayors and Municipal officials, improving revenues through 100 per cent collection of taxes and user charges and credit rating of urban local bodies.
Meanwhile, the Government today constituted 18 members high level Committee to prepare and approve online publishing of the ‘Smart City Strategy’ of Jammu and Kashmir and provide guidance/State level platform for exchange of ideas pertaining to the ‘Smart City Mission’.
The Committee will oversee the process of first state intra-state competition on the basis of Stage-I criteria and review the `Smart City’ plans and send them to the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, as and when they are framed.
The Committee to be headed by Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey will have the Administrative Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, who also happens to be Mission Director, Smart City Mission) as the Member Secretary.
Other members of High Power Steering Committee included the Administrative Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu, Administrative Secretaries of Finance, PWD, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Departments, representative of the Ministry of Urban Development Department, Government of India, Vice Chairpersons of Jammu and Srinagar Development Authorities, Directors of Urban Local Bodies of Jammu and Kashmir, Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations, Chief Town Planners of Jammu and Kashmir and Joint Director (P&S), Housing and Urban Development Department.
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