Navi Mumbai in run to qualify for final 'Smart City' list

Thane: Developed as a 'planned city' by CIDCO in the last two decades, Navi Mumbai city has undertaken several developmental works as part of its efforts to qualify for the final list of 'Smart City', Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) Commissioner Dinesh T Waghmare said here.

In a media interaction here yesterday, Waghmare said he is glad that Navi Mumbai has been chosen among the 10 cities of Maharashtra under the Centre's flagship Smart City Project.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport is also coming up in the city, developed by CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra).

A total of 98 cities have been selected under the project announced by the Centre in June this year, while the final list of 10 cities to be developed as 'Smart City' will be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 26, 2016.

"We will be making a presentation at the State-level on December 5, and if selected, another presentation will take place at the Centre level on December 15. The final announcement (of final 10 cities) will be made by the Prime Minister on the Republic Day," he said.

Expressing concerns over the transportation system in the city, Waghmare said the system in the city is in a bad shape and needs radical changes.

"We are working round the clock with the support, suggestions from citizens and stakeholders to present the case for 'Smart City'. We are confident that we will find a place in the top 10," the senior official said.

Areas of sanitation, water supply, transportation sanitation, issue of industrial waste require special attention, Waghmare said, adding that the city also needs a prominent monument or place, like Gateway of India in Mumbai, to have a distinct identity of its own.

In view to the security, he said there are plans to install more CCTVs (close circuit television) across the entire city and currently more than 250 CCTVs are mounted at different spots.

Waghmare informed that an unique museum - City Town Planning Museum, a first-of-its-kind was being planned in Navi Mumbai, while efforts are on to get solar panels installed in all government offices and railway stations.

Funding for various proposed projects have been worked out and if there is a need, they would go for civic bonds and seek loan from the Asian Development Bank, he said.

NMMC engineer Mohan Dagavkar said out of the total annual budget of over Rs 2,000 crore, around 80 percent is being spent in building infrastructure and civic amenities, while remaining 20 percent goes towards administrative expenses.

The 10 cities chosen from Maharashtra in the first round are - Nashik, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Amravati, Kalyan- Dombivili, Solapur, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Pune-Pimpri Chinchwad.