Govt sets up panel to make Smart City

Chief Secy working out mechanism

The Delhi government has set up a High Powered Steering Committee headed by Chief Secretary K K Sharma to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favourite Smart City project in Delhi.

Sharma has started holding meetings to prepare project proposals to be sent to the Union urban development ministry for approval and compete with 99 other cities to get central funds for smart solution projects.

Projects related to e-governance, transport infrastructure, sky walks for pedestrians, BRT corridors, pollution control, solar power generation, water and sewage treatment and battery-run vehicles are likely to be proposed by the HPSC to the central government as part of Smart City Plan.

“The Committee is working out the mechanism for implementing projects through the local bodies in the city,” said an official.

The Chief Secretary has held more than one meeting over the issue and the documentation work has been launched by the Committee – which does not have any politician in it.

Smart solutions

The Committee has to ensure that a pan-city dimension model with smart solutions is prepared by holding consultations with city residents and other stakeholders.  

“Over the next five years, Rs 200 crore worth projects would be implemented in the city each year through a Special Purpose Vehicle (a limited company headed by a CEO) mode. Half the funds would come from the central government and the rest from the Delhi government or the urban local bodies,” said an official. 

For each project the state government and the urban local bodies will determine the paid up capital requirements of the SPV, said an official.

Functionaries in the Chief Secretary’s office said coordination between the Delhi government and the civic agencies is being seen as the biggest challenge for taking up Smart City projects. Under the Chief Secretary-headed HPSC, Delhi is competing with states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab and Maharashtra which have already set up revenue models for the SPVs, said an official.

According to an officials, the Delhi government is busy preparing a Smart City Plan which will contain the model chosen, whether retrofitting or redevelopment or Greenfield development or a mix of these.

The ground work for preparing SPVs – which will be limited companies with a CEO – will be done under the Committee headed by the Chief Secretary.

The SPV will plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects. This company will also have nominees of the central government, state government and the urban local bodies on its Board.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hinted in his Budget speech the Smart City-Smart Governance would be a focus area of the Arvind Kejriwal government with free Wi-Fi and e-governance being top priorities.