Smart city tag to boost economic activities in Mangaluru: mayor

Mangaluru city, known as the Port City, has bagged the coveted smart city tag, as the Government announced 27 cities under the flagship smart cities mission on Tuesday.

Speaking to mediapersons, Mayor K Harinath expressed delight over the selection of Mangaluru under the smart city project. “It will help boost economic activities in the city.

The City Corporation will give priority to health, cleanliness and implementing the ban on plastic effectively. To boost the smart city project, the MCC has already renovated two to three public toilets, laying emphasis on the cleanliness of the city,” he said.

“An effective plan prepared by the City Corporation is one of the main reasons for the selection of Mangaluru for the smart city project. Along with the participation of the general public to prepare a plan, support of District in-Charge Minister, MLAs, and councillors is appreciable. We will start implementing various projects from now to make Mangaluru a model city,” he explained.

“The project will be undertaken according to the Central government guidelines by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a committee headed by a full-time CEO. After the SPV is constituted, a detailed project report under the smart city Project will be prepared,” said MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer.

Explaining the Smart city project proposal submitted by the MCC, he said that the MCC had identified 1,628 acres of land in the Central Business district around Hampankatta, Bunder and Car Street for retrofitting and redevelopment under smart city Mission. A draft proposal of Rs 2,000 crore for five years was submitted under the project.

Area-based plan

The area based proposal submitted by the MCC include development of central business area – 100 acre, Hampankatta Junction – 27 acre, fisheries harbour redevelopment – 22 acre, Old Port redevelopment – 10 acre, waterfront and marine development – 25 acre, mixed use zone for IT service, offices, small scale industries, hospitality and leisure, alongside limited capacity factory functioning by adaptive reuse of tile factories – 42 acres, public connector streets leading to waterfront development as commercial and retail zone – 47 acre and solar farm on island facing Bunder – 20 acre.

The Commissioner said that under the Pan City proposal, it was proposed to integrate citizen interface with dual access – ‘One touch Mangaluru’ through mobile and ‘One access Mangaluru’ through web. “On the financial plan, Rs 973 crore was expected from the smart city fund, Rs 516 .95 crore from the PPP funding, Rs 126.85 crore with the convergence of Government of India scheme, Rs 163.93 crore with the convergence of Government of Karnataka scheme, Rs 128.75 crore from the convergence of ADB scheme, Rs 78.90 crore from the MCC’s own resources and others,” he explained.

Joint Commissioner Gokuldas Nayak said, “The smart city project submitted by the MCC under the first list was long-term proposals worth Rs 20,000 crore to be implemented in nine phases over a period of 20 years. As it was not immediately useful for the public, Mangaluru could not bag the smart city project in the first list.”

Welcome move

Welcoming the move of the Union government to include Mangaluru in the smart city project, KCCI president Jeevan Saldanha said the KCCI has been pro-active in the preparation of the project.

“It is great news for the industrial fraternity as well, as infrastructure development of the city is linked with industrial growth. As Mangaluru is well-connected by sea, road and air and also lies in a strategic location in the west coast, the city is in an advantageous position for development. Youngsters who move out of the city in search of greener pastures would be able to remain in the city if the major development activities under the smart city Project are taken up, thereby contributing to the integrated development of the city,” he predicted.

Opposition leader in Council Roopa D Bangera expressed happiness over Mangaluru being included in the smart city project and said that the projects under the project should be implemented in an organised manner without affecting the citizens. At the same time, the MCC should mobilise its resources by collecting the property tax and water tax effectively, she demanded.

Poonam Rao, a resident of Mangaluru, reminded, “Smart City Mangaluru should ensure effective supply of water and cleanliness of the city. The authorities should give thrust for the development of parks and open spaces which will add beauty to the smart city.”