Competition on smart city ideas: PMC declares first prize for idea on recycling construction waste

Milind Acharya bagged the first prize for the idea of developing a facility to recycle construction waste and make it mandatory for builders to re-use the waste. The proposal aims to reduce mining and save our mountains while addressing the issue of disposal of construction waste.

The second prize was declared for Shahuraj Kadam’s idea of restoring the image of Pune as a ‘city of cycles’ by developing a cycle track along side the river from Khadakwadla to the other end.

The proposal also focussed on keeping the river free from drainage water and maintaining a clean riverside. It proposed a garden for the retired and old people on the riverside and prohibition of vehicles on the riverside road as well as planting of trees along the cycle track.

The idea of Prashant Sahay was selected as the third best. Sahay proposed an app to help people reach the nearest safe place during emergencies. It might be a bus stop or any vacant spot with good amount of light, a camera and a wireless telephone, according to the proposal.

The PMC conducted this competition to get ideas on the smart city project. The initiative received a good response and 6,200 suggestions were submitted. The PMC got these scrutinised through urban experts from the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and shortlisted the best 30 ideas. It selected the top 10 ideas through public online voting and the final three were selected by the expert committee after presentations.

A cash prize of Rs 25,000 will be awarded for the best idea. A total of Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 will be handed for the second and third best ideas respectively, on August 15.