Journalism of Courage
If everything goes well with the implementation of the smart city plan (SCP) for Pune, citizens will have an efficient public transport system, improved traffic control system, multi-level parking, 24 x7 water supply, power generation through sewage treatment plant, river improvement, solar energy projects, recycling of water and rainwater harvesting projects, solid waste management, e-governance, establishing network of roads, footpath and cycle tracks, social and economical transformation of slums.
“The PMC will see an investment of around Rs 30,000 crore for infrastructure development in the next five years if everything goes as per plan. This is to fulfill the proposals and ideas suggested by the citizens during the process,” said municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar.
The public participation proved to be a good learning experience for the civic administration, he said, adding, “It showed that we are not always right in deciding on the needs of the citizens. The public initiative gave an insight into the expectations of citizens from civic body.”
The Centre will provide seed money for the implementation of projects under smart city plan but thereafter, the real work would involve raising funds through various means for the projects, Kumar added.
In its SCP, the PMC has estimated cost of Rs 3,480 crore, including Rs 1,035 crore for pan city and Rs 2,445 crore for development of Aundh-Baner, which has been identified under area development, as a part of smart city mission of the Union government.
The main focus will be on transportation, water supply and sewage treatment, energy alongwith plans for area development. Under the pan-city approach, the PMC will have expenditure of Rs 585 crore for establishing smart public transport system that would include improvement of bus stops, wi-fi facility at a cost of Rs 160 crore, improving traffic control system at Rs 95 crore, smart parking (multi-level parking) at Rs 40 crore while Rs 290 crore for maintenance of these facilities.
The PMC plans to implement round-the-clock water supply across city by getting Rs 375 crore through smart city and power generation through sewage treatment plant at a cost of Rs 10 crore with spending of Rs 65 crore for its maintenance.
For area development category in Baner-Balewadi, the PMC has estimated expenditure of Rs 140 crore for river improvement, Rs 280 crore for smart grid and solar energy projects, Rs 25 crore for smart metering, Rs 90 crore for recycling of water and rainwater harvesting projects, Rs 15 crore for solid waste management, Rs 25 crore for e-governance, Rs 210 crore for establishing network of roads, footpath and cycle tracks, Rs 10 crore for social and economical transformation of slums, Rs 550 crore for parking, BRT, e-rickshaw, electric bus facility and Rs 1,100 crore for maintenance of the newly developed facilities. “The rest of the amount will be raised through user charges, tax or cess, loans, public private partnership or other means. However, the formation of SPV is mandatory for implementation of the projects with civic body delegating some of its powers to SPV,” say civic officials.
