Smart City proposal to focus on riverfront, solar energy
The final proposal of Patna for smart city contest will focus on river-front development, improvement of amenities around the railway stations and installation of solar panels on government buildings.
This was decided at a meeting chaired by Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Abhishek Singh on Wednesday. At least 20 government buildings, including the Maurya Lok which houses the PMC office, have been identified for installation of solar panels to facilitate use of solar energy by them.
“We are also chalking out a plan to develop the area in and around Patna Junction and other railway stations in the city,” he said.
The proposal will be released in the public domain by February 10 and finalised by March 25. Between March 25 and 31, it will be sent to the Centre, which is to select the winners after evaluating their proposals.
Patna deserves to win the competition, Singh said and pointed out that the city saw a lot of development work, including construction and widening of roads and provision for urinals, drinking water and toilets, for the 350th Prakashotsava celebrated recently. “Lakhs of visitors went back with a positive message and the Centre too got that message,” he said.
He also appreciated the participation of people in the Mission Smart City, under which several activities were organised to get people’s views. Around 1.81 crore people participated indirectly in these activities, which included online activities.
“Bhubaneswar, which was the first city to be selected, had recorded indirect participation of around 1.3 crore people. Even in the category of direct involvement of people in events like marathon, around six lakh people responded,” said Singh.
Source:TOI
