Srinagar, June 03: Additional Director General, PIB and spokesman for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Rajeev Jain said on Saturday that people centric development is visible in Srinagar and pending projects under smart city will be completed in two-three months.
Talking to Rising Kashmir at the newly constructed state-of-the-art Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) under the Smart City Mission at HMT, he said in Srinagar work on 125 smart city projects is under process and vital projects have been almost completed.
“Polo View Market has been turned into the first pedestrian market in Kashmir, LalChowk is being upgraded, Jhelum River Front is adding beauty to the city and other projects have been almost completed. Pending work on these 125 projects will be completed within 2 or 3 months, he said.
“All works under Smart City Projects are aimed for the welfare of people. The emphasis has been, to improve the quality of public spaces so that they become friendlier and more welcoming to a common citizen, helping to improve interaction and social cohesion,” he said.
The MHUA Spokesman Jain said all stakeholders were taken into consultation by concerned authorities before implementing these projects and on ground there is active participation of local people in making SSCL a grand success.
“We have reclaimed these public spaces in Srinagar, now people are forcing their families to come visit these places for enjoying special moments,” he said, adding it is progressive step.
MHUA Spokesman Jain further said smart city projects in Srinagar will boost local economy in the region. It is visible that people want development here.
He said ICCC that has been setup at HMT will help government agencies in many ways.
“It will also have a traffic management system, early warning system, location-based targeted surveillance and messaging service. The system will also provide a monitoring traffic system to keep a check on violations and also provide other traffic-related services,” the spokesman said.
Regarding installation of CCTV cameras in Srinagar, MHUA Spokesman Jain said citizens services are supreme and these facilities are only for the public good.
“Any law or government agency, use the same data for public planning and welfare. The surveillance mechanism provided by the centre will be helpful in curbing the crimes including traffic jams. There will be no privacy breach and law enforcement agencies can use it only under the provision provided by the law,” he said.
MHUA Spokesman Jain said state-of-the-art ICCC will act as the “brain and nerve” for all Smart City IT-related interventions.
“It will be responsible for GIS mapping and will have a digital address for all the properties in the City. The Centre is also tasked to lay a 175 KM long fibre net for uninterrupted services to the locals,” he said.
“We are setting more wifi zones, smart poles for the people. We are getting good feedback and we will develop the entire Srinagar into a beautiful city,” Jain said.
The spokesman further said that the central government had extended the deadline of Smart City Projects in all 100 cities of India till June 2024.
“Our Minister, Secretary Director are on board handling everybody, All support is given to Municipal authorities and we are learning from each other,” he said.
The spokesman further said they are also organising many conferences including Smart Cities CEOs conclave where best practices, experiences are shared by them. Successful projects can be learnt and later implemented anywhere,” he said.
On the occasion, Chief Engineer, SSCL, Iftikhar Ahmad Kakroo said that ICCC will also have a traffic management system, early warning system, location-based targeted surveillance and messaging service.
“The system will also provide a monitoring traffic system to keep a check on violations and also provide other traffic-related services,” he said.
Kakroo said after the 2014 floods, they have developed a Multi Hazard Risk System to overcome huge losses. They will be empowering the local administration about whether a particular area is affected or not.
“People can take preventive action or they can be shifted to other places,” he said.
Kakroo said in For the holistic urban regeneration of the city, SSCL has taken up projects based on major themes including Improvement of bus-based public transport and NMT, Revitalization of water transport, Rejuvenation of water bodies, Improvement of streets and public spaces.
