COUNCIL TO TAKE UP SMART CITY PROPOSAL TODAY

Proposal by iDeCK tries to strike a balance between modernising infrastructure while preserving heritage. The city Corporation’s draft Smart City proposal with projects worth Rs.1,505 crore will come up for the council’s approval on Friday. The proposal prepared by Bengaluru-based consultancy Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) Limited (iDeCK) tries to strike a balance between modernising the city’s infrastructure while preserving its heritage structures. The proposals come under two broad heads — Area-based development and Pan city development — with projects under the former getting a bulk of the funds. Some of the major projects under Pan city include smart street lighting and smart water supply.

Information Technology-based solutions are being planned for waste management and monitoring of waste treatment at source. The proposal also puts forward the idea of at least one smart bus stand for each ward.

Rajaji Nagar

The redevelopment of Rajaji Nagar (Chenkalchoola) is another key plan in the area-based development part of the proposal. The local body had to abandon a plan for redevelopment of the area two years ago, owing to opposition from the local population. According to Corporation sources, the plan is to showcase the successful models at Karimadam and elsewhere to people here, to get their consent to go ahead with the project.

The utility cables will all be provided underground in the core city area. The Palayam and Chala markets come under another redevelopment plan. In Chala, the focus will also be on redeveloping it protecting its heritage. Pedestrian-friendliness is a key component of the development plans, in Chala market and in the area around the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The feasibility of restricting vehicular traffic in some of these areas will also be explored.

Vending zones

Vending zones will come up in different parts of the city, with a specific day in a week being dedicated to each location. Street vendors will thus have the opportunity to sell their wares to various sections of the populations over the week. The taluk office street in the Fort area is designated as a zone for the sales of handicraft articles. Protection of Agraharams in the Fort area comes under the heritage protection component. The Operation Anantha flood mitigation drive that did not take off after the first phase will be revived as part of the Smart City projects. Multilevel parking lots are planned at Chala, Palayam, Thampanoor, and Putharikkandam.

A total of Rs.1,000 crore is available for the Smart City project, out of which the Centre provides Rs.500 crore and the local body and the State Government pitch in with an equal amount. The local body also plans to channel more funds for the project by integrating various existing schemes into it and is also going for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for some projects. The deadline for submission of the Smart City proposal to the Central government is March 25.