Ahmedabad and Surat have found a place on the list of the 20 cities which are to be turned into Smart Cities as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious urban modernisation programme. Ahmedabad municipal commissioner D Thara said, “As part of the pan-city plan, we had submitted two proposals. One was the integrated transit plan for the city wherein citizens can access all available options for transport right from autorickshaws, BRT, city buses or metro rail through a mobile application. The second was a centralised command and control room for entire civic services. This will be realised when AMC lays its own optic fibre network. In terms of area-based plan, we had submitted the Vadaj area redevelopment and transit-oriented zone plan.”
Surat municipal commissioner said, “It is time to get to work and implement the projects now. We would be working in two phases now. First, we will take up pan-city programme on mass transport and connectivity issues with IT-based solutions to increase the mobility and connectivity. In the second, area-based development would be taken up in textile market area to boost the city's economy.”
The list was topped by Bhubhaneswar, with a Rs 4500 Crore plan to retrofit and redevelop 985 acres around the railway station with modern amenities. The 20 cities are expected to pitch in almost 51,000 Crore to upgrade the quality of life.
