PANAJI
Panaji suffered its first blow after it failed to make it to the first batch of the top 20 smart city list which the Centre unveiled on Thursday.
The Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP), however, put up a brave front saying all was not lost.
The probable reason why Panaji did not figure in the top 20 list, however, may lie in the several aspects including financial, an area where there were major differences between the commissioner and the city corporators.
Speaking to media, CCP Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues said, “Such proposals need to be put up with joint efforts. Here there were a lot of forces acting differently. The process was not smooth.”
He hinted that difference in opinion among city corporators over funding the smart city was the main reason for the loss.
He, however, added that Panaji had another chance in April when the second batch of 23 cities would be released. “The selection of smart cities is taking place in phases. We didn’t make it to the first batch of 20 cities, but Panaji hasn’t lost out. We have another chance to submit our proposal,” said Rodrigues.
Cities that didn’t make it to the first batch will be allowed to upgrade their proposals and submit them by April 15. Following this, 23 cities will be selected in the second batch.
The ministry announced it would hold a video conference with the CCP on Friday to share guidelines for the next phase of selection and to review the proposal submitted so far. Rodrigues also added they would go through the proposals of cities that were selected to study where the change had to be done. Jaipur received the highest score with 17 points.
“We will study the score and see where we lost. An initial analysis reveals that most large and medium cities made it to the list but this cannot be a determining factor,” he said.
Under the Smart City scheme, the Centre has also released Rs 2 crore for payment to consultants hired for the plan. Rodrigues, however, revealed the amount has not yet been released by the State.
Meanwhile, under another scheme, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, the State powered high-level committee has approved and submitted a State action plan of Rs 29.72 crore to the ministry of urban development.
