PANAJI
Transport and waste management are the major concerns of Panjimities, along with the need for citizens’ engagement, revealed the upgraded Smart City Proposal (SCP) which has been approved by the Corporation of City of Panaji.
The concerns were raised during the smart city consultation process which was carried out through citizens’ engagement by responses to questionnaires, focus group discussions, feedback on online platforms and at zonal kiosks.
During the second round of community engagement for smart city proposal, 51 per cent of the citizens have voted for inclusion of urban mobility, 19 per cent have voted for solid waste management and 7 per cent have voted for citizens’ engagement in pan city solutions. Congestion due to on-street parking, lack of pedestrian facilities and absence of reliable and frequent public transportation was the area of overriding concern by the citizens. Additionally, citizens showed concern about inadequate facilities for collection and disposal of waste, mainly due to floating population.
Nonetheless, Panjimites have also suggested adoption of mobile and e-platforms for grievance and service provision status and to enable accountability and feedback through a mechanism for ongoing interaction.
Meanwhile, as regards citizens’ engagement as far as the smart city is concerned, 19,639 citizens have given their inputs for preparation of SCP. Nearly 13,775 inputs are from citizen engagement questionnaires, 848 from residential/non-residential survey, 794 from college interactions, 235 from focused group discussions, 886 from stakeholders workshops, 104 from zonal workshops and mobile van interactions, 1522 from essay competitions, 60 from cycle rally, 974 from social media (Facebook), 175 from MyGov.in (polls and discussions), 83 through e-mails and 183 through Panaji Smart City mobile app and website.
