`What we need from citizens are ideas and not complaints'
Corporation of Chennai is leaving no stone unturned to be on the first list of 20 smart cities in the country .
On Thursday, the state government brought together urban planners and industry representatives for a brainstorming session to come up with ideas that can transform the Chennai and the other cities in the `smart' shortlist.
Ideas flowed free, from parking solutions and water conservation to e-governance and global information system. Christin Mathew Philip spoke to A Shankar, (in pic) head of Urban Solutions, Strategic Consulting at Jones L a n g L a S a l l e, city's consultant for the smart city project.
The Centre has made public participation mandatory for the smart city project. How has the public response been here?
Overwhelming. After the HubballiDharwad municipality in Karnataka, Chennai has got the maximum suggestions in the country on mygov.in.Trichy comes next.
How was the response to the workshop on smart solutions for service delivery?
The participation of Microsoft, Wipro and Mahindra Tech in the meeting has helped us learn their technologies which can be replicated for governance. Smart city funds can be used to augment infrastructure with latest technology to make the place more livable.
What will be your next step in the city?
Citizens will have to select whether they need pan city development or area-based solutions. Chennai's commercial hub of T Nagar has the edge as it already has a redevelopment plan in place. There are several stake holders involved in the locality -residents, shoppers and traders. Areas like Broadway, R K Nagar and Mylapore are also being considered but a final decision will be taken based on the public response. Residents of other areas need not to be disappointed as this is only a pilot project which would be replicated in many places.
What are the other plans to involve residents in the city?
Corporation of Chennai has already announced incentives for the best suggestions from the public. We have also invited ideas from residents on social networking sites. There will be essay competitions for students and adults to get suggestions on smart city. What we need from residents are ideas, not complaints. not complaints.
There are concerns about the proposed special purpose vehicles (SPVs) as private firms may try to generate revenue from real estate.
Every city should form an SPV to execute the project. It will be headed by a CEO and have members from central, state and urban bodies. This is to ensure that private firms are involved as many of them now have reservations on working with the government. ernment.
Is the promised Rs 500 crore good enough for a smart city?
This might be a small amount for metros like Chennai, but it is a big amount for local bodies in rural areas.This is why they are very serious in the smart city competition.
