The deadline set to gather suggestions and comments on the draft master plan for Smart City ended long back whilst the Urban Development Department is yet to summarise and place the master plan before the Cabinet for final approval.
The pace is so when the State Government has already taken consent of Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu to lay foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City project on the land purchased from the HEC on September 9.
Highly placed sources see many roadblocks coming in the way in turning the dream into reality and the major one among those is acquisition of land outside the HEC area.
“As far as the core capital area coming up on 658 acres of HEC land is concerned, there is no problem. But the Smart City is not going to confine only inside the HEC. We need spaces for roads, light metro corridors, bus shelters, garbage dumping yards etc. Consultants are up against these issues. Some top officials, including CEO of SUDA (State Urban Development Agency) are yet to be found out,” said a senior officer of the Department.
It is learnt that host of practical problems coming in the way were the reasons why the draft finalised for the Smart City was yet to be sent before the Cabinet for its nod. Moreover, the Cabinet in its last meeting had approved Rs 721 crore to be paid to the HEC against the land purchased in the name of revival package. The land was also to be used for light metro but barring two stations falling inside the HEC area, no other station has been brought out of the draft plan so far.
“I have no latest information about latest position of the Smart City draft proposal. However, three structures have been finalised of which foundation would be laid by the Vice-President on September 9 when he is scheduled to visit Ranchi to inaugurate the Smart City project. The buildings finalised so far are of Urban Tower, Jharkhand Urban Planning and Management Institute (JUPMI) and International Convention Centre (ICC),” said Dharmdeo Mishra, Project Director (Admin) with Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company limited (JUIDCO).
However, when contacted, Urban Development Minister CP Singh said there was no need to place the Smart City draft before the Cabinet. “Work is going on as per the draft itself. I don’t think it is going to be passed by the Cabinet,” said Singh.
Jharkhand has received financing from World Bank and JICA which includes $ 9 crore for the Smart City project. All the three structures are to be built out of that while JICA is funding light metro rail project, city buses and sewerage and drainage project.
JUPMI is for capacity building of officials and elected representatives while Urban Tower and Convention Centre are going to be major places for recreational activities happening inside the Smart City which is to come up before 2020.