Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore on Monday said Chandigarh is the only city in India chosen to be visited among the top 52 destinations in the world from Bolivia to Bhutan by New York Times.
Addressing the general House of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, he said Chandigarh is also described as “Green city and a Mecca for architecture lovers” and it ranks 43rdwith the inclusion of Capitol Complex as the UNESCO World Heritage site.
"Chandigarh is also listed among the 5 most livable cities in India," Badnore said,
adding that it is the first planned city of modern India with each sector being self-sufficient with a mix of land uses.
"I feel proud that Chandigarh has been selected in the list of 13 cities under one of the premier project of the Prime Minister i.e. Smart City Mission," he said, adding that smartness refers to doing more with less resources, redefining existing infrastructural assets and implementing resource efficient initiatives.
The Administrator said MCC has pioneered the Smart Parking concept in streamlining the paid parking system and tacking the parking related issues like overcharging. "The objective of smart parking should be to provide parking spaces to the city residents throughout the city and to facilitate them with latest technology based information on current parking slots information andhours of operation. Women parking staff has also been introduced for the first time with SHGs under DAY NUlM so as to promote women empowerment," he added.
Badnore said under the National flagship program launched by the Prime Minister, streetscape aesthetic have been improved dramatically by replacing the existing streetlight with lED. "9310 dark spots in the city have been identified for installation of new street lights. Till now, approximately 40,000 Street light points have been replaced with lED lights. The Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has contemplated to reduce the electricity bills of street lights by approximately 50 per cent after completion of this project," he added.
The Governor said the state of the art community centers built by MCC in Chandigarh are models that are not less than any star rated banquet halls. "I feel proud in sharing that a lot of metro cities of the country are coming to Chandigarh to study design, amenities and services offered at these community centers," he added.
Steps have been taken to provide 24 X 7 water supply, installing smart meters for potable water; recycling waste water for landscape, implementation of SCADA. "I am pleased to know that the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has planned to implement the scheme of 24x7 water supply by fetching 29 MGD canal water from Kajauli and the project is likely to be completed by 30.04.2018," he said.
MCC came up with a noble idea of installing Water ATM at public places for providing drinking water at a reasonable price. MCC has pioneered in the tertiary treatment of water for watering the parks and green lawns in various parts of the city. This initiative has minimized the use of drinking water, he said.