Punjab Government on Wednesday finalised a comprehensive blueprint based on the convergence of various development schemes for the smart city proposals of Amritsar and Jalandhar for round II of the Smart City Challenge of Union Ministry of Urban Development.
The detailed deliberations on Smart City proposals for round II of the Smart City challenge and of HRIDAY scheme of Amritsar were made during a review meeting chaired by the state Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal.
ludhiana has already been selected in the round one challenge and ludhiana Special Purpose Vehicle has been registered for receiving the funds and for implementation of the Smart City Plan, said the spokesperson.
All the development schemes like Smart City, Hriday, Prasad, Amrut, Digital India, Skill Development, Housing for All will converge and funds from these schemes will be optimally utilised for overall development of these cities, said Kaushal.
Round II of the challenge (2016-17) has already begun and detailed proposals by 54 cities including Jalandhar and Amritsar will be submitted by June 30, 2016.
Reviewing the smart city proposals of both cities, Chief Secretary directed both the consultants to make proposal stronger by incorporation of relevant new plans and schemes, by reviewing all State and Central Government policies or programmes to make maximum convergence, by reworking the financial streams and also by incorporating the best practices of 20 winning cities.
To improve citizen awareness, special awareness campaigns will be launched in schools, colleges, universities of the State so that students can provide feedback on various aspects of the Smart City proposals of the cities.
Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners of both cities to have weekly meetings with the concerned departments and consultants so that effective convergence of various schemes can be achieved.
He also directed the consultants of Smart City Project, HRIDAY Consultants to have joint meeting to come up with comprehensive proposals to effectively utilize both the schemes.
Chief Secretary further suggested that Amritsar being border city, it should be portrayed as a hub for international trade. In the end, Chief Secretary directed both the Smart City consultants to submit the proposals by June 15.