After being rejected thrice, the Dehradun smart city proposal was finally approved by the Union Government. Based on merit of the proposal, the Dehradun smart city proposal was ranked 16th among 30 selected proposals with the proposal submitted for Dehradun scoring 61.94 per cent.
Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced the names of the 30 cities selected in this round of the smart city challenge. Some observers have opined that during the term of the Congress-led State Government, the Dehradun smart city proposal was rejected three times but after winning of the Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Uttarakhand, the proposal got cleared in what is being seen as a sign of the “double engine” Government combination of the BJP at the Centre and State.
It will be recalled here that initially, the Dehradun smart city proposal was based on greenfield area development concept which was stated to be the cause of its failure in the first round as all the proposals based on greenfield area development were rejected in the initial round during February 2016.
The proposal failed to pass a fast track round held during May in the previous year. The State authorities then altered the proposal into one based on the retrofitting concept but the proposal failed to make it to the list of selected proposals yet again during September 2016 though the score of the proposal had improved. The State authorities then added features to this proposal with an aim to keep the city green, secure and healthy.
According to the officials, the smart city concept mainly focuses on facilitating a smart society through empowerment, engagement and mobile phone apps; optimising use of technology for integration, connection and data; facilitating open, collaborated and developmental governance; green choice and efficiency in energy utilisation; sharing, integrating and decarbonising mobility along with resilience, regeneration and transformation to develop a sustainable city. With Dehradun being selected for the smart city project, the Central Government will provide Rs 500 crore to the state during a period of five years with the state government also providing the same amount in the duration for developing Dehradun into a smarty city.
The core infrastructure elements in a smart city would include adequate water supply, assured electricity supply, sanitation, efficient urban mobility and public transport, affordable housing, especially for the poor, robust IT connectivity and digitalisation, good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation, sustainable environment, safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly and health and education.