The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has sought people’s suggestions on the Smart City proposal for Dehradun. In a workshop organised at the MDDA office on Thursday, Vice-Chairman of the MDDA R Meenakshi Sundaram laid the blue print of the proposal.
He said that suggestions from Resident Welfare Association (RSA), Public Sector Undertakings (PSU), educational institutions, traders association, transporters and architects are being sought for smart city. The MDDA has released a document in which the suggestions for making a smart city can be given by the people. One can reach this document on my_gov platform on the website of MDDA (www.mddaonline.com).
The MDDA Vice Chairman told the mediapersons the agency would launch a City mobile application, which would help the denizens and those visiting the city. He informed that the agency has acquired 1,200 Bighas of the land in the vicinity of the rivers of the state capital after it was freed from the encroachers. The agency would use the land for Redevelopment project which is mandatory for a Smart city. Meenkashi Sundaram said that the MDDA would use the land pooling policy to constitute a land bank for the smart city. He said that the agency is planning to purchase the land of Tea estate located in the Shimla Bypass road for smart city.
Under the smart city project the Ministry of the Urban development, government of India has selected 98 cities in first phase in which Dehradun also finds a place.
In the second phase, based on the plan submitted by these cities best 20 per cent cities would be earmarked and a budget of Rs500 crore would be provided to the city in phased manner in five years.
Out of this sum an amount of Rs194 crore would be provided in the first year alone. The broad lay out of a smart city mandates a retro city with a 500 acre area (250 acre for mountainous area), redevelopment project in 50 acre area and a green field with an area of 250 acre where a new city would be developed. There is an intense completion in the 98 cities to break into the select group of top 20 per cent.