The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) vice-chairman and smart city project State nodal officer R Meenakshi Sundaram exhorted the public to vote for Dehradun smart city project with the period for voting on the Government portal being extended till March 18. On the other hand, various public groups have maintained their stance against questionable aspects of the smart city plan.
On Wednesday, Sundaram once again exhorted the public to people to make a “concerted bid to make Dehradun one of the best cities in the country. The voting for smart city Dehradun on MyGov.in portal has been extended till March 18,” he said.
Sundaram said, “We have taken a multi-layered approach on seeking inputs from citizens and other stakeholders. We are using Government of India’s MyGov.in portal for polling, while our teams are conducting door-to-door surveys. In addition to interacion with stakeholders, kiosks have set up in the town as part of measures aimed at encouraging citizen participation.”
He said, “A facelift for Dehradun will not only help the State but will also benefit the nation as the city is often the first point of interface for many foreign tourists arriving here attracted by the Himalayas. Tourism development has much potential considering the 26 lakh tourists arriving in town last year, with an annual average percentage growth of around 10 per cent. Tourists purchasing local goods will also boost small scale industries in Dehradun,” he added.
Earlier, among the various stakeholders in the project, resident welfare associations under the aegis of Doon Residents Welfare Front (DRWF) outrightly rejected proposed project execution on tea-garden land. They were also of the view that there was confusion as the paper circulated at the meeting with officials referred to only four zones whereas the MyGov.in website contained six voting options. DRWF head Mahesh Bhandari said that citizens should cast maximum number of votes in favour of retrofitting and redevelopment instead of greenfield development on the tea gardens.