In order to encourage participation of the youngsters of Dehradun in the smart city project, the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) will be holding a special Facebook live chat on Thursday between 11 am and 12 noon. The authority’s vice chairman and State nodal officer for smart city project,
R Meenakshi Sundaram will himself reply to queries raised on the page at Facebook.com/Dehradun-Smart-City. Sundaram opined that the youth are an important consideration in the digital age and that the authority wants to engage with them proactively. He averred, “So far we have received enthusiastic response from the youngsters. The social media is an effective medium for communicating with various age-groups. We are also aware of the critical need for leveraging the power of digital technology for citizen participation. The campaign is also being conducted on Twitter handle @DoonSmartCity,” he said. Earlier, Sundaram had also participated in a live chat on MyGov.in portal.
Allaying the public apprehensions on some issues, he referred to misconceptions and unfounded fears on removal of green cover in the city. “A city is like a living organism - much like me and you - and as a custodian of the city, we would be the last to chop life out of it. let me assure, no trees would be cut except in special circumstances and wherever done, we would compensate by planting four trees for each cut. Weaker sections and labour class will be integral to this project with the chief minister having stated that the first building in this project would be for them,” added Sundaram.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dehradun is among the 23 cities asked by Ministry of Urban Development to resubmit their smart city proposals till April 15. “The ministry had given us some inputs and we are following these. Citizens’ consultation is critical to the process for which we have adopted a multi-pronged approach to engage citizens and elicit their views through a mix of online and offline mediums. I strongly feel a passionate participation from citizens of Dehradun is needed to ensure we pass through this critical phase. Please vote on MyGov.In portal,” said Sundaram.