Vijayawada: Vijayawada will be the first smart city in the country, outside Delhi. Interacting with the people during a meeting on smart cities on Monday, Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu announced the selection of Vijayawada city as the first smart city.
The tag means that Vijayawada will get all the facilities that define a smart city, round the clock. He asked the people to cooperate with the government in building the smart cities.
“Selection of smart cities is under way,” Mr Naidu said.
All the major metros in the country, besides all important cities in the state and the country would be made smart cities.
The cities of Vijayawada and Guntur would be developed as twin cities and the surroundings of Tenali and Eluru will be developed as a single hub.
The Centre has already announced the metro rail for the area and process would begin as early as possible, Mr Naidu said.
He said that the Centre’s aim was to provide services without delay and end corruption. As many services as possible would be provided through email, he hoped, adding that the tax payment system would be modernised as part of the smart cities concept.
Mr Naidu said that while the state government can build the capital using technology from various countries, it need not compare it with Singapore or any other country.
Interestingly, many of the citizens and representatives of various associations who attended the meeting asked the Union minister to take steps to keep the construction of the capital corruption-free. They also wanted the government to ensure that the River Krishna is kept pollution-free after the riverfront capital is established.
Some citizens requested steps to solve the traffic problem in the city.
School of Planning and Architecture College director Sridhar, Lorry Owners’ Association president Y.V. Eswara Rao, CREDAI Vijayawada chapter president Ramana Rao, Rotary Club governor Mohan Prasad and some industrialists were present.
