KOCHI: Amid apprehensions over the Smart City Mission project losing its focus and getting delayed, the Public Expenditure Committee of the state government will submit its recommendations for selecting the Project Management Consultant for Smart City Mission on Wednesday. Based on it, the consultant will be appointed which will speed up the implementation of projects.
“Appointment of the PMC is the crucial step with regard to the implementation of Smart City Mission projects. The consultant agency will help to design, develop, manage and implement the Smart City programmes. Once the agency is selected, projects can be taken up on a priority basis,” Elias George, the CEO of Cochin Smart Mission Limited , told DC.
Development of walkways, cycle tracks and other related works as part of the area development in Smart City Mission will be executed by the Kochi Metro Rail Limited under its non-motorised transport segment. “Construction of the walkway along the Hospital Road has already been initiated. The proposed master control room for integration of urban transport under Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) will also be included in the Smart City Mission programme,” Mr George said.
The KMRL has also been entrusted with the recruitment of staff for CSML. “It will be a lean team with seven or eight staff only.” Meanwhile, there are widespread apprehensions over the delay in initiating the projects. “It is a fact that Kochi lags behind other cities in the implementation. The Assembly elections and shuffling of top bureaucrats after the new government sworn in has delayed the programme planning. Other cities like Ahmadabad, Bhopal, Kakinada, Bhagalpur and Pune have already started area based development projects and other services and are far ahead in project implementation,” said a top civic official.
