Hyderabad: Smart City project works in the state are yet to take off. Warangal was shortlisted by the Centre for development as a Smart City in May 2016, and Karimnagar was selected recently. Under the Smart City project, the Centre gives a city financial assistance of Rs 500 crore, over a period of five years.
The government is supposed to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to act as the nodal agency for execution of development works to transform a city into a Smart City. However, SPVs for the state are yet to be formed.
Unless the government prioritises the works and submits proposals to the Centre, funds will not be released on time.
The State Government had proposed several initiatives for the development of Warangal as a Smart City. It had estimated the total project cost to be Rs 2,861 crore. Of this, Rs 1,686 crore is supposed to be funded by the SPV, and the balance Rs 995 crore is supposed to be mobilised in the form of public-private partnerships (PPPs). However, the SPVs and the PPPs are yet to be finalised.
The Warangal Urban District Administration has been implementing measures of its own to set in motion the Smart City Project Works with the available funds.
On June 23, Karimnagar was included on the list of Smart Cities. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao recently announced the Manair Riverfront Project in Karimnagar, along the lines of the Sabarmati River front Project in Gujarat. The government wants to include this project in the Smart City programme.
K.T. Rama Rao, the Minister for Municipal Administration, said that he would conduct a meeting with the Commissioners of Warangal and Khammam Corpor-ations within a week, to speed up the works.
“This is not the case with Telangana alone. Works in other cities that have been selected as Smart Cities in other states are also yet to take off. This process will take some time. Once a blue print is readied, the works will move at a faster pace,” he said.
