Mangaluru, Sep 23: Even as Mangaluru braces itself for upgradation to an elite ‘Smart City’ under the Smart Cities Mission proposed by the Union Government, Dakshina Kannada district administration and Mangaluru City Corporation has sought active participation from citizens for their vision statement and suggestions that will be shortlisted and selected for the ‘Smart City Proposal’ for Mangaluru city that will be submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) at a later stage.
Addressing a press conference, DK Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said that the initial stage of conceptualizing the ‘Smart City Proposal’ (SCP) was citizen engagement, since public participation in development of the city was one of the key ingredients of ‘Smart City’ concept.
The Vision statement for ‘Smart City Mangaluru’ should be describes in a maximum of 50 words. The Vision statement should summarise the impact of key aspects – main economic activity, sustainability and inclusiveness. It should have economic, spatial, social, environmental and cultural dimensions that reflect the city’s unique physical and cultural traits, and provide directions for the activities of the citizens and other stakeholders, he said.
Submission of Vision Statement by citizens
The entries from citizens can be posted on the online discussion forum at: https://secure.mygov.in/group-issue/smart-city-vision-mangaluru-through-peoples-participation/
It can be mailed to: [email protected] or posted on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Smartcitymangaluru.
Likewise, it can also be submitted through drop-boxes placed in Mangaluru City Corporation, Lalbagh, Mangaluru City Corporation Sub-office, Suratkal, Mangaluru City Corporation, Kadri, City Centre Mall, K S Rao Road, Forum Fiza Mall, Pandeshwar and Bharath Mall, Bejai.
The selected vision statement will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a certificate. If no particular vision statement is selected, the best 3 statements will win a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each. Based on the vision statement, a logo with a tagline will be created to symbolize the true spirit of Mangaluru.
Still a long way for ‘Smart City’ tag
Commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Dr Gopalkrishna said that Mangaluru was shortlisted as one of the 98 smart cities in the list released by the union government. However, contrary to popular misconception, appearing on this list amounts only to a nomination and not a final selection. Mangaluru still has a long way to go to make it past the finishing line in the race for Smart City tag.
The union government plans to implement ‘Smart Cities Mission’ in a phased manner on an annual basis. As only 20 cities shall be selected to become Smart Cities in Phase one, the immediate next step in the process for Mangaluru is to make it to the list of top 20 cities that will be identified as Smart Cities. If this goal has to be reached, then Mangaluru has to meet the elaborate guidelines laid down by the union government. For this, a ‘Smart City Proposal’ needs to be prepared and submitted for the ‘Smart City Challenge’, which is a competitive process for making the final pitch. The Smart City Proposal will deal with various aspects like existing city profiles, citizen engagement, vision statement and goals, strategic plan, pan-city proposals, area-based proposals, implementation framework, financing plan, benefits and impacts.
The features of a Smart City are citizen participation, identity and culture, economy and employment, education, health, mixed use, compactness, public and open spaces, housing and inclusiveness, transportation and mobility, walkability, IT connectivity, ICT enabled government services, energy supply, energy source, water supply, waste water management, water quality, air quality, energy efficiency, underground electric wiring, sanitation, waste management and safety.
Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai, MCC Mayor Jacintha Vijaya Alfred and others were present.
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