BMC unveils Rs 4,537 cr smart city plan

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday unveiled its Rs 4,537 crore Smart City plan to be submitted to the Odisha government.

The BMC would submit the smart city plan to the state government on Monday and to the Smart City Mission of Union government on Tuesday.

Following the guidelines of the union government, the plan has been divided into two important segments- Bhubaneswar Town Center District (BTCD), wherein 985 acres of land would be developed as a model area on the Smart City guidelines and the second being planned city solutions such as better urban mobility, waste management system, etc.

BMC Commissioner Krishan Kumar said BMC would need Rs 4,094.89 crore for BTCD and another Rs 442.26 crore for city plan solutions.

“The financing of the project would be made from various central government schemes including Smart City Mission Fund and other sources such as public-private partnerships, Asian Development Bank, infrastructure development funds and through commercial borrowings,’’ said the BMC commissioner.

As per the plan, government services would be offered to 10 lakh people that would soon inhabit the city while emphasising on improving infrastructure such as better roads, installation of solar and LED lights, round the clock water supply, waste management, Wi-Fi zone, special bicycle track from Nandankanan till Lingaraj temple, etc.

It has been drawn upon the recommendations of denizens of the city in a ‘Citizen Engagement Programme’ that started on September 26.

BMC Mayor Anant Narayan Jena said the plan had been made to accommodate a million people in the city.

“We have focused on facilitating bus services at key junctions every five minutes and other places every ten minutes. We need about 550-600 buses for this, and it has been made a part of the plan. We have a plan to offer Wi-Fi services in the entire city,” said Jena.