Odisha to implement Smart City in mission mode

BHUBANESWAR: Union Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha on Friday admired Odisha for coming out successful in the tough competition among top 20 smart cities in the country.

Sinha interacted with the state officials through a video conference meeting. Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, Bhubaneswar Municipal Commissioner Kishan Kumar along with Housing and Urban Development special secretary Sishir Kumar Ratho were present.

The video conference was a kind of experience sharing among various ULBs, state government and central government.

Padhi said that Odisha government have put in enabling legal, normative and reform measures for making Bhubaneswar a successful smart city and for achieving sustainable urbanisation in the State.

He also assured that government would provide all help and assistance for the programme, and all the projects of Smart City will be implemented in mission mode.

Participating in the discussion, Municipal Commissioner Kishan Kumar added that government had made a full assessment of the requirements for sustainable urbanisation.

New policies have been prepared. Odisha Development Authorities Act has also been suitably updated. Innovative financing models for future urban development have been put in place. The processes and procedures for citizen interaction and ‘ease of doing business’ have been simplified. The citizen connect programme have also been widened through web-portals, said a release.

The programmes for basic services like drainage, sewerage, quality power supply, rapid urban transport, internet connectivity, etc. have been streamlined, and integrated projects have been taken up. With all these, the government is now in all preparedness to carry forward the smart city programme, the release added.