BBMP works overtime to meet Smart City plan deadline

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been working overtime to meet the June 30 deadline to submit its proposal under the Centre’s Smart City Mission.

The BBMP has to submit the Smart City Proposal (SCP) or the vision document to a high-level screening committee headed by Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav by this month end in order compete in the second round of selection.

The Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) is scheduled to conduct the second round of selection in August this year, and about 40 cities are likely to qualify under the Mission. If selected in the second round, BBMP can start implementing the SCP in the current financial year. 

The Centre recently included seven state capitals, including Bengaluru, under the Mission. These cities had failed to qualify at the entry-level competition held last year, mainly because of their poor governance.

The MoUD had set 13 qualifying parameters at the entry-level. Operable online grievance redressal system, payment of salary by urban local bodies, preparation of audit report and percentage of JnNURM phase-1 project completed were some of the important parameters.
 
Bengaluru scored the least marks among the cities that competed from Karnataka. Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru and Davangere had fared much better than Bengaluru and passed the entry-level competition.

Finally, the SCP submitted by Belagavi and Davangere were selected from the state. But the BBMP no longer needs to worry about the entry-level competition. The BBMP or Bengaluru will directly compete with other cities in the country to get selected under the Mission. Under the Mission, the Centre will allocate Rs 1,000 crore to a qualifying city to be spent in the next four years.

SCP proposals

BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad said the SCP comprises proposals under three different categories: Smart solutions, re-development and greenfield development. The BBMP is planning to propose a number of smart solutions to ensure effective service delivery to citizens. They include intelligent transport system and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based property tax collection.

A small pocket of Bengaluru will be selected for redevelopment plan. A comprehensive plan comprising water supply, underground drainage system, roads, streetlights and garbage collection will be prepared for the redevelopment of that place. A separate plan for greenfield development (also called extension development) is being prepared. The SCP has to be prepared after consulting all stakeholders, he said.

Sources in the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, which is the nodal agency for Smart City Mission in the state, said four other cities - Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Tumakuru and Hubballi-Dharwad - can also submit their SCPs along with the BBMP. The screening committee will have to shortlist SCPs based on criteria laid down under the Mission. If the BBMP fails to submit the SCP by this month end, it will have to wait till December when the third round of competition is scheduled.