Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat unveiled the foundation stones for various works valued at Rs 575.18 crore under the Smart City mission here on Sunday. These include Doon library costing Rs 12.33 crore, Paltan Bazaar development costing Rs 13.10 crore, storm water drainage costing Rs 16.27 crore, Parade Ground renovation costing Rs 20.85 crore, sewerage works costing Rs 28.41 crore, drinking water and water monitoring costing Rs 32.59 crore, smart water management costing Rs 56.63 crore, smart road costing Rs 190.54 crore and integrated office complex- green building costing Rs 204.46 crore.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that a smart city cannot be imagined without technology. The Government is trying to improve public facilities through technology. Stating that work has been going on a brisk pace for some time on the Smart Doon project, he said that a changed Dehradun will be visible in the coming days.
Rawat also said that the integrated control and command centre in Dehradun will be inaugurated on December 25, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee which is commemorated as good governance day.
He said, “Underground cables will be laid along main roads in the city. Tenders for this work will be done soon. Work has been started on solar powering government buildings. We are gradually moving towards green energy. Along with smart city, we also need to develop the concept of smart village,” said the Chief Minister.
The State’s Urban Development and Housing minister, Madan Kaushik said though criticism is also elicited whenever a work is undertaken, the cooperation of the public is also received. He said, “The people themselves came forwards for removal of encroachments in Dehradun city. Work is progressing at a fast pace in the urban sector in the nation. We are also making all possible efforts. We have moved ahead on the waste to energy concept and its results will also be visible soon.”
The Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ said that work has to be undertaken on a large scale under the smart city mission. The residents of the city may experience some inconvenience in the initial phase but the level of convenience will be enhanced considerably after the works are completed.
This will also give Dehradun a unique identity. He also claimed that the city had made progress in doing away with the use of single-use plastic.
The Dehradun Smart City Limited chairman Ravinath Raman said that Dehradun was chosen in the third stage of the smart city mission. The city was ranked 99 out of 100 cities during December 2018 but about 10 months later, its ranking has improved to 30th. Among the chosen smart cities, Dehradun has been placed first among the most progressive cities.
MLAs Harbans Kapoor, Vinod Chamoli, Munna Singh Chauhan, Khajan Das, SS Pundir and others were also present on the occasion.
