Indore to get Rs 1800 cr facelift

Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has approved the Rs 1,800 crore Indore city development plan at its general council meeting held on January 12. Municipal commissioner P Narhari presented the draft at the end of meeting.

The development plan forms part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) under which 63 cities of the country, including Indore, have been selected for urban regeneration to be accomplished in the next seven years.

The total plan cost is pegged at Rs 2,007 crore, of which Rs 1,800 crore has been allocated for IMC, the nodal agency for plan implementation. The remaining Rs 207 crore has been allocated for the development works to be under taken by Indore Development Authority (IDA), Public Works Department (PWD) and Indore City Transport Services Ltd (ITSL).

Prepared with inputs from district administration, PWD, IDA, Madhya Pradesh Housing Board (MPHB), and ITSL, the Indore plan with reference to IMC discussed its sectorial deficiencies, existing facilities it has provided, type of development needed and bridging the gap between current amenities and those required to meet the growing population till 2020, in addition to city investment plan.

The plan chiefly takes into consideration the economic, financial, infrastructural, environmental and institutional development of the city with emphasis on provisions for water supply, solid waste management, sewerage, environmental improvement and socio-economic uplift of urban poor.

Announcing the mission, the plan states that though cities play a critical role in economic development, their service-providing agencies like municipal corporations and district administration face acute shortage of capacity and resources.

At the end of presentation, commissioner invited suggestions from the corporators on the plan for incorporation in the draft. Opinion of experts from various fields including industrialists, environmentalists and technocrats will also be received before the plan is forwarded to Bhopal this month for the state government's consent.

A detailed project report of various components of the plan will be prepared once it receives the consent and then the plan will be sent to the Centre for the final approval.

The council also decided that structural engineers would be consulted before allowing hoarding to be pitched on private or government buildings.

"Once, the city development plan is finalised from Bhopal, the Indore city would have a facelift that would attract investors from other states, provided the fund is utilised in a proper way," said Kamal Barore, a senior central government officer.