Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has said the Smart City Proposal (SCP) for Srinagar as per the principles of strategic planning containing area-based development plans and pan-city initiatives.
Mehbooba held a meeting yesterday to review the status of the SCP for Srinagar city and development of semi-ring road in and around the state's summer capital under the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) which was boycotted by National Conference legislators.
"The SCP should be prepared as per the principles of strategic planning process containing Area-Based Development (ABD) plans and pan-city initiatives," she said .
While reviewing the status of preparation of the SCP, the Chief Minister stressed that the proposal should contain the vision, plan for mobilization of resources and intended outcomes in terms of infrastructure upgradation and smart applications.
Noting the absence of certain legislators, the Chief Minister said the presence of all legislators from Srinagar, cutting across the party lines, would have added value to the discussion through their valuable suggestions.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Public Works A R Veeri, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Asiea Naqash, MLA Batamaloo Noor Mohammad Sheikh, MLA Sonawar Muhammad Ashraf Mir, MLA Anjum Fazili, MLC Khursheed Alam and Chief Secretary B R Sharma.
Stressing on the need for people's empowerment and their involvement for participatory development, she said since the process is still in its infancy, maximum public participation in formulation of city vision and the SCP should be achieved through their feedback, ideas and suggestions.
She also sought the status of the Srinagar Master Plan, saying the Smart City Proposal needs to be in tune with it.
The Chief Minister stressed on the need for revival of various water bodies in and around the city in the SCP to improve the aesthetics of Srinagar.
She also issued directions for expediting the process of completion of the Master Plan so that it could be put into public domain for feedback.
Underscoring the importance of traffic decongestion in
the city and decreasing the pollution levels, the Chief Minister asked for development of cycling tracks in the city especially in areas like the Bund and Boulevard around Dal Lake.
She also urged for exploring the options of development of vertical residential structures in the congested areas of the city on Public Private Participation (PPP) mode.
Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Prime Minister in June 2015. It is an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the central government with an aim to develop 100 cities in the country making them citizen friendly and sustainable.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister was also briefed on the construction of semi-ring road around Srinagar city.
The Chief Minister was informed that the state government has established a task force headed by the Divisional Commissioner for the purpose of land acquisition which will expedite the acquisition work and subsequent preparation of Detailed Project Reports.
She was also informed that the 61-km semi-ring road passes through six districts including Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Bandipora, Ganderbal and Baramulla.
