Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the ambitious Smart City project in Jaipur and Udaipur, envisaging availability of modern amenities with improved urban infrastructure in the two Rajasthan cities, through video-conferencing from Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex in Pune.
In her live interaction with Mr. Modi, Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje outlined the mission statements for the smart cities and thanked him for selecting Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer and Kota towns of the State for two phases the Smart Cities Mission. She said the progress of the cities in Rajasthan would be a matter of pride for the entire country.
Mr. Modi congratulated the citizens of Jaipur and Udaipur and said it was due to their efforts that the two cities had fulfilled all the parameters in the stipulated time, enabling them to be selected among the first 20 cities in the country.
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Ms. Raje pointed out that Jaipur had been selected as the first “lighthouse city of South Asia”, placing the Pink City in the elite club of other cities such as Hamburg, Barcelona and Adelaide. This initiative, in partnership with CISCO, has created IT-enabled services, wi-fi hotspots, installation of video surveillance cameras, interactive kiosks, remote e-governance solutions and parking management systems.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Raje dedicated to the people several projects marking the first anniversary of the Smart Cities Mission. The projects included rooftop solar power plant, restoration of traditional step-wells, restoration and beautification of gardens and real-time information systems for bus shelters.
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The Chief Minister said the Jaipur Municipal Corporation had set up plants for disposal of solid waste, while another plant was being established on the public-private partnership basis for generating power through waste. In Udaipur, works relating to heritage conservation and development have been undertaken.
Jaipur Smart City Limited CEO V. Saravana Kumar and Jaipur Mayor Nirmal Nahata were among those present on the occasion.
Congress flakHowever, Pradesh Congress Committee criticised the launch of Smart City project, saying it was just a formality in the absence of basic facilities of cleanliness and security for citizens of the two towns. PCC vice-president Archana Sharma said the BJP government had failed to provide clean drinking water in the State Capital, while the law and order machinery had completely collapsed, making the city a soft target for criminals.
The incidents of brutal rape of two minor girls in Jaipur during the last one week had exposed the tall claims of State government, which had failed to provide basic security and civic amenities of water, power and cleanliness to the people, said Ms. Sharma.