Khader reviews proposals worth Rs 2,400 crore

Mangaluru: Work on all the 66 projects worth Rs 2,400.72 crore, planned under the Mangaluru Smart City project, will be taken up on a war footing, said Urban development and housing minister U T Khader at a review meeting chaired by the minister, which was also attended by MLAs D. Vedavyasa Kamath and Bharath Shetty.

A total of 28 development projects will be implemented under pan city proposals. The pan city development envisages application of selected smart solutions to the existing city-wide infrastructure. use of technology, information and data will involve in the application of smart solutions to make infrastructure and services better. A total of 27 projects/ components have been proposed to be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 693.43 crore under pan city development, explained the officials.

Concurrently, 38 projects have been proposed to be implemented at an estimated cost of 1,707.29 crore rupees under Area Based Development.  A total of 1,628 acres identified in the Central Business District around Hampankatta, Bunder and Car Street has been for retrofitting and redevelopment under 10 projects under ABD. There is a a population of 53,429 and 12,756 households in these areas which have been identified as Fisheries Hub and Central Business District. Redevelopment of fisheries harbour along with fish market, retrofit of Old Port, redevelopment of Central Market, Water Front Marina Development, multilevel car parking, installation of rooftop solar on government buildings and treatment of waste water for reuse are some of the major projects proposed under ABD.

ABD and pan city projects will use PPP Funding, In addition to smart city funds,  convergence of central, state, ABD schemes, ULB funding from own source and contribution from beneficiaries, explained the officials.

“Mangaluru will become Smart City in the days to come and it will be a role model for the entire nation. The managing director (Mohammed Nazeer) of the Mangalore Smart City Limited (MSCL) will have complete accountability in the implementation of the projects. The managing director should hold review meetings at least once in 15 days and the board of directors meet should be held every month. He will have powers to initiate action against consultants and officials in case of any failure. Meanwhile, action should be taken to fill all the vacancies in the ULB," said Khader.