“Greenery will be enhanced by the smart city project. Smart City development will bring about more jobs and development,” he assured. Rs 8,000 crore smart city project pitch was selected in union government smart cities mission. Bhopal is among the 20 cities selected in the first phase.
An additional, Rs 100 crore from the CM infrastructure development was also allocated for BMC. It would cover for additional cost incurred in construction of Habibganj RoB and two other flyovers on Upper Lake and Lower Lake. Habibganj RoB has been built for Rs 82 crore. It was originally estimated to cost Rs 37 crore
Rs 1,500 crore will be spent on development of Hamidia road including a new interstate bus terminal (ISBT) at Old Sabzi Mandi, said BMC mayor Alok Sharma. It would part of the Rs 15,000 crore to be spent on Bhopal’s development in the next five years, as announced by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday. Speaking on the side-lines of the inauguration of Habibganj RoB, Sharma said, “Development of Bhopal as a whole is being planned. Over the years, old parts of the state capital have not received due attention,” said Sharma.
“Existing bus stand cannot handle the current requirements. Those coming from nearby areas, usually get a connecting train from Bhopal main railway station rather than Habibganj. A new ISBT would cater to this demand,” he said.
Sources said the BMC has put forth the proposal and would be incorporated in the upcoming Bhopal master plan.
Each of the urban bodies in the state capital is out to get a piece of the various development projects in the state capital. In the absence of a master plan, most of the projects like construction of flyover to grid-separators on congested intersections may not be a reality anytime soon.
In the Bhopal Development Authority (BDA) budget for 2016-17, its chairman Om Yadav proposed, construction of flyovers with to unclog Bhopal city traffic. BDA’s main proposal are at Lal Ghati and Board Office square at MP Nagar. Metro rail is proposed to pass through both the places and BDA’s proposal for a grid-separator at the intersection may never see the light of day. Similarly, BMC proposed flyover at Rangmahal remains unlikely given the metro rail project.
Development projects related to the Rs 15,000 crore would be take shape in the days ahead after with between BMC, Bhopal Development Corporation, Bhopal Smart city development corporation limited and Madhya Pradesh metro rail company limited (MPMRCL), clarified a government official.
