Mumbai Monorail | Staircase brought monorail again in controversy

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12/07/2018

Mumbai: Once again the Mumbai Monorail is in the argument. Bhavya Heights Society, a housing society in Wadala has complained that the point of entry and exit staircase at the Wadala monorail station is blocking the access of fire brigade in the society.

This housing society has now moved to high court which has castigated Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for not working in an organized way which has resulted in such situations.

Now the court has said and directed the authorities further to assure that the other monorail project from Jacob Circle to Chembur will not have such problems. The residents of Bhavya Heights Society, Wadala depot has said MMRDA to move the existing staircase towards the south side of as it is an obstruction for the entry of fire tenders, all these petitions were heard by the bench of Justices Naresh Patil and Girish Kulkarni.

The society filled the petition after they got a letter from the Mumbai fire brigade informing about the inability to douse any fire in the society premises as the staircase was proving an obstructing.

When the matter came up for hearing, the MMRDA and BMC pointed fingers to each other direction but the court blamed the civic body for not taking attention when the staircase was being constructed and looked into that only after its completion. The bench also scolded MMRDA for not keeping the civil corporation in the coil when the staircase was being constructed.

After all the hearings, the MMRDA assured the court that it will find some alternative for the existing staircase and ensured that the society will not be blocked.

The society suggested shifting the staircase to the south end of the stations whereas the bench suggested a skywalk to which the MMRDA said that it will take decisions only after consulting its officials.

The court accepted their submissions and has placed the matter for hearing after 4 weeks.

Problems faced by Monorail

Fire safety issues

A fire department is yet to give the NOC to the Dadar station of the Mumbai monorail. The issue about the fire tenders which will go through the narrow lanes which the monorail passes is yet to be resolved.

Scomi claims compensation over cost escalation

Compensation of nearly Rs 1200 crore is demanded by Scomi Engineering which was contracted by MMRDA to provide rakes and run the services of Mumbai Monorail. They have asked for this contract because they have invested over and above the contracted amount.

Permissions

Since its inception in 2005, Mumbai Monorail project has faced many problems like land acquisition issues and permissions from various authorities and agencies. In 2014 phase 1 was finally completed the services between Chembur and Wadala started.

@CMOMaharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis The following letter is from the Mumbai Monorail staff suffering from various issues including financial for Consortium L&T and Scomi Engineering Bhd. Request you to help us in such difficult in situation. pic.twitter.com/fUy7DGnMSC
— Shoaeb Deshpande (@shoaebdeshpande) July 7, 2018

Shortage of rakes

For the trial runs of Mumbai Monorail between Wadala and Jacob Circle and between Chembur and Wadala the monorail has 10 rakes which were utilized for these trials. Scomi said that there are four more rakes are there which are needed to be modified to be in service.

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From Transit oriented Development to Development Oriented Transit in Indian cities

By

Ar. Priyanka Kumar

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11/07/2018

0

Land-use development and Transportation both are inter linked with each other and make different types of urban forms. Globally, there are many cities whose forms were shaped by transportation and land use. However, there is neither a systematic approach nor empirical method to understand which kinds of transportation factor should connect land use and which kinds of land-use factor should connect transportation. There is a school of thought either development should be oriented to transit or transit should orient to development. Therefore, this paper aims at reviewing whether development should come first or Transit. Finally, this paper will focus on Development Oriented Transit.

Introduction

Land use and Transportation both are connected with each other. Transport is the most essential component for shaping development of a city.
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Land use is one of the prime determinants of movement and activity which means land use determines the demand for transport. Land use may change because of increase or decrease in accessibility. Integration of land-use and transit is very essential. National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) also emphasizes on integrated land use and transport planning.

Research Paper: From Transit Oriented Development to Development Oriented Transit in Indian cities. (By: Architect and Town Planner Priyanka Kumar)

Types of development with relation to transit

The Integration of land-use and transit may carry out in many ways such as Transit Adjacent Development (TAD), Transit Joint Development (TJD), Transit Supportive Development (TSD) or Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Development Oriented Transit (DOT).

In 19^th Century there were concepts like Transit Adjacent Development (TAD), a development which is physically near transit but fails to capitalize upon this proximity to promote transit riding and other economic benefits, which lacks in functional connectivity to transit/ with transit, in Integration of Land use with Transit, in means of station access, and in economic and fiscal benefits. Fremont is a city in California used to be a good example of Transit Adjacent development.

As time passes Transit Adjacent Development gradually changed into Transit Joint Development (TJD) is that development which is Joint with transit neither before nor after transit. Tokyo is one of the best examples for Transit Joint Development which did not restrict itself to Transit Joint Development but expanded as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as well. Transit Joint Development (TJD) also states that a type of development which occurs because of any formal agreement or arrangement between a public transit agency and a private individual or organization. Hong-Kong is one of the good examples of this type of development.

In Early 20^th Century, A San Francisco-based Architect, Urban designer and urban planner “Peter Calthorpe”, coined a term Transit Oriented Development (TOD) which defines “A mixed use community within an average 2000-foot walking distance of a transit stop and core commercial area. TODs mix residential, retail, office, open space, and public uses in a walk able environment, making it convenient for residents and employees to travel by transit, bicycle, foot or car”. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) also known as Transit Supportive Development (TSD).One of the earliest and most successful examples of Transit Oriented Development TOD is Curitiba, Brazil.

Now Development Oriented Transit (DOT) is defined as a process in which transit is incorporated after development. DOT defines as put development first whereas TOD defines as put transit first. For example Electric streetcar systems evolved after the development of the electric traction motor in the 1890’s in network. But this term little bit explained by Dittmar H. and Ohland G in 2004 as Development Oriented Transit (DOT) is built to serve the development. Here transit follows the development rather than vice-versa.

To read complete research paper, please read Metro Rail News (Monthly) Magazine, June 2018 Issue (Pages 26 – 33)

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Bullet Train expected to start by 2022 in August, on schedule

By

Darshana Shukla

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11/07/2018

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Chennai-Mysuru high speed rail line project is on full swing — Image for representation purpose only copyright: respective Authority

New Delhi: India’s ambitious project of setting up Bullet Train network in the country is expected to meet deadline. As per recent information, Bullet train might start from 2022. The earlier deadline was 2023 and National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) feels it is on schedule.

The entire project is estimated at Rs 1.08-lakh-crore project with 80 per cent of the loan financed by Japan. The work on bullet train is racing against time as the work on the project started in December 2017. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been mired with protests and controversy from land owners in Gujarat and Maharashtra over land acquisition. These protests are getting support from local groups and political parties.

NHSRCL assures that it has not missed milestones set in its timeline. To built the entire network, NHSRCL will need 1,400 hectares, with 353 hectares in Maharashtra and the remaining in Gujarat.

The requirement is further divided into 7,000 plots, in 195 villages in Gujarat and in 104 villages in Maharashtra. The project will pass through eight districts in Guajarat and three districts in Maharashtra besides a small area in Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

What is the progress like so far?

As per usual procedure, LIDAR is started along with land acquisition along with a laser-based aerial survey. This is followed by a physical survey to authenticate and update LIDAR results. After this a joint measurement survey by a team representing all stakeholders is done. Subsequently information of the land owners is processed for the compensation means.

For the bullet train LIDAR was wrapped up in 2017 and the actual study began in December last year covering 50 villages in Maharashtra and 184 villages in Gujarat.

Engineers had visited sites and given notices to land-owners. The notice however did not state that the project requires only a linear tract 17.5m wide (not the whole land) and that this was a survey, not a notice for acquisition. Several senior NHSRCL officials now presume that because of this exclusion, local politicians convinced farmers that they would lose their complete land ownership.

Mapping the progress the joint measurement is completed in 30 in Gujarat and 50 villages in Maharashtra covering 102 km of the 508 km line.

This analysis is followed by installing a small pillar for physical detection for land acquisition. NHSRCL officials said that disbursing compensation takes around three months post all processes. The officials are trying to meet the deadline of land acquisition by December 2018. Till now only 0.9 hectares in Bandra-Kurla Complex has been physically handed over.

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Hyderabad Metro | Trial runs from Amarpreet to LB Nagar line begins

By

Kanika Verma

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11/07/2018

0

Hyderabad : The much awaited Hyderabad metro rail corridor-1 is likely to be ready by the last week of July. This corridor stretch is linked from Ameerpet to LB Nagar via Khairatabad, Namapally, Malakpet, and Dilsukhnagar. The stretch would be thrown open to public by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Khar Rao. Municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday announced that after traveling in the metro rail from Ameerpet to LB Nagar in the new route, during the trial run. Along with Metro Rail managing director NVS Reddy, Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy and others, KTR inspected the ongoing works at Nampally and MGBS, en route.

Rama Rao said that Trial runs and necessary safety tests are already in progress, with the certificate from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety approving commercial operations also expected by the end of July.

Rama Rao said that Trial runs and necessary safety tests are already in progress, with the certificate from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety approving commercial operations also expected by the end of July.

This 16 km busy stretch which is between Ampreet and LB Nagar is expected to bring relaxation from the heavy vehicle’s movements. Miyapur- Ameerpet stretch which is 13- km will be linked with the red line of metro rail corridor-1.

Trial run from Ameerpet to LB Nagar line begins!
Your smart and environment friendly travel solution will soon extend its routes further #HyderabadMetro #HyderabadMetroRail #Hyderabad #HydMetroRail #India #news #marketing #travel #social #MyCityMyMetroMyPride #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/fmsHO8zHAd
— L&T HydMetroRail (@ltmhyd) July 10, 2018

Rama Rao also added that Compared to Chennai and Bengaluru Metros, the Hyderabad Metro was registering good patronage, he said. “More than 80,000 passengers were traveling every day in Metro trains of which 40 pc use smart cards. It is very much unlike Bengaluru and Chennai where I visited, wherein the footfall used to be a meager 25,000 initially”.

Rama Rao also added that Compared to Chennai and Bengaluru Metros, the Hyderabad Metro was registering good patronage, he said. “More than 80,000 passengers were traveling every day in Metro trains of which 40 pc use smart cards. It is very much unlike Bengaluru and Chennai where I visited, wherein the footfall used to be a meager 25,000 initially”.

Multi-level parking lots

Rao said that MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao has said tenders for construction of 42 multi-level car parking lots would be invited in 15 days. “There are complaints about lack of parking lots. We are calling tenders for 42 multi-level car parking lots. Those stretches would also be used to have commercial viability”.

Rao said that MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao has said tenders for construction of 42 multi-level car parking lots would be invited in 15 days. “There are complaints about lack of parking lots. We are calling tenders for 42 multi-level car parking lots. Those stretches would also be used to have commercial viability”.

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Madhya Pradesh | Indore Metro work may kick off in August

By

Neha Dawar

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11/07/2018

0

Indore - Bhopal Metro — Image for representation.

Madhya Pradesh:- Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MPMRCL) is ready to start out for the Phase 1 Indore Metro Rail Project in two months. The Indore Metro system will be a rapid transit system and the metro will provide free Wi-Fi connectivity for the commuters.
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The Project will not only run on road bridges and in some underground location. The project will be the first driver less trains in India.
The MPMRCL had asked to district administration as there is a need of spotting and relocate the utilities that include water and electricity lines on 31.55 km stretch.

The letter was issued by the MPMRCL director, Jitendra Kumar Dubey and in his letter, he informed that company has appointed general consultant who is currently working on tender designing and in revert the district collector Nishant Warwade told Times Of India (TOI) that official of MPMRCL have sought our help in identification and shifting of utilities falling on the way of proposed first phase of Metro Rail Project Company’s official will give a Presentation in a meeting scheduled on Wednesday. The letter also concludes that the plan will soon start by August -September of Metro line Phase 3. The project is set to be completed before 2020.
As the metro run on the road, rail and underground so there is need of reallocation of other transport and there is a need for land too. Planning has been done on elevated viaducts column as there is will be the underground metro. Locations of a metro station have marked to fuse other modes of transports. So, the metro would not lead to any distortion to other transport.
As the company asked for the relocation of utilities which also conclude other electricity lines and poles and sever and telephone line way and the proposed plan of laying tracks and the station. For the shifting of utilities, the project implementation agency has requested for the collection of a nodal officer who works on the daily basis.

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Ahmadabad Metro | Metro project still stuck with MEGA Co.

By

Richa Bhateja

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11/07/2018

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MEGA Metro Rail Project (Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar)

Surat: The journey of metro seems too long with Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) for the smart look, during the Metro train’s high power committee meeting in 2018, it was said that the work may start as soon as possible but it seems suspicious as the MEGA metro work is still pending and half the time has passed.

Due to changes in central government’s policies regarding the metro, DMRC had to work on renewal of its draft. The metropolitan municipal administration is focussing on a financial provision in the received draft and arranged to mobilize resources for income generation. The consultancy of Metro link express from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad (MEGA)

Unless the project is reached from MEGA to state government its difficult to proceed the work, if the project is forwarded from MEGA to state government they will renew it and after the green signal of state government, the metro file will reach the center where I will get its final approval and the only the metro work on the site will begin.

Last year, the deputy chief minister Nitin Patel had said in the meeting of hypower committee in Gandhinagar that the work of Surat metro project will start in 2018. The goal was set that, two corridors will be built by 2022 was fixed, half the time of project has passed and according to the speed of project work, people suspect that the work will start by the end of 2018.
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Transportation will be three-tier

The smart transportation system in the city is being focussed by the municipal administration. The municipal administration is helpful in this project, once the metro train will start the three tires public transport service will be implemented in the city. According to CEPT survey, the traffic congestion will reduce and the public transport such as buss line and auto rickshaw will remain connecting service. The metro is expected to get a huge traffic of 2.5 million people from the day it will start.

Changes made

After the change in the policies of the center, the administration had many changes in the draft. These include the sale of properties as a metro surcharge on House tax and overload on the sale. Apart from this, the provision of FSI for the land on the metro route has also been made, for this additional financial resources will be settled by NMC for the operation of the metro.

Two corridors are proposed in the metro project in which the first corridor is 21 km which will have 20 stations and another corridor which is 18 km with 18 stations. According to the new guidelines, value capture financial provision will increase the value of properties. With the construction of metro stations commercial, the cost of the area of five hundred meters will be increased around the corridor. In the metro corridor, it will be the responsibility of the municipal corporation for building four stations.

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Lucknow metro | LMRC to send DPR of Blue Line to Government for approval

By

Kanika Verma

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11/07/2018

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LUCKNOW: The DPR of the Blue Line of the Metro will be sent to the government on Wednesday. The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) has completed its preparations. After the approval of the government, the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) will start the final survey work of Vasant Kunj from Charbagh. With this, the final alignment will also be made. This work is expected to take one month. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had sent the DPR of the Vasant Kunj (Blue Line) portion of the Lucknow metro and four months before the LMRC was prepared two months ago. After this LMRC had kept it in sanction to the Metro Board meeting in Chennai.

route map of Lucknow metro (photo: LMRC)

It was approved at the board meeting but the minutes were not released. Minutes of the meeting were released from Delhi yesterday. In the evening the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation got its minutes. The work of the LMRC was halted without the minutes. Now with the minutes, the LMRC will send the proposal to the state government for its DPR approval. All the metro stations will be set in the survey. Also, it will also know which key will be taken for its land. LMRC MD Kumar Keshav said that after final approval of the DPR, the work of final alignment will start.

MD Kumar Keshav said that after final approval of the DPR, the work of final alignment will start.

The 17th metro train has left for Lucknow. 17th train from the factory of Alstrom located in Sri City, Chennai, has been sent on July 8. It is expected to reach Lucknow by July 22. Three trains will survive after its arrival. So far, 16 trains have been reached in LRRC’s Transport Nagar based depot. LMRC is buying 20 trains from Alstrom. LMRC MD Kumar Keshav said that all the 20 trains will come by September.

LMRC MD Kumar Keshav said that all the 20 trains will come by September.

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Hyderabad Metro | For improved connectivity, metro corridors to crisscross

By

Darshana Shukla

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11/07/2018

0

Hyderabad: Telangana government has already started identifying corridors for Phase II Hyderabad Metro project with work on metro corridor Phase I nearing completion. It is expected that the work is will be wrapped by March 2019. The focus in Phase II metro corridor will be offer connectivity to airport from all corners of the city.

The work on Phase I will be completed expect the stretch in old city area. For Phase II the length of the corridor is yet to be finalised, but officials informed that they will share the details once plan is chalked out.

As per initial details, top priority will be given to have excellent connectivity to airport in the Phase II plan. The stretch identified is from Raidurg ((Biodiversity Park) to Shamshabad and Falaknuma to airport.

Chief secretary Shailendra Kumar Joshi shared that there is a difference between Metro Phase I and Phase II projects. While Hyderabad Metro Phase I was done under private public partnership as per PPP model, Phase II will be completely done by state government.

Joshi also stated that metro rail service work on Phase I corridor starting from MGBS to Falaknuma will be completed by state government. Joshi added that the ground work for the said metro line is done as it will be undertaken for old city corridor.

For Phase II efforts are made to mobile funds in order to save time, ensuring work is carried out as per the timeline.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was asked to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for metro phase II. Given the fact that preparing DPR is an ardent task as it takes time to prepare the entire report, the municipal administration requested for a Preliminary Project Report (PPR). DMRC has already submitted the PPR to the state government.

As per the PPR submitted by DMRC, they have suggested to construct 30km corridor from Biodiversity Park to Shamshabad.
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Additionly a 26km stretch from BHEL to Lakdikapul and five km from Nagole to L B Nagar.

As per the PPR submitted by DMRC, they have suggested to construct 30km corridor from Biodiversity Park to Shamshabad. Additionly a 26km stretch from BHEL to Lakdikapul and five km from Nagole to L B Nagar.

The estimated cost for the project is around 10,000 crores and government has already started mobilising funds. They have approached funding agencies like Japan Cooperation Agency. It is expected that 60% investment will come from funding agencies.

State government is keen to speed up work on Phase II as it will help is reducing traffic problems in several areas.

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Hyderabad Metro | smart parking system to come at Hyderabad Metro station

By

Priyanka Sahu

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10/07/2018

0

HYDERABAD: On 10 July bids on private-public partnership mode have been finalized to develop the integrated smart parking management system (ISPMS) at the 24 Metro rail stations which will be operated from Miyapur to Nagole stretches to 30-km, said Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL). Now there will be no more free parking at all operational metro stations. In order to tackle the haphazard parking at metro stations hindering the free movement of vehicles, it is the best decision taken by higher authorities to introduce a new system.

Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd. (HMRL) Managing Director said in press release, “Three companies have placed their bids, Zruti Solutions, in technical collaboration with Agile Parking Solutions Pvt Ltd, a company with international smart parking experience, got selected as the license.”

Reddy said that Investment by Zruti solutions will be about Rs 8 crore and will create ‘on-street smart parking facilities’ at the Metro stations, maintain and operate them and would also pay HMRL a sum of over Rs 7 crore as licence fee over a 20-year period.

HMRL officials added that the project envisages creating a smart parking system that utilizes technology for information, payment and enforcement. A firm would be selected that will provide IT-based smart parking solution which is automated, cost-effective, secure, environment-friendly, energy efficient and must entail minimum human intervention for day-to-day parking management duly providing aesthetically designed parking sheds.

In November 2017 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 30-km stretch between Miyapur and Nagole, out of which 72-km-long elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail Project. And the brand name was given as ‘Park Hyderabad,’ the Integrated Smart Parking System of HMRL would be based on a comprehensive digital solution, which would handle the entire task of parking issues without any human intervention.

Reddy said that “It will have a citizen mobile app which provides real-time information from all the on-street smart parking lots at the Metro stations.”

He also added that two-wheeler and four-wheeler owners/drivers by using their GPS can digitally check the availability of their desired parking lot before they travel to any Metro station.

He further said that, “They can simply use the service through their smart phones and the system would display the available bays to park their vehicles in about 4,000 two-wheeler parking bays and 400 four-wheeler parking bays at the Metro stations. The users can then book vacant colour-coded bay numbers and use their allotted parking bays through either electronic payment or cash payment.”

Park Hyderabad – Integrated smart parking technologies to Hyderabad city at Metro Rail stations. pic.twitter.com/0CRzMIeVpx
— Hyderabad Metro Rail (@hmrgov) July 10, 2018

He further stated that the parking fees is very less just Rs 3 per hour for a two-wheeler and Rs 8 per hour for a four-wheeler and all transactions would be digitalized ensuring transparency. Parking violations would be detected both electronically and manually and compliance would be ensured by security personnel of the private licencee under the supervision of the traffic police. The parking areas at the Metro stations, which would be aesthetically developed with shelters, would also have free Internet connectivity and other such more facilities. The attractive smart parking lots would become hubs of activity with CCTV cameras linked to a central command and control centre.

There is also mobile app would be created for the purpose of tracking parking slot availability through simple directions and real-time information on the ISPMS.

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Smart Cities | Transport lead, waste & water disposal, safety in back burner

By

Darshana Shukla

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10/07/2018

0

New Delhi: As cities move ahead in accomplishing ‘Smart Cities’ mission, urban transport has gained topmost investment priority. Ironically, water and waste disposal and safety to solid waste management have taken a backseat with cities rushing to meet the mission.

The urban housing ministry that presented a study to the parliamentary standing committee has shared that a total of 99 cities are part of this mission. It is expected that approximately 2 lakh crore worth of investment will be made with over Rs 33,000 crore (16.6 per cent) is proposed for urban transport. This clearly hints that urban transport gets the highest share over other issues.

Incidentally, solid waste management is a very concerning issue for most urban cities. But interestingly, only 2.4 per cent (Rs 4,896 crore) of the total investment is spent towards solid waste management. Another important insight is that even the investment on storm water drainage and social sectors is very low that comes to around 2.5 per cent (Rs 5,100 each) for each of the listed areas.

Couple of core components of Smart City infrastructure elements also comprises of assured electricity supply, efficient urban mobility and public transport, sanitation including solid waste management, affordable housing and safety and security of citizens, assured electricity supply to name a few. Whilst a lot of of these components are also covered and funded through other programmes like AMRUT and Swachh Bharat Mission, cities were free to take account of them also under the Smart City programme.

Area based development comes seconds to urban transport and is also the second most important in term of priority of investment in the programme. The proposed investment is around Rs 30,600 crore. As part of area based development, cities pick and choose one area and develop it fully so that the model can be replicated in all other parts of the city.

Major highlights as per ministry are-

3,183 projects worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore are in various stages of implementation.
Projects worth Rs 4,960 crore have been completed.
Work has started on other projects worth Rs 23,000 crore while the tendering system is in progression for the rest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has floated one of the flagship programmes -Smart City Mission. The time duration fixed for the programme is five years that is 2015-16 to 2019-20 as per the Mission statement and guidelines, which add that it may be continued subsequently after an assessment. The first lot of 20 cities was selected on January 1, 2016.

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