Smart Cities: No visible development

The methods and processes started by the government much time ago were appreciable as the people were keen to see the smart cities as promised by the government. However, the decision to come up with the smart cities seems a distant dream as no visible development in this regard could be seen as present, thus putting a question mark over the claims of the people at the helm. As no major project has been completed during the past few years, converting Jammu and Srinagar into Smart Cities within the deadline fixed by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has remained a daunting task for the concerned authorities of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015 for the development of 100 Smart Cities across the country. Under the Mission, which is an innovative and new initiative aimed at driving economic growth and improving the quality of life of people, both the capital cities of Jammu and Kashmir were selected by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the third round of competition held in the month of June 2017. As per the guidelines of the Smart Cities Mission, the Housing and Urban Development Department of J&K was required to set up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), engage Project Management Consultants (PMCs), hire necessary human resources, call tenders and issue work orders within a period of 12 to 18 months. However, the department has miserably failed to strictly adhere to the deadlines for all these preparatory activities, which created hurdles in the start of work on the projects in respect of both Jammu and Srinagar Smart Cities. Therefore, the government must complete the major projects at an earliest so that a visible change vis-à-vis smart cities can be witnessed and the promises with the people will be fulfilled.