Dr. Nitin Kareer (extreme left) and Smart Cities industry representatives including the founder & director of Smart Cities Council India Pratap Padode (middle row - third from left) at the Mantralaya office.
The Smart Cities Council India organised a meeting between key industry players and Dr. Nitin Kareer, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Maharashtra, for presenting suggestions to the government in framing the Smart Cities policy for the state.
The Smart Cities Council India (SCCI) Founder & Director, Pratap Padode along with other key delegates from the Indian business houses met the minister at Mantralaya, in Mumbai on October 26, 2015. The policy is being framed independent of the Centre's smart cities mission.
Under the Centre's Smart Cities Mission through its 'Challenge' a total of 10 cities including – Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Dombivali-Kalyan, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad and Solapur are shortlisted from the state in the Phase-I. These cities are to submit their final SCPs by December 15, 2015. Based on which, the Centre will select the best 20 SCPs from the complete 98 shortlisted cities for funding in this fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government had initially zeroed in on 33 cities to develop as Smart Cities. However, given the Centre's stipulations the government nominated just 10 cities. However, the Maharashtra government seems keen on introducing its own 'Smart City Policy' independent of the Central government wherein, the cities which are not part of the Centre's scheme can also be developed.
Some of the suggestions received for the policy framework included – setting up a Smart City Development Authority (SCDA), Single Window Clearance, Administration of Greenfield Cities, Financing models, Land Area Requirement and FSI (Floor Space Index).
Among those who attended the meeting were representatives of IBM, Mahindra & Mahindra Group, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), IL&FS, Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company, Dighi Port, Thomson Reuters, Intergraph India and Walter P Moore Engineering.
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