Rijiju said, Smart city should feel-good like convincing intervene

Itanagar: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said smart cities should capture people’s imagination and focus on ‘feel-good’ interventions.

The Union Law and Justice Minister said this while reviewing the progress of smart city projects at Itanagar and Pasighat in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh through a virtual meeting.
“A smart city should be smart in every sense. It is not enough to have smart infrastructure, we need to get people on board to think and behave smartly,” he said.

“We should sensitize citizens to be responsible for their city,” Rijiju said, adding that smart policing, tourism-oriented projects and city aesthetics should be encouraged.
Expressing his satisfaction over the progress of the projects on war footing in the last year of the mission in the two cities of the North-Eastern state, the Union Minister urged for the completion of the projects as per schedule.

“The Smart City Mission was launched with much fanfare in 2015. People had high expectations about the results. Hence, it is important that the projects are reviewed and completed as per the stipulated timeline.
Rijiju suggested that the Smart City Mission could be combined with other government resources, architects, city planners and designers to make Itanagar and Pasighat dream tourist destinations while ensuring smooth implementation and timely delivery of projects. Any type of intervention can be offered at the center level.
Earlier, during his opening remarks, State Urban Development, Town Planning and Urban Local Bodies Commissioner Neeraj Semwal highlighted the Smart City projects being launched in the two cities.

He informed that Pasighat Smart City is implementing 43 projects at a cost of Rs 511.5 crore, out of which 12 projects have been completed and the rest are progressing at various stages.

He added that around 32 projects worth Rs 559.15 crore are being implemented in Itanagar, out of which 6 have been completed and the rest are in various stages of completion.
The Chief Executive Officers of Smart City Pasighat and Itanagar gave a detailed presentation on the physical and financial progress of their respective cities.

Some of the major ongoing projects of Pasighat Smart City include up-gradation of market area, smart roads, storm water drains, sewage treatment plant, solid waste management, riverfront development, and heritage redevelopment.
Multipurpose vendor market for Itanagar, automated car parking facilities, eco-tourism park, cleaning of Yagamso river, bioremediation of legacy waste, reconstruction of Ganga market, pedestrian footpaths, CC roads, storm water Exhibition and exhibition center for handicrafts with canals, artisans. Some of the notable projects under the IG Park Smart City Mission are: