AGRA: Smart City project works in the city are moving at a snail’s pace. Agra was selected by for the scheme in Spetember 2016. By December 2017, as many as 70 detailed project reports (DPR) were to be submitted for approval so that actual work could start. However, till date only five DPRs have been prepared.Sources attribute the slow pace of work to inertia on the part of the officials entrusted with the task.After Agra city’s selection, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) was constituted and registered under the Companies Act. It is named, “Agra Smart City Limited”, and is headed by the divisional commissioner. The SPV has been entrusted with the responsibility of planning, appraiing, approving, releasing funds, implementing, managing, operating, monitoring and evaluating the smart city developmental projects. In September 2017, SPV tasked a private consultancy company to prepare DPR of 91 work proposals.According to sources, 70 DPRs were required to be developed by December 31 so that ground work could be started. But the company managed to develop only three DRPs. Later these too were rejected by the SPV due to technical flaws. Following this, the deadline to develop the DPRs was extended till January end. By first week of February, the company was able to prepare just five DPRs projects which were approved by the SPV last week.Divisional commissioner K Rammohan Rao has expressed discontent over slow pace of the smart city project scheme works. He said, “Officials have been directed to ensure that smart city project works progress in a time- bound manner. In this regard, monitoring will now be conducted every week.”The recently approved DPRs are related to beatification of Fatehabad road and development of street vending zone in the vicinity, up-gradation of drainage system, setting up 5 e-toilets nearby the Taj Mahal, development of pathway between eastern to western gate of the Taj.The smart city development proposal of the city of Taj includes 2133 core rupees of makeover plans. Area based development - ABD envisions retrofitting of 2250 acre of selected local area around Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Jama Masjid and other parts of old city.Besides ABD, smart city development plan envisage various pan city initiatives. Some of these include door garbage collection and solid waste management system, Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) infrastructure, redesigning of 28 major road junctions, installing demand responsive traffic signals, beautification of parks etc.

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