Letters show that CCP was in loop for smart city projects

  • | Saturday | 30th March, 2019

Panaji: Mayor Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Uday Madkaikar may claim that Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) has kept the civic body in the dark about development projects that are under way in the city, but correspondence between CCP and IPSCDL, which is implementing the smart city mission, indicates otherwise.A series of letters dating right back to August 2017, which TOI has accessed, show that CCP officials requested IPSCDL to undertake several projects which are underway in the capital today. Madkaikar had also blamed IPSCDL after Panaji was placed at 337 in the nationwide Swachh Survekshan survey. The rankings were released on March 6.Interestingly, CCP wrote to IPSCDL only on January 11 this year listing of black spots in the city where CCTV cameras could be installed to curb dumping of garbage. In June 2018, and after squandering Rs 19.8 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for implementation of an e-governance project, CCP approached IPSCDL to take up the same project.The decision to appoint IPSCDL as the special purpose vehicle to execute the Centre’s flagship Smart City Mission program has been a source of friction for CCP as the council feels that the civic body should be the implementation agency. CCP has also passed council resolutions in favour of these projects, notably the ICT-based monitoring system for solid waste management, CCTV surveillance cameras and e-governance system, which will be used by CCP.“The commissioner of CCP is a member of the IPSCDL board of directors so the question of CCP being in the dark or taken for granted does not arise,” an official, who has access to the correspondence between CCP and IPSCDL, said.“The present mayor himself has been part of several discussions with the smart city mission even before he took over as the mayor,” the source said.A day earlier, Madkaikar had held a press conference and alleged that CCP was being sidelined and that IPSCDL was to blame for the garbage and debris that remains strewn in the city.

Panaji: Mayor Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Uday Madkaikar may claim that Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) has kept the civic body in the dark about development projects that are under way in the city, but correspondence between CCP and IPSCDL, which is implementing the smart city mission, indicates otherwise.A series of letters dating right back to August 2017, which TOI has accessed, show that CCP officials requested IPSCDL to undertake several projects which are underway in the capital today. CCP has also passed council resolutions in favour of these projects, notably the ICT-based monitoring system for solid waste management, CCTV surveillance cameras and e-governance system, which will be used by CCP.“The commissioner of CCP is a member of the IPSCDL board of directors so the question of CCP being in the dark or taken for granted does not arise,” an official, who has access to the correspondence between CCP and IPSCDL, said.“The present mayor himself has been part of several discussions with the smart city mission even before he took over as the mayor,” the source said.A day earlier, Madkaikar had held a press conference and alleged that CCP was being sidelined and that IPSCDL was to blame for the garbage and debris that remains strewn in the city. Madkaikar had also blamed IPSCDL after Panaji was placed at 337 in the nationwide Swachh Survekshan survey. The rankings were released on March 6.Interestingly, CCP wrote to IPSCDL only on January 11 this year listing of black spots in the city where CCTV cameras could be installed to curb dumping of garbage. In June 2018, and after squandering Rs 19.8 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for implementation of an e-governance project, CCP approached IPSCDL to take up the same project.The decision to appoint IPSCDL as the special purpose vehicle to execute the Centre’s flagship Smart City Mission program has been a source of friction for CCP as the council feels that the civic body should be the implementation agency.

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