‘Smart City Mission’ projects likely to be completed in 2023

NEW DELHI: The Government of India’s data shows that around 88 per cent of the fund assigned by the government for the ‘Smart City Mission’ (SCM) projects has been utilised. As of December 2, 2022, the government has released `34,675 crore, out of which `30,418 crore has been utilised. Work orders were issued for 7,738 projects costing `1,81,112 crore out of which 4,987 projects worth `92,439 crore have been completed.

A senior official said that the Integrated

Command and Control Centre has been made operational in several cities, including Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal etc. These cities are becoming cleaner day by day as they are using CCTV cameras for monitoring, resulting in reduced incidences of garbage thrown on roads, littering, urination in public and night time burning of garbage.

The Intelligent Transit Management System has helped cities in improving operational efficiency by reducing the cost of operation and improving the service level. Smart City Centres are also providing technical support to improve safety of women on the streets, generate sensitivity towards the environment in people, rapid response and better preparedness for emergencies and disasters. SCM guidelines say that the central government has to provide financial support to the extent of `48,000 crore over the period of five years to the 100 Smart Cities, and an equal amount has to be contributed by the respective states and UTs.

UP govt to challenge HC’s order on ULBs

NDMC budget 2023-24 emphasises G-20 Summit

NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) introduced its budget for the financial year (FY) 2023-24, with an emphasis on preparation for the G-20 Summit to be held in New Delhi. Amit Yadav, Chairman of NDMC, presented the budget in the council meeting. Later Yadav informed the media that the council hasn’t increased property tax rates for 2023-24. However, tax revenue is projected at an all-time high of `1,150.00 crore. Apart from that, the budget for health and education sector has also been increased. Yadav also said that the council presented a forward-looking budget with a surplus of `224.98 crore in the current financial year and `583.29 crore for the financial year 2023-24 against `178.95 crore surplus projected in its budget estimate for 2022-23. The budget for the upcoming fiscal year shows a significant increase in the receipt and expenditure of the council. While keeping in mind the 7.25 per cent increase in receipts at `4,743 crore, the NDMC budget is self-sustainable with a net surplus of `583.29 crore.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has made it clear that the state government will not hold Urban Local Body (ULB) polls without providing reservation benefits to the backward classes. Therefore, the state government is planning to challenge the High Court’s order regarding reservation issues in the Supreme Court of India. The high court has ordered to conduct ULB polls without providing reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The state government is arguing that the earlier government has held the local body elections based on the same rapid survey adopted by the current government.

ULB elections: Voting held in 23 districts of Bihar

Voting was held for urban local body polls in 23 districts of Bihar, including Patna, Gaya, Ara, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur, on December 28. Voting began at 7 am and concluded at 5 pm. Apart from Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), 17 other municipal corporations, two nagar parishads and 49 nagar panchayats went into elections on Wednesday. Around 62 lakh electors were eligible to exercise their franchise in these municipal elections. A senior official from the State Election Commission (SEC) said that the results will be disclosed on December 30.

Karnataka assembly passes BMLTA Bill

The Karnataka assembly has passed the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Bill to bring transport and allied departments under one roof to decongest and manage traffic in a better way. The bill, proposed by Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai, will come into effect immediately. “The roads did not widen but every day 5,000 new vehicles are added to the city. The city has 1.3 crore people but soon the number of vehicles here will overtake the city population,” Bommai said. He highlighted the need for a scientific study and that, in this regard, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has been contacted for the same.