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Four years after its inception, only four out of the 20 projects listed by the Smart Kalyan Dombivli Corporation Limited (SKDCL) are completed, as per the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation’s (KDMC) record. The project faced several technical issues till early this year. The KDMC, though, has claimed that the projects have gained momentum since February.

Three out of the four completed projects are solid waste management that includes automated solid waste management, 10 metric ton bio-methanation plant at Umbarde and garbage bins at household level for segregation. The fourth project is installing LED street lights across the city.

The major projects that are meant to decongest the city’s station areas, improve parking facilities, waterfront development, lake-beautification and smart transport are still pending.

The commissioner, Vijay Suryavanshi, who is the chief executive officer of SKDCL, said, “The work under smart city was slow initially due to technical issues. The consultants were changed twice. Since February this year, the work has received a push. We have managed to hold three meetings of the city level advisory forum.”

Suryavanshi added that the tender for beautification of Kala Talao lake has been finalised. The work order for the most important project of Kalyan station, SATIS, will also be given soon.

The projects under the smart city mission were introduced by the KDMC in 2016. In the last four years, the civic body has managed to initiate the work for city park project in Gauripada, Kalyan (W), traffic signals and CCTV at major junctions in Kalyan Dombivli and a control command centre for CCTV at the headquarters of KDMC.

The civic body had proposed the projects worth ₹1,445Cr. Presently, the civic body has acquired ₹194Cr funds from the state and central government.

After almost 18 years, traffic signals are being installed at five out of the 20 major junctions in the city under the project.

Yogesh Dalvi, 47, social activist from Kalyan, said, “Even though the traffic signals are installed on a trial basis, there is no proper management. In some places, the signals installed are not visible from a long distance due to the advertisement boards. The installed signals are also defunct at times. There is a need for improvement in the signal management system.”

Residents of Kalyan-Dombivli claim that there is no clear picture on the status of most projects.

“I think the project under the smart city that we have been waiting for is the Kalyan and Dombivli station area development. Even today, we face a lot of trouble taking the station due to congestion. Traffic signals are a must but unless there is a wider road, what is the point in putting up the signals if there is congestion,” said Saurabh Joshi, 37, a resident of Paar naka, Kalyan (W).

Experts claim that the idea of a smart city was itself not clear and it was flawed. They claim that the projects planned in the cities are not implemented effectively because the authorities fail to look into the basic amenities at first.

Mayuresh Bhadsavle, an urban policy maker from Thane, said,“ In Kalyan-Dombivli, the station area development, which was one of the aspired projects, did not get a push as the stakeholders like transport authority, auto rickshaw unions or the railway failed to come to a common conclusion. Also, the proposal prepared by the civic bodies for the projects are data centric without taking into consideration the ground infrastructure. The traffic signals project does not make much difference as roads are narrow and there is no relief from congestion.

“Two major issues pertaining to the smart city mission are that it did not take into account the environmental needs and the support of local communities. For the water front development project, people from Koli communities were not taken into confidence. This affects the implementation at all levels.”

Bhadsavle also claimed that in KDMC, the commissioner has changed every one or two years, impacting the smart city projects.

Suryavanshi said, “The work of road concretisation and widening is already under progress. We are trying to give a push to all major projects that will help decongest the city one by one.”

PROJECTS COMPLETED

  • Automated solid waste management: ₹1.43Cr
  • LED street light pilot project: ₹0.62Cr
  • 10 MT bio-methanation plant at Umbarde: ₹1.88Cr
  • Garbage bins at household level for segregation: ₹1.35Cr

PENDING PROJECTS

  • City Park: The phase 1 work of the project located at Gauripada, Kalyan (W) is 14 per cent completed by spending ₹7.54Cr. The total cost of the project is ₹114Cr. It includes construction of a swimming pool, health club, auditorium, tennis court, restaurants, cafe and other facilities.
  • Control Command Room, Traffic signals and CCTV: This project is ready and will be opened soon. The room is set up at the KDMC headquarters near Shivaji chowk in Kalyan (W). It will help in monitoring the traffic signals and CCTVs and other projects under the Smart city mission. The work of installation of the traffic signals is under progress. Signals have been installed at five major junctions out of the 20 on a trial basis. The total cost of this project is ₹149Cr. A total of ₹20.67 has been spent on these projects with the completion of 25 per cent of the work.

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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sajana Nambiar

Quelle/Source: Hindustan Times, 08.11.2020

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