Principal Secretary to LG reviews Jammu Smart City Projects; directs for expediting tendering and execution of ongoing works

JAMMU: Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Nitishwar Kumar today chaired a meeting to review the progress of Jammu Smart City projects here at Raj Bhavan.

Deputy Commissioner Jammu, and CEO Jammu Smart City Limited, Sushma Chauhan; Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation, Avny Lavasa; VC, Jammu Development Authority, Babila Rakwal; Additional CEO, Jammu Smart City Limited, Satish Kumar Sharma; Team Leader JSCL – PMC, Pushpendra Srivastava and other representatives of concerned departments and agencies remained present during the meeting.

At the outset, the CEO of Jammu Smart City Limited (JSCL) gave a detailed presentation regarding the completed projects, to-date status of the projects under the implementation stage, and the ones likely to be started soon.

The chair was apprised about the current status of projects with IT interventions including Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), Smart Poles, Ad Panels, ITMS, Smart Cards, Display Panels and e-Bill Pay for civic services.

The Principal Secretary expressed satisfaction on the timelines for various projects undertaken and called for maintaining inter-departmental synergy to facilitate the timely completion of the ongoing Smart City projects. “It is imperative to follow strict timelines of the projects, especially in view of forthcoming Monsoon season”, he added.

He also impressed upon the officers to lay special focus on replicating the best practices of Smart Cities across the country and to adopt the latest available IT-based technological interventions.

The Principal Secretary directed the concerned officers to explore the feasibility for developing new parking spaces across the city, particularly in congested markets, after due consultation with all stakeholders.

He further instructed the concerned officers to install smart displays outside the newly inaugurated Multi-level Car Parking cum Commercial Complex indicating the available slots to facilitate seamless vehicular parking so as to avoid traffic jams.

He also suggested that JMC and JDA should explore the possibility of tying up with the prominent local artists and Art Schools in the city and engage them in painting murals and other socially responsible messages on the retaining walls which would enhance the aesthetics of the city.

Threadbare discussions were also held on exploring all possibilities to make the city modern and vibrant.