Kochi gets a push for Smart City

Kochi: The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) authorities have offered to provide technical support to the Kochi Corporation  to get the city included in the Union government’s ‘100 Smart Cities’ programme.

KMRL managing director Elias George made the offer during a meeting with Mayor Tony Chammany, standing committee chairman and other corporation officials on Thursday.

The urban planning experts of KMRL made a presentation on the measures to be taken to get the Smart City tag. The mayor wanted a detailed presentation before the corporation council that would take a final decision.

The Urban Development ministry is in the process of selecting cities from various states for the  ‘100 Smart Cities’ initiative and the state government has proposed seven urban local bodies, including Kochi.   

The norms  include setting up a complaint redressal facility, preparation of city vision document and development strategy document, e-news letter for the city, minimum five per cent achievement in the national sanitation mission of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and double entry account system in civic body office.  

The ‘Smart Cities project’ announced in the first budget of the NDA government aims at developing new urban spaces and also modernising the existing mid-sized cities for tackling the issue of large-scale migration of people from rural areas.