BELAGAVI: At a time when several infrastructure development works taken up under Belagavi Smart City Project has come under criticism from various quarters for their poor quality and implementation, surprisingly Belagavi Smart City has won the Inclusivity Award instituted by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) Smart Solutions Challenge for Inclusive cities.
The Smart Solutions Challenge is an initiative of the National Institute of UrbanAffairs (NIUA) and the United Nations in India to address the city-level accessibility and inclusion challenges.The initiative seeks to leverage innovative solutions for achieving sustainable development goals and provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible, green, and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
The category was PAN City Implemented Solutions and Belagavi Smart City won the first position for its Multi-Dimensional Inclusiveness in Education and Healthcare. However, shocked over the parameters based on which the Belagavi Smart city was given the first rank, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has questioned the logic behind giving such a prestigious award to Belagavi. Stating that the highest number of sub-standard works had been taken up under the Belagavi Smart City Project.