CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s proposal for 12 smart cities will be prepared following the new template, designed by the Ministry of Urban Development. They were designed after receiving proposals from secretaries and municipal commissioners of select cities in a meeting on November 3.
Officials from the 12 proposed smart cities have been asked to submit the proposal by December 15 for the second stage of evaluation. The new template offers 100 points, which are divided on the basis of city-based development, area-based development and pan-city solutions. The city-level category is allotted 30 points. This includes the city’s vision, goals, strategic plan, citizen-engagement, self-assessment and potential for improvement. It will be evaluated based on the city’s transportation, availability of water, solid waste management, security, housing and also energy availability. The area-based category carries 55 points. This element of the proposal will identify an area of the city through research, analysis, meetings with public representatives, and interaction with citizens. A base map of the smart city will be created, depicting physical, administrative and other characteristics such as natural features, heritage sites, areas prone to flooding and slums.
“Using this, one area will be selected and attached as a map containing a spatial and physical layout of the area, the street network, the open and green spaces, geographical features, landmarks and infrastructure,” say sources.
A pan-city smart solution proposal will be evaluated on the basis of whether the proposal would benefit the entire city through application of ICT (Information, Communication and Technology). The proposal should contain one or two such smart solutions.
However, it is the financing plan which will be a key factor in the success of the smart city mission. The evaluation would be based on the capacity of urban local bodies and the special purpose schemes to take up self-funded development projects.