KOCHI: Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged local self-government institutions to explore ways to generate revenue, rather than seeking help from the Centre frequently.
Speaking to mediapersons following the state-level review meeting of the schemes and programmes under the Ministry of Urban Development here, the minister said the scope of public-private-partnerships should be explored in implementation of the SmartCity Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Rural Transformation (AMRUT).
He also asked the State Government to complete the procedures for formation of Project Management Consultant (PMC) and appointment of consultants for the Smart City Mission. The minister pointed out that though Gujarat had the highest electricity tariff in the country, the people were not against it was they wanted assured power.
While reminding the State Government to complete the detailed project report for the AMRUT project immediately, he maintained that Kerala had a good track record in project implementation.
Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Thrissur, GKOCHI: uruvayur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur have been selected for the AMRUT project.
“A memorandum of understanding will be signed with the Railways for setting up special railway networks in the selected cities. Also, the existing streetlights will be replaced with LEDs. Local bodies should use resources in a transparent manner, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform.’ Rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory in every house and solar energy has to be used in a fruitful manner,” he pointed out.
Speaking on the occasion, Kerala Local Self-government Minister K T Jaleel said a separate wing would be set up to supply water and electricity in the Smart Cities and AMRUT cities, for which a high-level meeting would be convened in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
Jaleel said Kerala would be declared ‘rural open defecation-free state’ on November 1. “The State has already received the share of the Central Government for the projects, and the State’s share will be released soon. We have submitted a proposal to provide housing for people who live in urban habitats, but own land in villages,” said minister.
On the occasion, Venkaiah Naidu presented ‘open defecation free’ certificate to Johny Kulampilly, chairman of the Kattappana municipality, which has been declared the first open defecation free municipality in the State. Jaleel also handed over a cheque of `10 crore to Suchitwa Mission executive director Dr Vasuki. Urban Development Secretary Rajeev Gaube and Kochi Smart City Mission CEO Elias George also spoke.
