Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 22: The State Government has identified four cities-Jammu, Srinagar, Katra and Anantnag for development as Smart Cities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popular programme of developing 100 Smart Cities in India and urged the Central Government to relax norms for including Katra and Anantnag for inclusion in the Mission as they didn’t fulfill the guidelines laid down under the Mission.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the State Government after submitting names of four cities to Centre for development as Smart Cities has now sought relaxation in norms set for the Mission to develop 100 Smart Cities in the country as two of the four proposed cities—Katra and Anantnag didn’t fulfill one of the major norms of having above one lakh population.
In a letter written to Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naidu, Governor NN Vohra has sought waiver of the guideline that the proposed Smart Cities should have over one lakh population citing religious significance of Katra and Anantnag.
While nearly one crore pilgrims of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi ji shrine were visiting Katra, the base camp of the shrine, every year, about five to six lakh pilgrims visit Anantnag every year for annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath ji shrine from June to August apart from normal tourists attracted by the beauty of Pahalgam, which also serves as base camp for Amarnath ji shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas.
“Jammu and Srinagar, which serve as rotational capital cities of Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu during winters and Srinagar during summers), fulfilled all criteria laid down by the Government of India for development as Smart Cities but Katra and Anantnag didn’t,’’ sources said, adding that in view of importance of Katra and Anantnag due to attraction of large number of pilgrims and other tourists, the State Government has not only proposed them for development as Smart Cities but also sought relaxation in the norms to include them in the list of total 100 Cities to be taken up for development as Smart Cities in India.
“In his letter, the Government has also sought relaxation of the population norms for the coverage of urban areas/towns so that the towns in Jammu and Kashmir, which have a population of less than one lakh, could also be covered under the Smart Cities Mission on the ground that 50 per cent of urban population in Jammu and Kashmir lives in relatively small towns, characteristics of the geography of the State,’’ sources said.
Sources said the Smart Cities to be part of the Union Government’s ambitious project will be picked by a competition. “The criteria would be how well they have implemented some of the Prime Minister’s campaigns-including the Swachh Bharat and Make in India,’’ they added. The other parameters could be infrastructure, quality of life, and citizen-centric services.
The Rs 7060 crore project is meant to be a Public-Private Partnership, for which the Union Government expects collaboration from US, France, Singapore and Japan.
In his letter to Naidu, the Governor has also urged the Union Minister to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s grant of special dispensation for Central support being provided on 90:10 basis instead of 75:25 for implementation of three flagship Missions—Swachh Bharat, Smart Cities and New Urban Renewal.
Previously, the funding pattern for Jammu and Kashmir for flagship Missions was 90:10 (i.e. 90 per cent contribution by the Centre Government and 10 per cent by the State Government). However, for three new Missions, the Centre has revised the funding pattern to 75:25 (i.e. 75 per cent funding by the Centre and 25 per cent by the State).
In the letter, the Governor has proposed restoration of 90:10 funding pattern for Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the Central assistance for implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities Mission and New Urban Renewal Mission is limited to Viability Gap Funding which presently has to be shared in the ratio of 75:25 between the Centre and the State as against the special dispensation of 90:10, which was earlier available to Jammu and Kashmir under JNNURM.
Observing that Jammu and Kashmir is a resource starved State whose financial position has been further damaged by the recent devastating floods, Vohra has requested Venkaiah Naidu to sustain the earlier special dispensation of 90:10. The Governor has also pointed out that in J&K, legal and other constraints also come in the way of attracting Private Sector investments which are required for the implementation of the flagship programmes.
The Governor stressed that the grant of a special dispensation for J&K is essential to commence early initiatives for the restoration of the public infrastructure which has been damaged/destroyed by the floods and also progressively enable J&K’s infrastructural framework to catch-up with the standards which obtain in other parts of the country.
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