GUWAHATI, June 11 - A meeting held by the Pragjyoti Sanskritik Samaj on the occasion of Nagarik Divas (citizen�s day) at the Machkhowa Pragjyoti ITA Centre for Performing Arts today, called for steps to ensure the involvement of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) in implementing the Smart City project in Guwahati on a priority basis, said a press release.
The participants of the meeting, presided over by Samaj president Kirti Kamal Bhuyan, decided to approach the four legislators elected by the city voters, for the purpose of taking up the issue with the governments in the State and at the Centre.
The participants also resented the absence of any representatives from the GMC in the meeting despite a fervent request made by the Samaj to the commissioner of the civic body to send an officer for placing the official opinion of the civic body at the meeting. The GMC commissioner had also informed the Samaj president that one officer of the civic body was deputed for the purpose.
On the occasion of the Nagarik Divas, senior journalist and Assistant Editor of The Indian Express Samudra Gupta Kashyap delivered a popular lecture on the issue of developing Guwahati into a smart city. He narrated the evolution of Guwahati into a city and asserted that the GMC, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Kamrup (Metro) district administration will have no role in implementing the smart city project in Guwahati.
A separate department will be created for the purpose and the project will be executed under a public-private partnership arrangement. For executing the project, the Central Government and the private organisation will provide the fund at the ratio of 51:49. The private organisation will be responsible for accomplishing the project works, he said.
