The Ministry of Urban Development is said to be actively considering the proposal of Kozhikode Corporation in the final list of the Smart City Mission project.
Sources said the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) had received a reference letter from the Ministry in this regard and had asked the Corporation to go ahead with the preparation of the Vision Document to be submitted in the Smart City Challenge. Kozhikode has to compete in the challenge round for the remaining 10 slots. The Ministry has already selected 90 cities, including Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
“However, we have not received any official confirmation from the Smart City Mission. About ₹25 lakh to ₹30 lakh will be required to appoint a consultant for preparing the Vision Document, apart from getting the approval of the city council. If the Smart City Mission selects Kozhikode, then the funds for this purpose will be automatically deposited in the account of the Corporation,” Mrunmai Joshi, Corporation Secretary, told The Hindu on Friday. She said Kozhikode had failed to make it to the initial list for various reasons while Thrissur came in the third position in 2015. Now, the final list was expected to be announced by March 2018, Ms. Joshi said.
In a last-ditch effort, the Corporation Secretary had made a presentation in New Delhi citing the case of Kozhikode which acted as an important node and trade centre of north Kerala with around two lakh commercial establishments.
The city had strong international, national and intra-State transport linkages and was well connected by road, rail, air, as well as water to different parts of the country and the rest of the world, thereby facilitating easy movement of people, goods and services.
Regarding the education sector, the city had over 200 private schools, 50 government and private colleges affiliated to the University of Calicut and prestigious institutes of higher learning such as the NIT and IIM.
