In an attempt to evolve a Smart City project proposal to fit local needs, the Local Administrative Department (LAD), in collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD), organised a two-day consultative workshop on Tuesday in Puducherry.
P. Jawahar, Secretary to Government (LAD), said that this was organised based on the second consultation meeting. “The first consultation meeting was very generic. The second meet was more focused and after analysing the inputs, the workshop was planned,” he said.
He added that the outcome of the workshop would be a tentative list of projects that could be included in the Smart City proposal. “We have collated opinions from nearly 45,000 residents,” he said. They have suggested betterment of the tourism sector, improvement of water quality and supply, improvement of transport and sanitation facilities.
Experts from AFD from France presented case studies of Smart Cities like Lyon in France and Essaouria in Morocco. They stressed on identifying the assets of a place and the preparation of a strategy based on local aspects. Case studies of Smart Cities in India like Port Blair, Bhubaneswar and Amritsar were also presented.
Mr. Jawahar said the workshop was in line with an MoU signed between the Central government and AFD. “As per the MoU, the AFD would assist in preparing the proposal,” he added.
