Nellore, which failed to make it to the list of smart cities in Andhra Pradesh in the Smart Cities Challenge conducted by the Union government, will now be developed as one in a private initiative taken up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
As per the memorandum of understanding signed between the apex industry body and the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday, CII will mentor smart cities in Maharashtra, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. Nellore will be that city in A.P.
As per the Smart City Challenge conducted by the Union Urban Development Ministry, Vizag, Kakinada and Tirupati have been selected for the competition among 98 cities from across the country. Of this, 20 cities will be short-listed as smart cities and given funding of Rs 100 crore per year.
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Although Nellore has missed being in that bracket, the CII initiative will enable it to raise funding from private agencies for its civic projects. CII will serve as the knowledge partner and facilitate investment from the private sector. The main thrust of the CII initiative would be to aid the Nellore municipality in working towards shoring up services for the city’s five lakh population.
Survey
As a prelude to this initiative, a Delhi-based consultancy surveyed the basic amenities available in Nellore and the population trends. Its report listed several priority areas: better roads, 24-hour power supply, augmented water supply and underground drainage, connectivity.
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In the process of implementing the CII smart city project, the local municipality will have to submit reports on works in progress at regular intervals. Based on this, future funds will be released.
CII will serve as the knowledge partner and facilitate investment from the private sector for civic projects in Nellore