Rawat govt to re-send smart city proposal to Centre

With Dehradun left out of the first batch of 20 Smart Cities, Uttarakhand government has decided to re-send its greenfield based proposal to the Centre saying it is ready to consider the retrofitting option if its plan is finally disapproved.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who held a meeting with senior officials here last evening to look into the factors responsible for Dehradun not making it to the first list, said the greenfield-based proposal should be sent once again to the Centre for approval.
"If it fails to get the Centre's nod a second time and it becomes clear that greenfield-based proposals for the ambitious project cannot be approved, the option of retrofitting can be explored in consultation with all stakeholders, including the municipal corporation," said an official release quoting Rawat.

"There were three options on which the state government could have based its smart city proposal ie. Redevelopment, retrofitting and greenfield. Redevelopment would have entailed demolishing old areas and reconstructing new ones which was not practical for Dehradun.
"Retroftting in which drinking water supply, sewerage, drainage and local transport systems are taken up primarily was the other option but that too was difficult as the state government has already made huge investments in these sectors with a number of projects underway. In a scenario like this greenfield was the lone option available to the state government for a smart city proposal," Rawat said after the meeting.

Claiming that none of the cities which have made it to the first list had a greenfield-based proposal, Rawat said officials from Uttarakhand and other states whose proposals have not been approved have been summoned by the Centre for negotiations where it will be clear whether or not the state's proposal had any flaws or whether it needs some fine-tuning, Rawat said, adding if it is made clear that greenfield-based projects are not going to be approved, the state government is ready to consider the retrofitting option.
The smart city proposal sent by the state government to the Centre proposes to build it on 350 acres of tea estate land on the outskirts of Dehradun.

Greenfield development, which seeks to address the needs of an expanding population, entails introduction of most of Smart solutions in a previously vacant area (more than 250 acres) using innovative planning, plan financing and plan implementation tools with provision for affordable housing, especially for the poor.