Rs 196cr received for Guwahati Smart City project: Minister

The Assam government has received Rs 196 crore for the Guwahati Smart City project from the Centre and released Rs 191 crore for it, the assembly was informed on Wednesday.

The Centre had released Rs 191 crore during 2016-17 and another Rs five crore in the following year, Guwahati Development minister Sidhartha Bhattacharya said in a reply to separate questions of Congress MLA Rakibuddin Ahmed and Asom Gana Parishad's Ramendra Narayan Kalita.

A slew of initiatives such as beautification of Brahmaputra riverfront and Borsola lake, garden at Gandhi Mandap, a memorial for Mahatma Gandhi atop the Sarania Hill, setting up 30 bio-toilets and 20 water ATMs, has been taken up under the project, the minister said.

IIT-Kharagpur, which was engaged as consultant, has suggested that electricity and organic fertiliser can be produced from the garbage and waste, generated in the city, the minister said.

Water supply projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission were nearing completion, while 50 per cent of the JICA water supply project has been completed, he said, while replying to a query of Atul Bora of Asom Gana Parishad.