Under CITIIS 2.0, Guwahati will get around Rs. 135 crore for circular solid waste management economy
GUWAHATI: The shattered Guwahati Smart City dream looks like it will revive again as the Guwahati Smart City Limited is likely to get around Rs. 135 crore under Smart City Mission 2.0, a year after it had stopped receiving funds.
On June 25, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the smart city project for 20 cities in the first list, in Pune; Guwahati was one of the 20 cities selected. However, even after five years, the time stipulated for the cities to turn ‘smart’, little has been achieved.
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As for Guwahati, the project ran into a road block as from April 1, 2023, the Guwahati Smart City Ltd (GSCL) did not receive central funds for the purpose.
A source in the GSCL talking to GPlus on condition anonymity said, “Actual works started from 2021 as prior to that the special purpose vehicle (SPV) was not able to utilise the funds provided by the Centre,” adding that initially the GSCL received Rs. 396 crore, but till 2022 it was not utilised. The GSCL could have asked for more funds only after providing the utilisation certificate for the previous funds received, which did not happen till 2021. So, from April 2023 GSCL stopped getting funds, but now it is likely to get around Rs 136 crores for solid waste management project.
To promote the reuse and recycling of waste generated in urban areas, Union minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in March 2024 announced the names of 18 cities that will get ₹1,496 crore as part of the CITIIS (city investments to innovate, integrate and sustain) 2.0 challenge.
The cities are Agartala, Agra, Bareilly, Belagavi, Bilaspur, Guwahati, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Madurai, Muzzafarpur, New Town Kolkata, Panaji, Rajkot, Srinagar, T’thapuram, Thanjavur, Udaipur, and Ujjain.
A source in GSCL said, “Under CITIIS 2.0, cities will implement projects promoting a circular solid waste management economy for the next four years,” adding that GSCL will work with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and implement the project for which Centre will provide around Rs. 135 crore.
Circular economy refers to a system where waste reuse, refurbishing, and recycling is carried out to decrease the use of natural resources and limit greenhouse gas emissions, said the official.
CITIIS 2.0 was launched in November 2023 and is funded by multilateral agencies through loans and grants. All 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission were eligible for the challenge, and the deadline for submission was January 15.
The proposals were evaluated equally on four grounds—sustainable development, innovation and integration, participatory approach and partnership and relevance, and feasibility.
“Guwahati participated in the challenge and the proposal was approved,” said the GSCL official.
The bulk of the funds amounting to ₹1,760 crore for this will be made available from loans of equal amounts (100 million euros each) given by the AFD (French Development Agency) and KfW German Development Bank. The minimum and maximum amount each selected city will be given is ₹20 crore and ₹135 crore, respectively. As part of the lending arrangement for each of the smart city projects, the loan amount will be repaid by the state government and the Centre, said the official said.
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When the smart city mission was flagged off by the Centre in 2015, some targets were expected to be achieved by the selected would be smart cities, like 24/7 electricity supply (with minimum 10 per cent solar energy requirement); smart metering and demand management; energy efficient street lighting; 24X7 water supply, waste water recycling, rainwater harvesting; solid waste management; robust IT connectivity and digitalisation; visible area-based development like overhead wires, hoardings, railings, paving, river and lake sides, drain edges; encroachment-free public areas; intelligent traffic management; smart parking; non-vehicle streets/zones; encouragement to non-motorised transport (walking and cycling); pedestrian-friendly pathways; ensuring safety with CCTV monitoring etc.
Talking about Guwahati which was selected in the first list of 20 cities, none of the above criteria has been fulfilled by the GSCL. In April 2023, it seemed like smart city dream was shattered but with the new funds likely to be provided to Guwahati, it looks like the dream has revived.