Even after two years of Guwahati being announced as one of the upcoming smart cities, detailed project reports (DPRs) of many vital projects are yet to be prepared.
A source in the Guwahati Smart City Ltd (GSCL) said, “DPR preparation for major projects like Brahmaputra riverfront development, conservation and restoration of Deepor Beel and Mora Bharalu River development is under process.”
There are around 11 projects under smart city preparation plan out of which DPRs for 7 projects are yet to be prepared.
The projects include Borsola Beel development, Mora Bharalu development, Bharalu development, Brahmaputra riverfront development, Deepor Beel development, integrated electricity poles for smart lighting with a Command Control Centre (CCC), anytime water, smart public toilets, highest national flag construction, Gandhi Mandap development and a special road from Guwahati to the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Changsari.
According to the claims made in 2016 by the union ministry of urban development (MoUD), the DPR process of the project should have been completed within one and half years, which did not happen in the case of Guwahati.
Beginning 2016, Guwahati was selected as one of the first 20 upcoming smart cities in India (listed at No 17), after a contest was organized between all the major cities in the country.
A team had been formed by Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) then to participate in the contest. The same team which took part in the contest is upset with the pace of work.
None of the team members who had participated in the smart city contest are currently working with the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that was created to implement the smart city proposals. The SPV is GSCL.
Since the formation of the SPV, two managing directors (MDs) have already been transferred from the post within a span of one and a half years. Sources in GSCL said that such frequent changes of the MDs also affect the pace of the work.
The preparation of DPR for the Brahmaputra riverfront development was expected to be completed by January 2018; the new deadline now is May, 2018. The consultant (Tata Consulting Engineers) was hired in November 2016 and it is delaying the process, sources claimed.
