CHANDIGARH WILL TURN OUT to be 'IDEAL SMART CITY': SOLANKI

CHANDIGARH, January 26: Chandigarh will become an "ideal Smart City" with all-round improvements being planned in the Union Territory, including in the areas of transportation and e-governance, Haryana and Punjab Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki said today. Efforts are also being made for providing round-the-clock water and power supply and ensuring environmental protection in the city which was selected in the first phase of the Centre's ambitious 'Smart City' initiative, added Solanki, who is also the UT Administrator. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 'Smart City' plan, we were confident that Chandigarh would get selected in the first phase. And that did happen. "As the Administrator of Chandigarh, I assure you that it will turn out to be an ideal smart city," the governor said in his speech during a Republic Day function here.In order to make Chandigarh a smart city, Solanki said, "We are making efforts to ensure 24-hour water and power supply, better transportation, environmental protection and e-governance." He further said that Chandigarh has "already taken the lead" in the area of e-governance. "Steps are being taken to make Chandigarh a smart city.These include e-Sampark, e-Jan Sampark, M-Sampark, e-Stamping, e-Education, e-Campus, e-Saksham, e-Payment and Gram Sampark.We have also formulated three projects which will be the lifeline of this city. "An MoU has already been signed for a Chandigarh-Mohali- Panchkula Metro-link. Another MoU has been signed to provide airport-like facilities at Chandigarh railway station based on the pattern of developed countries," he said. Chandigarh is considered to be one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture.Solanki also touched upon the contribution of Punjab and Haryana in making India sufficient in foodgrains. "In the industrial sector too, Punjab and Haryana have great achievements to their credit. We have world-class institutions that provide education in specific fields. We also have a modern rail and road network, industry, excellent communication services, latest technologies," he said. Talking about Haryana, he said that people there had through their hard work made it a leading state. "When it (Haryana) came into existence in 1966, doubts were expressed whether this backward state would ever become self-sufficient. We are proud that Haryana, once considered backward, is now one of the developed states," he said. -PTI