• Agra’s smart city plan to be vetted in Lucknow

    It missed the bus to smart city-dom the first time round but Agra is not taking any chances now. The city’s initial plan for the second round of Smart City Challenge will be discussed in a state-level meeting in Lucknow.

    The city is among 12 contenders from UPMoradabad, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Jhansi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Rampur are the otherstaking positions on the start line.

    No UP city qualified in the first round.

    Gaps in the proposal and new plans will be discussed in the meeting. This time, the city has entrusted the preparation of its smart city proposal (SCP) to Crisil Risk and Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, which drafted Solapur’s successful first-round bid. The same consultant will write Jhansi’s SCP as well.

    Over the past week, CRIS collected information about the city and verified facts and figures. It is also analysing the first round proposal for improvements.

    Officials said the previous plan was not weak but was hobbled by improper presentation. This time the emphasis will be on the implementation strategy for plans included in the proposal and preparing a better financial model.

    Agra municipal commissioner Indravikram Singh said, “A state-level meeting regarding the smart city project will take place at the regional centre for urban studies in Lucknow University, which is also the external agency helping in developing an SCP. The gaps which we have identified will be assessed in the meeting. New plans will be discussed. A presentation will be made on the initial planning for Round 2.” “The revised SCP has to be submitted to Ministry of Urban Development by June 30, 2016,” Singh said. Laquon Treadwell Jersey

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