Chandigarh - Smart City, Smarter Facilities

Smart City Project Launched In Chandigarh

Our city Chandigarh has been part of an ambitious development scheme that promises to revolutionize the entire town as we know it, leaving behind a mere sliver of a place that it used to be. Rapid steps are being taken in terms of the projects, all as per the plans, which ensure a leap for the citizens residing in a place such as this. Offering a wide array of new facilities for all of its residents such as intelligent traffic management systems, car-free zones, wi-fi spots, a 24x7 water supply system, the Chandigarh Smart City Project that is being spearheaded by the pioneers of a better tomorrow promises a smart power system for the future years. 

The Smart City Operations Scheme includes the five following projects with a scheduled completion laid out over the next few years:

1. A dedicated cycle track shared with footpath at the Vigyan Path. 

2. A proposed urban park behind Neelam Cinema, Sector 17, Chandigarh

3. The construction of a subway connecting Sector 17 to the Rose Garden

4. A smart city operations center at PEC, Sector 12 

5. Smart parking at Sector 17 

The lump sum of the entire makeover of the city is slated to be at a whopping budget of 6,200 crores, out of which the money is split between area-based development, with the former consuming 5950 crores, and the latter taking in 250 crores. If the plan proceeds as per the ground works that it has been laid out on, the first phase of the project will rake in Rs. 200 crores. The operation is currently being handled by the Urban Development Center of Chandigarh. Out of the estimated 200 crores, 100 have already been received by the Chandigarh Administration for a task requiring such grand measures. 

Dedicated Cycle Track

Following an investment of a budget as high as the one that has currently gone in the works of making a smart city of such grandeur, there needs to be a change in the lifestyle of the people residing in the area of this future smart city. As the technology of the city rises to play a more critical role, the vision of this city aims at maintaining sustainability as well. With several other projects that are underway in a bid to transform this dream into reality, plans like those to build a park at the end of the Neelam Cinema, a subway system connecting the Rose Garden to Sector 17 and many more are the culmination of a carefully thought out process.

Apart from these, there are four major projects that are being focused on, one of which includes dedicated cycle tracks shared with footpaths. This procedure requires the construction of 90 km cycle tracks all around Chandigarh, which is nothing less than a daunting task. Scheduled to be completed in December 2017, a cycle track of 9.2 km was inaugurated by UT administrator VP Singh Badnore recently on Vigyan Path. The track is said to have cost a total of approximately 1.4 crores and is for the benefit of the residents living in the vicinity of sectors 4 and 9. 

Urban Park in Sector 17

The second project entails the building of an urban park thrice the size of the famous Elante Mall, behind the Neelam Cinema in Sector 17. This project requires a land of 60 acres, which will be developed into the slated urban park desired by the authorities with a seating space of over 2,500. It will contain a variety of other features such as food courts, kids’ pay areas, amphitheaters, badminton courts and a lot more. The date of completion of the project is scheduled to be done mid-2018.

Subway between Sector 17 and Rose Garden

Other projects include a subway being made as an intermediary between Sector 17 and Rose Garden. This requires the making of a pedestrian underpass connecting the two, a 1.5-acre space and a few design features. E-rickshaws and golf carts have also been planned for this innovative project. Will finish completion in early 2018. 

PEC (Integrated Smart Center)

The Smart City operation program was kick-started in Chandigarh by honorable UT administrator VP Singh and MP Kirron Kher, who delivered empowering speeches recently and discussed the launch of this scheme very recently. Included among the 5 projects launched by the above dignitaries is a smart-city operations center at PEC University of Technology, Sector 12. What this operation will involve is a culmination of things such as the recording of data on an everyday basis. Next, comes the command control city operations center which will form a significant part of the city's smart city mission. Activities like the functioning of CCTV cameras, supervision of traffic, working of electricity poles around city roads and other areas will be taken a close look at. Movement of garbage and its transportation to the designated area of dumping will be carried out to ensure the work is done efficiently. This project if carried out to its fullest has the scope of reforming countless segments in the city. 

 Smart Parking System Sector-17

There is a fourth project that the project will cover in its bid to revolutionize the city, being a book your parking slot while you’re sitting at home. This will bring about the concept of smart parking where the machines will be connected to a central server, which will provide a preview as to the parking spaces available. With base fares starting at Rs. 10 for every four hours, the contractor has sealed the deal with a contract worth of 15 crores a year. 

Water Supply, Sewage Augmentation, and other topics will be approached by this scheme which is showing a lot of promise in its initial phases. 

Here’s hoping things work out as planned.