State will develop Gurgaon into smartest city: Khattar

With Gurgaon having failed to find a place among the top two cities that would represent Haryana in the Centre's 'Smart City Challenge', chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said the state government will develop Gurgaon as the "smartest city" on its own. 

"Gurgaon is already a smart city and the state government will develop it as the smartest city," Khattar said, while addressing the NASSCOM Product Conclave in Gurgaon. The chief minister cited non-inclusion in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme, which carries 20 marks, as one of the main reasons why Gurgaon did not make it to the list. However, when he was informed that Karnal, his hometown, is also not included in JNNURM scheme, and yet made it to the smart cities' list, Khattar did not have an answer. 

"The proposal is final and we have selected Faridabad and Karnal as the two cities that will participate in the smart city race. These two have been selected purely on their scorecard. While Faridabad has secured 90 out of 100 points, Karnal has got 87.5 marks. Gurgaon scored 80 points and has not been included in the list. We will submit the proposal to the Centre by Thursday," said a senior official in Chandigarh. 

Sources said in response to this, Union minister of state (defence) and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh has written to the chief minister to review the government's decision on selecting Faridabad and Karnal for the Smart City Challenge, and consider Gurgaon instead. "I strongly feel that Gurgaon is the most suited city for inclusion in the scheme. Its closeness to the national capital and international airport has given the much-needed impetus for expansion of the city as economic hub," Singh wrote to CM. 

He added, "The MCG has already submitted their resolution and other feedback and details, to the state government. It is understood that few marks could not be added to the Gurgaon city because of the correct picture presented by MCG where they have shown the operational and maintenance cost of water supply is 23% whereas other cities showed recovering full cost which may not be the correct picture." 

Singh has requested Khattar to review the entire issue after due verification of statements given by all municipal corporations, considered for the challenge, and then submit recommendations to the Union government. 

SOURCE: THE TIMES OF INDIA