Namchi, Jan 11 (IPR)
A daylong capacity building peer to peer learning workshop review meeting of Smart Cities Mission of North East region was held at a local hotel today. The meeting was chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoH&UA, GOI) Durga Shanker Mishra, he was accompanied by Jhanja Tripathy Jt. Secretary and Financial Advisor (MoH&UA).
Kunal Kumar Jt. Secreraty & Mission Director (SCM), Secretary UDHD (Govt. of Sikkim) Ganga D. Pradhan, members from MoH&UA, smart city delegates from Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and representatives from HUDCO, Bharat Electronics Limited and Gran Thornton India LLP.
At, the onset of the workshop Mr. Mishra laid the foundation stone for developing of infrastructure facilities at the cremation ground of Alley Gumpa which is under the smart cities mission.
Then, the Secretary with the team took a brief tour of the Namchi town, the smart city mission office followed by various other location which will be developed under Namchi Smart City. The Secretary was also briefed by Namchi Smart City Limited (NSCL), Joint Chief Town Planner Mr. Navin Rai on the plans, proposal and strategy curated by NSCL to upgrade the various areas in and around Namchi. Thereafter, the Secretary and the team visited Samdruptse and offered prayers to the statue of Guru Padmasambhava.
During his address, the Secretary, Durga Shanker Mishra spoke how Namchi was recently adjudged as one of the best town’s which has been performing extremely well under the Smart City Mission. He highlighted that under this Mission the selected towns should focus on infrastructure development which can in turn substantially elevate the living standard of the public. Mr. Mishra cited the example of Siddheshwara Dham in Namchi and how this pilgrimage destination has boosted the amount of tourist visiting the state bringing about range of investment value and underlined that projects like this dham needs to be build in other parts of the North Eastern states. He also emphasized that the North East is filled with unique natural resources which has an abundant space for qualitative structural development and encouraged the attendees to utilize these resources. Mr. Mishra also appreciated the Organic Farming initiative of Sikkim and urged the gathering from other North Eastern state to commence on similar kind of unique initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Mishra lauded the NSCL tie-up with South District Police Department and the development of the Mission Jyoti App which has a multi-platform access and aims to assist the Police personals and the various stakeholders to reach out to the public and ensure quick and smooth service delivery.
Speaking ,during the workshop Secretary, Ganga Pradhan spoke about Namchi and how this small town is on the verge of transforming itself as one of the most sought after smart town in the North East region. She also brought to light the aims and objectives of the smart city and informed that community participation and public engagement is extremely significant for any smart city to evolve.
During, the course of the program the participating states also presented a detailed presentation appraising about the status of smart cities in their respective states. Thereafter, the Secretary Mr. Mishra provided feedback and valuable suggestion on these presentation. A video conference with other 100 smart cities was also conducted during the workshop.