Smart Cities Council India successfully organised the third in its series of India-wide Promising Cities seminars in Kalyan.
On August 27, 2015, Smart Cities Council India held the third of its Promising Cities seminars in Kalyan, Maharashtra. Kalyani Patil, Honourable Mayor, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), the chief guest, addressed a gathering of urban development planners and experts from the construction industry. She pointed to the requirement of a ´growth centre´ for the youth, who need infrastructure like a business park for developing their entrepreneurial potential. She also said that Kalyan-Dombivli needed an education hub and pointed to the lack of even a basic institution like a medical college.
Taking questions from the audience in an interactive session, E Ravendiran, Honourable Commissioner, KDMC, said a host of social media platforms will invite opinions and views from various stakeholders over the next few months to gauge the needs of citizens in the move towards becoming a ´smart city´.
A number of experts addressed the audience on topics ranging from urban design and planning and rainwater harvesting to solid waste management.
Seema Redkar, former OSD, solid waste management, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), and Ulhas Paranjape, Consultant and Trustee, Jalvardhini Pratishthan, pointed out the importance of delivering the kind of smart infrastructure that would benefit the citizens of Kalyan-Dombivli, instead of adopting ´smart city´ models from other parts of the world and imposing them on India.
Last but not the least, Pratap Padode, Founder & Director, Smart Cities Council India, congratulated KDMC on making it to the shortlist of 98 smart cities and offered a number of examples of ´smart applications´ already adopted by other cities in the country. Funds to the tune of Rs 100 crore are expected to be released by the Central Government from January onwards to cities chosen for the 'smart cities' project. In all, the event was a success and provided an excellent networking opportunity for a number of industry stakeholders.
