Bhopal's Smart City Ambitions Still Unrealised After Eight Years
SMART CITIES

Bhopal's Smart City Ambitions Still Unrealised After Eight Years

During this period, encroachments in TT Nagar have surged as government housing land that was previously cleared has transformed into slums. The smart city project, which promised over 20,000 LED lights throughout the city, has yet to reach this area. For two years, a nearly one-kilometre-long street near a tourism development property has had street poles but no lighting. BSCDCL has shifted responsibility to the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) regarding this issue.

BSCDCL released a green and blue master plan after facing opposition to smart city development in Shivaji Nagar. The claim was that 50 per cent of the ABD area would be green. However, hundreds of trees, some towering between 70 to 100 metres, were felled in the core development area, leaving plots vacant. While BSCDCL maintains compliance with green norms, city residents lament the loss of green cover in the name of development.

So far, BSCDCL has leveraged approximately Rs 3 billion from plot sales in the ABD area, attracting the interest of developers, builders, investors, and real estate agencies. However, post-pandemic, plot sales have not been without controversy. Meanwhile, more visible projects such as multi-level parking, garbage transfer stations, traffic management, and streetlights have been delegated to other agencies by BSCDCL.

The smart city project, which initially aimed for completion within two years, was inaugurated ahead of the 2018 state elections. With another state election on the horizon, empty skyscrapers dominate the skyline, failing to realise the envisioned smart development.

During this period, encroachments in TT Nagar have surged as government housing land that was previously cleared has transformed into slums. The smart city project, which promised over 20,000 LED lights throughout the city, has yet to reach this area. For two years, a nearly one-kilometre-long street near a tourism development property has had street poles but no lighting. BSCDCL has shifted responsibility to the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) regarding this issue. BSCDCL released a green and blue master plan after facing opposition to smart city development in Shivaji Nagar. The claim was that 50 per cent of the ABD area would be green. However, hundreds of trees, some towering between 70 to 100 metres, were felled in the core development area, leaving plots vacant. While BSCDCL maintains compliance with green norms, city residents lament the loss of green cover in the name of development. So far, BSCDCL has leveraged approximately Rs 3 billion from plot sales in the ABD area, attracting the interest of developers, builders, investors, and real estate agencies. However, post-pandemic, plot sales have not been without controversy. Meanwhile, more visible projects such as multi-level parking, garbage transfer stations, traffic management, and streetlights have been delegated to other agencies by BSCDCL. The smart city project, which initially aimed for completion within two years, was inaugurated ahead of the 2018 state elections. With another state election on the horizon, empty skyscrapers dominate the skyline, failing to realise the envisioned smart development.

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

CRCL, IIT Delhi Sign MoU to Boost Science and Ease of Business

The Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) toward trade facilitation and improving the ease of doing business. This MoU collaboration aims to foster R&D, innovation, and scientific excellence at CRCL, bolstering trade facilitation and regulatory efficiency.The MoU was signed by Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, and Shri V. Suresh, Director, CRCL, in presence of Shri Surjit Bhujabal, Speci..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

CAQM Sub-Committee Activates 27-Point Plan to Improve NCR Air Quality

The daily average AQI of Delhi has been hovering marginally above 200 threshold with forecast of slight improvement since last two days. Today, Delhi’s daily average Air Quality Index (AQI) clocked 213 (‘Poor’ category), as per the daily AQI Bulletin provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), owing to variable winds. In wake of the average/ overall air quality of Delhi recording ‘Poor’ air quality category ranging between 201-300, the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP met today to take stock of the current air quality scenario of Delhi-NCR. While comprehensively reviewing the a..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

DoT Launches Financial Fraud Risk Indicator to Boost Cybersecurity

In a major step towards combating cyber fraud and financial crime, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced sharing of “Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)” with stakeholders- an output from a multi- dimensional analytical tool developed as part of the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to empower financial institutions with advance actionable intelligence for cyber fraud prevention. This will enhance cyber protection and validation checks in case of mobile numbers flagged with this tool when digital payment is proposed to be made to such numbers.What is the “Financial ..

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?