I, with the help of Pritam Thakur and Subhankar Debnath, listed out the initiatives already taken up in New Town towards becoming a Smart, Green City. Here are some of these:
1. Vehicle Tracking System for Solid Waste Management: Waste collecting vehicles in New Town are under a Vehicle Tracking system. The movement and location of the vehicles can be viewed internally on webpage. Mechanical Sweepers will soon be under VTS too.
2. Online Building Plan Sanction: NKDA approves building plans on-line. Plans are scrutnised through software and observations are given through email/ sms. Digital Signature based building permission along with sanctioned drawings are sent to applicant through email.
3. Smart Car Parking Fee: Hand-held terminals are used by NKDA in designated parking lots to accurately levy correct fee and prevent loss of revenue.
4. SMS Information: Rabindra Tirtha events and other information are routinely sent to interested citizens through SMS.
5. Mobile based grievances: An Android-based m-Grievance application has been launched on Google Play Store which can be downloaded free. Pictures of problems like accident site etc an be geo-referenced and sent to the map in the website.
6. Solar City: New Town is a Solar City and many programs are being undertaken to reduce dependence on fossil fuels such as use of energy efficient LED in street lights, canal-top solar energy generation (under preparation) etc.
7. Green Building: In collaboration with CII, one utility building is being so built as to make it Green Certified.
8. GIS: Entire New town in being covered by GIS enabled maps for proper planning and MIS.
9. Bio-metric Attendance: All officers of NKDA and Hidco record their attendance in office through bio-metric devices. Leave accounting is done accurately through computerised data at the end of each month.
10. File Tracking System: Hidco Bhavan is Wi Fi enabled and file tracking is done through a computerised system.
11. Social Networking: Facebook pages of WBHIDCO, Rabindra Tirtha and Eco Park are active. Many useful information are communicated through these.
12. Just Dial: Eco Park is present in JustDial to guide visitors, get directions and other information.
13. iCar Software: Internally developed with help of PMU, this software manages car billing system for all vehicles used in Hidco for ease of use and accurate monitoring.
14. Webcasting: All major public events in New Town are now webcasted. Any user throughout the globe can log in and see events (such as Basanta Utsav) in real time, live.
15. CCTV: For security and safety, Eco Park, Hidco Building etc are covered by CCTVs. Work for Eco Park is going on.
16. Optical Fibre Duct: Underground optical fibre duct has been laid throughout the New Town for laying OFC by users.
16, Wi Fi Corridor: Planning phase of Wi Fi Corridor along MAR has begun
Thanks for the detailed writeup on the smartcity initiative and the ideas that are described there. We need to get this published in media ( particularly English press) so that New Town slowly get a perception as a smart city all across India.
ReplyDeleteI have a few more ideas:
1. Separate websites for Rabindra Tirtha, Nazrul Tirtha as well as Eco park . People should be able to book things online like tickets, open air theater, auditoriums, island conference hall in Eco Park which can also be used for marriage halls. Ticket prices should be demand based for popular plays, events etc so that HIDCO also earn a generous revenue.
2, Online building plan sanction for the surrounding Mouzas as well.
3. A smartphone based app to locate free bay in parking areas so that in peakhours can quickly figure out in which parking zone which parking slot is free. This in turn will reduce illegitimate parking as well as increase the Govt Revenue.
4. Battery operated 3 wheelers in collaboration with WBREDA like the one you mentioned in your blog post. http://principalsecretarysblog.blogspot.in/2012/04/carbon-friendly-transport-in-new-town.html
5. Compulsory rooftop solar power installation as a part of building plan approval in all residential buildings of New town.
6. Compulsory rain water harvesting as a part of building plan approval in all residential buildings of New town. This has been successfully done by Bangalore Development authority in last few years. This revives the ground water level during monsoon.
7. WIFI to be extended in all roads of New Town. We cant imagine the drastic impact of this at this point in time. A whole generation will grow up thinking internet to be as basic a thing as electricity and water. Mindset changes because of these initiatives and global R&D companies will use this as testbed to develop multiple applications.
Without any smart city support by Karnataka Govt, CISCO is trying to develop an Internet-of-Things (IOT) lab in E-City Bangalore by developing it as a smart city. Why Bangalore was chosen? Because of perception as tech-savvy city.We need to create that perception for New Town.
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/cisco-to-transform-bangalores-electronics-city-into-a-smart-city-551864
If we want to promote tourism in New Town along with smart city initiatives, we should have smart cards ( where money can be preloaded) to be used in Eco Park, Rabindra Tirtha , Nazrul Tirtha and also Aquatica ( if HICO can collaborate with Aquatica Management). Govt will get money before-hand and tourists will get a swiping card to be used all across New Town . These cards can be made available 24*7 from vending kiosks ( ATM-like machines) at suitable places in New Town.
ReplyDeleteAbout transportation, we do need monorail and elevated trams in New Town. However the biggest need of the hour is an alternate connection to South Kolkata byepassing Chingrihata ( an area of major traffic snarl).
ReplyDeleteIf we can make the proposed road connect to somewhere in Basanti Road, not only traffic will be byepassed in Chingrihata but also in Science City junction and this will be a proper connectivity with Bantala IT Park ( the current PWD road is really narrow and has become potholed just after 1 monsoon)
Very relevant and good suggestions. I will start working on these.
ReplyDeleteGood work sir, very inspiring the way you work..
ReplyDeleteI would like to add to Abhishek's points -
ReplyDelete1. For metro to be successful in reducing car and 2-wheeler traffic, well planned and reliable feeder transportation system is essential. The WEBREDA electric autos can play an important role here. These should be used to transport people from the interior areas of New town to the metro / bus stops on the major arterial road.
2. Provision for "park and ride" should be there at all major metro stops - where one can park their car / 2-wheeler / bicycle and hop on a bus / metro. Currently none of the paid parking lots opened are near the bus stops on the MAR. Also they do not have provision for bicycle parking - which should be free of charge to encourage eco-friendly transport.
3. A smart green city should be pedestrian friendly to begin with - encourage walking by creating footpaths all across new town - in most of new town it is currently non-existent - but some areas like in front of Sankalpa / below the MAR flyover in action area-I there are good examples of how footpaths should be ! The pedestrian underpass near DLF is a great initiative - we definitely need more of those !
4. Bus estimated arrival / departure information (based on GIS) should be provided at all important bus stops along the MAR. With Wifi along the MAR, connecting the display boards to the internet should not be an issue. Maybe if satellite based system is too expensive - we can think of alternatives like keeping RFID tags on the buses which can be read at every bus stop and the information relayed to the system.
5. Wifi coverage - I am sure a lot of residents would give up their current internet service if reliable Wifi was available all across their homes for a reasonable price. Pricing tiers should be bandwidth usage based - so that people cannot profit by sharing accounts with others.
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ReplyDelete