The Times Of India, 15 Nov 2014, Aurangabad: Shendra-Bidkin in Aurangabad finds a place among the first two ‘smart cities’ for which the Centre proposes to roll out the final plans by the end of the current financial year.
According to government officials, “Seven places will be taken up in the first phase under the proposed ‘100 smart cities’ project. To begin with, the government has identified two places – Dholera in Gujarat and Shendra-Bidkin along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), where the actual ground work will kick off.”
Confirming the project, executive engineer Rajendra Gawde said, “The project is moving ahead with a great speed and, by this fiscal year, we can see some tendering happening for infrastructure development at Shendra-Bidkin MIDC area.”
The joint chief executive officer c, Mumbai, P Anbalagan said, “Originally, the decision had already been taken to develop Shendra-Bidkin as a smart city. It was considered as the early bird on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the central and state governments have signed an MoU in this regard.”
“In case of land acquisition, the project is well ahead at Shendra-Bidkin with major land deals getting completed four years ahead of schedule. The state government had spent a huge amount for land acquisition at Shendra-Bidkin,” said Anbalagan, adding that the master plan of the project is in the final stage and the special purpose vehicle process is also reaching its final stage.
“With the five-star industrial estate coming up at Shendra, the city has fallen on the development map. It was identified as the project location for the Japanese smart communities or eco city project and now, with the central government selecting it as one of the first two cities’, the project would get an impetus and develop at a much greater speed,” said CMIA president Munish Sharma.
“It is presumed that the tenders would be floated within three months and the actual project work would start taking shape after that. The first phase of the project at Shendra would include a world class exhibition-cum-convention centre, infrastructure for Shendra-Bidkin industrial city, multi-model logistics park and water supply project,” Sharma added.
Shendra will get a rare recognition as it has been included in the DMIC project. The project envisages introduction of innovative technologies through smart communities and sustainable development and improved quality of life. An investment of $400-500 from Japanese multinational companies would be possible at Shendra with the implementation of this project, said A M Shinde, regional officer, MIDC, Aurangabad. “The MIDC will be a nodal agency to implement the smart communities or eco cities project at Shendra in association with the DMIC,” he added.
Web: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Shendra-Bidkin-among-first-two-smart-cities/articleshow/45153781.cms