Rs 186 crore fund allocated for Smart City projects in Visakhapatnam

In a bid to propel the Smart City projects in Visakhapatnam, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department issued a Government Order (G.O) on Monday. As per the G.O, the State and Central Governments have released a collective fund of Rs 186 crore to the Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation Limited (GVSCCL). 

Visakhapatnam was chosen to be developed, under the Smart City Mission, by the Central Government in 2015. As part of the Smart City programme, 57 projects, which include uninterrupted water supply, sewerage system, underground cabling project, green space development, smart streets, shoreline protection, beachfront development, and others, had been proposed. Previously in 2017, a sum of Rs 396 crore was released to GVSCCL.

So far, 24 of the proposed projects have been completed, and 23 projects are underway. With the latest fund release, ten of the proposed projects, which were kept on hold, have resumed. Some of these are a well-furnished sewerage network in the city, the retrofitting of the sewerage treatment plant at Appu Ghar and One Town Area, and an indoor sports arena at MVP Colony.

The Smart City Mission is urban renewal, and retrofitting programme, launched by the Government of India, in 2015. The mission envisions to transform 100 cities across the country into self-sustainable cities.