Rs 500 crore sanctioned to transform Amritsar as 'Smart City'

NewsBharati    07-Jan-2018
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Chandigarh, January 7: In a bid to transform Amritsar, the city of the Golden Temple into a smart city, the central government has sanctioned a Rs 500 crore fund.

"We thank the Centre government who has facilitated us. I can joyfully say that the GOI after the Punjab government released Rs 50 crore, has given us Rs 500 crore to start off with the project. This is a mutual symbiosis where both benefit from each other," Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said.

“I think the prerogative is more from the side of Government of India, as we went there with little hope, but we have got everything," he said.

He added it was a constancy of purpose to evolve, become better and to make Amritsar and Punjab, as a whole, self-reliant and fulfilled with infrastructure.

"The Government of India sent a team and we held comprehensive meetings to deal with the development of the Smart Cities. We will prepare a comprehensive plan of about one billion dollars and we are going to request Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to put this forward in the meeting for this year's Financial Plan," Sidhu asserted.

He further said the future of Amritsar would set an example for others that this is the way development should be done.

A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres.