Ajmer has recently received the ‘Scroll of Honour’ by PM Modi for going completely cashless. For those who missed out the headlines, Ajmer is the first city in Rajasthan to achieve complete digitisation since the PM announced demonetisation. Inspired by the laurels bestowed upon the city, Team Ajmer is geared up to work on the Ajmer smart city project now.
This Wednesday (January 4), the district authorities established a Project Implementation Unit under ASCL (Ajmer Smart City Company Limited) for implementation of new projects. They’d conducted interviews for various projects. The results for the interviews were declared in a meeting conducted late in the afternoon. The list of selected candidates will be sent to Rajasthan government for final recruitment.
Ajmer Smart City Project to Target Key Sectors of Development
The ASCL has taken a historic step towards implementing the new project. Henceforth, team Ajmer will focus on clean drinking water facility and sewage system. They’ll also attempt to speed up the development programmes that have already kicked off in the city. Ajmer district collector has directed district officers to form different committees and sub-committees to monitor various projects.
- Budget Allocation
Ajmer has been sanctioned a total budget of Rs. 1,900 crores for providing various facilities of a smart city in 13 out of 60 wards. The total estimated budget for the entire project is Rs. 1,947 crores. Out of this, Rs. 1547 will be allocated to area-based schemes, Rs. 177 crores for project preparation, contingency, management etc. and Rs. 197 crores on pan-city.
Now, the remaining required budget for the project will come from various sources (Rs. 91.70 crores from loans, Rs. 145 crores from convergence and Rs. 737 crores from PPP models).
- Targets
In the first phase of the smart city project, the government will prioritise construction of roads and highways. The members of ASCL have made proposals on infrastructure and beautification of Anasager lake and the surrounding island. The state aims to develop this region as a tourist hotspot.
Other than this, the city will have a modernised bus stand and Wi-Fi zones in various regions. The ASCL will also setup of an entrance to Ajmer from Jaipur.
In the light of these new developments, we’ll see Ajmer emerge as a smart and technically advanced city.
