The Urban Local Bodies should strive hard to create their own income sources in order to accelerate the pace of development in their jurisdiction. This was stated by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over the review meeting of Urban Development Department here today.Chief Minister said that Smart City Mission was being implemented in the State under which Shimla Smart City and Dharamshala Smart City projects were being executed. He said that both these cities were important cities of the State from tourism point of view. He said that the project proposals of Dharamshala Smart City was of Rs. 2109.69 crore whereas of Shimla Smart City was of Rs. 2905.97 crore.
Jai Ram Thakur said that Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was being implemented in the State in Municipal Corporation Shimla and Municipal Council Kullu. He said that out of total allocation of Rs. 304.52 crore, an amount of Rs. 166.38 crore have been released under this project out of which 119.58 crore have been spent. He said that this project envisages augmentation of water supply, water treatment plant, sewerage treatment plants, construction of drains, foot bridges, foot overbridges, developing parking, green spaces and parks.Chief Minister said that efforts should be made to create and upgrade maximum parking places in Municipalities so as to ensure smooth plying of vehicles and decongest the already crowded streets.
He said that efforts should also be made to develop children parks and jogging tracks besides adequate pedestrian paths. He also directed the officers to ensure time-bound completion of various developmental projects so that they could be completed within the project period, particularly in case of Dharamshala and Shimla Smart Cities.Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government has recently launched Mukhya Mantri Shehri Ajeevika Guarantee Yojna in the State to provide 120 days assured unskilled employment to every household in urban areas. He also stressed the need for developing an effective tax collection mechanism which would not only generate revenue to the Municipalities but would also ensure better civic amenities in these municipalities.Chief Minister said that Swachh Bharat Mission was also being implemented in all the urban local bodies of the State with an objective to ensure scientific solid waste management, create awareness about sanitation and public health. He said that total cost of this Mission was Rs. 49.01 crore out of which Rs.34.08 crore have been released till date.Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj and Urban Development and Town and Country Planning Minister Sarveen Chaudhary gave their valuable suggestions on the occasion.Secretary Urban Development Rajneesh gave a presentation on various activities of the department.Commissioner Municipal Corporation Shimla Pankaj Rai and Commissioner Municipal Corporation Dharamshala Vikas Labru also gave presentation on Shimla Smart City Project and Dharamshala Smart City Project respectively on the occasion.Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Principal Secretary Finance Prabodh Saxena, Secretary Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Sandeep Bhatnagar, Director Urban Development Ram Kumar Gautam and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.