NMC: Joint panels to speed up pending Smart City projects

Nashik: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), in an effort to ensure timely completion of pending works under the Smart City Corporation, has decided to constitute joint committees comprising officials from the Smart City Corporation and the civic body.The move comes after the Centre decided to not extend the Smart City Mission beyond Dec 2025. Following this, the state urban development department issued a circular directing the relieving of the chairperson, directors, chief executive officer and staff of the Smart City Development Corporation, and handing over complete charge of ongoing projects to the NMC.As per the Govt Resolution (GR) issued by the state, five projects of the Smart City Corporation, with a combined cost of over Rs700 crore, remain incomplete and are now to be executed by the civic body.Two of these are major Kumbh Mela–linked projects that were underway under the Smart City Corporation. These include the integrated CCTV surveillance system and other smart components, estimated at Rs371 crore, and the City Network Backbone project involving the laying of optical fibre cable lines at a cost of around Rs128 crore.Both projects were originally allotted by the Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority to the Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. The remaining projects include augmentation of the water treatment plant capacity costing Rs102 crore, a desilting project involving installation of a mechanical gate in the Godavari river at a cost of Rs9.61 crore, and a SCADA project for metering water supply from sources, including major distribution lines and installation of water meters on commercial connections.Municipal commissioner Manisha Khatri said separate committees would be formed for each project to improve coordination and speed up execution. The objective, she said, is to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities from the Smart City Corporation to the NMC and prevent delays during the final stages of implementation."The Smart City Corporation staff will not be relieved immediately and will be retained for the next 6 months to help complete the projects. The staff is familiar with project details and certain Smart City works are under litigation. While the Smart City Corporation's CEO will be relieved, the remaining staff will continue until all ongoing works are completed within timelines," she added.