Port Blair, Nov 29: The 7th Smart Cities Conclave & Award Ceremony, organized by BW Businessworld was held in Port Blair today. The Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Mr. Chetan B. Sanghi inaugurated the conclave as the chief guest in the auditorium of DBRAIT this morning. The function was attended among others by the Principal Secretary, Department of Urban Development, A&N Administration, Mr. Vikram Dev Dutt, PBMC Chairperson, Mr. N.K Udhaya Kumar, Secretary & CEO PBMC, Mr. Suneel Anchipaka, Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman, Mr. Abhishek Dev, other senior officers of the Administration, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld & exchange4media Group, Dr. Anurag Batra, representatives from 25 Smart Cities from across India besides stakeholders, Ward Councilors and students. In his inaugural address, the Chief Secretary at the outset welcomed the participants from the 25 Smart Cities of the Country to Port Blair, and congratulated Businessworld for organizing the Conclave in these picturesque Islands. The Chief Secretary further stated that under the Smart City programme, the A&N Administration has taken up logical and simple works. Informing about some of the initiatives of the Administration, the Chief Secretary said that power generation through diesel will be replaced by green energy in the coming 2 to 3 years time, after which diesel will not be used in Andamans. To reduce pollution, Electric vehicles have been introduced and the use of these vehicles will be intensified further in the Isles. Electric vehicles have also been made mandatory by the Administration under the replacement plan of the Govt. of India, the Chief Secretary said adding that electric scooters have also been introduced. Apart from these initiatives, the Administration will also be introducing electric buses very soon, he said.Referring that A&N Islands is having the largest civil shipping facility in the Country, the Chief Secretary said, a plan has been devised to reduce the usage of diesel for the boats to be acquired in future or they may be converted into electric boats. Feasibility will be checked if the existing boats can be converted into electric propulsion by retrofitting them, the Chief Secretary said.The Chief Secretary said that the Administration is making best efforts to stop the use of plastics in these Islands. Big marketing chains including ITC have been conveyed that the plastics brought by them will be monitored by the Administration and the same will have to be taken back to mainland by the marketing chain themselves. They have agreed to the conditions put forth by the Administration, he added. Mentioning that the young officers looking after the Smart City Projects have huge opportunity to execute need based development activities in their respective work places, the Chief Secretary urged them to take the entire concept of smart city to its logical conclusion. The Chief Secretary also informed the gathering about the recently held Home Minister’s review meeting for UTs, in which the A&N Administration also participated. During the meeting, the A&N Administration presented a Rs 20,000 crore investment plan prepared for these Islands in the next four years. The private investment has been planned and it is moving in a proper manner. However, the Administration has been asked to devise an investment plan up to 2025. Now, the Administration is currently working on a detailed proposal for up to Rs 30,000 crore investment plans up to 2025, he said. Saying that the Islands will benefit immensely through International trades due to its maritime location advantage, the Chief Secretary informed that a new Container Transshipment Terminal will come up at Campbell Bay, for which National and International bids have been received. Further, Ship to Ship Transshipment Port has also been notified. International flight operation will be starting soon as the Veer Savarkar Airport has been declared as an International Airport and about 20-25 domestic flights land here daily during tourist season, the Chief Secretary said adding that Andaman is going to become an important destination for the country. Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Secretary, Mr. Vikram Dev Dutt said that IT driven interventions and initiatives are the bed rock of ‘Smart Cities Projects’. He informed about the timely progress of Submarine Cable Projects and remarked that by June 2020, lack of digital connectivity here will be a thing of the past. Under Smart City Project, headed by the PBMC Secretary, with the guidance of the Chief Secretary, a lot of work has been done and a lot of thought processes have gone into uniquely bringing out the best of Port Blair, he said. Mentioning about few ambitious projects under PPP mode, which are taking off, the Principal Secretary said, ecological sustainability is the focus of all our planning and perspective development process. In his address, the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld & Exchange4media Group, Dr. Anurag Batra remarked that this is the 7th Smart City Conclave & Award Ceremony being organized by Businessworld with the objective to deliberate on Smart Cities and the road ahead. He also summed up the concept of the evolution of Smart City, the inclusive and expansive vision of the Prime Minister, when he launched the Smart City programme in New Delhi besides the positive steps taken by most of the Smart Cities till date and the need to retain the spirit and essence of the old city while developing it further. The Mayor & President, All India Council of Mayors, Agra Municipal Corporation, Mr. Naveen Jain while speaking appreciated the scenic beauty of the Islands, upkeep of the city and its historical importance. He also highlighted about the initiatives undertaken under smart City in his jurisdiction.
Partner & Leader- Smart Cities, PwC India, Mr. NSN Murthy elaborated on governance being the most important part of the municipal administration and the various challenges it faces in terms of creating fiscal governance and management of assets.
The Director-Innovation Business & Global Affairs, Dassault Systems, Mr. Deepak N G spoke on the need to collaborate with the Government to achieve the Smart City Mission and incorporating IT in Govt. initiatives, to build smart cities for a better and happy life. The Sr. Director, Digital Transformation Office, SAP India Pvt. Ltd, Mr. Subrata Das through a PPT highlighted on Smart City 2.0 imperatives such as insights of the mission and its achievement and the way forward, improving quality of life, economic growth, ensuring the flow of action from data to decision, asset management and sustainability.
The inaugural session concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by the Secretary & CEO, PBMC, Mr. Suneel Anchipaka. The programme was compered by Ms. Samhita Veda Acharya.
This was followed by technical sessions in which representatives from 25 Smart Cities and officers of the A&N Administration deliberated on the topics viz. ‘Transformation of Smart Cities under the four key components: Responsive, Intelligent, Connected and Sustainable’, ‘Robust Smart Cities through Intelligent Technologies: AI & IOT, Datacenters, Cloud & Geospatial Technologies’, Building Smart Cities of Future: Sustainable Infrastructure and Connected Ecosystem’, Innovative Solutions for Smart Cities towards Mobility, Connectivity, Health Care & Education’, ‘Inclusive, Equitable, Safe and Collaborative Cities: Smarter Way’ and ‘Smarter India- Inclusive Development of Smart Cities covering Culture & Heritage’, besides presentation on leveraging Digital Technologies for cities and Urban Planning, HPE Intelligent City Advancing the way India live and work, Security Transformation in today’s digital world and Empowering Citizens in Digital World.
The Smart Cities awards were presented to all the winners of the participating smart cities from across the country for various smart cities projects and initiatives.
