Gurugram to be smartest city of all, asserts Khattar

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, January 31

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said that India is getting 100 Smart Cities, but Gurugram will be the smartest of them all. For this, he reposes faith in the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

“The GMDA took long to come into being. It has been constituted to make Gurugram a city of dreams. The implementation GIS-based digital map of forest areas is a step in this direction. The satellite-controlled land tracking system will be a milestone in dealing with land encroachment and reducing green cover,” he said during the first meeting of the GMDA.

According to him renowned statek holders of city re part of same and the authority will be accountable to Vidhan Sabha to ensure complete efficiency.

On allegations that Gurugram’s revenue is not used for the city, the CM said: “Every rupee that the city generates is invested for its development. The government received pending taxes from builders and spent on infrastructure here.”

He made light of difference of opinion between him and elected representatives from Gurugram. “We might have difference of opinion, but there are no fights. We all stand together in every development initiative. Our thoughts or way of working might be different, but our goals are the same,” he said.

The meeting, meanwhile, approved a flyover on the Basai road and a railway overbridge (ROB) on the Delhi-Rewari railway line.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority also approved a four-lane flyover with a provision of Metro Rail and a four-lane underpass at Atul Kataria Chowk (Old Delhi Road) at an estimated cost of Rs 81.38 crore.

The development authority has started installing CCTV cameras. It expects that in a year, it will set up optical fibre backbone network within the GMDA boundaries, besides setting up the Integrated Command and Control Centre.