Kohima hopeful of next smart city selection

Our Correspondent KOHIMA, JANUARY 31 Kohima failing to figure in the central list of first 20 urban areas that will be developed as smart cities, has brought huge disappointment for the people of the State. However, all is not lost, Kohima is still among the 40 cities to be announced for the next ‘fast track competition’. The selected cities are to be equipped with basic infrastructure, public transport, IT connectivity and e-governance mechanism etc. All the remaining cities can upgrade their ‘smart city’ proposals and submit to the Centre by April 15, 2016 for inclusion in the mission. When contacted, Toshimannen Ozukum, Additional Director and HoD of Municipal Affairs said, though disappointed for not being listed in the first batch, he is hopeful that Kohima will make in the second batch selection of 40 cities.When asked about reason for failing to make in the first 20 batch, he said, stiff competitions among the participating advanced cities. He said, Kohima submitted 42 questionnaires for evaluation by a panel, and that selection depended on how the questions were answered to their satisfaction. He opined that among other things, the answer relating to revenue generation might have been one of the drawback points during the selection process since Nagaland has less or no revenue generation of its own. Toshimannen said the department and all those working behind the scene need to work harder for the second round of selection and to look into the areas that need to be improved. He also informed that Cabinet Secretary of Union Ministry, Government of India in a video conference told them not to be discouraged but work hard as Kohima has the potential to be in the winners’ list. Toshimannen is confident that Kohima will make it in the second batch selection of forty cities.