Seven projects spearheading Kohima’s smart city mission

Our Correspondent Kohima, Feb. 15 (EMN): The Kohima Smart City Mission (SCM) is progressing with as many as seven projects on track, according to a KMC official. Speaking at a media workshop on Feb. 14 in Kohima, the administrator of Kohima Municipal Council (KMC), Kovi Meyase disclosed that the Ministry of Urban Development has released a total of INR 111 crore so far with INR two crore as “advance for preparation of smart city proposal.” The state should contribute a matching share of 50% of the central release. So far, the state has released INR two crore as state matching share for the A&OE fund, he added. The administrator also updated the status concerning the fund for the Kohima SCM. The Smart City fund stands at INR 996.46 cr (50% state share and 50% central share); convergence is INR 197.71 cr (central/state/others); debt (loan (bank/multilateral),bond) at INR 409.00 cr; and PPP at INR 190.99 cr. In line with the SCM guidelines, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for Kohima Smart City Development Ltd was constituted on Mar. 9, 2017. The SPV will plan, apprise, approve, release funds; implement, operate, monitor, and evaluate the Smart City Development projects, Meyase said. Wapcos was appointed as the project management consultant for Kohima Smart city on Oct. 30, 2018, at an amount of INR 10.19 cr; and a contract agreement was signed on Nov. 22, 2018. It may be mentioned that Kohima got selected for the Smart City project on Sep. 20, 2016 during the second round of the competition. The Kohima Smart City Development Ltd (KSCDL) was then incorporated on Mar. 24, 2017, under the Companies Act of 2013, becoming an autonomous body ultimately. Despite the projects being delayed for some reasons, the administrator ensured that optimism towards the implementation of the projects has not ‘fallen short.’ With the cooperation and participation of the people, he expressed hope for the completion of the projects in time. He also clarified that there is sufficient fund for the projects, except for shortage in human resource.