Holding its flag high as the cleanest city of India, Indore has added yet another feather to its cap by entering the final round of Smart Cities Award Contest 2020. Organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the contest witnessed 100 competitors and Indore managed to qualify for the second stage, leaving 96 of them behind. The demonstrations related to the projects have begun, although the date for the announcement of awards has not been declared yet.
Selected for a diverse range of projects in 7 of 12 categories
With the aim to recognize India’s most innovative and ambitious Smart City projects, the competition is being conducted under 12 categories. A total of 9 projects from Indore have made it to 7 of these 12 categories. The city has been nominated under all categories except Governance, Social Aspects, Urban Environment, Urban Mobility and Water. Last year, Indore had topped the list under the River Front Development category.
While the first stage of the contest records basic details of the competitors, the top 4 are chosen in the second round. The final stage involving the presentation of projects from the selected cities, commenced on Monday. Reports have stated that the CEO of Indore Smart City Development Company is making presentations for the city’s projects at the contest. According to the CEO’s statement, the city is nominated for its heritage conservation and restoration works at Chhatri, Gandhi Mall, Rajawada and Gopal Mandir, amongst others.
Being the only smart city that has gained lakhs of rupees through carbon credits, Indore has made its way to the economy category as well. The redevelopment project of the very famous Chhappan Dukaan food gallery has also been selected. What has garnered the maximum attention though, is the work of the Indore Smart City Development Company during the pandemic. The integrated control and command center and the facility of Indore-311 app for the home-quarantined patients, led the city towards securing selections under 2 prestigious categories.
Knock Knock
Selected among the first 20 smart cities in India, Indore often makes its way to the national headlines. The city aims to develop into a world-class metropolis that preserves the best of its inherited past while incubating new ideas for the future. With the recent addition to its list of achievements, Indore is not far from the day when all its dreams would be transformed into reality.
