Haphazard traffic, choking pollution and lack of clean open spaces in one of Punjab's biggest cities, Ludhiana will soon be a thing of past.
Ludhiana is the only city from Punjab on the list of 20 Indian cities selected as part of the first batch of the Smart City initiative. New Delhi Municipal Council area is the only other entry from North India.
The selection was made from a list of 97 cities shortlisted earlier under the “Smart City Challenge Competition”. India's Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu listed some of the factors that helped Ludhiana to make it to Top 20.
He said it was Asia’s largest hub for bicycle manufacturing and was envisioned to be the most bicycle-friendly city in the country. Besides, it had selected 790 acres for retrofitting to exemplify and promote walkability, bicycling and healthy living; proposed GPS-enabled smart e-rickshaw to replace diesel autorickshaws; and use of the GIS-enabled system to levy property tax, he said.
Ludhiana put the total cost of developing the city at Rs 1,049.28 crore (AUD 218 million). Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Commissioner GK Singh told The Tribune that with the funding of Rs 200 crore, work would be initiated on environment development, public transport system, solid-waste management and retrofitting of the commercial hub of Ghumar Mandi.
“We plan to make some areas vehicle-free zones, lay footpaths and allow parking spaces away from the markets,” he said.
The India Smart Cities Challenge was a competition for municipal leaders and their partners to promote economic opportunity in India, improve governance, and produce better results for urban residents.
