If things go according to plan, Navi Mumbaikars will soon have dedicated bicycle lanes. Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) in its push to make Navi Mumbai a smart city is planning to have dedicated bicycle lanes, also known was a non-motorist lane, all around the city.
NMMC has, in the past few days, undertaken several projects as part of its efforts to qualify for the final list of smart cities which will be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 26, 2016.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Dinesh Waghmare, commissioner, NMMC, said, “We are having discussions to have dedicated bicycle lane all over the city. The plan is to cover the whole city; we want to discourage people from taking up private vehicles. We are studying on how much feasible it is. We are also planning to have the city map digitalised and upload it on the website of NMMC.” He further said, “Also, now citizens can register their complaints and pay their water and property taxes online after our plan to revamp the city. We have also planned to install solar panels on railway stations, gardens and all the government offices in Navi Mumbai.”
The union government has provided Rs 48,000 crore for the smart city project. It aims to provide Rs 100 crore per year, and the same amount is to be spent together by local bodies and state governments.
“NMMC also plans to have smart street lighting by converting to LED and using motion sensors. We are also planning to develop sea-facing promenade wherever it is possible. Also, there are plans to have the footpaths in the city widen and construct more footpaths for pedestrians. We are also planning to install more number of CCTV cameras in major junctions and important areas of the city,” said Mr Waghmare.
NMMC on Tuesday had also invited citizens and media personnel to suggest what more can the NMMC do to make Navi Mumbai qualify as a smart city.
The Union ministry of urban development has proposed 10 smart cities in Maharashtra. These include: Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Pune, Nashik, Amravati, Solapur, Aurangabad and Nagpur.
