Kohima Smart City Development Limited (KSCDL) chief executive officer (CEO) Kezha Theunuo claimed that more than 60% of the Smart City projects had been completed.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, he said seven projects were currently ongoing, which included four projects at city centre, local ground, battle tank, and slum area development.
He expressed optimism about the progress of the Smart City project and assured that completing the ongoing projects within the extended timeframe. The project was supposed to be completed by June 2023 but had been extended by another one year.
He hoped that the local ground development project would be completed by March 2024.
Referring to the multi-level parking that was completed sometime back but had not been opened for public use, the KSCDL CEO claimed that he had requested the state government for its inauguration. But, he disclosed that the government had a plan of providing a food court on top of the multilevel car parking, whose construction was currently on.
Dismissing rumours of unpaid bills, he clarified that all bills owed to contractors had been paid, claiming that everything had been cleared and that there was no outstanding payment to any contractor.
Regarding the CCTV cameras installed around Kohima town, he mentioned that as the cameras were installed prior to his tenure, he had inquired about the quality issue with the previous team, which informed him that the cameras were installed as per the agreement. However, he did not comment on whether any steps would be taken to improve the quality of the CCTV images or address the concerns raised by the public.
Theunuo acknowledged that monsoon had delayed progress of the works, disclosing that though there was a provision for drainage system improvement under the Smart City Mission, the funding ratio had changed from 50:50 to 90:10, resulting in reduced funding. Consequently, the improvement of Kohima town drainage had to be dropped from the project.
He maintained that as Smart City was a mission project for a limited duration, KSCDL was unable to address all public amenities.
Referring to the parking issue in the city, he expressed the hope that once the multi-level parking facility was opened, it would help ease traffic congestion, while roadside parking would be prohibited. He also claimed that in comparison to other smart cities, Kohima was ahead in its progress.
Meanwhile, as Smart cities and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR) 2.0 compendium is ongoing, KSCDL has tied up with Kohima Science College to undertake studies as per guidelines of SAAR 2.0 by signing an MoU as partner institute.
Registered under the Companies Act, 2013 on March 24, 2017, KSCDL was set up as special purpose vehicle (SPV) on March 9, 2017 for implementation of Smart City Mission projects.
The Kohima Smart City envisions “to leverage its geo strategic location to foster sustainable and resilient community led development, act as a regional hub for tourism and transit while preserving its natural and cultural assets”.
KSCDL’s objective is to lay out core infrastructure and provide citizens with decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment for a liveable future, and application of smart solutions.