Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, who holds the Urban Affairs portfolio, today informed that 17 Smart City projects are in full swing and the aim is to complete them by June next year.
In July, Meghalaya was ranked as one of the 10 worst-performing states as far as the implementation of Smart City projects was concerned, though the state government batted this away by blaming a late start for the poor ranking.
Today, Dhar informed that the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) will be completed by March. “For the other projects, we should be able to complete them by June 2024 since we are trying. Some of the projects under Smart City are the new Laitumkhrah market, new Polo market, multi-level parking, smart roads and others,” the minister said.
Concerning traffic congestion, Dhar said that only when the Secretariat is moved to the New Shillong Township, which will take at least two years, will the situation in the city ease.
“Imposing the odd-even system [of licence plates] has been a challenge. We will have to listen to the opinion of the public but we’re trying to work on a policy. We’ve recently held a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner too,” Dhar said.
Parking lots are now big business opportunities for landowners and more of these would also help, the minister felt, as it would take parked cars off the roads. However, the state does not have a policy to promote the creation of parking lots through subsidies or tax breaks but the minister, when pushed on this, said it is worth considering.
