Indore Collector P Narahari shares with Virendra Pandit the distinguishing characteristics of Indore’s Smart City Project. Excerpts from an interview:

How is the Indore smart city project different from those of other cities?

This is probably the only Smart City Project that has the support of a fourth of the city’s population. Our Citizen Consultation and Engagement Programme has been a mammoth success.

What is the biggest challenge in the implementation of the project?

To preserve the city’s heritage, particularly in the Rajwada area where retrofitting will have to be done in the midst of dense population and very heavy traffic.

How do you propose to fund the project?

We do not want to increase taxes. Of the nearly ₹5,100 crore project budget, we will get ₹1,000 crore from the Centre, the State Government and our own resources.

Plus, we hope to receive around ₹1,500 crore from the redevelopment of MOG Lines area and another ₹500 crore from other initiatives, like floor-area ratio (FAR) and transit-oriented development (TOD). The balance we will raise locally.

What new initiatives have you planned for the city, apart from the SCP?

We are planning to build about a dozen flyovers, and also stop-dams to check wastage of water, including those in the riverfront zone.

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