Ludhiana emerging best smart city in state, 32nd in country: New rankings

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, February 27

Ludhiana is emerging as the best smart city in the state by ranking first and 32nd in the country, the government has confirmed.

The latest rankings released by the Union Government shortly have put Ludhiana on the top in the state and at 32nd rank in the country, officials have said.

This time’s ranking was the best for Ludhiana since 2020 when it was ranked at the 54th spot in the country. Since then, Ludhiana’s ranking had been constantly improving. From 54th rank in 2020, Ludhiana had ranked 37th in 2021, 48th in 2022 and 32nd in 2023, a jump of 22 spots in the past four years and up 16 ranks since December 2022. Last year, Ludhiana was adjudged second best in the state with Jalandhar bagging the top spot in 2022.

This time, Jalandhar has slipped to the third rank in the state with the 88th rank in the country while Amritsar has ranked 68th in the country and has stood second in the state.

The rankings were decided on the basis of various parameters, mainly depending on the progress of the works under the Smart City Mission (SCM), by taking into consideration details of projects completed, in progress, under tendering and still under planning, besides analysing the expenditure aspect as well.

Ludhiana, spread over 169 sq km area with a population of 16.18 lakh as per the 2011 Census, was among 100 cities in the country and three in the state, which was selected under the SCM to be developed as a smart city in the first round of the selection by the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in 2015.

The industrial and business hub of the north is fast moving towards becoming a smart city as envisaged under the SCM of the Union Government.

Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Shena Aggarwal, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ludhiana Smart City Limited (LSCL), told The Tribune, here on Monday that as many as 43 projects worth Rs 146.88 crore had already been completed while 27 more projects costing Rs 783.12 crore had been put under execution and were at present under various stages of progress.

Of the 27 under execution projects, the work on 19 projects worth Rs 582.9 crore had already been awarded and was under progress while other eight projects worth Rs 136.93 crore have been tendered out. Besides, the detailed project report was under preparation and approval was sought for another project, which will cost Rs 63.29 crore.

With this, a total of 70 projects worth Rs 930 crore were undertaken by the LSCL to develop Ludhiana as a smart city.

Dr Aggarwal said the progress of all undergoing projects was being regularly monitored to ensure their completion as per specifications within the prescribed time frame. “Besides making the projects complete on time, our main emphasis remains on ensuring quality control as well,” she asserted.

The MC Commissioner-cum-LSCL CEO added that all efforts were put in place and all stops have been pulled to further improve Ludhiana’s ranking on the national front by escalating the progress of ongoing projects and ensuring their early completion.

The projects completed so far included LED streetlighting at the cost of Rs 13.39 crore, development of smart school classrooms in government schools at Rs 6.26 crore, waterfront development and landscaping beautification along the Sidhwan Canal worth Rs 5.18 crore, façade light illumination of flyover at the Sidhwan Canal at Rs 2.38 crore, carcass utilisation plant at Rs 8.58 crore, procurement of sewer cleaning machines at Rs 4.44 crore, discharge of 200 cusecs fresh water into the Buddha Nullah at Rs 4.28 crore, installation of digital and analogue wayfinding and signages worth Rs 5.25 crore, installation of rooftop solar panels on existing buildings at Rs 6.54 crore, prefabricated toilet blocks worth Rs 3.1 crore, fabrication of firefighting vehicles on suitable chasis at Rs 6.45 crore, construction of government senior secondary schools in Ward 13 at Rs 3.34 crore, construction of top floor of existing multi-level car parking at DAC complex at Rs 4.75 crore, construction and commissioning masonry toilet blocks worth Rs 3.4 crore, construction of obligatory span on RoB and RuB on the Pakhowal road at Rs 45 crore, beautification and refurbishment of mini rose garden at Rs 3.49 crore, several parks were developed at the EWS colony at the cost of Rs 2.58 crore, and ancillary infrastructure was refurbished at the PAU hockey ground at Rs 82 lakh.

Projects under execution included retrofitting of the Sarabha Nagar market worth Rs 50.24 crore, 24x7 surface drinking water supply project at the cost of Rs 71.16 crore, setting up of the Municipal Command and Control Centre at Rs 36.73 crore, construction of the RoB and RuB at the Pakhowal road railway crossing worth Rs 86.47 crore, Phase II of waterfront development and landscaping on the Sidhwan Canal front from Dugri Chowk to Pakhowal Road at Rs 5.06 crore, rejuvenation and landscaping of Buddha Nullah at Rs 250 crore, installation of chain link fencing of 14-km stretch along the Buddha Nullah at Rs 13.39 crore, construction and demolition of the waste management plant at Rs 2.2 crore, compactors worth Rs 13.57 crore, refurbishment of badminton courts at Shastri Hall at Rs 2.08 crore, upgrade of leisure valley near the MC Zone D office at Rs 2.77 crore, refurbishment of ESI Hospital Road at Rs 2.45 crore, development of civil works for waste management plant at Rs 2.69 crore, installation of vertical garden along the Sidhwan Canal on Southern Bypass at Rs 2.18 crore and bioremediation of legacy waste at the Jamalpur dump worth Rs 27.17 crore.

Among three in state

The Union Government had selected Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar under the SCM for developing them as smart cities in the state.

Why Ludhiana?

Ludhiana is selected to be made a smart city for following reasons and purposes: Largest manufacturer of bicycles, can become the most bicycle-friendly city in the country. Creating a symbolic relationship with other Indian cities to promote sustainable practices around the country. To capitalise on the manufacturing base of the city for a sustainable growth. Projects to mitigate pollution and congestion, ensure safety on streets. Vehicle-free zones, bike highways, shared streets planned in a phased manner ensuring citizens adopt and adapt for a positive outcome in the long run. Being one of the most polluted cities in the world, Ludhiana to be made clean and green for reducing rising pollution levels.

Main goals

• Rediscover the bicycle capital of the world and align it with ‘Make in India’.
• Enhance the health and wellness of citizens.
• Reduce traffic congestion.
• Make a clean and green city.
• Ensure public safety.
• Enable e-governance.

Rs 1000-cr corpus

Selected cities were granted Rs 1,000 crore each, on the equal sharing basis of Rs 500 crore each by the Centre and state, which can be leveraged for getting additional resources for funding the project implementation/ execution under the SCM.

Smart cities in making

Our three cities – Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar – are close to becoming smart cities with the overhaul of the existing infrastructure and creating the best in class facilities for residents. We will ensure timely completion of all projects. — Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister

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