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Solapur Municipal Commissioner Vijay Kalam speaks to Alka Kshirsagar about the exercise to transform the city. Excerpts:
How was the pitch for the smart city plan prepared?
The guideline was to prepare an implementable proposal that would reflect citizens’ aspirations, so a detailed plan for engaging citizens was chalked out using online and offline platforms. The best of consultants was selected.
Beyond the pilot project, how will the rest of the city be developed?
The entire city will be developed in three phases. First the pilot area, where around 1.5 lakh citizens live; then the surrounding area where 60 per cent of the population lives. The third phase will cover the rest of the city. Developing the entire city will take 15-20 years.
How will you tackle Solapur’s chronic water shortage?
We will adopt a three-pronged approach. First, reduce non-revenue water in Solapur (57 per cent now) to below 15 per cent. Second, treat 100 per cent sewage generated and supply the recycled water to the thermal power plant coming up. In return, we will receive about 75 million litres of raw water from Ujjani dam. We have also prepared a project report for augmentation of the water supply from Ujjani considering the demand for the next 30 years.
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