The Hindu 06.01.2015
‘Smart city’ plan for Ongole unveiled
Telugu Desam Party MLA D. Janardhana Rao has said that
Ongole would be made into a ‘smart’ city at an expenditure of Rs. 1,500
crore.
Speaking to the media on Monday, he said Union
Urban Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu had promised a Central
assistance for Rs. 423 crore to augment the drinking water supply to the
city from Gundlakamma river and strengthening its processing and
distribution network. Under the NTR Sujala Sravathi scheme, 24 reverse
osmosis plants would be set up to cover all divisions in the city to
distribute 20 litres of water at just Rs. 2 in slums, he added.
Drainage
problem would be a thing of past as the government had approved a Rs.
83-crore scheme to modernise the Potharaju canal. All drainage lines in
the city would be connected to the canal in the north and Nallavagu in
the south, he explained.
The ambitious plan included
slum-free Ongole, upgrade of the road network, setting up of a theme
park with boating and other recreation facilities at Rangarayuduchervu,
an auditorium and a stadium. Solar energy would be tapped to set up
traffic signalling systems at important road junctions. “We are in the
process of finding a permanent solution to garbage problem. About 20
acres has been identified on the city outskirts for a permanent dumping
yard,” he added.
House sites would be provided to all eligible beneficiaries on a saturation basis , he said.