The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has sought a detailed report from the local administration of Jammu and Kashmir for the execution of various development projects in Leh and Kargil regions. Reports also show that an official has ascertained that the ministry is contemplating over the inclusion of these regions under the ‘Smart City Mission’.  The Jammu and Kashmir administration was also offered assistance in building "economical" and "best quality" infrastructure by the primary construction agency of the central government ‘Central Public Works Department’ (CPWD). Prabhakar Singh, Director General of CPWD, has written to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam, saying it will increase its manpower in the regions for execution of developmental projects.  

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MoHUA seeks proposal for infrastructure projects in Leh, Kargil 

The Ministry official has said that, “We have asked the local administration to submit a detailed proposal to execute various projects for the development of Leh and Kargil. Once the proposal is submitted, we will examine it and release funds for the same.” When asked about the ‘Smart City Mission’ the official reiterated that "We are contemplating it". This ministry has asked for a detailed report after a month of Jammu and Kashmir bifurcation. The union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will officially come into existence from October 31. 

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Smart City Mission 

Under the mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015, the ministry has selected 100 cities, where 5,151 projects worth Rs 2.05 crore are proposed to be executed in five years. Jammu is also among the 100 cities under the mission. The objective of this mission has been to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to the citizens with the application of ‘Smart’ Solutions. Some of the core infrastructure elements in a Smart City would include adequate water supply, assured electricity supply, sanitation, including solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, affordable housing especially for the poor, robust IT connectivity and digitalization, etc. Bhubaneswar, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi are few of the 20 winning smart cities in the first round of selection.  

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