Govt wants to replace LPG with PNG in smart cities
Under its ambitious Smart City scheme, government has set the target to launch a plan to replace LPG connections with piped natural gas (PNG) in the identified areas which will be developed as modern localities. To make these urban areas greener and better, rooftop solar power will also be a major component of the scheme. There will also be more use of LED lights in such areas.
Sources said the details were presented at the meeting chaired by PM Modi on Monday when he reviewed progress in the infrastructure sector. “Since these issues relate to three different ministries of urban development, petroleum and power, besides the state governments, all the stakeholders are working in close coordination,” said a government official.
Though shifting the LPG connections to PNG in urban areas is one of the main focus areas of government, officials said smart cities will get priority since these will be showcased as urban zones within cities. Moreover, the smart city scheme envisages generation of at least 10% of its entire power demand from solar source.
“Even the management of electricity infrastructure and metering will be smart to improve the quality of power supply in these areas. Information technology will be used extensively for this purpose,” said the official.
Moreover, under the pan-city initiatives IT will be used for informing people about the traffic conditions, nearest station for getting public transport such as buses and Metro trains. “The focus is to make living comfortable for people. While improving physical infrastructure will be the primary focus, smart solutions for other issues will also be crucial to make such urban zones stand out. Once people start spotting the difference, there will be public demand on local governments to make their areas equally smarter,” a source in urban development ministry said.
Though a section in the ministry was more particular about focusing on “area development” under the smart city scheme, mayors and municipal commissioners from 98 shortlisted cities had demanded that pan-city solutions such as use of IT for transport and traffic management should get more weightage.
The urban development ministry will announce the names of first 20 smart cities by December end. In the next two years, 80 more cities will be named, which will get Central fund.
