Chandigarh - Important Numbers

Police Station / Post

	Telephone No.	EPABX - 2741900
Police Station  3	2740254	1439
Police Station 11	2747066	1311
Police Post  16	--------	1481
Police Station 17	2773951	1317
Police Station 19	2775173	1362
Police Post  22	2707849	1360
Police Post 24	--------	1363
Police Station  26	2790594	1326
Police Station 31	2662698	1460
Police Post  32	--------	1482
Police Station  34	2662697	1334
Police Station 36	2662995	1361
Police Station 39	2690906	1339
Police Post Bus Stand,Sec-43	--------	1413
Police Post  61	--------	1393
Police Post Bapu Dham	--------	1487
Police Post Bus Stand	--------	1342
Police Post  Pgi	2744262	1343
Police Post  Railway Station	2654766	1483
Police Post Burail	--------	1414
Police Post Dhanas		1468
Police Post Lake	--------	1445
Police Post Maloya	2643213	1355
Police Post Mouli Jagran	2738388	----
Police Post Neelam	--------	1480
Police Post Palsora	2688896	-----
Police Station Indl. Area	2657344	1329
Police Station Mani Majra	2734082	1457

Police - Other Units

	Telephone No.	EPABX - 2741900
Police Control Room	2749194	2201, 2202, 1351
Control Room (Fax )	2741652
Crime Branch, Sec-11	2746097	1408
Cid Branch, Phq,  Sec-9	2740554	2264
Economic Offence Wing	2724628	1420
Traffic Lines, Sec-29	2641542	1412
Vigillance Cell, Sec-9	2740012	1402
Vip Sectt., Sec-29	2654870	1426
Women Help Line, Sec-17	2705011, 2701874	1091

Fire Stations

	Telephone No.
Fire Control Room	101
Fire Station, Sector 11	2747820, 5034191
Fire Station, Sector 17, HQ	2702333,2703507,5034193
Fire Station, Sector 32	2655816, 5046070
Fire Station, Sector 38	2690523, 5046064
Fire Station, Ind Area, Phase-I	2655816, 5046070
Fire Station, Ind. Area, Phase-II	2642111, 5034192
Fire Station, Manimajra	2734656, 5046065
Fire Branch	5021619
Office of Chief Fire Officer	2703236

Gas Agencies

	Telephone Nos
Bindlish Gas, Sector 7	2790519, 2793649
Capital Gas, Sector 8	2781535
Parveen Gas, Sector 11	746958, 2746046
Ram Chander & Sons, Sector 17	2656609
Chandigarh Gas, Sector 17	2702926, 2702925
Bhatia Gas, Sector 22	2705205, 2705788
Shivalik Gas, Sector 26	2792073
Premier Gas, Sector 27	2650889
Nirmal Gas, Sector 30	2655747
Punia Gas, Sector 32	2603224
Bharat Gas, Sector 35	2603260
Parnam Gas, Sector 37	2690608
Jai Gas, Sector 40	2692588
Sukh Gas, Sector 45	2606123
Manimajra Gas	2735733
Farid Gas Service, SCF 216, Manimajra	2734064

Roadways Enquiry

	Telephone
ISBT-17 (Inquiry) Station Supervisor	2700006
ISBT-43 (Inquiry) Station Supervisor	2624413
Dy. Inspector, Depot 1 & Workshop	2650331
Dy. Inspector, Depot II & Workshop	2655028
Dy. Inspector, Deot III & Workshop	2701462
Haryana Roadways	2704014
Punjab Roadways–17	2704023
Punjab Roadways–43	2606672
Himachal Roadways	2668943
PRTC Enquiry	2624543

Helpline Numbers
 

	Telephone No.
Government Multi-specialty Hospital–16
Emergency	2768201-02
Ambulance	2782457, 102
Enquiry	2782457
EPABX	2549523–29
Government Medical College & Hospital–32
Emergency	2665253-58
Eye Bank	9814821212
EPABX	2665545-50
P.G.I.
Emergency	2746018, 2747585
Eye Bank	2756368
Blood Bank	2756480
EPABX	2744401
Reception	2756565

Railway Enquiry

	Telephone No.
Enquiry	131, 1331, 2653131
Station Supdt.	2658924
Tickets Booking ISBT	2708573, 2720242

Airlines Enquiry

	Telephone No.
Indian Airlines	2656029
Indian Airlines (Reservation)	2624941-43
Airport Manager	2656029
Kingfisher Airlines	2741419, 2741951
Jet Airways	2658934
Go Air	5076283

Funeral Van

	Telephone No.
Funeral Van	2780827

Theatres/Clubs

	Telephone No.
Tagore Theatre, Sector 18	2724278
Chandigarh Club, Sector 1	2743388, 2740144, 2740144, 2740206
Chd. Golf Club, Sector 6	2740350, 2740327, F. : 2741047
Lake Club, Sector 1	2749982, 2740281
Press Club, Sector 27	2653854, 2650970, 2656774

Electricity Break-Down Service

		Telephone No.
11KV, Indoor	Civil Secretariat	2740536
11KV, Indoor Sub-Station, Sector 1	Civil Secretariat	2740536
Sector 7	Sector 5 to 8,26& Kaimbwala	2794180
Sector 10	Sec. 1, 2 to 4, 9 to 11 & Village Khuda Alisher	2740984
Sector 16	Sec. 12, 14 to 16 Village Dhanas Khuda Lohara and Sarangpur	2780061
Sector 17	Sector 17	2703206
Sector 19	Sector 18, 19, 21, 27 & 28	2780070, 2780081
Sector 20	Sector 20, 30, 32 & 46	2712044
Sector 22	Sector 22 to 25	2706079,2723046
Sector 26	Grain Market, Transport Area, Timber Market & Bapu Dham Colony	2793328, 9876018700
Sector 35	Sector 33 to 37	2667641
Sector 40	Sector 38 to 40, Dadumajra, DMC Colony & Maloya	2696893
Sector 43	Sector 41 to 45 & Adjoining Villages	2667859
Indl. Area Ph-I	Sector 29, Indl. Area Ph.-I, Village Darua, Makhan Majra, Raipur Khurd, Behlana	2658512
Indl. Area Ph.-II	Sector 31, 47, Karsan Colony,	2655523, 2630475
Indl. Area Ph-I	Village Hallo Majra, Faiden & Bathana, Air Force & BRD Area	2658512
Manimajra	Manimajra Town, Indira Colony, Manimajra Rehabilitation Colony, Mauli Bhagwanpura	2731925, 2734014
66 KV Sub- Stations	Civil Sectt	2746067
	Sector 12	2747006
	Sector 32	2669419
	Sector 39	2694193
	Sector 52	2600824
	Industrial Area Ph.-I	2657143
	Industrial Area Ph.-II	2652227
33 KV Sub-Stations	Sector 17	2703206
	Sector 18	2774938
	Sector 34	2676027
	Sector 37	2693633
	Manimajra	2734014 Ext.
	Industrial Ph.-I	2655996 Ext.

Water Supply Complaints

		Telephone No.
Overhead Tank,  Sector 4	Sector 1 to 11, 12 & 17	5034180
Water Works, Sector 12	—	5034181
Complaint Booth Sector 15	Sector 14, 15, 16, 18, 21 (A) 22, (A&B) & 23 (A&B)	5034179
Water Works Sector 26	Sector 19, 20 (A&B), 20, East of 26, 27, 28, 21-B, & Indl. Area-I	5036538
Water Works Sector 32	Sector 20 (C&D), 21 (C&D), 29 to 34, 44 to 47, Idl. Area–II, Karsan Colony and Burail,	5046068
Water Works Sector 37	Sector 22 (C&D), 23 (C&D), 24, 25, 35 to 43, Badheri, Butela, Palsora and Dadu Majra Colony	2691280
Water Works, Sector 39	Aug. of W/S from Kajauli	5036536

Maintenance Complaint Booths

		Telephone No.
Complaint Booth, MLAs Hostel, Sector 4	Sector 1 to 5	2740057
Complaint Booth, Near Milk Booth, Sector 7-B	Sector 6 to 8	2794987
Complaint Booth Near Coal Depot, Sector 16-D	Sector 16 to 18	2770545
Complaint Booth, Near H. No. 2237, Sector 27-C, Complaint Booth Near Water Works,	Sector 21 to 23	2705542, 2266/23
Sector 32-A, Karsan Colony	Sector 27 to 30, Indl. Area Ph. I & II, Sector 32—34, 44—49,	2705542, 2266/23

Chandigarh

Chandigarh derives its name from the name of a Hindu deity, Chandi, and Garh, which means a fort. At this auspicious place, the construction of the city was commenced in 1952, and the city covers an area of around 114 sq km, with a population of around a million. The city is located around 238 km north of New Delhi, the capital of India, and on its northwest, at a distance of 217 km, lies the city of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs.

Le Corbusier (1887-1965)

To a visitor with discerning eyes for very minute details, Chandigarh would look like a living organism. It was planned to be so by the famed architect and town planner, Le Corbusier, a Swiss (naturalized French). The Capitol Complex of Chandigarh located in the northern part of the city is its head; the City Center is the heart; open spaces, gardens and lawns are the lungs; the network of roads and the streets are the artery and the circulatory system; the belt housing the educational and cultural complexes represent the conscious and the intellect; and the industrial estates are the viscera. The city of Chandigarh is a splendid example of modern architecture and town planning.

Chandigarh is a well developed city, and it has the unique distinction to serve as the capital city of two Indian states, namely, the Punjab and Haryana. Both the states are highly developed states of India.

Hotels and Lodging

There are many hotels in Chandigarh. The following is an illustrative list of some of the hotels. It is always advisable to ascertain about the facilities and amenities including the cost before finalising the booking.

Hotel Orange 35 
SCO: 301-302, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh, Tel:+91-172-5003333, 5052233, 5007616, E-mail: info@orangehotel35.com

Hotel Mount View

Sector-10, Chandigarh – 160 011, Tel: 91-172-2740544,274044,
Fax: 91-172-2742565, E-mail: hvm10@glide.net.in

Taj Chandigarh
Block No. 9, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh – 160 017 Tel: 91-172-5513000, Fax: 91-172-5514000, E-mail: taj.chandigarh@tajhotels.com

Chandigarh Punjab
Hotel Aroma: Himalaya Marg, Sector 22, Chandigarh – 160022, Tel: 0172-2700045-48, Fax: 0172-270051,30 Rooms, Rs. 1195-1745 approx

Chandigarh Yatri Nivas:
Sector 24, Chandigarh – 160 022,
Tel: 0172-2706038/2700050, Fax: 0172-2714061, 64 Rooms Rs. 500-750 approx

Hotel Heritage:
S.C.O. 467-468, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh – 160 022, Tel: 0172-2602479,2612921, Fax: 0172-601221, 14 Rooms,
Rs. 1190-1490 approx

Himanis Residency:
S.C.O. 469-70, Sector 35-C,
Chandigarh – 160 036, Tel: 0172-2661070/5, Fax: 0172-2661429, 17 Rooms, Rs. 845-1395 approx

Hotel Maya Place:
S.C.O. 325-328, Sector 35B, Chandigarh –160 022, Tel: 0172-2600547, Fax: 0172-2660555, 26 Rooms,
Rs. 1395-1895 approx

The Piccadily:
Sector 22-B, Himalaya Marg, Chandigarh – 160 022, Tel: 0172-2707521-3/2707575, Fax: 0172-2705692, 48 Rooms,
Rs. 2190-9990 approx

Hotel President:
Madhya Marg, Sector 26, Chandigarh,
Tel: 0172-2791731-33, Fax: 0172-270054, 20 Rooms, Rs. 1730-2495 approx

Hotel Park Inn:
S.C.O. 433-36, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh, Tel: 0172-2660111/4848, Fax: 0172-2660110, 26 Rooms, Rs. 1295-1550 approx
Hotel Park View: Sector 24, Chandigarh – 160 022, Tel: 0172-2706038, 2700050, Fax: 0172-2714061, 87 Rooms,
Rs. 500-1000 approx

Hotel Pankaj: Sector 22-A, Chandigarh – 160 022, Tel: 0172-2709891/2/3, Fax: 0172-2386078, 14 Rooms, Rs. 1100-1295

Hotel Regency:
Sector 35-B, Chandigarh – 160 022,
Tel: 0172-2709891/73, Fax: 0712-26049721, 25 Rooms, Rs. 1395-1895 approx

'Hotel Sunbeam':
Udyog Path, Sector 22-B, Chandigarh,
Tel: 0172-2708100-7, Fax: 0172-2708900,57 Rooms, Rs. 1095-2745

Hotel Shivalik View:
Sector17-E, Chandigarh – 160 017, Tel: 0172-2700001, 2703521, Fax: 0172-2701094, 108 Rooms,
Rs. 2400-5100 approx

Hotel Chandigarh Ashok - 4 Star Hotel Chandigarh: on NH 21, Near Chandigarh Airport. +91-172-3000312, +91-3000315 Price: Rs. 3000 - 5000
Products/Services: -
"Rooms and Accommodation
Wifi
Restaurant
Bar
Spa
Business Center
Travel Information
Meetings and Conferences
Parties and Functions
Swimming Pool
Lemon Tree Hotel Chandigarh: Located in Plot No. 3, MW Industrial Area Phase I, Chandigarh, 160002

Attractions
Chandigarh is one of the very few planned cities of India. It is a new city naturally can not boast of historical heritage. Despite this position, Chandigarh has much to offer to tourists: it presents to them a completely planned city and the city's layout, architecture, and the general environment reveal this pleasant aspect of the city. The city has several places of where visitors may enjoy the REAL Chandigarh along with "not to forget the Punjabi culture at its best". "sector 17"

• Rock garden
• Sukhna Lake
• Capitol Complex
• The Open Hand Monument
• Secretariat Complex
• The Legislative Assembly
• The High Court

Shopping
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Maps and transportation
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Getting to Chandigarh
In Chandigarh, there is lot of local chandigarh taxi service. One of most desireable taxi service providers are

Gagandeep Tours & Travels , they provide you online taxi booking services. Edit

Exploring Chandigarh
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Practical information and resources
Currency: Indian Rupee
Electric supply: 220 Volts
Time zone: Indian Standard Time (IST), which is UTC +5:30
Language: Punjabi and Hindi. One can also manage with Simple English.

Restaurants

Chandigarh has many big and small restaurants and they serve foods representing local ethnic cuisine, cuisines from across India, and from many other parts of the world. Depending on your location in the city at a particular moment of time, you may select one among the many restaurants dotting different parts of the city. Some of them noted below:

Indian Restaurants
Khyber (Sector-35) – Mezbaan (Sector-17) - Ghazal (Sector-17) - Mehfil (Sector-17) - Al kareem (Sector-35) - Memorable Moments (Sector-35) - Yellow Chilli (Panchkula) - Bazm Hotel (Shivalikview, Sector-17)

Chinese Restaurants
Chop Stix (Sector-22 & Sector-7) – Mandarin (Sector-17) – Shangrila (Sector-35) - Yo China ( Sector-9) - Yangstse Hotel (Shivalikview, Sector-17) - Magic Wok Hotel (Mountview) - Hong Kong (Sector-11) - Noodle Bar (Sector 26)

Multi-Cuisine Restaurants
Hotel Orange 35(Sector 35)- Connoisseur Hotel Maya Palace (Sector 35) - Rustles (Mountview) - Salad Bar (Sector 17) - Grapevine Hotel Aroma (Sector 22) - Copper Chimney (Sector-26) - Nimantran Food Craft Institute (Sector 42)

Fast Food
Mc Donalds (Fun Republic, Mani Majra) - Pizza Hut (Sector 26 & Sector 35) - Dominoes (Sector-34) - KFC (Sector-8) - Hot Millions (Sector- 17 & Sector-35) - Nirulas (Sector-9)

Coffee shop
Indian Coffee House (Sector17) - Eating House Hotel Aroma (Sector-22) - Round The Clock Hotel (Mountview, Sector-10) - Barista (Sector 17 & Sector 35) - Café Coffee Day (Sector-35)

Bars & Pubs
Blue Ice (Sector-17) - English Garden (Sector-17) – Nibbles (Hotel Maya Palace, Sector- 35) - Wild West Pub (Sector-35) – Cellar (Sector-35) - Silk Lounge (Sector-8) – Athena (Fun Republic, Manimajra) – Lava (Hotel Taj, Sector-17)

South Indian
Sagar Ratna (Sector-17 & Sector-35) – Swagath (Sector-26) – Sundarams (Sector-26) Kartik (Sector-47)

Food Courts
Club City (Sector-17) - Wah Dilli (Panchkula) - Fun Republic (Manimajra)

Bakeries
Monica’s (Sector-8) – Polka (Sector-35) - Cream n Crunch (Hotel Aroma, Sector-22) - National Bakery (Sector-19) - Golden Bakery (Sector-37) - Classic Bakery (Sector-44) - Oven Fresh (Sector 17 & Sector 35) - Hot Breads (Sector-17) - Elevenses (Food Craft Institute, Sector-42).

Nightlife
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Sector 17 Chandigarh is the heart of "Chandigarh". Main Landmarks & Shopes of Sector 17 : I.S.B.T Chandigarh, Court Complex, City Center 17 Plaza, TDI Mall, KC Mall, Neelam Cinema, All Branded Showrooms, restaurants, pubs, disco, Hot Millions, SBI Building, Local Head office, Bank Squire, Estate office, Fashionable Clothing Stores, Licensing Authority, Music World, Hotel Taj, Shivalik View, and many smaller businesses.

In the lower and upper levels of the plaza buildings, items to be found include tailoring supplies, and Tailors, Jewelry, Electronics, Awards manufacturers, Books, Fabrics/clothing and Regional imports. The plaza in this sector is home to many events, tradeshows, and concerts.





If there’s one thing that makes Chandigarh affordable to the middle class, it’s Sector 22. The market offers a complete shopping experience.

Sector 22 market is stocked with clothes in the latest fashions and styles. If you crave for traditional sarees and conventional salwar suits at affordable prices, then this is the place you should be at. Sherwanis, men’s wear like  jackets, pullovers, shirts, jeans, and kids’ wear like frocks, party dresses, jeans, are also available. Trendy bags and matching footwear are also available here. If you have a liking for artificial jewelry, then the few shops offering you the same will get you all excited. 

Locaed in Sector 1, the Sukhna Lake is also an important recreational stop for the local population as well as for the tourists. It lies on the eastern side of the city. The Sukhna lake is a three km long man-made lake which was created in the year 1958 by damming the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream flowing from the Shivalik Hills. In the morning one can see people jogging or strolling along its banks. The morning cool breeze here is very bracing and nourishing. The atmosphere is calm and serene and apt for meditating. The lake is a beautiful picnic spot and a great place for enjoying water sport activities like boating, yachting, water skiing, etc. This lake has Asia’s longest water channel for rowing and yachting. Apart from boating, one can enjoy oneself in the amusement park or enjoy eatables in the cafeteria. Those who have interest in ornithology can watch storks and cranes which make migratory stops at the lake.

Source:
http://travel.wikia.com/wiki/Chandigarh
http://chandigarhcityonline.info/chandigarh-sector-17.html

Owners of hotels, eateries told to maintain records of customers

Panchkula, January 21

The district police chief has ordered owners of cyber cafe, hotels, restaurants and other business establishments to maintain records of customers visiting their outlets.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Hamid Akhtar in a press note stated that the orders had been issued taking preventive measurers and to maintain law and order situation in the city.

The owners of these business establishments have been told to maintain registers of customers visiting them. They should also get identity proof from the latter.

They have also been directed to install CCTVs at their establishments and keep the recording of the same for six months. In case they notice any suspect or anti-social element in and around, the information must be passed on to police help line numbers - 100 and 0172-2582100, he added.

London's Southfields Gallery to host International Art Exhibition at Chandigarh from Jan 21

Chandigarh: The Southfields Gallery, London which is just a 5 minutes drive from the World famous Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, announced an exciting & collaborative project in India – A Mix Media Exhibition of European & African Art at the prestigious Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sec 16, Chandigarh.

The exhibition will be on from 21st till 24th January 2015. Details of the exhibition were announced at a media meet held in Chandigarh today.

The showcase will involve about 56 works of visual art created by established contemporary European and African artists. Said Mr. Kuldip S. Rihal, Gallerist, The Southfields Gallery, London, “This exhibition has been put together painstakingly for over a year and very unique paintings, sculptures & ceramics of ten talented visual artists will be showcased.”

 Three Artists from London Ms. Rosie Casselldon, Ms. Larisa Connnor and Ms. Violet also shared their stye of art with journalists at the press meet. Said Rosie, “My art works are based on Acrylics and there is a lot of addition of fabric, stones etc to the works. I will also be conducting a practical demonstration of the style of painting followed by me at the exhibition. I plan to make the session very interactive with visitors who will be interested to take to the canvas.”

Ms. Violet is a Technical Artist who specializes in Model & Sculptor making for Film and TV said, “I am quite enthused with the exhibition and have brought materials like Polymer Clay etc from the UK and I also plan to hold live sculpting and model making sessions.”

Another Artist Ms. Larisa Connor explained her works, “I experiment a lot with colours and my paintings have an element of surrealism and are abstract. The works depict a lot of emotion and passion for life.

The exhibition is unique as at the core of it will be educational art workshops, with visiting European artists working with the local community in Chandigarh. Before the Chandigarh exhibition Southfields Gallery has successfully held workshops in Delhi with schools. This exhibition will offer the opportunity to enjoy the diversity of the arts across our continents.

Event: Mix Media Exhibition of European & African Art

Venue: Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sec 16, Chandigarh.

Time :  Inauguration 2:30 PM on 21st and other days 11 am onwards till 7 PM

Dates: 21st till 24th January 2015.

SDMs to hear cases of building violations

Chandigarh, January 21

The three Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) in the city will soon get powers to hear cases of building violations and misuse of premises.

In addition to their other work, the three UT-cadre officers will have to share the responsibility of issuing notices and hearing the cases. At present, the Assistant Estate Officer (AEO) and the Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) hear such cases while exercising quasi judicial powers extended by the Estate Officer.

Estate Officer Mohammed Shayin said the redistribution of work would decrease the pendency of cases.

The Estate Officer is empowered to hear cases of violations under quasi judicial powers enjoyed under the Act. However, due to multiple responsibility, the Estate Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner in the past had distributed part of this work among the AEO and LAO.

A senior UT official said the work had been redistributed to balance load among the officers available with the UT.  
Recently, Upkar Singh had been posted as the AEO and he also holds the charge of Director, IT. The LAO also holds the charge of Director, Social Welfare.
Under the previous orders, the LAO was looking after Sectors 1 to 30 and the Industrial Area, Phase I, while the AEO was given Sectors 31 onwards and the Industrial Area, Phase II. However, now the work would be distributed among five officers. 
“Cases drag on for several years. At present, more than 1,000 cases are pending,” said an official. The cases which were pending for more than five years were under the scanner of the Estate Officer.

PINKY MURDER CASE

NBWs issued against juvenile accused for fourth time

Chandigarh, January 21

For the fourth time in the last two months, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anshu Shukla issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against a juvenile accused in the Pinky murder case.

The 11-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Palsora in 2013.

The prosecution had earlier informed the court that the accused had escaped from the juvenile home.

The same court had earlier issued warrants against the accused on November 29, 2013, then on December 11 last year and yet again on January 9 this year. Warrants were issued for the fourth time today.

While the UT police had arrested the accused in the Pinky murder case, the Mohali police had also arrested him for a murder in Dera Bassi. Several other cases were registered against him.

The case has now been adjourned to February 2.

There were four accused in the Palsora murder case: Sunita and Bhagat Singh, both residents of Palsora, and two alleged drug addicts, who were hired by Sunita to kidnap and then murder the girl.

They were Raj Kumar, alias Raja, a resident of Lal Pura in Rupnagar, and the juvenile accused from Faizabad. Raj Kumar and the juvenile accused had executed the crime.

As per the police, the two addicts had kidnapped the girl from Palsora on November 27, 2013, and kept her in the forest area near Sector 52 for at least three days. They sexually assaulted her before strangulating her on November 29, 2013, and then disposed of the body.

Chandigarh may become India’s first smart city

CHANDIGARH - Chandigarh could be the first Indian smart city as the government moves to create many hi-tech cities in the country.

Referring to the NDA's proposal to set up 100 smart cities in the country, finance minister Arun Jaitley said, "The first Indian smart city to be created probably could be Chandigarh. There are satellite cities around Chandigarh which are being created."

Elaborating on his point, he said Gandhinagar is an example of a smart city and towns like Noida and New Raipur are attracting foreign investments.

"Noida and Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi, New Raipur in Chhattisgarh ... these are recent experiments we have made and good experiments we have made. Foreign capital is available to them (since) we have opened up the sector," the minister said on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit here.


Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the first Indian smart city to be created probably could be Chandigarh.

Smart cities would be built in a way so that they have uninterrupted power, water, proper sanitation, efficient management of solid waste, decongestion of roads, last mile connectivity and effective use of ICT.

Several countries like Japan, Germany, Sweden, Singapore, Israel, UK, US, Hong Kong and the Netherlands besides MNCs have shown interest in building smart cities in India.
Smart cities to be called integrated townships
 The nomenclature for 'special townships' will be changed to 'integrated townships'. 

The state cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to amend the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act to carry out the change in nomenclature. Mantralaya officials said the term 'integrated' would mean that the townships would be economically sustainable as 20% of the 100 acres would be utilized for economic activity. 

This is a precursor to the government creating 134 new townships across Maharashtra, which will be developed as 'smart cities'. A new set of development control regulations will be framed for these townships. "The walk-to-work concept can materialize only if we create sustainable townships," said an official. Most of these townships are being envisaged near Mumbai and Pune. 

Cities must compete with each other for 'smart city' tag

Cities trying to make it to the list of "Smart Cities" would have to compete with each other. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly said there should be competition among city authorities to assess their preparedness and capability to undertake this ambitious task. 

Sources said while chairing a high-level meeting on his flagship smart city initiative on Monday, PM said that cities where authorities and local government are serious in enacting reforms in urban governance should be selected under this scheme. So, the selection will be based on a city's performance and initiatives it has taken for good governance, cleanliness and urban reforms besides having some economic activity. 

A government release said the PM has called for identifying parameters that could be laid down for smart cities. "He asked officials to identify the basics of infrastructure, quality of life, and citizen-centric services that would be essential to cities of the 21st century. He said cities should be identified as hubs of economic activity... He said one of the aims of the smart city initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country," it said.

Modi has also said that focus of such cities should be on "waste to wealth" - solid waste management and waste water treatment - and government officials need to visualize "urban-dependent" population in addition to "urban" population while planning for smart cities. 

Modi has also asked the urban development ministry to convene a workshop of all central and state urban development authorities soon to focus on legal reforms related to urban development. Sources said the authorities and state government officials would be told about the criteria to select smart cities and they would be asked to provide necessary information. "Then there will be a screening or evaluation by an expert committee to include a city in the list," a source said. 

TOI has learnt that while the target is to develop 100 smart cities, government would take up a few of them. The scheme would include retrofitting in the existing cities, new urban areas, satellite towns and even a portion of the existing big cities.Government to set up 100 smart citiesNEW DELHI: Government is planning to set up 100 smart cities across the country that will provide all modern amenities, education and employment opportunities. 

Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the project of 100 smart cities is in conceptualization stage and details are being worked out through discussions with all stake-holders, including state governments. 

"The cities are yet to be identified," he said. The minister said education, employment and entertainment are considered to be the key factors which forced people to migrate from rural areas to urban centres. 

"Opportunities of education, employment and entertainment are concentrated mostly in urban and semi-urban centres and these three factors are forcing more and more people to leave rural areas and migrate to towns and cities," he said. 

Naidu said Census of India has projected the urban population till 2026 and by that year, the country's urban population which was 27.8 per cent in 2001 is expected to increase to 38.2 per cent. 

The minister said in terms of the total urban population, it is at 31.6 per cent as per 2011 Census, while the World Urbanization Prospectus shows the level of urbanisation in 2011 in China 50.6 per cent, in Indonesia 50.7 per cent, in South Africa 62 per cent and in Brazil 84.6 per cent.Dec-end was deadline for smart cities planNEW DELHI: With the urban development ministry still caught up in preparing the concept note for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 100 smart cities scheme, the PMO has set this month end as the deadline to make a final presentation. Sources said the deadline is aimed at fast-tracking the scheme so that some work can start by the end of this financial year.

The ministry is staring at surrendering most of the Rs 6,274 crore budget allocated this year for the smart cities programme and a new mission for renewal of urban infrastructure in place of JNNURM. TOI has learnt that so far about Rs 800 crore from this allocation has been utilized under urban transport head and another Rs 200 crore could be used by March. 

Since the conceptualization of smart city project and the new mission to replace JNNURM are still under process, there is hardly any scope for the ministry to utilize substantial allocation. "You can't utilize more than 33% of the unutilized allocation in the last quarter," a government source said.

Meanwhile, with the government yet to finalize the new urban renewal mission, the future of about 250 unfinished infrastructure projects in big cities under JNNURM is hanging in balance. The Centre has stopped releasing any fund for these works. Sources said the ministry in its new mission proposal to the Cabinet will include the provision to provide about Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 crore annually for such projects so that these can be completed. 

Pushing for completion of these projects, a parliamentary panel on UD has observed, "It would be a monumental waste of public money to have expended thousands of crores on incomplete projects only due to the lack of coordination and flexibility between Central and state governments. This would be a most undesirable state of affairs." 

The committee found that no urban infrastructure project has been completed in the seven mission cities of Uttar Pradesh while only 33 out of 71 projects in Gujarat, 16 out of 46 projects in Karnataka and 17 out of 50 projects in Andhra Pradesh have been completed. It has recommended completing at least all remaining projects of JNNURM within a time-bound manner and these should be funded by the Centre.Singapore offers help in Modi’s smart city projectNEW DELHI: Singapore has offered to build some of the smart cities that are on the top of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda.India is keen Singapore builds another Tianjin knowledge city that can be replicated in different parts of the country, an interest that was conveyed to K Shanmugam, Singapore's foreign minister. 

In an exclusive conversation with TOI, Shanmugam said, "Singapore wants India to succeed. A strong and vibrant India is essential for peace and stability in Asia." 

The Prime Minister wants Singapore to be involved in infrastructure activities in India.

"PM talked about ports and port management, skill development, building of smart cities, rejuvenation of India's rivers and water solutions. In terms of technology and experience in water solutions, we will share whatever we have," Shanmugam said.

Modi is keen that Singapore companies which are engaged in water management in Gujarat take on water solutions in other parts of the country as well, including rejuvenation of the Ganga, he said. 

The high level of diplomatic engagement will pick up pace, he said. "Our defence minister is due to visit next month. This will be followed by the visit of Ms Sushma Swaraj also in August.

In September, our former PM Goh Chok Tong will be here. Then our two PMs will meet at a multilateral forum. Next year, our two presidents will visit each other to commemorate the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations as well as the 50th anniversary of the creation of Singapore state." Goh Chok Tong was a Modi favourite at Vibrant Gujarat summit.

 A bilateral core group will be tasked to work out the details of the smart city that Singapore would be required to build, Shanmugam said.

"I suggested we can take this further where a small group of ministers from both countries take up these ideas and work with senior officials to give them concrete form. PM thought this was a good idea. The team can develop these ideas and by the time the two PMs meet later this year, there can be some kind of outline." 

India's ambition is huge, he said. "The Prime Minister is thinking in terms of 100 smart cities. Obviously we don't have the capacity to do so many. We proposed that we can do one city and that can be replicated as in China, where we have the Tianjin knowledge city, and smart cities in Suxhou, Guangzhou and Szechuan." 

India's focus, at this point, he said, was internal "as it should be". Therefore, it would not be proper to expect an Indian role in say the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. But an India that is an economic power will play a balancing role in Asia. "That's what we support," Shanmugam said.