Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates Smart City Expo 2018 in Jaipur

Jaipur: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Smart city Expo 2018 on Wednesday. The Smart City Expo is being organized by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) in association with Fira Barcelona International and Quantela Inc. at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre (JECC). The expo will continue till September 28.

Read also: ‘Smart City Expo India 2018’ in Jaipur from Sept 26- 28: All you need to know

Addressing the gathering, Naidu said that India is undergoing an ‘urban renaissance’ but he stressed upon the need for active involvement of the citizens and smart leadership for successful implementation of projects. He said that ssuccess of smart cities is dependent on smart vision, smart implementation and smart execution.

“The time has come when we should think about how our cities will shape up in the next 30-40 years. We should come up with development plans accordingly. Projects such as ring roads and public transports are very important for developing smart cities in the true sense of the word,” said Naidu.

The idea behind the Smart City Project is to develop liveable, comfortable and prosperous cities, vice president added.

Opening ceremony of Smart City Expo 2018 at JECC Jaipur.

Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the government’s expenditure to develop smart cities is continuously increasing. He said that the government has so far invested Rs Rs 7958 crore on 433 smart city projects. Nearly 800 projects worth Rs 32,500 crore are in the pipeline.

JDA commissioner Vaibhav Galriya, union minister of state for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, governor of South Australia Hieu Van Le, urban development minister Shrichand Kriplani and several other dignitaries were present in the opening ceremony.

Smart City Expo 2018 started with the candle lighting ceremony. National Anthem was played following VP Naidu addressed the gathering.

Experts and representatives from many countries have gathered to discuss the solutions for the challenges that cities are facing in terms of efficiency, urban planning, and social and economic development in the global era.

Nearly 6,000 delegates from Spain, Malawi, Hungary, Brasil, Egypt, Mauritius, South Africa, Argentina, Sierra Leone, Palestine and Lebanon are participating in the event. The representative of several government bodies, industry experts, policy makers, companies, innovators, entrepreneurs and research centers have marked their presence in this mega event.

The 3-day event starting on Wednesday is being held at the convention center of JECC in Sitapura, where all the invited dignitaries and thought leaders will discuss several topics including innovation, technology and digital governance, the future of mobility and urban planning, social development, smart destinations, clean tech and circular economy, smart village and much more.

The gathering in the event was impressive till Naidu was present. As soon as he left the venue, others also started leaving. Even officials from JDA and other government departments were nowhere to be seen. Many foreign delegates didn’t attend the event. The foods stalls wore a deserted look and the crowd was very thin in the afternoon.