Ranchi, Sep 9: Country’s Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation for building the nation’s first Greenfield smart city project in HEC of Ranchi here.
Speaking on the occasion he said that this foundation is the base for building a grand India and the city in Ranchi would be very attractive and said that for the bright future smart cities are a must where people get all the amenities of life including houses, roads, public transport, cleanliness alongwith medical and educational and employment facilities.
He said that the city which would come up in HEC would be a no carbon zone. He said that the government was now moving ahead to provide 24 hours water and power to the people however the government alone can not do all the work and the people to needed to cooperate in the development process. He said that people should pay their taxes and pointed that people want smart cities but they do not want to pay the taxes.
The Vice President called on the people to make their contribution for the cause of the nation and said that the businessman and industrialists should think over the taxes and said that when people utlise the resources of the nation than they should at least pay some money towards that. He said that with the help of the people only the dream of smart city would be realized.
Mr Naidu said that a smart city needed a smart leader and those who are full of commitment and caliber can only make smart cities. He said that for being a leader it is not necessary that a person should be an MP or an MLA, Mayor or councilor and said that every person was a leader in himself.
Mr Naidu said that smart city is like a light house which would inspire the people. He said that Ranchi did not get the smart city due to him but it through a competition managed to bag the status for the project for which the government and the officials needed to be appreaciated. He said that every government wants to have smart cities but for that there was a need to make efforts. He said that when he was the Urban Development Minister the Prime Minister had told him not to award smart cities for politics but they should be awarded after a competition.