Dholera Wins Over Kota As A More Developed Smart City

The smart city contest is over. Recently a list of 98 cities was shortlisted after an exhaustive inter-state contest based on various parameters with Uttar Pradesh bagging in 13 smart cities in its kitty under the smart city projects in India.

This has led to another competition on a macro level- The competition to ascertain which of the cities of smart city projects in India is the smarter one which of the cities shall have better infrastructure, state of art amenities and above all generate better returns on investments?

Basically, Indians are keen on knowing which one is the safest bet where they can smartly park their money and see it growing. When they say growing, it means growth at an exponential rate!

In an endeavor to come up with a decision, let us compare two smart cities in the neighboring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. One boasts of the first smart city of India being created in Dholera (Gujarat) while other speaks of Kota (Rajasthan), another smart city to be developed.

Dholera Special Investment Region is being eyed as one of the fastest developing smart city under the smart city projects in India. This is so, due to the pace of development it is witnessing currently. The city had been envisaged by Mr. Narendra Modi more than 5 years ago. His dream project, Dholera is being developed as a special investment region, the first after passing of the "Special Investment Act." It is one of its kind and the most planned smart city due the following reasons:-

• It is spread over 920 square kilometer area which is divided into 6 town planning scheme.
• 22.5 square kilometer activation area has been arranged for by the state government. This shall be used for development of trunk infrastructure.
• Trunk Infrastructure work has already begun and components such as desalination plant, potable water supply, power supply, ABCD building, etc., form a part of it. Work on Phase 1 has also begun and is expected to be completed by 2019.
• Rs. 2,800 crore has been sanctioned for development of trunk infrastructure. Development has therefore got a kick start and happening at unprecedented pace.
• It shall consist of state of art infrastructure. A new city shall be formed without any existing roads, high rise towers, sewage plants, etc. giving planners and architects the liberty to plan in an excellent manner.
• Connectivity through metro, Dholera international airport and 6 lane highway makes it a lucrative investment zone globally.

Let us also assess the development so far in Kota:-

• Development plan is yet to be submitted to the government which shall then be approved. Once approved, funds shall be sanctioned in any of three consecutive financial years. An element of uncertainty therefore prevails on its development plans and pace.
• Merely Rs. 480 crores have been sanctioned by the government which shall be equally spread over a period of 5 years. Growth shall therefore lag behind.
• Since Kota is an old city, developers and planners shall face challenges pertaining to existing infrastructure restricting them at many places to create best plan for the city.

Dholera indeed shall be a city to watch out for under the smart city projects in India and shall also witness crores of investments from all over the world. Needless to say, it is a safer investment bet for fellow Indians too.

Smart Dholera is going to be a project of its kind in India’s first smart city Dholera SIR which is going to be developed by Smart Homes Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. This group has got with them a smart team of over 200 experienced men.