Bilaspur has been selected in the list of 100 Smart cities under the Smart City Mission of Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India launched in June 2015. It now aims at getting selected in the phase 2 of the smart city challenge, where 20 cities would be selected in the first year for further funding.

This is an appeal to the people of Bilaspur that the city needs your support! BMC is already in motion to prepare a concept smart city plan for Bilaspur, to formulate this plan citizen engagement is the top most priority. If you ever thought about things which you wished would change in the city, this is the time to come forward and make your opinion count and make Bilaspur a genuine smart city.

The preparation of SCP requires intense citizen engagement at different levels in the city. BMC in the next 2 months will organize 3 rounds of stakeholder consultation. The first round is to arrive at a vision of the city and set goals for the next 20 years based on the opinion of the people of the city, which will be documented by surveys and campaigns on social platforms. The citizens are expected to give their opinion on different aspects like:

• Public transport
• Green spaces
• Water Supply
• Power (Solar energy and other sustainable energy options)
• Drainage
• E-governance (online payment of taxed, all in one information portal)
• Roads
• Intelligent transport systems
• Waste management
• Security

Ideas and suggestions on any other issues are welcome. Similarly, in the second round suggestions are expected on area Development and pan city smart solutions.