The Kochi Municipal Corporation is pleased to inform you that our City has been selected through a competitive process for SMART City Mission initiative of Government of India. In the next phase, your city has to compete with 98 other cities from across the country to make it into the Top 20 cities which will be taken up for the first round of funding, for the financial year 2015-16. The Stage II involves the preparation of an Area Development Plan under the SMART City Proposal (SCP).

The Area Development Plan may in the form of Retrofitting of existing area (minimum 500 acres) OR Redevelopment of an area (minimum 50 acres) OR Greenfield development (minimum 250 acres). The detailed guidelines are provided in www.smartcities.gov.in. Request your views/ suggestions (including the Non-resident Keralite community) on some of the learning and actions/ initiatives in your experience across the world which may be replicated in Kochi and provide prioritized suggestions for improvement of the city (or a specific area(s) within the city) with focus on physical and social infrastructure plans.

The Broad spectrum of service areas is provided below:

• Adequate water supply including waste water recycling and storm water reuse,
• Assured electricity supply - least 10% of the energy requirement coming from solar power,
• Sanitation, including solid waste management,
• Efficient urban mobility and public transport,
• Affordable Housing, especially for poor,
• Robust IT connectivity and digitalization,
• Good Governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation,
• Sustainable environment,
• Ensuring safety of citizens, especially women and elderly, and
• Health and education

Kindly, post your views and ideas till 10th October, 2015.