Jammu and Kashmir [India], October 22 (ANI): In a significant achievement, Jammu and Kashmir won the top awards in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-Urban) during the three-day "India Urban Housing Conclave 2022" (IUHC 2022), the government informed in a release.

Surat Apr 18 PTI Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said 80 of the 100 Smart Cities in the country have Integrated Command and Control Centres and the remaining will get it by August 15 Puri was here to inaugurate the 3-day Smart Cities Smart Urbanization conference organised by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in association with Surat Smart City Corporation Development Ltd as part of the Centres Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Work has started in almost all government-funded projects in the Smart City Mission SCM and projects under SCM will be completed by next year A total of 80 of the 100 Smart Cities have Integrated Command and Control Centres and the remaining 20 will be operational by August 15 this year he said in his inaugural address Smart cities were selected after stakeholder consultations and work on them have been the fastest among government schemes despite the COVID-19 pandemic Puri said adding that the experience gained will help make SCM a peoples movement The Smart Cities Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 and it was designed as part of a multi-layer strategy to meet the aspirations of 40 per cent of Indias population living in cities said a PIB release Of the total investment of Rs 205018 crore under SCM projects worth Rs 93552 crore were proposed to be developed by Centre and state funds and almost 100 per cent of these government funded projects have seen work ordered said the release On the first day of the conference award winners of the India Smart Cities Awards Contest ISAC 2020 were felicitated These awards were earlier announced through a virtual conference in 2021 due to the pandemic Surat and Indore were given the Best City award while Uttar Pradesh was awarded the Best State said the release Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore Union MoS Railways Darshana Jardosh along with principal secretaries of states and Union Territories municipal commissioners MDs and CEOs of 100 Smart Cities Mission Directorates and professionals attended the event said the release During the event several new schemes were also launched including a virtual hub for collaborations on urban transformation in partnership between SCM and the World Economic Forum The hub will leverage emerging technologies and innovations to transform Indian cities into centres of sustainable inclusive and resilient growth said the release PTI COR PJT BNM BNM

New Delhi Mar 30 PTI The Delhi government on Wednesday appointed Vikas Kumar as the managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation DMRC according to an official orderKumar who is Director Operations in the corporation will hold the post for a term of five years said the order issued by Transport Department of the Delhi governmentThe Government of NCT of Delhi is pleased to appoint Vikas Kumar as managing director MD of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd in accordance with terms of Article 130 of the Memorandum and Article of Association of DMRC Ltd for the period of five years with effect from April 1 said the orderThe appointment of Kumar as the new managing director of the DMRC was approved by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs the order saidKumar an officer of the 1988-batch of the Indian Railway Traffic Service prior to this was appointed as as Director Operations early December 2021 He is an electrical engineering graduate from IIT-Roorkee 1987 and did his MTech from IIT-Delhi in 1989Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted about his appointment to the top postHeartiest congratulations best wishes to Sh Vikas Kumar on being appointed as the new MD of OfficialDMRC The metro is Delhis lifeline and I hope that DMRC under your capable guidance continues to set new benchmarks in top quality public transport he wrote on Twitter and shared a copy of the order dated March 30 2022Kumar will succeed Mangu Singh whose tenure ends on March 31Singhs tenure as MD of DMRC had begun from January 1 2012 after his predecessor E Sreedharan had handed over charge to him on December 31 2011Delhi Metro under Singhs leadership had endeavoured to put it back on track after being hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns Singhs tenure as the managing director of the mass rapid transit system had been extended multiple timesThe DMRC networks current span is nearly 392 km with 286 stations including the Noida-Greater Noida Metro Corridor and Rapid Metro GurgaonSingh has contributed greatly in the project implementation of metros in Delhi and Kolkata and has been responsible for bringing revolutionary changes in the execution of large metro engineering projects civil within tight deadlines and budget and is considered the foremost tunneling expert the DMRC had earlier saidA Bijnor native he is a graduate in civil engineering from the University of Roorkee now IIT-RoorkeeThereafter he became part of the Indian Railways Services of Engineers IRSE in 1981 Singh then joined the Indian Railways and has worked in various capacities including as deputy chief engineer Kolkata Metro Railway 1989-1996 PTI VIT KND ANB ANB

Jammu Jan 29 PTI Smooth flow of traffic and better pedestrian facilities are on the cards as the Jammu Smart City Limited JSCL on Saturday signed two separate agreements for the development of 23 junctions and for setting up smart traffic booths in different parts of the city an official saidThe agreement for the development of junctions was signed and exchanged between JSCL Chief Executive Officer Avny Lavasa and representative of RSB Projects Limited Suresh Gupta he saidThe official said the contract for setting up smart traffic booths was signed and exchanged between JSCL Additional Chief Executive officer Hitesh Gupta and a representative of Ved Paul DewanBoth the projects are being undertaken by JSCL under the Smart City Mission programme of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs MoHUA the official saidHe said the 23 junctions across the city will be developed and equipped with better facilities for citizensThe major works taken up under the junctions improvement programme include geometric improvement pickup-drop off locations lighting street furniture tree line bus top location of traffic signal drainage through catchpits toilets and water ATMs the official said Lavasa said the facelift of junctions would add a neat and clean look to the city of templesThe completion of the project will provide better facilities to citizens as well as tourists she saidEnsuring all possible help to the project executing agency Lavasa directed officials to complete the project within the stipulated time frameIn the first phase the smart traffic booths will be established at 25 different locations across the city she said adding these locations have been identified in consultations with traffic police at strategically important and critical junctions for smooth traffic movement She said the smart traffic booths will be equipped with modern facilities and will be able to maintain pleasant temperature inside according to weather conditions The booths will also have a single unit prefabricated toilet facility the official saidLavasa said these smart traffic booths are equipped with proper sitting arrangements as well as with other facilities to enable Traffic cops to deliver their duties with more dedication PTI TAS ANB ANB

New Delhi [India], December 1 (ANI): The Central government on Tuesday has apprised the Supreme Court that the Central Vista development project and the construction work for the new Parliament building are projects of "national importance" and they are complying with every condition to ensure that pollution is not caused.