Another Moment of Crowning Glory for Smart City Bhubaneswar

NAVEEN PATNAIK• FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018

From bottom to almost
top in Indian city rankings in just 2 years 

Congratulations, Odisha yet again! Accolades and recognition
keep pouring in. Only a day after our Smart City Bhubaneswar gained the
glorious distinction of being ranked among Top 20 Smart Cities in the world,
the only Indian city in the list, it has now been placed among the Top 4 cities
of India in Urban Governance. Considering the fact that our Capital city was
ranked 18th among the bottom only two years back makes the recognition a
crowning glory.

The latest edition of Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems
(ASICS) report has ranked Bhubaneswar among top four cities of the country in
terms of quality of governance to deliver best infrastructure and services to
citizens. Bhubaneswar, in fact, is tied with Kolkata & Thiruvananthapuram
just below Pune at the top. Our Capital city has leapfrogged major cities like
Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru to the top ranks and is even
the No 1 city along with Thiruvananthapuram in Medium cities category.

This reflects the success of the concerted efforts and the
pace with which governance has been improved to deliver good quality of life to
the citizens. With the mantra of 3Ts – Teamwork, Technology and Transparency we
are moving ahead with transformative urban reforms and strengthening of
governance systems that have positively impacted lives of people at all levels.
Focus on equitable and sustainable growth of all sections is the hallmark of
Bhubaneswar. Each citizen is at the centre of governance and an equal
stakeholder in its development.

The credit for the recognition goes to the people of Odisha
for their unflinching trust and support for our efforts. Every citizen has
played a vital role in bolstering the urban transformation of Bhubaneswar.

Bhubaneswar has truly arrived on the map as an international
city. The various national and international recognition speak for our actions.
From topping the Smart City Challenge in 2016 to being awarded Pierre L’Enfant
International Planning Excellence Award instituted by American Planning
Association, being the finalist in World Smart City Awards 2016 at
Barcelona…From rubbing shoulders with world’s best smart cities like Singapore,
New York, London in the Top 20 Global Smart Cities list to now being among top
four Indian cities – Bhubaneswar is the cynosure of all eyes.

These recognitions motivate us to work harder to develop Bhubaneswar as a global city. We will be relentless in our efforts and keep scaling newer heights with support and blessings of the people.