State Economic Reconstruction Forum demands Srinagar to be included in smart city scheme

SRINAGAR: State Economic Reconstruction Forum ( SERF), an amalgam of trade bodies in Kashmir which was formed after devastating floods, today demanded that the Centre should include Srinagar in the Smart city Scheme announced by the Union Government in the current fiscal's budget.

"The Central government should declare Srinagar to one of the first smart cities in the country under the plan of making 100 smart cities," SERF Secretary Mubeen Shah told reporters.

Shah said this will make Srinagar city, which was worst affected part of the valley in the last month's flood, for huge funding earmarked under this scheme.

In response to a question, Shah said the trade bodies had no objection if some of the government offices need to be relocated to the peripheries under the smart city scheme.

"If removing the offices (like Civil Secretariat) from the city gives fillip in creating a smart city, why not!" he said.

The amalgam also asked the Centre to include Jammu and Kashmir in the National Optical Fibre Network, which is currently developing a new communication system.