SPV for Bhubaneswar Smart City takes off

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar: Odisha capital Bhubaneswar which came at the top of the first batch of 20 smart cities selected by the Ministry of Urban Development also became the first to get its Special Purpose Vehicle take off holding the first meeting of the Board of Directors last week at which several operational decisions were taken.According to a PIB release, at the first Board meeting held on March 29, 2016, R.Balakrishnan, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Odisha was appointed as Chairman of the SPV, Vice-Chairman of Bhubaneswar Development Authority as Managing Director and R.Vineel Krishna as the CEO of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited.A 16-member Board of Directors was set up with representatives of various departments and agencies of the Odisha Government, one representative of Government of India and 5 Independent Directors of which at least one will be woman.Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited, the Special Purpose Vehicle will have Authorised Capital of Rs.500 crore divided into 5 crore shares of Rs.100 each.Of this, the Government of Odisha and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation will have a share of Rs.112.50 crore each while Bhubaneswar Development Authority will contribute share capital of Rs.250 crore.As required under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, the Board of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited declared the date of commencement of business as April 1, 2016.The Board in its first meeting also decided on delegation of financial powers.CEO can accord administrative approval for projects up to Rs.7 crore, Managing Director – up to Rs.10 crore, Executive Committee of SPV – up to Rs.25 crore and the Board up to Rs.100 crore projects costing over and above Rs.100 crore will be sanctioned by the state government.Project management will be undertaken through engagement of Project Management Consultancy.CEO was authorized to finalize the terms and conditions and manner of recruitment and also engage agency for providing various services.R.Vineel Krishna, appointed as CEO of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited was earlier Collector and District Magistrate of Malkangiri district.Under Smart City Mission Guidelines, SPVs for each smart city are to be set up to enable faster execution of projects by delegating to them powers of various concerned departments and agencies, the PIB release said.The Bhubaneswar Smart City Initiative will be structured, developed, designed, financed, implemented and monitored by a Special Purpose Vehicle, a company registered under Companies Act, 2013.The Company, an independent legal identity, will have designated and dedicated officials from diverse background for managing the initiative in time-bound manner with target oriented implementation schedules.