About 10 per cent of population in Himachal resides in urban areas: Vikramaditya Singh

Shimla, Sep 26 (PTI) Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Thursday said about 10 per cent of population in Himachal Pradesh resides in the urban areas, adding the state government strives to transform them as vibrant and developed urban centres in the coming times.

The minister, who participated as the guest of honour and panelist in the National Urban Convention 2024 organised by the Praja Foundation at New Delhi, was speaking during the discussion on 'Reimagining Municipal Governance'.

He said that Dharamshala and Shimla are coming up as smart cities.

Urban Governance Index 2024 was also launched on the occasion, a statement issued here said.

Singh said that the state government took an initiative to implement Urban Platform for Delivery of Online Governance (UPYOG) under the National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM).

This initiative aims to revolutionize the citizen experience of municipal public services by offering integrated end to end solutions through a comprehensive state wide service delivery infrastructure.

He said that this would provide a range of government services and information to the citizens through a single digital platform for all 60 urban local bodies (One State One Portal) besides improving efficiency, transparency and accessibility of government services.

The minister also assured the Praja Foundation that the department would study the good initiatives taken by states that have well achieved in the sector and take guidance in order to build a robust urban governance mechanism in the state.

He also underlined the need for international air connectivity and strengthening the railway network in the state for fast urbanization and said the state has built a strong road network. PTI BPL AS AS