Coimbatore has won multiple accolades for being ahead of the smart curve. From cutting-edge technologies for surveillance and lake rejuvenation to a one-of-a-kind ‘media tree’, the city continues to take notable strides in providing sustainable quality of life for residents. Sivaguru Prabhakaran, CEO, Coimbatore Smart City (CSCL), elaborates upon these initiatives and more – including plans to adopt green municipal bonds – in conversation with R SRINIVASAN. Excerpts:
Coimbatore, at the national level, won the first prize in the ‘Built Environment’ category (out of 88 proposals sent from 52 cities). It also won first prize as ‘Best City’ in the South Zone category. What factors would you attribute to these successes?
The construction of smart city projects faces many challenges. However, our success could be ascribed to a collaborative process and our innovative approach in providing a synergic solution that provides co-benefits in addressing problems faced by the city. Cross-sectoral collaboration between local government, NGOs, academia, industry, professional bodies and civil society resulted in planning and formulating solutions...
