Even as four years have elapsed since the government of Jammu and Kashmir decided to introduce ‘smart house numbering’ in Srinagar city, the project has not taken off.
Under the project, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) was to take up the job of house numbering in a phased manner covering all residential colonies within the municipal limits.
ShahidMehraj, a resident of Natipora said that it was a great initiative by the government but unfortunately it has not been pursued by the authorities.
“We requested a number of times to the SMC and other authorities to implement the project in our locality but there was no response,” Mehraj said.
The pilot project was started in 2016 at Nishat. An outside contractor firm which was roped in for the job was to complete it in four months. “But it abandoned the project just a month after conducting house-numbering of only one area in the Nishat locality,” Mehraj said.
If the project would have been implemented, the unique GPS-based code numbers would help households to get various services. In times of emergency like fire, etc. a house owner would just communicate the code allotted to his/her property to get the required service.
Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattoo said that the project was a priority for him “and it is also integral to the smart city vision”.
Mattoo said: “We will set a deadline for the process to start and for the completion of the project.”
“Haphazard planning and unauthorized colonies in some city areas make the house numbering process complicated but we will ensure this is done and done well,” he added.