Urban local bodies get major funding for core civic infra

The state Budget outlined a series of allocations for urban local bodies, focusing on core civic infrastructure such as street lighting, drainage, flood control, parking, sanitation and digital service delivery. A major push was proposed for street lighting, with around 7 lakh energy-efficient streetlights to be installed across municipal areas. The project has been estimated to cost over Rs 500 crore and aimed to improve visibility, safety and energy savings in cities and towns.Drainage strengthening and flood mitigation formed another key segment of the budget. Jaipur was allocated Rs 500 crore and Ajmer Rs 200 crore to upgrade drainage networks. Separately, flood-control works worth Rs 1,020 crore were proposed for urban areas in Alwar, Bhiwadi, Udaipur, Kota, Churu, Pali, Nagaur and Bharatpur. To improve long-term stormwater planning, district-level urban local bodies will prepare master drainage plans, with Rs 40 crore earmarked for this exercise.
Urban mobility measures included new parking infrastructure and technology-based management. A multi-storey parking facility for 200 vehicles will be built in the Mount Abu–Sirohi region at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Smart parking projects were also proposed for Jaipur, Kota, Bhilwada, Jodhpur and Ajmer to reduce congestion and improve parking operations. EV charging stations will be set up in phases at 100 major parking locations in municipal corporation areas through the PPP model.To strengthen civic service delivery, Smart Service Centres will be established in all urban local bodies in phases, offering online and time-bound services such as birth, death and marriage certificates, fire NOCs and other municipal permissions.Public convenience measures included 300 mobile toilets for urban local bodies at a cost of Rs 30 crore, facility centres for residents and tourists in Jaipur and Ajmer, dog shelters across municipal areas with an outlay of Rs 40 crore, and eco-cooling shelters at major public places for protection from heat and rain.