In a setback to the ambitious Pimpri-Chinchwad Smart City initiative, the implementation of Wi-Fi facilities has fallen drastically short of its initial promise. While the plan aimed to connect 270 locations with Wi-Fi, the reality is that only two places, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, have been integrated into the Wi-Fi system. The Smart City project is grappling with challenges in expanding this connectivity to the rest of the designated areas.
Under the overarching vision of a Digital India championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, numerous government systems are transitioning to digital platforms. As part of the PAN City initiative, Pimpri-Chinchwad Smart City set out to offer Wi-Fi services at 270 locations, intending to enhance administrative processes for citizens and streamline internal administration tasks. The envisioned ecosystem encompassed digital kiosks, message boards, smart meters, smart bins, smart poles, smart emergency vehicles, and services for city residents.
Critical elements such as PCMC buildings, hospitals, regional offices, schools, and STP centers were meant to be integrated into the central control and command center in Nigdi, necessitating widespread Wi-Fi connectivity. This infrastructure was designed to facilitate efficient operations from the control and command center, streamlining online administrative tasks for citizens accessing municipal offices, hospitals, and schools, with data accessibility through City WiFi.
Despite claims by the previous municipal commissioner in 2021 that Wi-Fi network connections for 125 locations out of 270 were completed, the Smart City initiative has only managed to launch Wi-Fi in two locations: YCM Hospital and the Municipal Building. Some user complaints have surfaced, citing the complexity of using Wi-Fi data and resulting in a lack of response from users.
The current Wi-Fi facilities, situated across three floors between YCM Hospital and the PCMC Building, serve 1000 to 1500 citizens daily. Users currently receive 2 GB of free data, with plans underway to increase this allocation to 5 GB, as stated by Chief Information and Technology Officer Neelkanth Poman.
