Ujjain, India

Ujjain, the ancient city, situated on the banks of River Kshipra in Madhya Pradesh is known for its holy and sacred identity due to presence of the age old deity Lord Mahakaleshwar and the Simhasta Kumbh Mela. It was once the seat of ancient kingdom of Vikramaditya and is situated at a unique geographical location from where tropic of cancer passes. It represents the 'Mean Time ' of India for Panchanga- India’s traditional calendar the tilting of earth at an angle of 23½ on its axis and geographical line of tropic of cancer has special cosmic influence making it fit for absolute time location.

It is one of the seven important religious centers in India, the others being Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. Kashi, Prayag, Haridwar Rishikesh, Mathura, and Ayodhya. Ujjain is located at 23°10’ latitude north and 75°46’ longitude east at an average elevation of 491 meters (1610 ft.) above mean sea level. It is a place of great sanctity and hence attracts devotees for almost all the major festivals like Amavasya, Shivaratri, Panchakroshi, Nagpanchami etc. The planning area according to the Ujjain Development Plan 2021 is 151.83 sq. kms while the area under the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) is

92.68 sq. kms or 62 per cent of the planning area which is divided into 5 zones covering 54 wards with about 29 sq kms that is developed. The primary drivers of the economy of Ujjain are trade and commerce, service sector (mainly public sector establishments) and Primary sector. Manufacturing and processing industries, especially household and small-scale engineering industries, also contribute to the city’s economy, though marginally. The literacy rate is very high at 74.76 per cent and the sex ratio too is fairly high at 945.

Ujjain Smart City Profile

Ujjain city has been selected in round-2 of smart cities challenge to implement the Smart Cities Mission (SCM). Ujjain Smart City Proposal (SCP) has secured third rank in second round cities. The area based development (ABD) proposal spreads across a total area of 1023 acres in Mahakal region, having a population of 87,766 which is almost 17% of the total population of Ujjain city. An area of about 756.7 acres is proposed to be retrofitted with smart features/infrastructure and 266.25 acres is proposed to be redeveloped with zonal/layout/building level smart features/infrastructure in accordance with SCP and SCM guidelines.

The pan-city proposal includes Ujjain City Management & Information Dissemination (UMID) System. UMID is a comprehensive ICT (Information Communication Technology) based system, which will incorporate smart and efficient management modules for traffic, waste, safety & security in initial phase. It will integrate existing deployed ICT modules & will aggregates all future ICT-enabled interventions to be implemented in a phased manner.

As per the SCP, the estimated project cost for smart city projects is about Rs. 2318.1 crores (could be more or less during planning, design and implementation phase). The estimated project cost of ABD component and pan-city component is about Rs. 1868.9 crores and Rs 307.2 crores respectively; Rs 142 Cr for A&OE (Administrative and Office Expense) and Interest during construction period. The Applicants are advised to carry out their own due diligence including but not limited to review of smart city proposal and field investigations.

For the purpose of implementing the Smart Cities project, Ujjain Smart City Limited (USCL) (the “Authority”), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Ujjain Smart City Project has been incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 2013. USCL would receive funds from Government of India and Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) for the development of Ujjain as smart city.