The ‘Smart City’ concept is novel. The novelty is the essence and should not be wasted in renovations of old townships. The Smart City should be futuristic and cosmopolitan. The Smart City should be free from the tribalism malaise and therefore should rightly be located under Dimapur district. The ‘Smart City’ should not be construed as ‘Smart Kohima’, ‘Smart Mokokchung’, ‘Smart Wokha’ etc. The ‘Smart City’ should be new ‘Smart City’.
The concrete obstacle will come from the Constitution Article 371:A. The Government should therefore acquire the land for posterity: if need be invest the 1st sanction for the State into it, and let the stages of developments grow in phases with the future installments.Many intellectuals have expressed impressions that ‘Smart City’ means ‘Smart Kohima’. Kohima is already like an old bullock, pulling the numerous wagons of the past eras Statehood. The first wagon is the DC Hill era of the British-Assam, the second is the Old Minister’s Hill era of the NNO, the third is the New Minister’s Hill era of the UDF, the fourth is the Agri-forest-Merhulitsa era of the Congress and the fifth is the New Capital Complex era of the NPF. The poor bullock ‘Kohima’ can pull no more.
Dominic Yazokie
