India, 10 June 2007: Work on the World Bank-funded Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project-III, for developing web-based GIS application for five urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu State of India, is likely to commence by mid-August.
The project will cover the Tiruchi, Coimbatore and Madurai Corporations and the Gobichettipalayam and Rajapalayam Municipalities.
The GIS application will be utilised in urban planning and civic services, including monitoring property tax assessment and collection, drinking water supply and drainage networks. The project will provide a complete mapping of the assets of the local bodies. The base maps of the cities and towns will be prepared on 1:1000 to 1:5000 scales. Satellite images of the cities/towns will be obtained from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA).
The scope of the project will include study, design, development, configuration and implementation of web-based GIS application; preparation of up-to-date large scale base map using satellite images; integrating the existing database and infrastructure details (including both spatial and non-spatial) with the GIS; survey, digitisation and attribution of data and end-user training.
The Department of Municipal Administration issued requests for proposals from six short-listed firms. The companies will have to spell out technical specifications, the methodology to be used and the financial bids.
Though the scope of the software application will be limited, to start with, it is likely to be extended to cover various aspects of the civic administration in a phased manner. It is also likely to be extended to more urban local bodies. The department has already conducted orientation workshops and training programmes for selected staff members of the five urban local bodies so that they will be equipped to use this application once it is commissioned.
