Ahmedabad: The civic body is out on an asset monetisation drive. The assets it plans to cash in on include its properties as well as the vast repository of data generated under Smart City projects. This includes citizen tax data, traffic patterns, utility consumption records, and municipal service usage statistics – a goldmine of information for private companies and research organizations. For this, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) quietly set up a nine-member Asset Monetization Cell headed by commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani.A circular issued in March this year made the cell operational from March 19. “The nine-member cell will review digital data collected by Smart City Ahmedabad Development Limited to determine which datasets can be commercially sold,” said a senior AMC official. The committee includes deputy municipal commissioners for projects, estate, finance, and legal, along with the estate officer, head of the non-tax revenue department, chief city planner, chief accountant and deputy chief accountant.A key focus of the committee will be on strategizing the monetization of 4,113 leased properties with an collective worth exceeding an estimated Rs 2,000 crore, including high-value assets like the Municipal Market on CG Road. In Sep 2024, AMC had also proposed a draft City Data Policy which sought to create an open govt data platform to facilitate responsible data sharing among citizens, govt agencies, and private entities. “This cell will also explore the development of reserved plots through public-private partnership (PPP) models and consider renting out municipal school premises during non-operational hours,” said the official. Also, there are plans to allow private buses to operate on BRTS corridors as a new revenue stream.The committee’s mandate is to identify and implement strategies to increase non-conventional income from AMC’s movable and immovable assets, such as public buildings, under-bridge spaces, parking plots, advertising sites, machinery, vehicles, apart from digital data. The committee will meet every 15 days to review progress. “It will also develop a special standard operating procedure for monetization and explore revenue opportunities from newly completed development projects,” the official added. The committee can even assess the feasibility of renting out municipal equipment and vehicles, and evaluate the legal and financial implications, including tax and GST responsibilities, when assets are sold, leased, or developed through PPP models.