Gheorghe Damian, Mayor of Ciugud: “We cannot grow without digitization and green solutions”

“Cluj-Napoca is an inspiration for our community in Ciugud. We promote the idea of ​​smart village. The Romanian village is extremely important. 44 percent of Romania’s population lives in rural areas. Romania is the EU state with the largest population living in rural areas. A smart village is a rural community that develops using modern technologies to reduce costs and be more attractive, while maintaining its rural identity,” Gheorghe Damian, Mayor of Ciugud commune, Alba County said during Smart Transformation Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“We cannot grow without digitization, without green solutions, if we want to live in spaces with as much oxygen as possible. We are glad that Ciugud has become a case study for the Romanian Government regarding the smart village.

12 years ago we implemented an integrated software package in the City Hall. Then we became the first rural community that allowed citizens to pay their debts online. That’s when we developed an electronic archive. All documents entering and leaving our institution are kept electronically. The pandemic helped us implement the digital signature, so that almost all documents are issued in digital format.

We try to reduce as much as possible the physical interaction with the citizen, because time is very important and we also reduce our operating costs. We have developed an online platform for the citizens. We have invested in photovoltaic panels, we produce electricity for certain solar energy institutions. We have charging stations for electric cars, we have one station per thousand inhabitants. We promote the purchase of electric cars among the population. We have started to change our fleet in recent years.

We are a commune that attracted over 34 million euros, it is a fairly large amount for a population of 3400 inhabitants.”