Published on: Jan 29, 2016 @ 09:36
The union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday released the first list of 20 cities to be developed as smart cities. Bhubaneswar in Odisha tops the list followed by Pune and Jaipur coming to second and third position respectively.
The union minister Venkaiah Naidu said that the Smart City Plan was prepared by states in consultation with local bodies . This list will be followed by inclusion of 40 and 38 cities, respectively, over the next two years.
Following is the list of 20 smart cities:
| 1. Bhubaneswar (Odisha) | 11. Indore (Madhya Pradesh) |
| 2. Pune (Maharastra) | 12. NDMC (Delhi) |
| 3. Jaipur (Rajasthan) | 13. Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) |
| 4. Surat (Gujarat) | 14. Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) |
| 5. Kochi (Kerala) | 15. Belagavi (Karnataka) |
| 6. Ahmedabad (Gujarat) | 16. Udaipur (Rajasthan) |
| 7. Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) | 17. Guwahati (Assam) |
| 8. Vishakapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) | 18. Chennai (Tamil Nadu) |
| 9. Sholapur (Maharastra) | 19. Ludhiana (Punjab) |
| 10. Davangere (Karnataka) | 20. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced his vision last year to set up 100 smart cities across the country under “Smart Cities Mission” . Under this mission, each state will have at least one smart city. The objective is to enable better living and driving economic growth for the benefit of all sections of the society. This will be implemented through redevelopment of infrastructure in already built up areas and adopting e-governance and appropriate smart solutions.
Announcing the list, the union minister Venkaiah Naidu said that the implementation of smart cities plan will showcase integrated planning and the investment of Rs 50,802 crores has been proposed in selected smart cities and towns during the five-year period. These 20 cities of the list will be the first to receive funds and start the process of developing them into Smart Cities.
As a major setback to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and some other states, not a single city of these state could make into the first final list of ‘Smart City Challenge Competition’. Those cities which could not make it to the first list are still eligible to try for the second round. The government has offered a fast track window for the next rejected 23 cities based on their ranks to upgrade their proposals and submit them by April 15, 2016 for evaluation.
Union urban development minister said that the top 20 cities have proposed to “redevelop” and “retrofit” certain specific areas to be smart. The smart cities will have basic infrastructure such as water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation along with safety of its citizens.
The central government has a plan to build 100 smart cities by 2022 to help accommodate its swelling urban population. An expected sum of Rs 3 lakh crore to be spent in the next five years to develop the ‘Smart Cities’ and provide world class infrastructure, sustainable environment and smart solutions to the Indian urban people.
Ajay Verma, founder, and writer of The Housing World, a real estate and mortgage news website. He has over fifteen years of rich experience in the above-mentioned industries.
