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:

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

Ajay Verma, founder and writer of TheHousingWorld, a real estate and mortgage news website. He has over fifteen years of rich experience in the above mentioned industries.

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