Third list of 27 new smart cities announced; Amritsar tops followed by Kalyan, Ujjain

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday announced the names of 27 more cities that will be developed under the centre’s ‘Smart City Mission’.

The third list of 27 new smart cities was announced today by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

While Amritsar has got the highest score, the other cities in the order of their ratings include Kalyan-Dombivili, Ujjain, Tirupati, Nagpur, Mangaluru, Vellore, Thane, Gwalior, Agra, Nasik, Rourkela, Kanpur, Madurai, Tumakuru, Kota, Thanjavur, Namchi, Jalandhar, Shivamogga, Salem, Ajmer, Varanasi, Kohima, Hubli-Dharwad, Aurangabad and Vadodara.

The 27 smart cities announced today are from 12 States including 5 from Maharashtra, 4 each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, 3 from Uttar Pradesh and 2 each from Punjab and Rajasthan. Nagaland and Sikkim have made it to the smart city list for the first time.

Announcing the cities that were selected in a competition among 63 cities, Naidu said “The willingness and enthusiasm among cities to participate in more than one round of competition is a clear evidence of the urban renaissance set in motion.

Competition bases selection has made the cities rediscover themselves as they are undertaking a thorough assessment of gaps in the present levels of infrastructure and service delivery and come out with comprehensive, credible and actionable plans for area based development and technology based Pan-city solutions.”

Naidu informed that the new 27 smart cities have proposed an investment of Rs 66,883 cr under smart city plans including Rs 42,524 cr under area based development and another Rs 11,379 cr for technology based pan-city solutions that benefits all the citizens of respective cities.

With this, the total investment proposed by the 60 cities selected so far has gone up to Rs 1,44,742 cr, he said.

So far, the government has announced 33 cities that will be developed as smart cities which would have facilities such as assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity and e-governance, among others.

The Modi-government aims to transform about 100 cities by 2019-20, with the Union government providing financial support of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.

With Agency Inputs