Smart Cities should be in tune with 21st century: PM

New Delhi, Dec 29: The 'Smart Cities', proposed to be created across the country, should be hubs of economic activity in tune with the 21st century and planning should visualize "urban-dependent" population in addition to the urban populace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today.

He made the remarks while chairing a meeting here on 'Smart City' initiative, marking the launch of consultations on his project to build 100 such cities across the country.

The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Urban Development to convene a workshop of all central and state Urban Development Authorities at the earliest on the issue.

He said one of the aims of the smart city initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country, a PMO statement said.

Favouring identification of parameters that could be laid down for smart cities, he said these cities should be hubs of economic activity.

Modi asked officials to identify the basics of infrastructure, quality of life, and citizen-centric services that would be essential to cities of the 21st century.

Advocating reforms in laws related to urban development, the Prime Minister said focus on "waste to wealth" – i.e. - solid-waste management, and waste-water treatment would be an important part of the development of smart cities.

He asked officials to visualize "urban-dependent" population, in addition to "urban" population, while planning for smart cities. Officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Information Technology were present on the occasion.

PTI