Smart City: List of 20 cities to be equipped with modern facilities released

New Delhi, Jan 28: Modi Government on Thursday released list of 20 smart cities. At a press conference, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu released the name of the cities and said that top scorer among the list is Bhubneshwar and Pune.

Other cities of the list are, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Visakhapatnam, Solapur, Bhuvanagiri, Indore, Coimbatore, Kakinada, Belgaum, Udaipur, Guwahati, Chennai, Ludhiana and Bhopal as well as NDMC.

These cities will be developed to have basic infrastructure through assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation.

"These 20 cities will be the first to receive funds, hence kickstarting the process of developing them into 'smart cities'. The next two years will see the inclusion of 40 and 38 cities more," Naidu said.

#SmartCities List of the top 20 cities (with scores) pic.twitter.com/MSGOoJZysb via @livemint 1. Bhuvaneshwar2. Pune3. Jaipur

— Amit Paranjape (@aparanjape) January 28, 2016

These cities were chosen from 98 cities shortlisted for the 'Smart Cities Mission'.

"In terms of population, these 20 cities account for 3.54 crore people. A total investment of Rs.50,802 crore has been proposed in the selected smart cities and towns during the five-year period. Bottom-up approach has been the key planning principle under Smart City Mission," he added.

LIVE NOW: #SmartCityChallenge #Bhubaneswar tops the list: @MVenkaiahNaidu pic.twitter.com/FYc9SV2dgG

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 28, 2016

LIVE: #PUNE comes second in #SmartCityChallenge: @MVenkaiahNaidu pic.twitter.com/F4BLt4kwFc

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 28, 2016

LIVE: #Jaipur secures 3rd place in @Moud_India's #SmartCityChallenge: @MVenkaiahNaidu pic.twitter.com/xSCJ5Bz5kS

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 28, 2016

UD Minister @MVenkaiahNaidu announcing the list of top #SmartCities winners pic.twitter.com/iDMFVmiqMZ

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 28, 2016

Naidu added: "Smart cities need to be inclusive, sustainable and effective engines of growth, fulfilling the aspiration of Young India."

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agency)